The whole world knows Carl Gustav Jung as a brilliant psychiatrist and psychotherapist. His works and words have had a significant impact on Western civilization. Called the rebellious disciple of Sigmund Freud, he criticized Freud's psychoanalysis and created his concept of analytical psychology. He went down in history mainly as an author of two concepts. His most famous achievements are archetypes and the collective unconscious.
We also owe him the creation of introvert and extrovert terms. His theories and personality types were the foundation for personality and behavior tests used to this day. The no. one example is the MBTI Personality Test (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator).
Jung's theories have been used in sciences other than psychology. The best example of such an application is the brand or product archetype used in advertising, marketing, and sales. It represents a set of specific characteristics and speaks about the character and main brand values. It also includes patterns of human behavior that reflect lifestyles. Recently this approach has gained popularity in branding and brand management.
Today, we will explain Jung's Archetypes. We will also tell you about the personality archetypes he developed. We will also explain the difference between personality archetypes and other archetypes. We will also describe the four main periods of human life that he defined. Finally, we will present five keys to human happiness, which he fervently believed.
What are Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious: Definition and Origin of Archetypes
In Greek, "archetype" means "original" and denotes a universal pattern shared by all.
The archetypes Jung created are fundamental, universal patterns of behavior, thoughts, and feelings that play a key role in the human psyche and are common to all people.
They are elements of the collective unconscious, that is, the common heritage of all humanity recorded in some form in our minds. These are deeply ingrained ideas and mechanisms that influence our behavior, decisions, and the way we perceive ourselves and the world.
Archetypes therefore represent unchanging forms that all people inherit, regardless of their origin, place of residence, and culture. This is the sphere of primary patterns, which manifest themselves in the form of symbols and metaphors and cannot be fully expressed by words. Man is a being participating in the collective unconscious, and each person's psyche contains innate, common records for all people, which are the heritage of the experiences of all generations.
To create his theory of archetypes, Carl Gustav Jung studied and analyzed the religions and myths of many cultures. He carefully studied Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, and Gnosticism. One of his main assumptions was the belief that to understand the human mind, one must also analyze the products of the mind, such as culture and art. And because he liked to use metaphors and images with primary meaning, his works also contain many references to symbols and metaphors of ancient culture. In this way, he wanted to classify and describe man's basic motivations and driving forces.
In addition to studying religion, customs, and art from various cultural circles, he studied dreams and fantasies. And he noticed that certain characters and images were repeated in all these spheres. The conflict with his mentor, Sigmund Freud, was probably one of the causes of his problems. His experiences of difficult-to-control visions and dreams caused him to focus on transcendent elements in his works. That is, on something greater than an individual, and he considered this a significant influence on human behavior and the development of an individual's personality.
He wrote about it like this:
The myths and fairy tales of world literature have clearly defined themes that appear in every story. The same elements can be seen in the imagination of modern man, in his nightmares, delusions and illusions. Archetypal images refer to these common images and relationships.
In this way, he came to the conclusion that people use a certain common symbolism with a primary meaning. It is universal and passed down from generation to generation through the collective unconscious.
Jung described the unconscious as the realm of the psyche existing beyond man's consciousness (ego). This realm can be either individual or collective. The individual unconscious contains each person's idea of self, while the collective unconscious contains the universal patterns of the entire human species.
The primary patterns he created are not "either-or" categories. Each person can have elements of different archetypes that influence their personality and behavior. What's more, they are not static and are not isolated from each other. This means that they can interpenetrate each other and do it dynamically. He wrote about this using the concept of contamination, or constant, mutual interpenetration.
In addition, each prototype's structure is bipolar and consists of a constructive and destructive part, like a medal has two sides. For example, the Orphan may pretend to be Innocent, but in reality, he represents destruction and cynicism.
The key to understanding our personality is to become aware of our dominant patterns, established ways of reacting and perceiving the world, and the consequences that result from them. The next step is maximizing the potential of the constructive part. Understanding our archetypes plays a key role in shaping our identity and helps us better understand others.
Patterns in Our Psyche: How Many of Carl Jung's Key Archetypes Are There?
Some sources list 12 main archetypes. Others list 4 archetypes. How many are there? Let's try to organize the knowledge on this subject.
