Professor Peter Case Peter.Case@uwe.ac.uk
Professor of Organization Studies
Astrology, alchemy and retro-organization theory: An astro-genealogical critique of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®
Case, Peter; Phillipson, Garry
Authors
Garry Phillipson
Abstract
The influence of astrology and alchemy on organizational conduct has not hitherto attracted much serious social scientific attention. Retro-organizational theory licenses paying closer attention to topics that are systematically occluded by modern knowledge regimes and is invoked in this article to examine the manner in which premodern cosmologies underpin certain contemporary organizational practices. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI) is presented as a particularly conspicuous example of how the modern may be suffused by the premodern. An astro-genealogical account of the development of the MBTI® is offered, tracing its Jungian origins and exposing structural debts to Renaissance thinking and earlier forms of symbolism. The article concludes with a consideration of Latour's claim that 'we have never been modern' and suggests ways in which his hybridization critique of modernity connects with astrological and alchemical cosmology.
Citation
Case, P., & Phillipson, G. (2004). Astrology, alchemy and retro-organization theory: An astro-genealogical critique of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®. Organization, 11(4), 473-495. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350508404044059
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Publication Date | Jul 1, 2004 |
Journal | Organization |
Print ISSN | 1350-5084 |
Publisher | SAGE Publications |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 11 |
Issue | 4 |
Pages | 473-495 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1177/1350508404044059 |
Keywords | Foucault, genealogical analysis, geomancy, humours, Jung, Latour, management development, MBTI, organizational development, psychometrics |
Public URL | https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1059289 |
Publisher URL | http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1350508404044059 |
You might also like
Leadership and culture
(2023)
Book Chapter
The micro-ethics of discomfort: Addressing the perfect/imperfect ethical dichotomies of International Development
(2022)
Presentation / Conference
Downloadable Citations
About UWE Bristol Research Repository
Administrator e-mail: repository@uwe.ac.uk
This application uses the following open-source libraries:
SheetJS Community Edition
Apache License Version 2.0 (http://www.apache.org/licenses/)
PDF.js
Apache License Version 2.0 (http://www.apache.org/licenses/)
Font Awesome
SIL OFL 1.1 (http://scripts.sil.org/OFL)
MIT License (http://opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.html)
CC BY 3.0 ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)
Powered by Worktribe © 2024
Advanced Search