Individuation: A Study of the Depth Psychology of Carl Gustav Jung

by Josef Goldbrunner

Sometimes after years of detailed study of a field I find it useful to read a summary or introductory volume on the field. Goldbrunner's book was such a book for me. He gives a splendid introduction to Jung's depth analysis—he covers both the entire field of Jung's work & the subject of individuation.Josef Goldbrunner's explanation of neurosis is one of the high points of the book. He uses the metaphor of a ship whose planks are the cultural mores & expectations thru which the waters of the unconscious leak through. Neurosis occurs when the bailing consumes such a major portion of psychic energy that navigation suffers.He explains the process of individuation in depth & points out that it leads to a religious orientation invariably. This matches my experience & I found Goldbrunner's exposition of the process enlightening.His explanation of the relationship of Freud, Adler & Jung's theories is as Freud, the extravert, saw therapy as uncovering the repressed external energies (sexual) & Adler, the introvert, saw therapy as uncovering the repressed internal energies (power). Jung took the meta-position & showed us with his theory of types that individuals' theories were a natural outcome of their individual personality types.This little paperback is an excellent review of Jung's one to be read by novices, put aside for 10 years, then reread to help anchor in & firm up one's concept of Jung's work.Goldbrunner is easier to read than Jung & not so difficult as Hillman or von Franz when they write about Jungian analysis. I found the book engrossing; it pulled me thru to the last page with enthusiasm. The last chapters deal with Jung's concept of ultimate realities & are well worth the price of the book by themselves. "God as a psychic construct" will undoubtedly upset the fundamentalists who have reified so many of their pyschic constructs that they would self-destruct if they accepted them as internally generated fabrications.--Bobby Matherne

Genres: Psychology

204 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1956

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the comment I find on the bibliographical card written upon completing the book: "A very positive portrayal of C.G. Jung, critical on two points: his de-emphasis of the physical & metaphysical I-Thou, Jung being limited by being a psychological positivist. However, Goldbrunner's criticism is handled very constructively."

[Maica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an exposition of the key concepts of CG Jung's analytical theory with a special focus on the concept of 'individuation' - the harmonizing of the aspects of the self wherein the person comes to terms with himself thus paving way to maintaining a balanced relationship with his society.

This book was written by a priest, and he reviews Jung's work within the Christian lens while battling with preconceived notions of religious bias and dogma.

CG Jung once issued a questionnaire to educated Protestants and Catholics asking to whom they preferred to turn when they were in spiritual trouble, the priest or the doctor?... Among the arguments brought against the priest were lack of psychological knowledge and understanding, preconceived opinions, dogmatic and traditional bigotry. The question is, what will my priest think of me if I tell him about the day-dreams which torment me, or even begin to tell him about the embarrassments in which my disordered instincts involve me? All he will see is the conflict of these situations with his own morality, and he will classify me accordingly without making any attempt to understand me. Doubt upon doubt haunts me in religious matters and the traditional religious set-up leaves me cold. The priest will condemn me even though he may not actually say so. These are the sort of misgivings that are expressed against consulting the priest.
...
Contact with the inner soul of the patient which gives access to the invisibly bleeding wounds and enables the doctor to minister to the quiet processes of the soul, comes about only through 'unprejudiced objectivity'. Without prejudice, without fear of moral and dogmatic facts the 'healer' must ascertain the facts of the cause purely objectively. The patient wants to feel that the very things about himself which alarm him most are simply accepted by the doctor as sheer facts. This does not mean that he wants the doctor to take them for granted: that would be just as bad as condemning them. Acceptance of the facts of the cause is not a matter of mere words either, it is rather something human, something like respect for the facts, respect for the human being suffering from the facts, respect for the mystery of this particular human life. Such is the attitude of the truly religious man. He knows that God has created all kids of strange incomprehensible things and seeks to reach the human heart by the strangest possible ways. Hence he sense in all things the dark presence of the divine will. This is what I mean by an attitude of unprejudiced objectivity. It is the moral achievement of the doctor who must not be disgusted by disease and putrefaction. It is impossible to change anything one does not accept.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cryptic-ness with which Jung writes is romantic, but it's really useful to read something that channels his theory but is a little more down-to-earth. Goldbrunner is obviously a strong devotee of Jung, and his commitment to orthodoxy is strangely useful as it contributes to the coherency of the book. As Jung resists extrapolation, Goldbrunner sometimes runs away a little bit with the theory, but that's once again a side effect of the more mundane yet coherent concretization of analytic theory here.

[William Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great synthesis for those who have already read a good portion of Jungian material. The last 40 or so pages are iffy when the author attributes to Jung the restriction of "mere psychology" as opposed to metaphysics. Jung was explicitly opposed to "mere" psychology, but perhaps he also adhered to a conscious ambiguity regarding the matter. All in all, it was well worth reading this tiny booklet - Goldbrunner managed to do a miracle by squeezing so much into it with clarity.