What do you think?
Rate this book
Jung
Carl Gustav Jung first wanted to be an archaeologist. When family finances made this impossible, he pursued a medical degree from Basel University. Considering a specialization in surgery, he stumbled upon a psychiatry book--an event that changed the course of his life and ultimately the whole field of depth psychology.
Anthony Storr looks at these and other telling facts about Jung's life in the opening chapter of this highly acclaimed book. Though fundamentally concerned with Jung's ideas, Storr's approach shows his conviction that in the realm of dynamic psychology it is impossible to separate ideas from the personality of the man in whom they occurred. His clear and concise review of the whole corpus of Jung's writings always keeps in sight the man behind the work, as each subsequent chapter concentrates on a particular Jungian concept, guiding the reader through the life and ideas of this great thinker.
Storr investigates the major principles of analytical psychology, presenting such central concepts as the collective unconscious, the archetypes, the shadow, and the persona. He looks at Jung's religious turmoil and his inner need to reconcile the opposition between objectivity and subjectivity. He shows how his ideas follow a progression from the intellectual agitation that characterized the young psychologist to the advanced theories of balance and integration found in the mature man. Storr concludes his book with a look at psychotherapy, describing advances as well as problems involved in a practical consideration of Jungian techniques.
Perhaps the most remarkable element of Jung is its illumination of complex concepts--concepts that had they been easily accessible in the original would have caused a wider appreciation of Jung's work. The clarity and order that Storr brings to light in Jung's psychology will come as a welcome surprise to those who have found him an obscure if provocative thinker. Storr's sensitive analysis makes the book compelling reading for everyone interested in Jung, and his clear exposition provides a superior introduction for newcomers, allowing the genius of Jung to appear for the widest possible audience.
First published in 1973, this classic study is now available again. The Routledge edition includes a brief preface in which the author describes his previous work on Jung as well as his meeting with the great Swiss thinker.
Anthony Storr looks at these and other telling facts about Jung's life in the opening chapter of this highly acclaimed book. Though fundamentally concerned with Jung's ideas, Storr's approach shows his conviction that in the realm of dynamic psychology it is impossible to separate ideas from the personality of the man in whom they occurred. His clear and concise review of the whole corpus of Jung's writings always keeps in sight the man behind the work, as each subsequent chapter concentrates on a particular Jungian concept, guiding the reader through the life and ideas of this great thinker.
Storr investigates the major principles of analytical psychology, presenting such central concepts as the collective unconscious, the archetypes, the shadow, and the persona. He looks at Jung's religious turmoil and his inner need to reconcile the opposition between objectivity and subjectivity. He shows how his ideas follow a progression from the intellectual agitation that characterized the young psychologist to the advanced theories of balance and integration found in the mature man. Storr concludes his book with a look at psychotherapy, describing advances as well as problems involved in a practical consideration of Jungian techniques.
Perhaps the most remarkable element of Jung is its illumination of complex concepts--concepts that had they been easily accessible in the original would have caused a wider appreciation of Jung's work. The clarity and order that Storr brings to light in Jung's psychology will come as a welcome surprise to those who have found him an obscure if provocative thinker. Storr's sensitive analysis makes the book compelling reading for everyone interested in Jung, and his clear exposition provides a superior introduction for newcomers, allowing the genius of Jung to appear for the widest possible audience.
First published in 1973, this classic study is now available again. The Routledge edition includes a brief preface in which the author describes his previous work on Jung as well as his meeting with the great Swiss thinker.
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1973
15 people are currently reading
246 people want to read
About the author
Anthony Storr
42 books167 followersAnthony Storr was an English psychiatrist and author. He was a child who was to endure the typical trauma of early 20th century UK boarding schools. He was educated at Winchester, Christ's College, the University of Cambridge and Westminster Hospital. He qualified as a doctor in 1944, and subsequently specialized in psychiatry.
Storr grew up to be kind and insightful, yet, as his obituary states, he was "no stranger to suffering" and was himself allegedly prone to the frequent bouts of depression his mother had.
Today, Anthony Storr is known for his psychoanalytical portraits of historical figures.
Storr grew up to be kind and insightful, yet, as his obituary states, he was "no stranger to suffering" and was himself allegedly prone to the frequent bouts of depression his mother had.
Today, Anthony Storr is known for his psychoanalytical portraits of historical figures.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 5, 2016
This was one of the first books I read about Jung after having begun the project of reading the Collected Works. It was also one of the better general introductions to the man and his theories.
