Binarius as the Spiritual Archetype of Digital Technology

Discussion

Alvin Chevskiy:

"The Binarius Archetype and Digital Technology

Digital technology has to a large degree now insinuated itself into the way people think, feel, act and relate to each other. Far from simply being a tool that we use, or a willing servant that we command, we find ourselves increasingly struggling not to become the tool and obedient servant of it. Given its dominance today, it is curious that the binary code on which the digitization of all computer-mediated content is based has not received more attention from depth psychology. If few people think there is anything "archetypal" here to be noted, then the spell-binding influence that digital technology has on our lives is a sure pointer towards its having an archetypal source. Archetypes exercise a powerful effect on us, all the more powerful when we are not conscious of them. If we fail to notice we are within the energy field of an archetype, this is an indication that we are living under its spell.

So little is the archetypal energy behind this technology recognized that there is, as yet, no generally accepted name for this archetype. I propose we call it the Binarius. One of its characteristic features, which may explain why it has slipped under the radar for so long, is that it has been hiding in broad daylight. Because we meet it each day, exteriorized in our computers and smart devices, it seems not to be part of us. It has achieved increasing autonomy within the human world, and has succeeded in presenting itself to us as if it were not something that originated within us and belongs to the inner life of the soul. We should therefore be mindful of Jung's definition of the archetype as "an autonomous factor" in the psyche."

(https://alvinchevskiy.substack.com/p/the-archetype-of-the-binarius)