Archetypes are not fixed entities. As cultures evolve, new archetypes appear. Classical Jungians argue the new ones are only versions of the traditional archetypes. But modern archetypes and complexes appeal to the current psychology. People know immediately what I mean when I mention such modern archetypes as;

 

The Yuppie

The Computer Geek

The Terrorist

The Bully

 

An archetype I find useful is The Spock Complex, based on the character from Star Trek.  Jung would have called this complex an overcompensated ‘Thinking” complex. Whatever the name; this complex is about too much thinking and not enough feeling.

 

For those who don’t know Mr. Spock, he was on Star Trek. He was the advisor to Captain Kirk AKA the Ego who took in information and made the decisions. Spock was from the planet Vulcan. On Vulcan, Vulcans cast out all their emotions to function on logic alone.

 

The Spock complex is mostly seen in men who have learned to suppress their emotions lest they be labeled frail or unmanly.  We all know people who have a large Mr. Spock complex – they are the ‘thinkers’ and don’t have emotional reactions. They seem to be without feelings; they can be‘the cold fish’.

 

Like any complex, The Spock Complex can become ‘bloated’ with energy and take over as the ego.

The positive attributes of this complex makes for good engineers, surgeons, and scientists. On the negative, Spock types don’t make good lovers or parents. They are not ‘people persons.’

 

Keep in mind Vulcans don’t lack feeling; they merely suppress them. Spock was no different. Mr. Spock was really half-Vulcan. His mother was an Earth woman, who had all the feelings of a human being.  He had the additional complexity that he didn’t belong to either tribe. He doesn’t quite fit in with Earth people; he is apart from his home planet of Vulcan. 

 

His constant vigilance towards emotions and his search for identity make him an appealing modern archetype.