Who was James Hillman?

James Hillman (1926-2011) was a pioneering psychologist, scholar, and cultural critic whose work profoundly shaped the fields of depth psychology, archetypal studies, and ecopsychology. As the founder of archetypal psychology, Hillman sought to revive and re-imagine the core insights of C.G. Jung, liberating them from clinical and conceptual constraints to reveal their transformative implications for the broader culture. Through his prolific writings, lectures, and editorial projects, Hillman outlined a radical re-visioning of psychology as a fundamentally imaginative and poetic enterprise – an engaged aesthetics of soul-making that permeates all aspects of life and society. This essay provides an in-depth exploration of his key ideas, their evolution over time, and their enduring relevance for the crises and opportunities of the postmodern world.

Resources on James HIllman

• Official Website: James Hillman’s Legacy
• Books: The Soul’s Code Amazon
• YouTube Lecture: James Hillman on Myth and Psyche
• Biography: James Hillman’s Life
• Interview: Hillman on Depth Psychology
• Article: Hillman’s Archetypal Psychology
• Institute: Pacifica Graduate Institute
• Podcast: Hillman and Archetypes
• Archive: Hillman Archives
• Quotes: Hillman Quotes

Main Points and Key Ideas

Psychological Alienation from Nature: Hillman highlighted how our psychological separation from the natural world contributes significantly to environmental degradation. He emphasized that the environmental crisis is rooted in our failure to perceive the world as a living, ensouled presence that warrants respect and care.

Critique of Modern Worldview: The modern perspective that views nature as a dead, mechanical object for exploitation is identified as the core issue. This outlook reflects a disconnection between psyche and nature, leading to a disenchantment with the world, stripping it of its inherent beauty and meaning.

Ecopsychological Perspective: Hillman proposed a new psychological approach that views the psyche as ecological, involving living images and relationships extending beyond the human to the more-than-human world. This approach demands a shift from an exploitative attitude towards a more poetic, participatory engagement with nature.

Re-Imagining Our Place in the Cosmos: Hillman called for a fundamental re-imagining of our connection to the earth and its creatures. By fostering a poetic mind, we can perceive the world as a reflection of the soul, filled with living images and patterns that reveal the sacred depths of existence.

Ecological Activism Rooted in Imagination: Hillman advocated for ecological activism rooted in the soul’s imaginative life, opposing the forces of disenchantment and destruction. This form of activism seeks to create a more soulful, sustainable way of living on the planet by re-visioning our relationship with nature.

Psychological Alienation from Nature: Hillman highlighted how our separation from the natural world contributes to environmental degradation, arguing that the environmental crisis stems from a failure to see the world as a living, ensouled presence.

Critique of the Modern Worldview: Hillman critiqued the modern perspective that views nature as a dead, mechanical object for exploitation, leading to a disenchantment and disconnection between psyche and nature.

Ecopsychological Perspective: Hillman proposed a new psychological approach that views the psyche as ecological, involving living images and relationships beyond the human to the more-than-human world.

Re-Imagining Our Place in the Cosmos: Hillman called for a fundamental re-imagining of our connection to the earth and its creatures, fostering a poetic perception of the world as a reflection of the soul.

Archetypal Psychology and the Poetic Basis of Mind: Hillman developed the concept of archetypal psychology, which sees the psyche as a living field of archetypal presences animating existence, requiring an imaginative, aesthetic engagement.

The Return of Soul to Psychology: Hillman argued for the return of soul to psychology, shifting the discipline from scientific study to a poetic, mythic, and philosophical exploration of the archetypal depths of existence.

Anima Mundi and the Ensouled World: Hillman’s idea of the anima mundi, or world-soul, posits the cosmos as a living, ensouled presence that speaks to us through myth, metaphor, and imagination.

Pathologizing and the Imagination: Hillman challenged the medicalization and pathologizing of the imagination, arguing that symptoms and disorders are imaginal realities to be engaged and explored.

The Poetics of Character: Hillman proposed a poetic and mythological understanding of character as the embodied expression of the individual’s archetypal qualities and potentials.

