The The Hermeneutics of Symbolic Thinking

A Philosophical Approach Towards the Interpretation of Dreams.

Abstract

The present article seeks to analyze the hermeneutic process involved in the interpretation of symbols in the context of the study of their participation in the process of manifestation and expression of unconscious contents in the human mind, particularly as found during the interpretation of dreams in psychology, with an emphasis on the work of Carl Gustav Jung and Sigmund Freud. It aims to make a comparison between the Freudian and Jungian interpretation methods, seeking to demonstrate in which aspects convergences and divergences can be found in the approach of both authors, with the purpose of exploring which philosophical ramifications are present in each one and how these can be interpreted through a philosophical approach to the study of the symbol as an integral part of the human psyche, starting from an investigation based on the thought of authors such as Plato and Saint Augustine, the latter recognized as one of the pioneers in the study of the human mind. Therefore, a study will be carried out about the basis of Freud and Jung's theories, accompanied by an analysis covering texts written by both authors, and the consequent interface with the work of Plato and Augustine. Resulting from this process is the conclusion that although both authors have similar foundations to those found in Philosophy of Language, Jung's thoughts are closer to the Platonic and Augustinian structure of interpreting the role of the symbol as an integral part of the disposition of human thought.