FLYING SAUCERS: A Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Skies

by C.G. Jung, Matthew Schmitz (Narrator)

Jung's primary concern in Flying Saucers is not with the reality or unreality of UFOs but with their psychic aspect. Rather than speculate about their possible nature and extraterrestrial origin as alleged spacecraft, he asks what it may signify that these phenomena, whether real or imagined, are seen in such numbers just at a time when humankind is menaced as never before in history. The UFOs represent, in Jung's phrase, "a modern myth."

316 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 30, 2023

About the author

Carl Gustav Jung (/jʊŋ/; German: [ˈkarl ˈɡʊstaf jʊŋ]), often referred to as C. G. Jung, was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist who founded analytical psychology. Jung proposed and developed the concepts of extraversion and introversion; archetypes, and the collective unconscious. His work has been influential in psychiatry and in the study of religion, philosophy, archeology, anthropology, literature, and related fields. He was a prolific writer, many of whose works were not published until after his death.

The central concept of analytical psychology is individuation—the psychological process of integrating the opposites, including the conscious with the unconscious, while still maintaining their relative autonomy. Jung considered individuation to be the central process of human development.

Jung created some of the best known psychological concepts, including the archetype, the collective unconscious, the complex, and synchronicity. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), a popular psychometric instrument, has been developed from Jung's theory of psychological types.

Though he was a practising clinician and considered himself to be a scientist, much of his life's work was spent exploring tangential areas such as Eastern and Western philosophy, alchemy, astrology, and sociology, as well as literature and the arts. Jung's interest in philosophy and the occult led many to view him as a mystic, although his ambition was to be seen as a man of science. His influence on popular psychology, the "psychologization of religion", spirituality and the New Age movement has been immense.

Reviews

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Carl Jung's illuminating work, "Flying Saucers," one is transported into the abyssopelagic depths of the human psyche and its symbiotic relationship with cultural phenomena. At the crossroads of psychology and society's enchantments with UFOs, Jung artfully crafts a theory replete with his signature Jungian archetypes. He delves into the panacea that these unidentified flying objects offer—a projection of humanity's hopes, fears, and indefinable yearnings.

The book unfolds like an aurora of intellectual thought, illuminating previously shadowy corners of the collective unconscious. Jung doesn't reduce the phenomena of flying saucers to mere taradiddle but elevates it into a study of how the human psyche interacts with the unexplained. The experience of reading this work imbues one with a sense of serendipity—as if stumbling upon a secret map of human yearnings, artfully concealed within the contours of societal beliefs and myths.

"Jung masters the art of tranquility amid the cacophony of public debate over UFOs, maintaining an incendiary level of scholarly poise. The quintessence of the book lies in its mellifluous prose and thought-provoking insights—a true lagniappe for those in search of deeper understanding.

This book, in its delicacy and intellectual rigor, offers a serendipitous journey into the loquacious chambers of the mind. It is a work that leaves a lasting silhouette on the canvas of interdisciplinary studies, a syzygy of psychology, sociology, and even spirituality. For those longing for an epiphany in understanding both the external world and the internal landscapes of human thought, "Flying Saucers" serves as an elixir for the inquisitive soul.

[Roberts Smitins · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Flying Saucers: A Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Skies” is an essay written by Carl Gustav Jung.

The author spends little time discussing whether UFOs are real or not. Instead, Carl Gustav Jung takes a different road by looking at this phenomenon from the perspective of analytical psychology, mythology, philosophy and symbolism.

The book describes how the themes of UFOs (often symbolically) appear in: dreams, art (paintings and literature) and historical accounts (with accounts dating back hundreds and even thousands of years).

To fully appreciate this essay it helps to be familiar not only with the key Jungian concepts (archetypes, the collective unconscious, individuation, etc.), but also with numerous themes, symbols and motifs from mythology.

This amazing book is as relevant today as it was when it was first published more than 65 years ago.