May 18, 2014
A clear and concise review of Jung and his ideas. Every page has fascinating details and it is easy to see Jung's influence on the field of psychology. Storr has written a book that is both unbiased yet appreciative and a good starting point for anybody interested in a brief view of Carl Jung's psychological concepts.
March 5, 2022
Good introduction
June 10, 2019
This concise, excellent book clarified for me, simply and accessibly yet intelligently, Jung's complex ideas. For people interested in Jung, this is the best possible introduction to his difficult - often contradictory and occasionally even confused - oeuvre.
June 23, 2018
A critical, yet sympathetic introduction (the best kinds of introductions!) to Jung. Much much better than Anthony Stevens's "Jung" for the Very Short Introductions series. In the postscript Storr states he pretty much doesn't have time for Jung's occultist/mystic side and thus the book is primarily about the non-mystic side of Jung (i.e. the side of Jung that actually has something worthwhile to say). Storr articulates Jung's concepts much better than Stevens did and unlike Stevens he isn't an uncritical pseudo-disciple. In fact this book seems like exactly what I wanted that I wrote in my review on Stevens's Jung book! Storr is sharply critical when he needs to be (Jung's psychological typology and synchronicity being practically useless, Jung devaluing art) and gives glowing praise when warranted (Jung's contribution to psychotherapy). One thing I have noticed is that Jung seemed to have discovered a couple of principles of dialectical materialism without realizing it (?) viz. the unity and interpenetration of opposites.
Really the only thing I didn't like about this book are two throwaway anti-communist remarks by Storr but that barely detracts from the overall quality of the book. If you're like me (a materialist, non-religious) this is the book you should read for an introduction to Jung. Also it was funny how Storr kept saying Jung was a bad writer (something Jung admitted himself).
Really the only thing I didn't like about this book are two throwaway anti-communist remarks by Storr but that barely detracts from the overall quality of the book. If you're like me (a materialist, non-religious) this is the book you should read for an introduction to Jung. Also it was funny how Storr kept saying Jung was a bad writer (something Jung admitted himself).
May 25, 2020
A lucid, direct introduction to perhaps the most indirect thinker of the 20th century. If you want an introduction to Jung's key ideas this is a great place to start.
Storr has written extensively about Jung, so clearly sees great value in his work, but is more than willing to criticise Jung's ideas (chiefly his obscurity, and also his tendency to see meaningful connections when perhaps there are none). This leads to a really balanced, sober read.
Jung is a strange thinker because his work juggles a handful of disciplines (theology, mythology, psychiatry, literature...). Storr, whose background is in clinical psychology/psychiatry, ties the many strands of Jungian thought together by grounding them in therapeutic practice. It's not that this is inappropriate, but Jung's work is profoundly philosophical and can be valuable to individuals who have no interest in therapy. In many ways, Jung's work was a response to the problems outlined by Nietzsche (especially how to orient oneself in a world which struggles to reconcile science and dogmatic religion). Storr doesn't draw much attention to Jung's historical context, which I think is a missed opportunity.
In short, if you're interested in Jung for philosophical reasons, there are more satisfying introductions (I would recommend Oxford University's very short introduction to Jung). If you are pursuing Jung out of psychologyical interest, this will be a very useful read.
Storr has written extensively about Jung, so clearly sees great value in his work, but is more than willing to criticise Jung's ideas (chiefly his obscurity, and also his tendency to see meaningful connections when perhaps there are none). This leads to a really balanced, sober read.
Jung is a strange thinker because his work juggles a handful of disciplines (theology, mythology, psychiatry, literature...). Storr, whose background is in clinical psychology/psychiatry, ties the many strands of Jungian thought together by grounding them in therapeutic practice. It's not that this is inappropriate, but Jung's work is profoundly philosophical and can be valuable to individuals who have no interest in therapy. In many ways, Jung's work was a response to the problems outlined by Nietzsche (especially how to orient oneself in a world which struggles to reconcile science and dogmatic religion). Storr doesn't draw much attention to Jung's historical context, which I think is a missed opportunity.
In short, if you're interested in Jung for philosophical reasons, there are more satisfying introductions (I would recommend Oxford University's very short introduction to Jung). If you are pursuing Jung out of psychologyical interest, this will be a very useful read.