The Acorn Theory and the Call of Destiny: Hillman’s “acorn theory” suggests that each person is born with a unique destiny or daimonic calling that seeks expression, requiring alignment with the soul’s deeper patterns.

Ecopsychology and the Environmental Crisis: Hillman saw the environmental crisis as a crisis of the imagination, rooted in our disconnection from the anima mundi, and called for a more poetic, participatory engagement with the living world.

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2. Archetypal Psychology and the Poetic Basis of Mind

The cornerstone of Hillman’s thought is his concept of archetypal psychology – a polytheistic, image-based approach to the psyche that diverges sharply from the literalizing and personalizing tendencies of ego psychology. For Hillman, the psyche is not a private interior entity or a set of developmental structures, but a living field of archetypal presences that animate all of existence. Archetypes, in his view, are not innate, inherited patterns or potentialities, but the deepest, most universal patterns of psychic functioning – the root metaphors that shape the human experience of reality.

Drawing on the Neoplatonic notion of the anima mundi, or world-soul, Hillman argued that the psyche is not “in” us, but rather that we are in the psyche – immersed in an ensouled cosmos saturated with meaning, beauty, and intelligence. The task of psychology, then, is not to analyze or integrate the personality, but to cultivate a poetic basis of mind – an imaginative engagement with the archetypal images and stories that pattern our perception and experience. By attending to the aesthetic dimension of existence, we discover that reality is constituted by imagination all the way down.

This poetic vision informed all aspects of Hillman’s work, from his critique of developmental models and diagnostic categories to his celebration of myths, dreams, and metaphors as the primary expressions of soul. For Hillman, psychological life is inherently perspectival and pluralistic, animated by multiple archetypal energies and modes of being. Psychopathology arises not from repressed instincts or traumatic memories, but from the literalization and concretization of archetypal metaphors – the collapse of imagination into fixed, oppressive structures. Therapy, in turn, is not a project of conflict-resolution or self-actualization, but a work of “soul-making” – the creative engagement with images that deepens our experience and ensouls the world.

3. Re-Visioning Psychology and the Return of Soul

Hillman’s archetypal perspective called for a radical re-visioning of psychology as a discipline – a shift from the scientific study of mental processes and behaviors to an imaginative engagement with the poetic basis of mind. In his landmark book Re-Visioning Psychology (1975), Hillman critiqued the reductionistic, materialistic, and literalizing tendencies of modern psychology, arguing that they strip the world of meaning and deprive the soul of its essential nourishment. By privileging quantification, objectivity, and operationalization, psychology aligns itself with the very forces that undermine the imaginative life of the psyche.

Against this disenchanting trend, Hillman proposed a psychology rooted in the humanities – a poetic, mythic, and philosophical exploration of the archetypal depths of existence. Drawing on the Romantic tradition of Keats, Blake, and Shelley, he envisioned psychology as a “making” of soul through the cultivation of imagination, beauty, and depth. The task of the psychologist, in this view, is not to explain or analyze the psyche, but to engage it aesthetically – to participate in the unfolding of its poetic potentials through the careful attention to images.

Central to this re-visioning was Hillman’s insistence on the return of soul to psychology – the recovery of a sense of the psyche as an autonomous, ensouled presence that transcends the ego and its rational categories. For Hillman, soul is not a thing or an entity, but a perspective – a way of seeing the world in terms of its imaginative possibilities, its metaphorical resonances, and its mythic dimensions. When we approach life from the standpoint of soul, we discover that everything is saturated with psychic significance – that the world is alive with meaning, beauty, and mystery.

The return of soul, for Hillman, requires a fundamental re-orientation of psychological practice – a shift from the clinical treatment of individuals to the cultivation of a poetic basis of mind in culture. Therapy, in this view, is not a corrective or curative procedure, but an invitation to soul-making – the creative engagement with the images and stories that shape our lives. The goal is not to resolve conflicts or achieve wholeness, but to deepen our experience of the archetypal mysteries that animate existence.

