Chapter twenty-two is a continuation on the meanings of symbols as previewed in chapter twenty-one. Carl G. Jung states that a symbol is "a term, a name, or even a picture that may be familiar in daily life, yet that possesses specific connotations in addition to its conventional and obvious meaning." A symbol implies something that is in our unconsciousness or something that we cannot quite grasp. This is the reason why there are symbols in society. Symbols are used to represent "concepts that we cannot define or fully comprehend". Symbols are often present in our dreams. We have dreams for a reason because they symbolize an event or something we are thinking about in our inner thoughts.
The word "symbol" comes from the Greek word "symbolon" which means a token. A symbol is something that represents something else and is used in our thoughts to represent something in the unconscious. A semiotician, Charles Sanders Peirce believed that signs worked in three ways: an icon (resemblance of something that we can see, i.e. a picture), an index (a casual connection of something that we can figure out, i.e. smoke or a fire), and a symbol (a convention of something we must learn, i.e. a flag). In order to learn symbols, we must give meaning to them and teach others the same meaning. Many meanings are based off of historical significance or religion. Jung believes that we realize what different symbols mean unconsciously. Symbols play an important role in society because they are used everywhere and must be recognized and understood by everyone.
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