Read
October 15, 2024این کتاب دربارهٔ برخی از دیدگاههای یونگ توضیحات خوبی میدهد؛ اما گزارشی نظاممند از دیدگاههای وی عرضه نمیکند؛ به طوری که من نمیتوانم ربط و نظامی بین این آراء پراکنده بیابم و بفهمم که این تلاشهای گوناگون یونگ نهایتاً برای پاسخ به چه سؤالی بوده است. این نویسنده کتابی هم در آشنایی با فروید نوشته که در مجموعهٔ «مقدمهای بسیار کوتاه» انتشارات آکسفرد منتشر شده است و تا جایی که به یاد دارم از این کتاب منسجمتر بود۰
کتاب علاوه بر معرفی آراء یونگ گهگاه به ارزیابی یا مقایسهشان با برخی از بزرگان روانشناسی هم پرداخته و به مناسبت، منابع دیگری هم به خواننده معرفی کرده است. ارجاعاتی که به نوشتههای یونگ داده تقریباً همگی به مجموعه آثار وی است و نه به عنوان کتابهای وی. بنابراین، به کسی که میخواهد به سراغ کتابهای ترجمهشدهٔ یونگ برود کمک نمیکند. آخر سر اینکه کتاب، اصطلاحات تخصصی تعریفنشده فراوان دارد. با توجه به اینکه این کتاب مقدماتی است و خوانندهاش قاعدتاً متخصص نیست این هم ضعف مهمی است۰
مترجم (مهیار علینقی) به رغم جوانی ــ برخلاف دیگر مترجمان جوان که مفهوم بودن متن را قربانی ترجمهٔ تحت اللفظی میکنند ــ کتاب را بسیار روان و در برخی موارد، بسیار پخته و جافتاده ترجمه کرده است. افزون بر این، شمار زیادی از کتابهای دیگر در حوزهٔ روانشناسی را نیز با همین ناشر (بینش نو) ترجمه کرده است. این کیفیت و کمیت با توجه به سن مترجم عجیب و تحسینبرانگیز است. اما چون ترجمه را با متن اصلی تطبیق ندادهام دقت کارش را نمیدانم. عیبی که در کار وی میبینم ذکر اندک معادلهای انگلیسی است۰
کتاب علاوه بر معرفی آراء یونگ گهگاه به ارزیابی یا مقایسهشان با برخی از بزرگان روانشناسی هم پرداخته و به مناسبت، منابع دیگری هم به خواننده معرفی کرده است. ارجاعاتی که به نوشتههای یونگ داده تقریباً همگی به مجموعه آثار وی است و نه به عنوان کتابهای وی. بنابراین، به کسی که میخواهد به سراغ کتابهای ترجمهشدهٔ یونگ برود کمک نمیکند. آخر سر اینکه کتاب، اصطلاحات تخصصی تعریفنشده فراوان دارد. با توجه به اینکه این کتاب مقدماتی است و خوانندهاش قاعدتاً متخصص نیست این هم ضعف مهمی است۰
مترجم (مهیار علینقی) به رغم جوانی ــ برخلاف دیگر مترجمان جوان که مفهوم بودن متن را قربانی ترجمهٔ تحت اللفظی میکنند ــ کتاب را بسیار روان و در برخی موارد، بسیار پخته و جافتاده ترجمه کرده است. افزون بر این، شمار زیادی از کتابهای دیگر در حوزهٔ روانشناسی را نیز با همین ناشر (بینش نو) ترجمه کرده است. این کیفیت و کمیت با توجه به سن مترجم عجیب و تحسینبرانگیز است. اما چون ترجمه را با متن اصلی تطبیق ندادهام دقت کارش را نمیدانم. عیبی که در کار وی میبینم ذکر اندک معادلهای انگلیسی است۰
June 17, 2016
More about the man and his relationship to his ideas than a detailed exploration of Jungian concepts this book is nevertheless valuable for its brevity, solid scope of inclusion and the ability of the author to place Jungian theory in comparison to Freud, Adler and more contemporary psychotherapy schools.
April 9, 2016
This short overview and critique of Jung's work is not very stimulating, although it did provide some insights I had not been exposed to before, such as the weakness of Jung's theory of types, and the lack of precision in some of Jung's terminology.
November 16, 2014
Brilliant overview of Jung's life and ideas. Storr is a great communicator and one finishes the book filled with the desire to delve much further into his subject's oeuvre.
January 24, 2021
Excellent, concise introduction to Jung's central ideas. I had been intrigued by some of Jung's concepts but had difficulties reconciling this with a rather scientific, deterministic perspective & I sometimes became frustrated engaging with Jung's vague definitions & creative, but confused writing style.
