According to Jungian psychology, archetypes are used to make the categories that help us understand the world.  Archetypes are expressed through myths and stories, whether they’re from Stone Age hunters and gatherers or modern teens going to the movie theater.  Categories can describe all sorts of different phenomena that humans encounter in their lives, and there are common threads that run through all of human history and across cultures worldwide. 

Freud had first brought a heavy emphasis to these commonalities-he focused on family and sexuality categories, from “fatherhood” to the symbolic significance of potty training.  According to Jung, for example, the concept of the “self” is developed and expressed by the archetype of the “hero.”  The hero archetype is the set of stories that deal with an individual who leaves society, becomes different, even isolated or estranged, and returns to save the society.  You see that theme in human stories from Achilles and Beowulf up through Batman and Spiderman.  These stories give us the psychological ability and drive to think of our selves as individuals.

Appealing as they are, however, it’s the ability of people to work together that makes them strong.  Software development project management, my specialty, is a great example and constant reminder for me.  A project management software system, or even something as simple as time tracking software, shows just how crucial it is for humans to work in teams that communicate smoothly.  What could a lone Robinson Crusoe really accomplish on his own?

Technorati Tags: project management software system, software development project management, time tracking software