The Cambridge Companion to Jung

by Polly Young-Eisendrath (Editor), Terence Dawson (Editor)

This second edition represents a wide-ranging critical introduction to the psychology of Carl Jung, one of the founders of psychoanalysis. Including two new essays and thorough revisions of most of the original chapters, it constitutes a radical assessment of his legacy. Andrew Samuels' introduction succinctly articulates the challenges facing the Jungian community. The fifteen essays set Jung in the context of his own time, outline the current practice and theory of Jungian psychology and show how Jungians continue to question and evolve his thinking and apply it to aspects of modern culture and psychoanalysis. The volume includes a full chronology of Jung's life and work, extensively revised and up to date bibliographies, a case study and a glossary. It is an indispensable reference tool for both students and specialists, written by an international team of Jungian analysts and scholars from various disciplines.

Genres: Psychology, Philosophy, Reference, Nonfiction

380 pages, Paperback

First published June 4, 1993

About the author

Polly Young-Eisendrath, Ph.D., is a Jungian analyst, psychologist, and psychotherapist in private practice. She is Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Vermont and the founder and director of the Institute for Dialogue Therapy. She is past president of the Vermont Association for Psychoanalytic Studies and a founding member of the Vermont Institute for the Psychotherapies. Polly is also the chairperson of Enlightening Conversations, a series of conversational conferences which bring together participants from the front lines of Buddhism and psychoanalysis. Polly has published sixteen books, as well as many chapters and articles, that have been translated into more than twenty languages, including The Self-Esteem Trap: Raising Confident and Compassionate Kids in an Age of Self-Importance> and Love Between Equals: Relationship as a Spiritual Path>.

Reviews

[Miguel Cisneros Saucedo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Polly Young-Eisendrath's "The Cambridge Companion to Jung" is one of the worst books I ever read.

It falls short of expectations, particularly for readers with a background in psychology. While Jung's work is undeniably significant in the field of psychology, this book, unfortunately, fails to offer a comprehensive or well-structured exploration of his ideas.

One of the main shortcomings of this book is its lack of clarity. Jung's concepts, such as archetypes, the collective unconscious, and individuation, are complex and multifaceted. Unfortunately, the authors' explanations often come across as convoluted and biased, making it difficult for readers, even those with a psychological background, to grasp the core ideas.

Furthermore, for a book that claims to be a "companion" to Jung, it fails to provide the depth and background needed for a complete understanding of Jung's work. At the beginning, the book seems to offer a superficial understanding of Jungian psychology, but then it turns to criticize Jung surrounding his ideas and controversies. Readers looking for an in-depth exploration of Jung's theories will find themselves deeply disappointed by how several authors, such as David Hart, Paul Kugler, Elio Frattaroli, and finally, Buddhist feminist Polly Young-Eisendrath, heavily misinterpret, and even contradict, many elements of Jung's theories and concepts.

Granted that Jungian psychology has evolved since Jung's time, with numerous contemporary perspectives and criticisms, but this book does not adequately incorporate these newer developments or address critiques. It leaves readers with an incomplete picture of where Jungian psychology stands in the modern psychological landscape, as many authors are not actually Jungian analysts, but rather Post-modernists whose influences are Derrida and Foucault.

Also, the book's organization makes it challenging to follow a coherent narrative. It often feels like a collection of random essays rather than a cohesive guide, as it completely ignores Jung's main influences (Nietzsche and Schopenhauer are not even mentioned), in favor of the authors' own bias and experience. This lack of structure can be frustrating, especially for those seeking a systematic introduction to Jung's work.

Finally, the personal anecdotes and experiences are given unmerited prominence throughout the book. While some personal insights can enhance the reader's connection with the material, here, they tend to overshadow the exposition of Jung's theories, as many authors fail to distinguish between their own experiences and biases. This can be distracting and detracts from the academic rigor one would expect in a Cambridge Companion volume.

In conclusion, "The Cambridge Companion to Jung" is a disappointing book for those with a background in psychology. It lacks the clarity, depth, and organization necessary to serve as a comprehensive guide. Readers would be better off seeking alternative texts that offer a more rigorous and coherent exploration of Jungian psychology. As many authors present themselves as outspoken, proud post-modernists, I strongly believe that this book should be called "The Cambridge Companion to Post-modernism", as they tend to focus on critiquing Jung from a postmodern perspective rather than accurately presenting his ideas.

[Jasper Lucas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of essays gives a great overview of not only Jung's own thought, but also the ways later theorists and clinicians have engaged with his thought. Interesting reformulations are presented based on more contemporary views on gender, politics and religion, resulting in fascinating work. Not all essays are equally enlightening, but there are some true gems in there.

Highly recommend to anyone looking for an accessible yet thorough introduction to analytical psychology!

[Jorge Elgueta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Young-Eisendrath does a marvelous job at what she set out to do; making a companion that's different from all the so-called "introductions Jung" that have proliferated over the last couple decades. Instead of setting out to explain Jung to the uninitiated, and therefore diluting the concepts to a point that threads closely to ridicule, the Cambridge Companion paints a general, but high resolution picture of the Jungian approach today, including where the approach comes from, the schools within analytical psychology, the debate between them (as well as debate within them). Furthermore, the Cambridge Companion sets out to carefully analyze the importance of Jungian thought in society, politics, and religion in an unassuming, brutally honest way. This is especially evident in chapter 13, "Literary criticism and analytical psychology", which gives an interesting point of view and a profound self-critique on why Jungian ideas, investigation, and texts have been relegated to the fringes of either psychology or literary analysis. However bleak the picture it paints, it is also hopeful and proposes how to remedy this situation, as well as observes that some jungian authors have already started toying with these ideas.
The book does a good job at explaining central Jungian concepts; while this is not its main goal by far, each author clarifies the meaning of each concept according to their own understanding of it, and always applied to the topic of the essay they present us with. This provides the reader with multiple definitions that never feel repetitive, each threading on the previous one, but adding a new, original dimension as well.
As this book is a compilation of essays by different authors, the flow is far from uniform; some authors have a very conducive style that makes reading quite enjoyable and quick, while others are rather dark and slow to read. However, the content of the different essays is never but once disappointing or predictable. The sad exception is chapter 14, "Jung and politics", which is evidently driven by postmodern political ideology. The chapter is self-righteous, and therefore quick engage in judgement of Jung's character, instead of tackling down the ideas that, according to the author, are dangerously naive.

Best chapter in the book: #9 Me and my anima: through the dark glass of the Jungian/Freudian interface.
Worst chapter in the book: #14 Jung and politics

[Puttipong K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8/5

The Cambridge Companion to Jung is a great introduction to Jung's thought in general. The essays range from development of general Jung’s thought to clinical approach to application outside of psychology fields such as literary criticism or political science. Still, some topics are vaguely explained and hard to understand because the book doesn’t prepare the reader well in some specific concepts that most people would find difficult to grasp. Overall, The Cambridge Companion to Jung is great for introduction to Jung in general, though not enough to understand aspects of analytical psychology discreetly. Still, the book has great anecdotes for further reading after each chapter.

[Amé · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must have reference book for those interested in Jungian psychology and his Analytical legacy. I found the different 'voices' of the contributors fascinatingly diverse and Part II, ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY IN PRACTICE made for downright engrossing reading.
As a lot of reference books it is not exactly 'cover-to-cover' reading material but can easily be read in that manner due to the very well thought out thematic organisation and layout.

[Martin Fossum · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent way to understand Jung and his place in modern thought. My edition was the 2007 edition, so there were some insightful updates since the first edition in 1996.