4. Anima Mundi and the Ensouled World

A central theme of Hillman’s work is the idea of the anima mundi, or world-soul – the notion that the cosmos is a living, ensouled presence that speaks to us through the language of myth, metaphor, and imagination. Drawing on the Platonic and Neoplatonic tradition, Hillman argued that the world is not a dead, mechanical object, but a psychic reality – a field of living images and intelligible patterns that shape our experience of reality.

For Hillman, the anima mundi is the imaginative substrate of existence – the archetypal background against which all our perceptions and experiences take place. It is the “poetic basis of mind” that underlies and informs all our ways of making meaning, from the most ordinary acts of perception to the highest reaches of artistic and philosophical creation. When we engage the world from the standpoint of soul, we discover that everything is alive with psychological significance – that the world is a mirror of the psyche, and the psyche a reflection of the world.

This vision of the ensouled world had profound implications for Hillman’s understanding of psychopathology and its treatment. In his view, psychological suffering arises not from personal conflicts or traumas, but from the disconnection from the anima mundi – the loss of a sense of the world as a living, meaningful presence. When we lose touch with the imaginal depths of existence, we become trapped in literalized, oppressive structures that strip the world of soul.

The task of therapy, then, is not to resolve inner conflicts or repair developmental deficits, but to restore our connection to the ensouled world – to engage the images and stories that animate our experience and reveal the archetypal dimensions of our struggles. By attending to the aesthetic qualities of our symptoms and dreams, we discover that they are not merely personal problems to be solved, but imaginal realities to be explored – portals to the mythic depths of the psyche.

5. Pathologizing and the Imagination

A key aspect of Hillman’s critique of contemporary psychology was his challenge to the medicalization and pathologizing of the imagination. In his view, the diagnostic categories and clinical protocols of mainstream psychology reflect a fundamentally misguided approach to the psyche – one that seeks to control, normalize, and rationalize the wild, unruly, and polytheistic nature of the soul.

For Hillman, the imagination is not a mere faculty of the mind, but the very essence of the psyche – the creative, transformative power that shapes our experience of reality. When we pathologize the imagination, we cut ourselves off from the deepest source of meaning and vitality in our lives. We reduce the rich, multivalent language of the soul to a set of clinical symptoms and disorders, and we deprive ourselves of the very resources we need to heal and transform.

Against this pathologizing tendency, Hillman argued for a radically different approach to psychological suffering – one that honors the imagination as the royal road to the soul. In his view, symptoms and disorders are not merely problems to be solved or eliminated, but imaginal realities to be engaged and explored. They are the ways in which the soul speaks to us, revealing the archetypal depths of our experience and inviting us to a more poetic way of being.

This perspective informed Hillman’s approach to psychotherapy, which he saw as a fundamentally imaginative and aesthetic enterprise. The task of the therapist, in his view, is not to diagnose or treat the patient, but to engage the images and stories that animate the patient’s experience – to participate in the unfolding of the soul’s poetic potentials. By attending to the metaphorical and mythic dimensions of the patient’s struggles, the therapist helps to deepen and ensoul the therapeutic process, opening up new possibilities for meaning and transformation.

6. The Poetics of Character

Another central theme of Hillman’s work was his exploration of character as the fundamental basis of personality. In contrast to the developmental and trait-based approaches that dominate contemporary psychology, Hillman argued for a poetic and mythological understanding of character – one that sees the individual as a unique configuration of archetypal qualities and styles.

For Hillman, character is not a fixed, innate structure, but a living, embodied presence – a way of being in the world that reflects the individual’s deepest values, passions, and potentials. Character is the soul’s way of expressing itself in the world, shaping the individual’s perceptions, relationships, and creative pursuits. It is the imaginative core of the personality, the source of our deepest sense of meaning and purpose.

Hillman’s approach to character was deeply influenced by his study of Greek and Roman mythology, particularly the notion of the daimon – the guiding spirit or genius that shapes an individual’s destiny. In his view, each person is born with a unique daimon, a pattern of archetypal qualities and potentials that seeks expression and realization in the world. The task of individuation, then, is not to develop a strong, integrated ego, but to align oneself with the daimonic calling of the soul – to embody one’s character in a way that is authentic, creative, and transformative.