Storr does a superb job acknowledging these issues & framing Jung's - often understated - cultural importance, adding personal remarks without becoming overbearing.
A couple of memorable passages to illustrate this:
[on archetypes] "What is inherited is a predisposition, not an idea; a predisposition to create significant myths out of the common stuff of day-to-day human experience; just as one might say that a human being inherits a predisposition to react emotionally to the opposite sex."
"One of Jung’s central ideas was that modern man had become alienated from this mythopœic substratum of his being, and that therefore his life lacked meaning and significance for him."
"If Jung had expounded his hypothesis of the collective unconscious in terms of man’s need for art and for science, instead of in terms of his need for religion, I believe the idea would have become far more widely acknowledged."
"Jung referred to religions as psychotherapeutic systems. He might equally well have used the same phrase about works of art. Nowadays, more people gain what Jung would have called experience of the Self from one or other of the arts than they do from religion."
Highly recommended as an introduction for readers who have not been able to engage with Jung's body of work due to its esoteric connotations.
Storr does a superb job acknowledging these issues & framing Jung's - often understated - cultural importance, adding personal remarks without becoming overbearing.
A couple of memorable passages to illustrate this:
[on archetypes] "What is inherited is a predisposition, not an idea; a predisposition to create significant myths out of the common stuff of day-to-day human experience; just as one might say that a human being inherits a predisposition to react emotionally to the opposite sex."
"One of Jung’s central ideas was that modern man had become alienated from this mythopœic substratum of his being, and that therefore his life lacked meaning and significance for him."
"If Jung had expounded his hypothesis of the collective unconscious in terms of man’s need for art and for science, instead of in terms of his need for religion, I believe the idea would have become far more widely acknowledged."
"Jung referred to religions as psychotherapeutic systems. He might equally well have used the same phrase about works of art. Nowadays, more people gain what Jung would have called experience of the Self from one or other of the arts than they do from religion."
Highly recommended as an introduction for readers who have not been able to engage with Jung's body of work due to its esoteric connotations.
September 28, 2020
A succinct introduction to Jung with juxtaposition to other psychologists at the time (mainly focusing on Freud) - Author is exhaustive yet healthily skeptical around certain contributions/perspectives while addressing biases.
Notes & Quotes-
Poetry, like music, can transmute the mud of the banal into the gold of the transcendent.
...man's infancy is intrinsically frustrating; and that is this fact which makes him restlessly creative, searching for 'ideal' solutions...
The fact that our human relationships are distorted because we tend to project images upon the other person which derive from inside ourselves.
Loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself, or from holding certain views which others find inadmissible.
Re: Jung
51 - views on wisdom & attracted seem shortsighted and unnecessarily binary
54 - a strong dose of toxic masculinity
63 - original delineation from extraversion/introversion
"wholeness" - a proxy for enlightenment
Follow ups:
Kleinian vs. Freudians
Death and the Mid-Life Crisis
The Secret of the Golden Flower
A Mathematician's Apology G.H. Hardy
Notes & Quotes-
Poetry, like music, can transmute the mud of the banal into the gold of the transcendent.
...man's infancy is intrinsically frustrating; and that is this fact which makes him restlessly creative, searching for 'ideal' solutions...
The fact that our human relationships are distorted because we tend to project images upon the other person which derive from inside ourselves.
Loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself, or from holding certain views which others find inadmissible.
Re: Jung
51 - views on wisdom & attracted seem shortsighted and unnecessarily binary
54 - a strong dose of toxic masculinity
63 - original delineation from extraversion/introversion
"wholeness" - a proxy for enlightenment
Follow ups:
Kleinian vs. Freudians
Death and the Mid-Life Crisis
The Secret of the Golden Flower
A Mathematician's Apology G.H. Hardy
December 24, 2021
Jung in perspective
Thoughtful and balanced critique and assessment of Jung and his many works. Good contrasts with Freud, Adler, and modern analysts.
Thoughtful and balanced critique and assessment of Jung and his many works. Good contrasts with Freud, Adler, and modern analysts.
September 9, 2023
I knew nothing about psychology or Jung and found something interesting on every page.
September 16, 2023
DOPE!!
July 26, 2014
It is unfortunate Jung's subversive ideas became so widespread and caused so much confusion about spiritual issues, but, being so prevalent it is good to know what they are, and this is one of the better short introductions.
May 5, 2021
Very easy reading. Great overview in an understandable format. Sets the reader up nicely with further reading. Highlights criticisms of Jung as well as positive elements of his work and approach. Really enjoyed reading this.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews