Jung: A Biography

by Gerhard Wehr, David M Weeks (Translator)

This carefully documented biography weaves the many colored threads of Jung's life into a unified pattern, giving the reader the most detailed picture available of this great psychologist's contribution to our understanding of human consciousness. Wehr unifies the biographical details and external developments of Jung's life with his internal development as seen in Jung's memoirs and work.

Genres: Psychology, Biography, Philosophy, Nonfiction, History

560 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is another hagiography of C.G. Jung, virtually every utterance of the great man being repeated uncritically. As such, I found most of it boring, having had my decade of reading his collected works with interested sympathy. What little this book offered was in terms of some details of fact, especially the chapter on Eranos and the afterword on Jung's relations with some other notables. Indicative of its failings, however, is, for instance, Wehr's treatment of the Chilean Hitler-occultist, Miguel Serrano, one of Jung's last interlocutors whose relationship to the elderly psychiatrist would appear to be indicative of senile dementia--and a lack of background research on the part of the author, so concerned otherwise to release Jung from charges of Nazism.

As an 'introduction' to the life of C.G. Jung supplemental to and much beholden to his 'autobiography', Wehr's book might be of value to readers wishing a generally uncritical exposition of the man's life and ideas.

[Iver Raknes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carl Jung had an incredibly deep understanding of the psyche, which especially reflects in his work on the archetypes and his discussions of symbols. It is certain for me that there are few who has had as big of an impact in the psychology of personality as Jung had, and i believe that the same could be said about his addition to culture, and the collective conscious. To give a rating to a book about a mans life is hard, but the book has managed to deliver an essence of what i believe a biography should be; a good review of the mans life, that draws clear parallels between the mans own journey and the work that his journey produced.

Jung was deeply concerned about diving into the spiritual realms of his own mind, dreams and thoughts. He explored countless ways of thinking of the world, from that of our shamanistic, gnostic and alchemical ancestors to that of modern time philosophers. He went great lengths to achieve different mental states, paradigm shifts, or what you would call in psychology "the individuation prosess". This book gives account for the steps he took to become the great thinker and man that he was. From his explorations of parapsychology, to his world travels and Nekyia - his night sea journey in the steps of Homers Hero in the Odyssey. Jung deserves attention if you want guidance to achieving new revelations of mind and dipping your toes in new realms of chaos and uncertainty. We have become all to protective of our own psyches and opinions, but the legacy of Jung leaves us with tools to live a more fulfilling and philosophical life. Jung could look thousands of years back in the past when thinking about a problem, an ability that we rarely see in these times of material consumption and connectivity. And it could be said that the main concern in his life work as a whole was that of reviving or revivifying culture.

- perhaps it could be said of Jung that he offered us to drink from the blood of the God that Nietzsche left dead, the god that accounted for the most fundamental structural components of our western society. Jung wanted to find a way for mankind to learn from the past so that we could live in a way where we would not destroy ourself or each other.

«The psyche is not of today! Its age is measured in many millions of years. Individual Consciousness is only the flower and fruit of a season, which grown up from the perennial rhizome under the earth, and finds itself more in harmony with the truth if it takes the existence of the rhizome into account. For the root-network is the mother of all things.»

[Dante · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its a very nice introduction to Jung's Pyschology, Gerhard focuses more in the origen and the development of the terms used in Jung's Pyschology. I studied Jung before reading this, so it feelt easy going but i did learned some interesing facts i did not know about Jung in this book. I reccomend it to anyone interesed in Jung's Pyschology.