This poetic vision of character had profound implications for Hillman’s understanding of psychopathology and its treatment. In his view, psychological suffering often arises from the suppression or distortion of character – the failure to live in accordance with one’s deepest values and potentials. When we betray our character, we cut ourselves off from the soul’s imaginative depths, and we become trapped in a false, inauthentic way of being.

The task of therapy, then, is not to cure or normalize the individual, but to help them discover and embody their unique character – to align themselves with the daimonic calling of the soul. By exploring the mythic and archetypal dimensions of the individual’s experience, the therapist helps to deepen and ensoul the therapeutic process, opening up new possibilities for meaning and transformation.

7. The Acorn Theory and the Call of Destiny

One of Hillman’s most influential contributions to depth psychology was his acorn theory – the notion that each individual is born with a unique pattern of potentials and callings that seek expression and realization in the world. Drawing on the Platonic idea of the daimon, Hillman argued that each person comes into the world with a specific destiny, a set of archetypal qualities and styles that shape their character and guide their life’s work.

For Hillman, the acorn is not a literal, physical structure, but an imaginal reality – a living presence that speaks to us through the language of myth, metaphor, and imagination. It is the soul’s way of expressing itself in the world, revealing the unique pattern of meanings and values that animate an individual’s life. The task of individuation, then, is not to create or invent oneself, but to discover and embody the acorn – to align oneself with the daimonic calling of the soul.

This vision of destiny had profound implications for Hillman’s understanding of personal growth and development. In contrast to the humanistic and self-actualization approaches that emphasize the cultivation of a strong, integrated ego, Hillman argued for a fundamentally poetic and mythic understanding of the self – one that sees the individual as a configuration of archetypal qualities and styles that seek expression in the world.

From this perspective, the goal of therapy is not to resolve conflicts or achieve wholeness, but to help the individual discover and embody their unique character – to align themselves with the acorn’s calling and pursue their soul’s deepest passions and potentials. By exploring the mythic and archetypal dimensions of the individual’s experience, the therapist helps to deepen and ensoul the therapeutic process, opening up new possibilities for meaning and transformation.

8. Ecopsychology and the Environmental Crisis

In the later years of his life, Hillman became increasingly concerned with the ecological and environmental dimensions of the soul – the ways in which our psychological alienation from the natural world contributes to the destruction of the planet. Drawing on his vision of the anima mundi, Hillman argued that the environmental crisis is fundamentally a crisis of the imagination – a failure to see the world as a living, ensouled presence that demands our respect and care.

For Hillman, the root of the problem lies in the modern worldview that sees nature as a dead, mechanical object – a resource to be exploited and controlled for human benefit. This worldview reflects a fundamental split between psyche and nature, a disconnection from the imaginative depths of the soul that renders the world soulless and meaningless. When we lose touch with the anima mundi, we become trapped in a literalized, disenchanted universe that strips the world of its beauty, mystery, and inherent value.

Against this disenchanting trend, Hillman proposed a new approach to psychology that sees the psyche as fundamentally ecological – a field of living images and relationships that extends beyond the human to encompass the more-than-human world. This ecopsychological perspective calls for a radical re-visioning of our relationship to nature – a shift from the instrumental, exploitative attitude of modernity to a more poetic, participatory engagement with the living world.

For Hillman, this shift requires a fundamental re-imagining of our place in the cosmos – a recognition of our deep, archetypal connection to the earth and all its creatures. By cultivating a poetic basis of mind, we can begin to see the world as a mirror of the soul – a field of living images and intelligible patterns that speak to us of the sacred depths of existence. This imaginative engagement with nature can help to heal the split between psyche and world, restoring our sense of belonging to the larger community of being.

In his later writings, Hillman explored the implications of this ecopsychological vision for a wide range of issues, from the politics of environmentalism to the practice of agriculture. He argued for a new kind of ecological activism that is rooted in the imaginative life of the soul – a poetic resistance to the forces of disenchantment and destruction that threaten the living world. By re-visioning our relationship to nature, we can begin to create a more soulful, sustainable way of being on the planet.

Retrospective and Legacy

Critique and Vision for Mainstream Psychology

Perhaps the most radical and far-reaching aspect of Hillman’s work was his sustained critique of mainstream psychology – a critique that challenged the very foundations of the discipline and proposed a fundamentally different approach to understanding and engaging the psyche. For Hillman, the dominant paradigms of modern psychology – from psychoanalysis and behaviorism to cognitive-behavioral therapy and neuroscience – were fundamentally misguided, reflecting a literalistic, reductionistic, and mechanistic view of the mind that stripped the world of soul and meaning.

At the heart of Hillman’s critique was his rejection of the medical model of psychology – the idea that psychological suffering is a form of illness or disorder that can be diagnosed, treated, and cured through the application of scientific methods and techniques. In his view, this medicalization of the psyche reflected a deeper cultural pathology – a fear of the imagination and a desire to control and normalize the wild, unruly, and polytheistic nature of the soul.

Against this pathologizing tendency, Hillman argued for a radically different approach to psychology – one that sees the psyche as a living, ensouled presence that speaks to us through the language of myth, metaphor, and imagination. In his view, the task of psychology is not to explain or analyze the mind, but to engage it poetically – to participate in the unfolding of its aesthetic dimensions and reveal the depths of its meanings and mysteries.

For Hillman, this re-visioning of psychology requires a fundamental shift in the way we understand and approach psychological suffering. Rather than seeing symptoms and disorders as problems to be solved or eliminated, he argued, we need to engage them as imaginal realities – as expressions of the soul’s deepest longings and potentials. By attending to the poetic and mythic dimensions of our experience, we can begin to discover the hidden meanings and transformative possibilities that lie within even our most painful and disturbing states.

This vision of a poetic psychology had far-reaching implications for the practice of psychotherapy. For Hillman, the goal of therapy is not to cure or normalize the individual, but to help them discover and embody their unique character – to align themselves with the daimonic calling of the soul. By exploring the archetypal dimensions of the client’s experience, the therapist can help to deepen and ensoul the therapeutic process, opening up new possibilities for meaning and transformation.

At the same time, Hillman recognized that this re-visioning of psychology could not be limited to the consulting room. In his view, the crisis of the modern psyche was fundamentally a crisis of culture – a reflection of the ways in which our society had lost touch with the poetic basis of mind and the living depths of the world. To address this crisis, he argued, we need to cultivate a new kind of cultural psychology – one that engages the collective imagination and reveals the mythic dimensions of our shared experience.

For Hillman, this meant challenging the dominant paradigms of consumerism, individualism, and technological rationality – the forces that he saw as most corrosive to the life of the soul. It meant working to create a more soulful and imaginative culture – one that honored the poetic dimensions of existence and provided opportunities for individuals to discover and embody their deepest callings. And it meant engaging in a kind of cultural therapy – a sustained, collective effort to heal the splits and alienations that plagued the modern psyche and to restore our connection to the anima mundi.

In his later work, Hillman began to outline a vision for what this cultural therapy might look like. He called for a new kind of politics – an “erotic” politics rooted in the life of the imagination and the love of the world. He envisioned a more soulful approach to education – one that nurtured the poetic basis of mind and helped individuals discover their unique destinies. And he imagined a more ecological way of life – one that recognized the inherent value and ensoulment of the natural world and worked to heal the split between psyche and nature.

Ultimately, for Hillman, the re-visioning of psychology was inseparable from the re-visioning of culture – the collective effort to create a more soulful, imaginative, and sustainable way of being in the world. By engaging the poetic dimensions of mind and world, he believed, we could begin to heal the wounds of modernity and restore our connection to the living depths of the soul. This vision remains as urgent and relevant today as it was in Hillman’s lifetime – a challenge and an invitation to reimagine the foundations of our life together and to create a more beautiful, ensouled world.

