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Insearch: Psychology and Religion
With this book Hillman returns psychotherapy to its basic calling: the care of the soul.
120 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1967
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116 people want to read
About the author
James Hillman
176 books573 followersJames Hillman (1926-2011) was an American psychologist. He served in the US Navy Hospital Corps from 1944 to 1946, after which he attended the Sorbonne in Paris, studying English Literature, and Trinity College, Dublin, graduating with a degree in mental and moral science in 1950.
In 1959, he received his PhD from the University of Zurich, as well as his analyst's diploma from the C.G. Jung Institute and founded a movement toward archetypal psychology, was then appointed as Director of Studies at the institute, a position he held until 1969.
In 1970, Hillman became editor of Spring Publications, a publishing company devoted to advancing Archetypal Psychology as well as publishing books on mythology, philosophy and art. His magnum opus, Re-visioning Psychology, was written in 1975 and nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Hillman then helped co-found the Dallas Institute for Humanities and Culture in 1978.
Retired into private practice, writing and traveling to lecture, until his death at his home in Connecticut on October 27, 2011 from bone cancer.
In 1959, he received his PhD from the University of Zurich, as well as his analyst's diploma from the C.G. Jung Institute and founded a movement toward archetypal psychology, was then appointed as Director of Studies at the institute, a position he held until 1969.
In 1970, Hillman became editor of Spring Publications, a publishing company devoted to advancing Archetypal Psychology as well as publishing books on mythology, philosophy and art. His magnum opus, Re-visioning Psychology, was written in 1975 and nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Hillman then helped co-found the Dallas Institute for Humanities and Culture in 1978.
Retired into private practice, writing and traveling to lecture, until his death at his home in Connecticut on October 27, 2011 from bone cancer.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 11, 2024
Here goes another (probably nonsensical) attempt at reviewing one of James Hillman’s masterworks. Im telling y’all in advance.
This WILL BE a HARD FAIL.
I’m SIMPLY UNQUALIFIED to COMENT on the GENIUS of James Hillman. But in the spirit of the internet and social media. I’m goin to go ahead and SHARE my UNQUALIFIED opinion.
To EVERYONE.
FOREVER.
HERE GOES.
As the title implies. This is James Hillman’s BRILLIANT exposition on the DIFFERENCE and OVERLAP of PSYCHOLOGY and RELIGION.
PSYCHOLOGY/THEOLOGY AND THE SOUL
Hillman views psychology and religion as very different enterprises. However, Hillman views the SOUL as the area of SHARED between the two.
Hillman writes “the thing that analysis and theology have in common is the soul. But the soul is a "non-place," for neither theology nor dynamic psychotherapy regards it as its main concern. The one studies God and His intentions, the other studies man and his motivations, while the place in between is too often left unoccupied. This vacuum where God and man are traditionally supposed to meet has become the no-man's land where analysts and clergy confront each other.”
SOUL AS HYPEROBJECT
A hyperobject refers to a notion that exceeds singular definition. Whereby, no mater which definitional or conceptual leans we use to see it. Or language/symbol systems we use to to describe it. There will always be a part of the HYPEROBJECT that is OUTSIDE the frame.
HYPEROBJECTS are simply TO BIG to fit into ONE MIND ALL AT ONENCE.
For Hilllman, the SOUL and other ARCHETYPAL images are HYPEROBJECTS.
And accordingly, all DEFINITIVE and EXEMPLARY statements necessarily FAIL.
Hillman states “EXAMPLES LIMP.”
Given that.
Hillman might define SOUL as the DEEPLY FEALT EXPERIENCE OF SELF/LIFE/LOVE.
SOUL DEATH/MAKING
Hillman discusses SOUL DEATH as a LACK of CONTACT with the SEANSE of SOUL and a lack of VISON for LIVING. Hillman views religion as SOUL SAVING, and therapy as SOUL MAKING.
HEART/SOUL
Our culture understands and values “heart health”. We do TONS of CARDIO. We monitor cholesterol. We visit the cardiologist when we feel chest pain, or pain on the left side.
I think our culture also links physical health and fitness with mental health and spirituality.
Hillman observes that no matter physically fit or healthy we get, we will still need a sense of HEALTH, STRENGTH and VITALITY in the SOUL.
Hillman reflects on an elder client who complained of loosing their heart. When the physician asked her to put a hand on her heart and feel it beating. She replied, that’s not my real heart.
I think this what the Christian traditions refer to in the image of the sacred heart is of Christ. And when they speak of having a soft (as opposed to hard) heart.
I think this is what Buddhism means when they speak of Buddha nature, and compassion.
And I think this is what the humanistic traditions mean when they speak of being open hearted, or heart’s desire, or following your heart.
MIND/SOUL
Our culture also understands mental health. And we’re beginning to value and prioritize mental health by normalizing therapy and affording for “mental health” days from work.
Our culture also senses a link between mental health and spirituality.
Hillman writes “no matter how healthy we get mentally, we will still need a sense of soul.”
EMOTIONS/SOUL
Our culture understands the importance of being in touch with, and expressing our emotions. And emotional intelligence. We also sense a linkage between soul and emotions. We know it has SOUL when we FEEL IT.
