Duluth, Minnesota (OpEdNews) September 16, 2024: In the present article, I propose to set forth, to the best of my ability, my understanding of the vision of optimal human psychological development developed by late Jungian psychotherapist and theorist Robert L. Moore (1942-2016; Ph.D. in religion and psychology, University of Chicago, 1975) of the Chicago Theological Seminary.
After setting forth Moore's vision of optimal human psychological development, I want to then focus on the specific way(s) in which his vision conflicts with the Roman Catholic Church's vision of moral development. In the Roman Catholic Church, canonized saints are held up as moral exemplars for their exemplary faith and moral development - that is, for their faithfulness to the church's moral vision of individual personal human development.
But the church's moral vision of human development conflicts with Moore's vision of optimal human development. However, at this juncture, I also need to say that I am not sure that there have ever been any persons who have actually embodied Moore's vision of optimal human development - that is how visionary his vision is.
Now, Moore co-authored with Douglas Gillette the following books:
(1) the accessible overview book King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine (HarperSanFrancisco/ HarperCollins);
(2) The King Within: Accessing the King [Archetype] in the Male Psyche (William Morrow, 1992a);
(3) The Warrior Within: Accessing the Knight [Archetype] Within the Male Psyche (William Morrow, 1992b);
(4) The Magician Within: Accessing the Shaman [Archetype] in the Male Psyche (William Morrow, 1993a);
(5) The Lover Within: Accessing the Lover [Archetype] in the Male Psyche (William Morrow, 1993b);
(6) The King Within: Accessing the King [Archetype] in the Male Psyche, revised and expanded second edition (Exploration Press, 2007).
As you can see, Moore and Gillette specify that they are writing about the masculine archetypes of maturity in the male psyche of boys and men. However, in Moore's theory, the four masculine archetypes of maturity are also present in the female psyche of girls and women.
For understandable reasons, Moore and Gillette did not publish any books about the feminine archetypes of maturity in the human psyche. Nor did they complicate their books about the male psyche by pointing out that the male psyche also has the four feminine archetypes of maturity in it.
Now, in my recent OEN article "Young Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman" (dated September 3, 2024), I discussed the beautiful young Lynda Carter's role as Diana Prince/ Wonder Woman in the Wonder Woman television series (1976-1979; 59 episodes):
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