A Survey on Symbolism in the Viewpoints of F.Schuon and K.G.Jung in the Field of Art

Increasing attention to Symbol and Symbolism by contemporary intellectuals brings to light the importance of these concepts in different fields of discussion. Inefficacy of Humans’ understanding in describing unusual and extraordinary phenomena and inability of Man in providing for them scientifically, have drawn attentions to Symbolism. Due to the inherent capacity of Symbol, on top of that its interpretability, it has been the focus of sciences such as philosophy and psychology. Carl Gustav Jung has been among those contemporary psychologists who had realized the importance of symbolism in modern psychology and its application in different fields including art. Besides, Frithjof Schuon, theologian and famous traditional Metaphysician has enriched his intellectual system with symbolism and introduced art as the best field in which symbolist concepts might be encrypted. The current research is an attempt to shed light upon thoughts and intellectual foundations of these two thinkers and dig into what, why and how of “symbol” in their thoughts. Then, the role and position of symbol in the field of art is investigated. Finally, the research has analyzed similarities and differences of these two different viewpoints contrastively.