[509] and then in all the others, the humanities, etc. QN: How do you define the concept of symbols^a: is it against concrete reality, or are you taking in the sense, e.g., the flag is the symbol of the independence of a country? PT: I take the concept of symbol by distinguishing it from the concept of sign. You can always say "only a sign," because a sign has nothing to do with the reality to which it points. It can be exchanged, it can be brought under the law of expediency, while symbol is a creation of the collective unconscious in its encounter with reality: it is born, it dies, it has its life, and it expresses, in terms of power, the reality to which it points. This is something quite different from a sign. I repeat, since this sin has been committed here today: don't say "only a symbol"!---it always means you confuse symbol and sign. You can always say "only a sign," but never say "only a symbol" !