As we reflect on the legacy and continued relevance of James Hillman’s work, it is clear that his vision for a re-imagined psychology and culture remains as vital and necessary as ever. In a world that is increasingly shaped by the forces of globalization, technological disruption, and ecological crisis, Hillman’s call for a more soulful, imaginative, and engaged approach to the psyche and its place in the world takes on a new urgency and poignancy.

One of the key challenges facing contemporary psychology is the need to develop a more integrative and holistic understanding of the mind and its relationship to the broader contexts of culture, society, and the environment. While the dominant paradigms of cognitive, behavioral, and neuroscientific psychology have made important contributions to our knowledge of mental processes and brain function, they have often done so at the expense of a more comprehensive and nuanced view of the psyche as a living, embodied, and socially embedded phenomenon.

Hillman’s work offers a powerful corrective to these reductionistic tendencies, reminding us of the irreducible complexity and depth of the soul and its manifestations in the world. By attending to the poetic, mythic, and imaginal dimensions of experience, Hillman invites us to expand our understanding of what it means to be a person and to engage more fully with the mysteries and potentials of the psyche.

At the same time, Hillman’s critique of the medicalization and pathologizing of psychological suffering remains as relevant as ever in an age of increasing diagnosis, prescription, and standardization of mental health treatment. While the development of evidence-based therapies and pharmacological interventions has undoubtedly helped many people to alleviate their distress and improve their functioning, it has also contributed to a narrowing of our view of what constitutes psychological health and well-being.

Hillman’s emphasis on the transformative and meaningful dimensions of even our most painful and disturbing experiences challenges us to re-think our approach to psychotherapy and to cultivate a more poetic and imaginal sensibility in our work with clients. By engaging the soul on its own terms and attending to the deeper patterns and possibilities that animate our struggles, we can help to create a more humane and liberating vision of psychological healing and growth.

Perhaps most importantly, Hillman’s vision for a cultural psychology that engages the collective imagination and seeks to transform the broader contexts of our lives remains as urgent and necessary as ever in a time of global crisis and transition. As we confront the challenges of climate change, social inequality, political polarization, and the erosion of traditional forms of meaning and belonging, we need a psychology that can help us to re-imagine our place in the world and to cultivate new forms of solidarity, creativity, and resilience.

This means working to create a more soulful and imaginative culture that honors the depths and mysteries of the psyche and provides opportunities for individuals and communities to discover and embody their deepest callings. It means engaging in a kind of cultural therapy that seeks to heal the splits and alienations that plague our world and to restore our connection to the living depths of the anima mundi. And it means developing a more integrative and transformative approach to psychological research and practice that can help us to navigate the complexities and challenges of our time with greater wisdom, compassion, and imagination.

As we move forward into an uncertain and rapidly changing future, the work of James Hillman remains a vital resource and inspiration for all those who seek to engage the soul and to create a more beautiful, ensouled world. By embracing his call for a poetic basis of mind and a re-visioned psychology, we can begin to tap into the transformative power of the imagination and to cultivate a more soulful and sustainable way of being in the world. May his legacy continue to inspire and guide us as we navigate the great adventure of the 21st century and beyond.

Ecopsychology and the Environmental Crisis

In the later years of his life, Hillman became increasingly concerned with the ecological and environmental dimensions of the soul – the ways in which our psychological alienation from the natural world contributes to the destruction of the planet. Drawing on his vision of the anima mundi, Hillman argued that the environmental crisis is fundamentally a crisis of the imagination – a failure to see the world as a living, ensouled presence that demands our respect and care.

For Hillman, the root of the problem lies in the modern worldview that sees nature as a dead, mechanical object – a resource to be exploited and controlled for human benefit. This worldview reflects a fundamental split between psyche and nature, a disconnection from the imaginative depths of the soul that renders the world soulless and meaningless. When we lose touch with the anima mundi, we become trapped in a literalized, disenchanted universe that strips the world of its beauty, mystery, and inherent value.

Against this disenchanting trend, Hillman proposed a new approach to psychology that sees the psyche as fundamentally ecological – a field of living images and relationships that extends beyond the human to encompass the more-than-human world. This ecopsychological perspective calls for a radical re-visioning of our relationship to nature – a shift from the instrumental, exploitative attitude of modernity to a more poetic, participatory engagement with the living world.

For Hillman, this shift requires a fundamental re-imagining of our place in the cosmos – a recognition of our deep, archetypal connection to the earth and all its creatures. By cultivating a poetic basis of mind, we can begin to see the world as a mirror of the soul – a field of living images and intelligible patterns that speak to us of the sacred depths of existence. This imaginative engagement with nature can help to heal the split between psyche and world, restoring our sense of belonging to the larger community of being.

In his later writings, Hillman explored the implications of this ecopsychological vision for a wide range of issues, from the politics of environmentalism to the practice of agriculture. He argued for a new kind of ecological activism that is rooted in the imaginative life of the soul – a poetic resistance to the forces of disenchantment and destruction that threaten the living world. By re-visioning our relationship to nature, we can begin to create a more soulful, sustainable way of being on the planet.

James Hillman’s Ideas and Legacy

James Hillman’s work represents a profoundly original and transformative contribution to the field of depth psychology – a radical re-visioning of the foundations of mind and culture that continues to inspire and challenge us today. Through his poetic, mythic, and imaginative approach to the psyche, Hillman opened up new possibilities for understanding and engaging the soul – possibilities that extend far beyond the confines of clinical practice to encompass the wider domains of art, literature, politics, and ecology.

Looking back on Hillman’s intellectual journey, we can see how his ideas evolved and deepened over time, reflecting his own growth and development as a thinker and a person. In his early work, Hillman was primarily concerned with the revival and re-imagination of Jung’s archetypal psychology – a project that sought to liberate depth psychology from its clinical and theoretical constraints and restore its connection to the poetic basis of mind. Through his writings on myth, metaphor, and imagination, Hillman laid the groundwork for a new kind of psychology that sees the psyche as a living, ensouled presence that permeates all aspects of existence.

As his thought matured, Hillman began to explore the wider cultural and political implications of his ideas, challenging the dominant paradigms of modernity and proposing a more soulful, imaginative approach to the crises of our time. In books like The Soul’s Code (1996) and The Force of Character (1999), he developed his signature concepts of character and destiny, arguing for a poetic and mythic understanding of the self that sees the individual as a unique configuration of archetypal qualities and callings. And in his later writings on ecopsychology and the environmental crisis, Hillman extended his vision of the ensouled world to encompass the more-than-human realm, calling for a radical re-imagining of our relationship to nature and the cosmos.

Throughout his career, Hillman remained committed to the transformative power of the imagination – the idea that the world is constituted by poetic realities that shape our experience and reveal the depths of the soul. This commitment informed all aspects of his work, from his critique of literalism and rationalism to his celebration of beauty, mystery, and depth. By engaging the world from the standpoint of soul, Hillman believed, we can begin to heal the splits and alienations that plague the modern psyche, restoring our connection to the anima mundi and the living depths of existence.

Of course, not all of Hillman’s ideas have stood the test of time, and some of his claims remain controversial or contested within the field of depth psychology. His radical rejection of developmental models and diagnostic categories, for example, has been criticized by some as throwing the baby out with the bathwater – ignoring the valuable insights and tools that these approaches can offer for understanding and treating psychological suffering. Similarly, his emphasis on the poetic and mythic dimensions of experience has been seen by some as neglecting the embodied, material aspects of human life – the ways in which our psychology is shaped by our biology, our social contexts, and our physical environments.

Moreover, Hillman’s vision of character and destiny has been challenged by those who see it as overly deterministic or fatalistic – a view that risks undermining individual agency and responsibility. And his ecopsychological ideas, while inspiring and visionary, have been criticized by some as romanticizing nature and ignoring the complex social and political dimensions of the environmental crisis.

Despite these criticisms, however, Hillman’s work remains a vital and enduring presence in the field of depth psychology – a source of insight, inspiration, and provocation that continues to shape the way we think about the soul and its place in the world. His ideas have had a profound influence on a wide range of thinkers and practitioners, from poets and artists to activists and ecologists, and his legacy continues to grow and evolve as new generations discover the power and beauty of his vision.