Psychological Reflections: An Anthology of His Writings, 1905-61

by Carl Gustav Jung

Beginning with Jung's earliest correspondence to associates of the psychoanalytic period and ending shortly before his death, the 935 letters selected for these two volumes offer a running commentary on his creativity. The recipients of the letters include Mircea Eliade, Sigmund Freud, Esther Harding, James Joyce, Karl Kernyi, Erich Neumann, Maud Oakes, Herbert Read, Upton Sinclair & Father Victor White.

Genres: Psychology, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Reference

paper

First published January 1, 1945

Reviews

[R.K. Cowles · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 3/4 stars

[Greg Talbot · Rating 5 out of 5]

In all of my psychology training, I think Jung came up once. With psychology having moved from psychoanalysis, to the reductionalist approach of behaviorism, then to the study of cognition in the 1960s, and now being propelled by neuroscience/neuropsychology, it might be easy to dismiss Jung's work as archaic. But his insights read more like poetry than any experimental science. Often deep, insightful reflections that add clarity to lofty topics. His reflections here are categorized into sections such as "Recognition of the Psyche, The Archetypes, Youth and Age, Western and Eastern Points of View, The Development of the Personality and The Way to God".

Here's a quote that exemplifies the novel, "Every science is a function of the psyche, and all knowledge is rooted in it. The psyche is the greatest of all cosmic wonders."

I imagine reading Jung's other works will be more structured or more topic-specific. But here you have Jung postulating the nature of man, the drive of our unconscious desires, and our magnetic pull toward transcendence.

It's really quite something.

[Skashinath · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like this book much because it wasn't a story about Carl Jung's life and lessons.Rather, it was a collection of his thoughts and phrases on a variety of topics which I couldn't relate to. So I skimmed through a few pages and then stopped!

[Erik Graff · Rating 2 out of 5]

I rather dislike these collections of extracts, especially if they are marketed, as this one was, as a means to comprehend the person quoted. Without being thoroughly familiar with the author a reader cannot ascertain the prejudices of the all-powerful editors of such things.

[Brute Waltz · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my bibles.