| My PDE parallels my own process. It reviews the evolution of money from the perspectives of Freudian, Social-Learning and Jungian psychology.;The research uses money as a metaphor to look at and to measure risk, especially risk in relationship.;Money evolved from barter and gifts (exchange). Concepts of value and trust evolved as well. Money is seen as energy involving sacrifice and ritual. Exchange is contrasted with the analytic encounter.;Barter gave way to money, initially, as ceremonial objects. In some parts of the world, objects such as stone discs, animals' teeth, shells, and so forth, are still used as money. Metal was used in ingot form; later, as coins. The etymology of money is reviewed as well in examples drawn from mythology and dreams. Paper replaced coins. Paper has been superceded by exchanges of pure number.;With number comes larger amounts of economic and psychic inflation fueled by projection and transference, as we empower money with our own unconscious energy. With money as number comes more power, control and a gradual reduction in risk taking. Statistical thinking and false confidence in prediction accompanies the growth and importance of money.;In the second section of the PDE, I interviewed seven co-researchers (including myself), to determine their individual feelings of risk. Money is an apt metaphor for evaluating risk. It can serve as a metaphor for so many other things in our lives as well.;Risk, or the absence of certainty, is the opposite of power and control, the latter so often associated with money. Risk and love are seen as interchangeable in relationship.;The PDE closes with the suggestion that, by looking at how we handle our money, we can learn something about our attitudes towards risk. That suggests something about our effectiveness in relating to others.;In conclusion, by tracing the evolution of money and interpreting this evolution psychologically, we can see what money has meant to people at different times including today. Using money as a metaphor, we can look at risk, which is implicit in the exchange usage of money. |