Jung believed that the collective unconscious contains many different archetypes, many more than twelve. He distinguished the archetypes of birth, death, rebirth, power, unity, hero, child, God, demon, animal, water, fire, or even tree (symbol of the unconscious). For example, the Mother Archetype is associated with care, protection, warmth, and safety, but it also expresses what is inherent: the power of survival and fertility.
Among them, the Self deserves special mention.
The self is the basic archetype of the collective unconscious. It represents the wholeness or maximum possible expression of the human being. It can be seen as the highest level of human evolution or in the author's language "the last step in the process of human individualization". Therefore, it is a certain transpersonal power, fullness, towards which (consciously or unconsciously) every human being strives.
The Self is in turn made up of four patterns These are usually referred to as the four main archetypes of the Self. They are the core of our psyche and influence who we are.
So let's describe the four main archetypes of the Self and see what characterizes them.
Persona
Persona is something outside, a bridge between who a person is and how they want to be seen by others. Persona here coincides with the Latin word of the same sound, which in its original meaning means a mask. Therefore, persona as an archetype is associated with social interactions. It is a mask we put on. Depending on the event we do it consciously or unconsciously. It manifests itself in different ways depending on specific circumstances. And it is guided by the principle of adaptation.
Shade
The personal shadow is the opposite of the Persona. It is something inside us. Jung defined it in the following words: "The shadow is the image that moves behind us when we move towards the light". It is the hidden and unconscious part of a person. It is the "second face", hidden from others and the person. It is an area of the personality to which even the individual has no access. As a result, the person does not recognize the characteristics in this unconscious area as his own and negates them. However, if these characteristics become important, they become the source of incomprehensible behavior. The shadow also reflects the impulsive side of a person and the instincts that want to be liberated. The key principle governing the shadow is chaos.
Anima
Anima is the archetype of femininity in Jung's psychology and the feminine aspect of man. It means the collective image of femininity in his unconscious. This archetype defines the nature of the relationship between males and females. The principle that governs this archetype is eros. Interestingly, the word "anima " in Latin means soul.
Animus
Animus is the male counterpart of Anima or the collective archetype of masculinity. It thus corresponds to the image of masculinity in the female unconscious. Animus refers to the concept of "spirit". Moreover, it is also connected to the world of ideas and spirituality.
Anima and Animus are two opposing poles of the human psyche. Identification with the destructive side (remember, everyone has one!) causes a sense of disappointment with the opposite sex.
Analytical Psychology: Jung's 12 Personality Archetypes and 12 Brand Archetypes
Continuing the answer to the question "How many Jung archetypes are there? " Let's now move on to a separate category that he created. These are the twelve archetypes of the human personality.
Personality archetypes are flexible models like all of his patterns. They are not subject to the either-or principle. Each person may carry elements of different archetypes, but one or more dominant ones may also characterize each person.
Each of them aims to achieve a chosen superior goal in life. The author himself called it the main orientation that a person wants to realize and distinguished the following four main orientations:
Spiritual Journey.
Ego – Leaving your mark on the world.
Community – Connect with others.
Order – Providing structure to the world.
Within each of these four main orientations, we find three archetypes, each of which primarily fulfills one selected main need.
For the main orientation "Spiritual Journey" these are:
safety - the main need of the Innocent,
understanding is the Sage Archetype,
freedom is the Explorer.
The main orientation of the "Ego" is:
liberation for the Outlaw,
power for Magician,
mastery for the Hero Archetype.
The main orientation "Community" includes:
intimacy for Lover,
pleasure for Jester or Fool,
affiliation for Everyman.
The main "Order" orientation includes:
service for Caregiver,
control for the Ruler Archetype,
innovation for the Artist.
Also known as Jung's personality types, they are the personification of a person's main needs. The following diagram shows them graphically:
This psychoanalytic approach has found its application in the commercial industry. The same definitions are used in advertising, marketing, communication, and various sales newsletters. This is a modern method of creating and managing a brand. We will write a bit more about it later in this article.
Now, let's look at all the profiles and their detailed descriptions.
1. The Innocent
Motto: Free to be you and me.
Basic desire: to get to paradise.
Goal: to be happy.
Greatest fear: Being punished for doing something bad or wrong.
Strategy: do everything right.
Weakness: boredom for all their naive innocence.
Talent: faith and optimism.
The Innocent is also known as: utopian, traditionalist, naive, mystic, saint, romantic, dreamer, or orphan.
2. The Sage
Motto: The truth will set you free.
Basic desire: to find the truth.
Goal: Use your intelligence and analysis to understand the world.
Greatest fear: being deceived, misled — or ignorant.
Strategy: seeking information and knowledge; self-reflection and understanding thought processes.
Weakness: Can study details endlessly and never act.
Talent: wisdom, intelligence, striving for perfection.
A Sage is also known as: a master, expert, scholar, detective, advisor, thinker, philosopher, scientist, researcher, thinker, planner, professional, mentor, teacher, or contemplative.
3. The Explorer
Motto: Don't limit me.
Basic desire: the freedom to discover yourself by exploring the world.
Goal: to experience a better, more authentic, more fulfilling life.
Greatest fear: imprisonment, conformism, and inner emptiness.
Strategy: travel, seek out and experience new things, escape from boredom.
Weakness: aimlessly wandering or being a misfit.
Talent: autonomy, ambition, loyalty to one's soul.
An Explorer is also known as: a seeker, iconoclast, wanderer, individualist, or pilgrim.
4. The Rebel
Motto: Rules are meant to be broken.
Basic Desire: Revenge or Revolution.
Goal: to break down what doesn't work.
Greatest fear: being powerless or ineffective.
Strategy: disrupt, destroy, or shock.
Weakness: turning to the dark side, crime.
Talent: extravagance, radical freedom.
A Rebel is also known as: an outlaw, a revolutionary, a wild man, an outcast, or an iconoclast.
5. The Magician
Motto: I make things happen.
Basic Desire: to understand the basic laws of the universe.
Goal: to make dreams come true.
Greatest fear: unintended negative consequences.
Strategy: develop a vision and live it.
Weakness: the tendency to manipulate.
Talent: finding win-win solutions.
A Magician is also known as: a visionary, catalyst, inventor, charismatic leader, healer, or shaman.
6. The Hero
Motto: Where there is a will, there is a way.
Basic desire: to prove one's worth through courageous actions.
The goal: mastery in a way that improves the world.
Greatest fear: weakness, defenselessness, being a "shadow person".
Strategy: be as strong and competent as possible.
Weakness: arrogance, always needs another battle to fight.
Talent: competence and courage.
A Hero is also known as: a warrior, crusader, rescuer, superhero, soldier, dragon slayer, winner, and team player.
7. The Lover
Motto: You are the only one.
Basic desire: intimacy and experience.
Goal: to be in relationships with people, work, and environments they love.
Greatest fear: being alone, an outsider, unwanted, unloved.
Strategy: become increasingly attractive physically and emotionally.
Weakness: an outward-looking desire to please others at the risk of losing one's identity.
Talent: passion, gratitude, appreciation, and commitment.
A Lover is also known as: a partner, friend, intimate, enthusiast, sensualist, spouse, or team player.
8. The Jester
Motto: You only live once.
Basic desire: to live the moment with complete joy.
Goal: to have fun and brighten the world.
Greatest fear: being bored or boring others.
Strategy: play, joke, be funny.
Weakness: frivolity, wasting time.
Talent: Joy.
A Jester is also known as: a fool, a trickster, a practical joker, or a comedian.
9. The Everyman
Motto: All men and women are equal.
Basic desire: to connect with others.
Goal: to belong.
Biggest fear: being left out or standing out from the crowd.
Strategy: developing common, solid virtues, keeping your feet on the ground, and touching each other.
Weakness: losing yourself trying to blend in or in superficial relationships.
Talent: realism, empathy, lack of pretense.
The Everyman is also known as: the "equal peasant", the normal guy/girl, the person next door, the realist, the upright worker, the solid citizen, the good neighbor, and the silent majority.
10. The Caregiver
Motto: Love your neighbor as yourself.
Basic desire: to protect and care for others.
Goal: to help others.
Greatest fear: selfishness and ingratitude.
Strategy: doing things for others.
Weakness: martyrdom and exploitation.
Talent: compassion, generosity.
A Caregiver is also known as: a saint, altruist, parent, helper, or supporter.
11. The Ruler
Motto: Power is everything, it is the only thing.