When we say do you FEEL ME or I FEEL YOU, we’re acknowledging the importance of FELT, SOUL to SOUL.
To carry on with the through line.
No matter how EMOTIONALLY healthy we are.
We will STILL need a SENSE OF SOUL.
Anyway.
We have reached the LIMITS of my ABILITIES.
I’m unworthy.
Hillman is a TREASURE.
5/5 ⭐️
This WILL BE a HARD FAIL.
I’m SIMPLY UNQUALIFIED to COMENT on the GENIUS of James Hillman. But in the spirit of the internet and social media. I’m goin to go ahead and SHARE my UNQUALIFIED opinion.
To EVERYONE.
FOREVER.
HERE GOES.
As the title implies. This is James Hillman’s BRILLIANT exposition on the DIFFERENCE and OVERLAP of PSYCHOLOGY and RELIGION.
PSYCHOLOGY/THEOLOGY AND THE SOUL
Hillman views psychology and religion as very different enterprises. However, Hillman views the SOUL as the area of SHARED between the two.
Hillman writes “the thing that analysis and theology have in common is the soul. But the soul is a "non-place," for neither theology nor dynamic psychotherapy regards it as its main concern. The one studies God and His intentions, the other studies man and his motivations, while the place in between is too often left unoccupied. This vacuum where God and man are traditionally supposed to meet has become the no-man's land where analysts and clergy confront each other.”
SOUL AS HYPEROBJECT
A hyperobject refers to a notion that exceeds singular definition. Whereby, no mater which definitional or conceptual leans we use to see it. Or language/symbol systems we use to to describe it. There will always be a part of the HYPEROBJECT that is OUTSIDE the frame.
HYPEROBJECTS are simply TO BIG to fit into ONE MIND ALL AT ONENCE.
For Hilllman, the SOUL and other ARCHETYPAL images are HYPEROBJECTS.
And accordingly, all DEFINITIVE and EXEMPLARY statements necessarily FAIL.
Hillman states “EXAMPLES LIMP.”
Given that.
Hillman might define SOUL as the DEEPLY FEALT EXPERIENCE OF SELF/LIFE/LOVE.
SOUL DEATH/MAKING
Hillman discusses SOUL DEATH as a LACK of CONTACT with the SEANSE of SOUL and a lack of VISON for LIVING. Hillman views religion as SOUL SAVING, and therapy as SOUL MAKING.
HEART/SOUL
Our culture understands and values “heart health”. We do TONS of CARDIO. We monitor cholesterol. We visit the cardiologist when we feel chest pain, or pain on the left side.
I think our culture also links physical health and fitness with mental health and spirituality.
Hillman observes that no matter physically fit or healthy we get, we will still need a sense of HEALTH, STRENGTH and VITALITY in the SOUL.
Hillman reflects on an elder client who complained of loosing their heart. When the physician asked her to put a hand on her heart and feel it beating. She replied, that’s not my real heart.
I think this what the Christian traditions refer to in the image of the sacred heart is of Christ. And when they speak of having a soft (as opposed to hard) heart.
I think this is what Buddhism means when they speak of Buddha nature, and compassion.
And I think this is what the humanistic traditions mean when they speak of being open hearted, or heart’s desire, or following your heart.
MIND/SOUL
Our culture also understands mental health. And we’re beginning to value and prioritize mental health by normalizing therapy and affording for “mental health” days from work.
Our culture also senses a link between mental health and spirituality.
Hillman writes “no matter how healthy we get mentally, we will still need a sense of soul.”
EMOTIONS/SOUL
Our culture understands the importance of being in touch with, and expressing our emotions. And emotional intelligence. We also sense a linkage between soul and emotions. We know it has SOUL when we FEEL IT.
When we say do you FEEL ME or I FEEL YOU, we’re acknowledging the importance of FELT, SOUL to SOUL.
To carry on with the through line.
No matter how EMOTIONALLY healthy we are.
We will STILL need a SENSE OF SOUL.
Anyway.
We have reached the LIMITS of my ABILITIES.
I’m unworthy.
Hillman is a TREASURE.
5/5 ⭐️
December 30, 2021
James Hillman is an author I have been wanting to read for a long time. He started out seeking to find the primordial truth at the root of all of humanity's different religions from a psychological perspective like his mentor C. G. Jung. However, Hillman rejected that entire project later to create his own unique system exactly like Jung broke with Sigmund Freud's psycho-analysis to create his own system of analytical psychology. As "Insearch: Psychology and Religion" is one of Hillman's earliest books and one of his shortest, I figured it would be a good plade to start.
Many of Hillman's basic observations presented in "Insearch" I recognise from elsewhere. Such as the point that the individual self is an artificial construct: formed in part from the cultural baggage you have absorbed from the society you grew up in, in part from the memories in your life you consider most formative to your life right now and the resulting narrative you construct. The important point here is that Hillman considers it important to create a mythical narrative for your own life to take control of your own destiny. In fact, he compares the process of creating a mythical narrative of your own life to that of crafting a work of art. This is strikingly similar to the mediaeval alchemists' notions of creating the soul, a recurring theme in the work of Russian-Chilean occultist and multi-artist Alejandro Jodorowsky. Who went on to create his own system for both psychotherapy and spiritual practice in his book Psychomagic: The Transformative Power of Shamanic Psychotherapy which ends up at similar conclusions as Hillman just even weirder and more mystical.
