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This is another paper to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of Neumann's death. Jacoby develops his ideas on the interactional relationship between primary relationship and cultural canon, concepts frequently used by Neumann.
Jacoby refers to Fordham's work, but he regards Neumann's ideas on child development of central importance for analytical psychology.
The author gives an interesting survey of the historical development of the infant-mother relationship. Quoting various anthropologists, he reminds us that the concept of empathy did not enter European history until the 18th century. In late Roman times, e.g., it was common practice that children were abandoned, sexually misused or murdered. Not until 374 AD did the killing of a child become unlawful. Jacoby then brings interesting examples of the interactional relationship between mothering and the norms of collective social behaviour. In the Dogon tribe of West Africa, over-indulgence in child-rearing causes the adults to be unrealistically optimistic and trusting, very dependent on their environment yet hardly ever suffering from vegetative disturbances. On the other hand the child-rearing of the West African Agnis is based on instilling fear into infants and children. Babies are prevented from looking into their mother's eyes while feeding and mothers do not talk to their babies. The infant's inside is considered to be bad and enemas of ground pepper shoots are given twice a day. This produces adults who defend against fear and rage by a fačade of stiff etiquette, who are terrified of witches and incapable of lasting love relationships.
Jacoby also discusses how child rearing is affected by the way adults earn their livelihood. Hence a change of ecological circumstances can bring about a change in the nature of the primal relationship.
Turning to Western Christian civilisation, Jacoby sees a connection between a bad primal relationship and the constellation of the negative mother archetype leading to belligere