Human Psyche / Machine Psyche
Carl Jung wrote that when he analysed the eminent physicist Wolfgang Pauli, they entered “the no-man’s-land between Physics and the Psychology of the unconscious…the most fascinating yet the darkest hunting ground of our times.”
Arthur Miller started this talk by exploring Jung’s model of the human psyche, which formed the basis of his analytical psychology. This model of the psyche was completely at odds with Sigmund Freud’s, for Jung had entered the shadowy realm of archetypes, symbols, and alchemy. As an example of Jung’s ideas in action, Miller discussed his analysis of Pauli. He also looked at the intriguing question of how Pauli applied Jung’s theory of the psyche to discover a startling new sort of mirror symmetry.
About the Historian
Arthur I. Miller is Emeritus Professor of the History and Philosophy of Science at University College London. He is the author of a groundbreaking theory of creativity which applies to both humans and machines. He has written many critically acclaimed books, including the
Pulitzer Prize-nominated Einstein, Picasso: Space, Time, and the Beauty that Causes Havoc. A regular broadcaster and lecturer, he has judged art competitions, curated exhibitions on art/science and writes engagingly about complex social and intellectual dramas, weaving the personal with the scientific to produce thoroughly-researched works that read like novels.
He has written for The Guardian, The New York Times, Wired, and Nautilus. His most recent book, The Artist in the Machine: The World of AI-Powered Creativity, on AI and creativity in art, literature and music, was published in fall 2019 by MIT Press.