Basic desire: control.
Goal: to create a thriving, successful family or community.
Strategy: train your strength.
Greatest fear: chaos, overthrow.
Weakness: being authoritarian, inability to delegate.
Talent: responsibility, leadership.
A Ruler is also known as: a boss, leader, aristocrat, king, queen, politician, role model, manager, or administrator.
12. The Artist
Motto: If you can imagine it, you can do it.
Fundamental desire: to create things of lasting value.
Goal: to realize the vision.
Greatest fear: mediocre vision or execution.
Strategy: develop artistic control and skill.
Task: create a culture, and express your vision.
Weakness: perfectionism, bad solutions.
Talent: creativity and imagination.
An Artist is also known as: a creator, a creator, an inventor, an innovator, a musician, a writer, or a dreamer.
Personal Development: The Four Main Stages of Human Life by Carl Gustav Jung
The completely new psychology created by the Swiss psychiatrist understands man in a broad context: cultural, social, anthropological, and philosophical. It also considers the existence of a force greater than an individual man and is spiritual. Although such a concept did not yet exist in his time, it can be safely said that he was the first psychologist to approach man in an interdisciplinary and multidimensional way.
The amount of work he did is unimaginable. This applies to the experience and sources he read and analyzed, the synthesis he drew from this information, and the creativity and harmony in the concepts he formulated. One could say that his approach had both enormous depth and enormous breadth.
In his extremely reflective, almost poetic nature, he also wondered about human life from the perspective of the development of human consciousness and the impact that experiences and the passage of time have on a person. He was extremely curious about what happens in the human psyche. He sought an understanding of the world and all of humanity.
He wrote about it in this engaging way:
"We enter the afternoon of life completely unprepared. Worse still, we enter it with the false assumption that our truths and ideals will serve us as they have served us up to now. But we cannot live the afternoon of life according to the program of the morning of life, for what was great in the morning will be small in the evening, and what was true in the morning will be a lie in the evening."
As a result of these reflections, he defined four main stages of human life. And described them using symbols and beautiful metaphors.
Now let's get to know these 4 stages of human life.
1. Athlete Stage.
At this stage we are mostly preoccupied with our appearance, and how our body looks. At this stage, we can stand for hours looking and admiring our reflection in the mirror. Our body and our appearance are the most important to us, nothing more.
2. Warrior Stage.
In this period, our main goal is to go out and conquer the world, to give our all, to be the best and to get the best, to do what warriors do, and to behave like warriors behave. This is the stage where we constantly think about how to get more than everyone else. The phase of comparing and defeating others so that we can feel better because we have achieved more by being brave, we are warriors.
3. Statement or Declaration Submission Stage.
At this point in your life, you realize that what you have achieved so far is not enough to make you feel fulfilled… Now you are looking for ways to change the world for the better, you are looking for ways to serve those around you. You are now busy with supporting and giving.
Now you realize that the things you have been chasing (money, power, status, etc.) will continue to come into your life, but you no longer place the same value on them as you did before. You are no longer attached to these things because you are now in a different phase of your life, where you realize that Life is more than that.
You embrace life, accept and are grateful, but you are ready to let it go at any moment. You look for ways to stop thinking only about yourself and start focusing on contributing something valuable to the community.
What is most important for you at this stage is to give. You now know that giving is receiving and it is time to stop being selfish, egotistical, and self-centered. You start thinking of ways to help those in need and leave this world a better place than when you arrived.
4. Spirit Stage.
This is the last stage of our lives. This is the period where we realize that in none of the previous 3 stages, we are really who we are as human beings. We understand we are more than our body, we are more than our possessions, more than our friends, our country, and even our planet. We conclude that we are spiritual beings having a human experience, not human beings having a spiritual experience. We start realizing that the Earth is not our home and we are not who we thought we were.
We are in this world, but not of it.
Now we can look at ourselves from a different perspective. We can step out of our minds and bodies, understand who we really are, and see things as they really are. We become observers of our lives and realize that we are not what we notice.
Summarizing these main stages of personal development using the language of other authors, we can say that the key to everything is consciousness. We are constantly moving to the role of an increasingly greater observer, who encompasses with his "eye" an increasingly larger area of reality.
