Psychic Equivalence Principle

Dear Sir:

There is reason to hypothesize that the timeless symmetry of the unconscious may, in a very basic sense, be entirely equivalent to the timeoriented asymmetry of the conscious. The article 'From symmetry to asymmetry' by Klaus Fink (IJPA, 70:481–489), and the discussion of asymmetry through symmetry by Ignacio Matte-Blanco (IJPA, 70: 491–498), emphasize the fundamental nature and importance of these concepts. Their equivalence is suggested by considering the evolution of the universe as a paradigm for the evolution of the psyche—by considering the psyche as a microcosm of the cosmos.

According to the widely accepted cosmological model known as 'the big bang' (Parker, 1986, p. 157), the nascent universe went through a highly symmetric phase (the Planck era, named in honour of the physicist Max Planck who introduced the quantum) (Parker, 1987, p. 234). This brief phase of simple symmetry—exceedingly simple compared to the present state of the universe (Parker, 1986, p. 264) —was followed by a series of symmetry breakings, each of which introduced asymmetry and complexity to the physics of the cosmos.

When cosmos is replaced by psyche, the desired paradigm results. The nascent psyche has the simple symmetry of the unconscious. Through a series of symmetry breakings, the complex asymmetry of the conscious gradually evolves to the adult level.

In the cosmological model, both the symmetry and the symmetry breaking are quantum phenomena, from which it follows that the present asymmetric state of the universe is entirely equivalent to the early symmetric state. Nothing was lost or gained through broken symmetry.

Hence, in quantum psychodynamics (IRPA, 14: 125–126), nothing is lost or gained in transitions between conscious and unconscious thought. Regression to the unconscious level is reversible. Full recovery is possible. Regression in the service of the ego (often emphasized in psychology) is possible and constructive.