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The scapegoat archetype

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Summary

Relying on some of the principles of Jung's analytical psychology, the writer has presented a hypothesis of the primordial image of the scapegoat, tracing its origins in antiquity and in the collective unconscious of man, its associations with the God-image and its development in the history of Judaeo-Christian religion, of the administration of justice and of the treatment of mental illness. The conclusion is reached that the scapegoat is an anachronism that the human race has outgrown, a luxury we can no longer afford to keep, and that a realization of this fact is important for the times in which we live.

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De Verteuil, R. The scapegoat archetype. J Relig Health 5, 209–225 (1966). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01532647

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01532647

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