Another key point Hillman makes here is that modern psychotherapy often fulfils the same function as religion in a pre-modern society, or attempts to do so, but inevitably ends up not seeing the entirety of the picture. Hillman chalks these faults up to modern science's materialistic metaphysical underpinnings. Hillman's arguments about the shortcomings of the materialistic worldview as a basis for psychology have aged very well considering recent research into near-death experiences. Experiments with people going through NDEs continue turning up data that can not be sufficiently explained as chemicals firing off in the brain.
Hillman's comparative mythology and study of religion already goes in a different direction from Jung here. For example, he points out that different religious figures classified under the same archetypes end up qualitatively different depending on the cultural context they originate in - be they trickster deities like Loki and Pan or the feminine presences for that matter. People describe "Insearch" as one of Hillman's most conventional books as far as adherence to traditional wisdom in psychology goes, but the main thrust of the book is to stake out the human soul as something that cannot be satisfyingly understood from a rational materialistic scientific worldview. Hillman also aims some rather scathing criticism at most dream interpretation methods in conventional Western psychology, and the respective shortcomings he finds in them.
I have to say that there are quite a few of Hillman's conclusions here I don't understand in a satisfying manner let alone agree or disagree with them, regarding both the comparative mythology and the psychology of the self. I don't know how much of this is the result of dated research, how much is the result of the book's short length and how much is the result of my own superficial familiarity with the topics discussed. However, I can still recommend "Insearch" as an interesting reading experience for people curious about the potential shortcomings of both "perennial wisdom"-type syncretic mysticism and the established wisdom of modern Western psychology. Even if you don't follow Hillman's ideas that much, he is at least an engaging and entertaining writer with a colourful and moving prose style.
Many of Hillman's basic observations presented in "Insearch" I recognise from elsewhere. Such as the point that the individual self is an artificial construct: formed in part from the cultural baggage you have absorbed from the society you grew up in, in part from the memories in your life you consider most formative to your life right now and the resulting narrative you construct. The important point here is that Hillman considers it important to create a mythical narrative for your own life to take control of your own destiny. In fact, he compares the process of creating a mythical narrative of your own life to that of crafting a work of art. This is strikingly similar to the mediaeval alchemists' notions of creating the soul, a recurring theme in the work of Russian-Chilean occultist and multi-artist Alejandro Jodorowsky. Who went on to create his own system for both psychotherapy and spiritual practice in his book Psychomagic: The Transformative Power of Shamanic Psychotherapy which ends up at similar conclusions as Hillman just even weirder and more mystical.
Another key point Hillman makes here is that modern psychotherapy often fulfils the same function as religion in a pre-modern society, or attempts to do so, but inevitably ends up not seeing the entirety of the picture. Hillman chalks these faults up to modern science's materialistic metaphysical underpinnings. Hillman's arguments about the shortcomings of the materialistic worldview as a basis for psychology have aged very well considering recent research into near-death experiences. Experiments with people going through NDEs continue turning up data that can not be sufficiently explained as chemicals firing off in the brain.
Hillman's comparative mythology and study of religion already goes in a different direction from Jung here. For example, he points out that different religious figures classified under the same archetypes end up qualitatively different depending on the cultural context they originate in - be they trickster deities like Loki and Pan or the feminine presences for that matter. People describe "Insearch" as one of Hillman's most conventional books as far as adherence to traditional wisdom in psychology goes, but the main thrust of the book is to stake out the human soul as something that cannot be satisfyingly understood from a rational materialistic scientific worldview. Hillman also aims some rather scathing criticism at most dream interpretation methods in conventional Western psychology, and the respective shortcomings he finds in them.
I have to say that there are quite a few of Hillman's conclusions here I don't understand in a satisfying manner let alone agree or disagree with them, regarding both the comparative mythology and the psychology of the self. I don't know how much of this is the result of dated research, how much is the result of the book's short length and how much is the result of my own superficial familiarity with the topics discussed. However, I can still recommend "Insearch" as an interesting reading experience for people curious about the potential shortcomings of both "perennial wisdom"-type syncretic mysticism and the established wisdom of modern Western psychology. Even if you don't follow Hillman's ideas that much, he is at least an engaging and entertaining writer with a colourful and moving prose style.
September 27, 2015
This is early, orthodox-Jungian Hillman. His later work gets more iconoclastic and interesting, though this one is not lacking in originality. Still, this and his Suicide and the Soul were enough to get me to go out of the way to hear him lecture at the International House in Manhattan a year or so later.
July 24, 2010
I read this many years ago. I can't wait to read it again at some point in my life.
November 8, 2025
If you have the edition with the Post Script where Hillman critiques himself 30 years later, I highly recommend. The original text is an early work but nonetheless evident of how dynamic of a writer and thinker he was.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews