Jungian Reflections on September 11 - A Global Nightmare

by Donald Williams, Victor-Pierre Stirnimann, Adolf Guggenbühl-Craig

Seldom has an event in the world had such a pervasive and all-encompassing effect as the brutal terrorist attacks on New York and Washington in September, 2001. Has our world become a different place as a result? If so, in what ways? Along with the tragic aspects, what might this “global nightmare” have to give us, the human inhabitants of this world? What is there for us to acknowledge and what old and new wounds have been opened? Beyond the obvious scars, what sort of a legacy has it left behind?
These big questions and many more face us now in the aftermath. In this book, the highly complex incident of ’911’ is circled and examined from many angles by a variety of writers who all share a training in depth psychology. What might a psychotherapist or depth psychologist perceive in this eruption of shocking contents?

Essays in this book:

September 11: Transatlantic Reflections by Luigi Zoja
Islamic Terrorism by Wolfgang Giegerich
The Motivation of Terrorists by Adolf Guggenbühl-Craig
The Terror and The Temple by Victor-Pierre Stirnimann
September 11 – The Need for a Safe Place by Verena Kast
From Wahhabism to Talibanism by Hechmi Dhaoui
Ground Zero: A Reading by James Hillman
Religion’s Role in the Psychology of Terrorism by Ann Belford Ulanov
Stories About Stories by Donald Williams
With a Preface by Robert Hinshaw

218 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2002

About the author

Donald Williams, Ed.D., was born and raised in York County, South Carolina, in a large family of cotton mill workers. His parents, like generations before them, worked as lintheads. One of more than eighty first cousins and over forty aunts and uncles, he grew up in a close-knit Southern family where love was abundant even when opportunity was limited.

Determined to change the direction of his family’s future, Williams became the first in his family to graduate from a major university. He earned three degrees from Clemson University, including a Doctor of Education. Throughout his career, he has taught more than 5,000 students at the secondary, undergraduate, and graduate levels.

Williams served for fourteen years with the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA). During that time, he worked for twelve years as an Education Research Analyst in South Korea, Japan, and the United States. His work centered on school improvement, leadership development, and the effective use of data to strengthen educational systems.

He believes deeply in the spiritual dimension of life as essential to mental well-being. He views education as a lifelong pursuit, adventure as a source of vitality, and family as the foundation of peace and strength. Today, both of his sons hold doctoral degrees, reflecting the power of faith, education, and intentional choices to change the course of a family’s future.

As co-author of Born of Nothing, Williams brings both lived experience and scholarly insight to a story of poverty, resilience, and generational transformation.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Came for the Hillman, stayed for the rest. Unique and prescient perspectives for reflections so close to the actual event. It was interesting to look back and see what we thought 9/11 would come to "mean" to us in a collective sense.