As Bill Harris wrote:
"By moving consciousness to the level of an object, one is no longer his/her job role, career, or responsibilities. He/she has them ... but they are no longer who he/she is."
Jung's Five Keys to Happiness
During the interview series, the author gave five keys to achieving happiness. All of his interviews were collected in a book "C.G. Jung Speaking, Interviews, and Encounters" published in 1977. In this book, you can find many famous quotes and golden thoughts that lead to a better understanding of humanity.
The foundation of Jung's thinking about happiness is the belief that we must be able to look inside ourselves. Once this happens, we have a chance of achieving happiness.
Unlike other concepts full of images and ideas, this time we will hear specific tips described in simple, practical language.
However, one important thing still shows his spirit and distinguishes these tips from other "simple recipes". To achieve your sense of happiness it is necessary to discover yourself and then understand and uniquely, individually synchronize all five elements. So again we are dealing with depth and multidimensionality.
Now let's see what the five keys to achieving happiness are. The author strongly believed in them.
1. Good physical and mental health
Physical health seems like a given. However, you cannot have physical health without mental health, and vice versa.
Carl Jung believed that psychology was much more than just a method of treating disorders in the human psyche. He treated it as a way to understand people and learn who they are. According to him, a deficiency in this area affected physical health. Once again, we have the opportunity to experience a key style of thinking that assumes the mutual interpenetration and complementation of various spheres. Mental health was for him just as important to happiness as physical health. History has confirmed his intuition. Today, it is already obvious that a lack of balance in the mental sphere is a source of problems with physical health, e.g. it is a source of hypertension, insomnia, diabetes, or excessive cortisol levels in the body, which can lead to the destruction of internal organs.
2. Good relationships and connections with other people
The quality of relationships with other people is now a scientifically proven key to happiness. And one of the best proofs of this is a multi-year study conducted by Harvard University. Perhaps we will devote a separate post to it on our blog.
Returning to Jung, everyone needs safety, friendship, and love. Giving and taking are equally important, and this can only happen when you can create valuable relationships for yourself and others. It is probably no coincidence that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a crisis of connectedness, especially at work.
3. The ability to see beauty
This ability refers to the perception of beauty in the nature surrounding us and to human creativity. Every human work of art, a drawing, a melody, a sculpture, a poem, also contains the essence of humanity. It is the emotions, creativity, imagination, and mastery of creators combined with higher wisdom. It is a living reflection of the potential a human can realize, which is not limited to intellect.
The ability to see beauty is the source of experiencing pleasure and, as a result, a sense of happiness. This also applies to the ability to observe Nature and admire it. How many colors, shapes, sounds, and tastes you will find in nature? Humans are part of this nature, which contains perfect wisdom. You can use it if you learn to notice it.
On this occasion, it is worth mentioning that the famous psychiatrist was himself a painter and a keen photographer! Below we show "Peonies" painted by him.
4. Faith in something bigger than yourself
CG Jung was deeply convinced that there is no happiness without spirituality. Regardless of religion or any philosophical movement you follow, belief in "something greater than yourself" is an important foundation for well-being.
It gives each experience a broader context and offers a much richer life meaning and purpose. After all, life without meaning... has no meaning. So how can one expect to achieve happiness without a sense of meaning?
5. Work that gives you a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction
Surprisingly, work is the last of the five keys to happiness the famous psychiatrist defined. In his view only work that gives a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction. The lack of this one element excludes the possibility of achieving a sense of happiness.
At the beginning of our adult life, we do not always choose education and profession based on good self-understanding. We can even risk saying that we made the wrong choices. Finding a satisfying job does not always depend only on us.
But the order and direction are always the same. First, you need to look deep inside yourself and understand yourself well. For example, get to know your personality and natural talents. Recognize your current needs and your shadows. Only based on this good self-understanding, define your goals.
This is the right way to make the right choices and find a job that satisfies us. And every time, it is an individual choice that must consider the multidimensionality of the human being. Yes, it is not easy. But without doing this work of self-knowledge, we can constantly "miss the target" or bang our heads against the wall. Copying ideas and methods that work for others will not help here and will not change anything.
Why It's Worth Knowing the Concept of Brand Archetype and Its Impact on Various Industries, Such as Communication and Marketing
We hope that we have provided a solid dose of valuable knowledge about the concepts developed by the Swiss psychiatrist. His ideas have become permanent canons of human psychology, anthropology, philosophy, and even marketing and advertising.
Modern marketing is based on the assumption that brands are like people and that creating a brand image is a long-term undertaking. Many elements influence how a brand is perceived, including its name, logo, colors, language of communication, slogans, and people appearing in advertisements addressed to potential customers. The ability of the customer to understand the brand and their willingness to identify with its values and message depends on how well these aspects are selected and how well they are communicated to the appropriate groups of recipients.
Specialists from various fields work together to formulate the best possible message about selected products and services and effectively deliver it to the consumer. The key is to influence emotions. It is mainly based on their influence that we make decisions - including purchases. This is a very creative process in which the selected brand archetype is transformed into a comprehensive, appropriately designed story. One could even risk saying that it is very similar to writing a script for a movie.
For example, the Nike brand is the embodiment of the hero archetype. It encourages us to overcome challenges and become stronger and more courageous. After all, sport is all about overcoming our weaknesses, the universality of competition, and the universality of the feeling of success or rising after defeat. It is also an attitude of not giving up. Nike wants to invite us to action by shouting "Just do it!". At the same time, this brand stands up for all those who try to be a better version of themselves by supporting initiatives such as Woman Empowerment or Black Lives Matter.
The Rebel, on the other hand, defies social norms and rejects conventions. For him, freedom is the most important thing. He wants a revolution, he wants to change the world. The language of such a brand is often loud and uncompromising. These include Harley-Davidson, Virgin, and Netflix.
The Artist (or Creator) is the driving force behind innovation. They express themselves through creativity. They love freedom and everything unique and extraordinary. They are focused on creation. The best example of such a brand is Lego. The slogans "Just imagine..." or "The Toys That Are New Every Day" clearly communicate that we are dealing with an innovator who invites you to play and create. This group of brands also includes Disney, Apple, and Xbox.
The Ruler, on the other hand, primarily seeks control. He can be best recognized by the trait of "having class ". He wants others to follow his example. He behaves dominantly while taking responsibility and providing others with stability and control. The prime example of such a brand is Mercedes. Other good examples are luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton or Rolex.
A Few Words at the End
Many of Jung's ideas are still being discussed and criticized. It is easy to be picky, but if we consider how much Jung contributed to human history, how many works, concepts, and ideas he created, and how many people he inspired - all we can do is take our hat off.
Interestingly, he did not dogmatically treat his concepts. He wrote about it as follows:
“Since I am deeply convinced that the time has not yet come for a general theory encompassing all psychic contents, processes, and phenomena from a central point of view, I regard my concepts as proposals and attempts to formulate a new psychology based on natural science and on direct experience with human beings.”
The following quote also testifies to the depth and multidimensionality of his thinking. We can see the humility of his thinking. Jung does not neglect other concepts and admits that perhaps he can see only a fragment of a much larger whole:
"(...) an objective consideration of the facts proves that each such method, each such theory is justified in its own way; not only can each boast of achieving certain successes, but also can point to psychic facts that prove the correctness of their basic premises. Thus, in the field of psychotherapy, we are faced with a situation comparable to that of modern physics, which admits two extremely different theories about the nature of light. (...) Well, but psyche is much more complex than light, and one must therefore appeal to many truly antinomies in order to describe the essence of psyche in a satisfactory way."
As we mentioned earlier, he also left behind many inspiring quotes and perhaps we will devote a separate entry to them on our coaching portal.
At the end of today's story, I would like to ask you three questions:
how well do you think you know yourself?
What do you think is your dominant archetype?
What kind of personality profile do you think C.G. Jung himself was?
See also:
When did Confucius live - biography, facts, funny quotes, sayings
Franz Kafka - biography, doll story, fun facts, quotes
Socrates - the first good coach in the world?
Kinesiology – can truth be easily distinguished from false?
David Clutterbuck - the father of modern mentoring in Europe
John Whitmore - the father of business coaching
Keanu Reeves - About Life
Marilyn vos Savant - a person with the highest IQ in the world
Byron Katie – who would you be without your story? Development of personal growth.
Maurice Ravel – Engineer or Composer?
Andrea Bocelli – dare to live
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