International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Volume 35 | Issue 2 Article 8 7-1-2016 Meaningful Mutations: Reflections on the Synchronicity of Evolution Ritske Rensma University College Roosevelt, Utrecht, Netherlands Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.ciis.edu/ijts-transpersonalstudies Part of the Philosophy Commons, Religion Commons, and the Transpersonal Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Rensma, R. (2016). Meaningful mutations: Reflections on the synchronicity of evolution. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 35 (2). http://dx.doi.org/10.24972/ijts.2016.35.2.61 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License. This Special Topic Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals and Newsletters at Digital Commons @ CIIS. It has been accepted for inclusion in International Journal of Transpersonal Studies by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ CIIS. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Meaningful Mutations: Reflections on the Synchronicity of Evolution Ritske Rensma University College Roosevelt Utrecht, Netherlands Although Jung made a connection between his concept of the archetype and mankind’s evolutionary history throughout his career, he remained notoriously tight-lipped about his own specific views on evolutionary theory. In the final years of his life, however, he finally went more into detail about this important topic, putting forward a most thought-provoking idea: the notion that synchronicity, or meaningful coincidences, had a role to play in the way evolution took shape. As I will argue in this paper, Jung’s comments on this topic present clear evidence that he did not think primarily along Darwinian lines, as has recently been claimed; rather, I will argue that he adopted what Wolfgang Pauli referred to as a third position—one that goes beyond both Darwinism and Lamarckism.