(The texts here supersede some of the posts which were earlier or partial drafts. Note that this is still work in progress: there will be ongoing corrections and additions in the future.)
Philosophical Foundations
- Positionings
- Ontological Layout
- Independent Psychological Factors
Inspiration from Literature and Film
- Mirror Moments
Mirrors recur throughout Lawrence Durrell’s Alexandria Quartet as metaphors for reflectiveness, interpersonal distance in communication, and staging areas for meaningful encounters. This essay surveys the breadth and depth of this particular narrative means and its psychological implications. - Ghost Time
The narrator of The Alexandria Quartet has withdrawn from the city, where all life takes place, to a remote Greek island, into a liminal space where he becomes aware of “a time which is not calendar-time”—an awareness from which one becomes “in some sort a ghost”. What does that mean? (And what is this ghost-time, which has such curious effects…?)
A Theory of Ghosts
Surveying the Tradition
- Coming Back from the Underworld
Nekyia, the descent into Hades, is a shift away from external concerns toward a more introspective, soul-oriented existence. But must we always bring something back to the surface, or is there value in simply going deeper? Does the underworld journey necessitate a return trip? The essay surveys the spectrum of answers to that question in the Jungian tradition.