[A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

not as fascinating as i thought it would be

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

AN EXCELLENT AND DETAILED (AND SYMPATHETIC) BIOGRAPHY OF THE PSYCHOLOGIST

Gerhard Wehr is a German writer who has written other books such as Jung and Steiner, The Mystical Marriage: Symbol and Meaning of the Human Experience, and many others which have not been translated. In an early chapter of this 1985 book he wrote , "these early [recollections] may be taken quite literally as 'internal experiences,' even when they refer to things heard and seen externally. This is unquestionably the major difficulty in writing a biography of Jung. This inward-directedness was later termed 'introversion,' or 'turning within,' in the context of his studies of psychological types. In his old age the only events of his life that seemed worth reporting were those in which the 'imperishable world irrupted into the transitory one,' thereby presenting him with the raw material... for his life's work." (Pg. 22-23)

He discusses Jung's attitude to his father (who was a Reformed minister): "The son thought his father had never experienced the miracle of grace. He had taken the Commandments of the Bible as his guide and more or less blindly believed in its contents, as the tradition of his fathers demanded... In this crisis Carl sought to help his father---the minister's son helping the minister! Vainly he tried to share something of his own experiences, particularly later when he reached eighteen and had many discussions with his father. Resignedly he had to report: 'Our discussions invariably came to an unsatisfactory end.'" (Pg. 48)

Wehr records Jung's enthusiastic early participation in séances (Pg. 70-74). He also relates Jung's numerous extramarital affairs [including with Sabina Spielrein, a patient of his] (Pg. 141-143). He says about the "three-way relationship" Jung insisted upon between his wife, Jungian analyst Toni Wolff, himself: "It would hardly be possible to achieve a proper evaluation of this fateful constellation from outside. Many people, though, might have found the problems of this three-way relationship unacceptable, making it all the more astonishing that a modus viviendi was in fact found and practiced which lasted for decades... Barbara Hannah... wrote, 'What saved the situation was that there was no "lack of love" in any of the three. Jung was able to give both his wife and Toni a most satisfactory amount, and BOTH women REALLY loved him.'" (Pg. 189)

He says of the final break between Jung and Freud [Freud had called Jung his "crown prince"; pg. 111]: "Jung's criticism that the techniques with which Freud treated patients and students alike constituted an interference... he was begetting 'slavish sons' for himself... Publicly, of course, Jung would continue to support Freud, but with due recognition of his own views. With this Freud felt it impossible to continue their private relationship. Indeed he would lost nothing by it, he said, for... the earlier disappointments he had suffered were always before him... Jung's letter of 6 January 1913... is of a brevity that speaks for itself: '...I shall submit to your wish to discontinue our personal relationship, for I never force my friendship on anyone.'" (Pg. 152-153)

He speaks obliquely about Jung's near-breakdown: "The old admonition 'Physician, heal thyself' is nowhere more warranted than here... Gradually a change began to be apparent. It turned out that the measures Jung had found by instinct and intuition had been the right ones for his spiritual and psychic predicament. They had helped him... to maintain his contact with everyday reality and his obligations to society." (Pg. 191) He wrote of Jung's development of Psychological Types (Pg. 206-210), as well as his fascination with the I Ching (pg. 234-235) and his later preoccupation with Alchemy (pg. 256-258).

Of Jung's controversial relationship with the Nazi Party, Hitler, and anti-Semitism, he admits, "it must be said that Jung did after all allow himself to be carried away into statements which, if taken at face value, could and indeed were bound to be interpreted as serious discrimination... time and circumstance, indeed even his choice of words, were bound to leave open the door to misunderstanding..." (Pg. 317-319) Later, Jung admitted to rabbi Leo Baeck, "'Yes, I slipped up,' when it came to his position on the Nazis and his expectation that perhaps this might have been the start of something great." (Pg. 325)

When Jung was interviewed in 1959 for a television program, he was asked whether he believed in God: "Then he admitted that it was really a quite difficult question. And to the surprise of his listeners he added quite definitely: 'I KNOW. I don't need to believe. I know.'" (Pg. 440)

This book is one of the best biographies of Jung [along with Carl Gustav Jung: A Biography and Jung: A Biography], and will be of great interest to anyone seriously studying the life of this towering and still-influential figure.

[Bookaholic]

Gerhard Wehr surprinde destul de precis, în monografia dedicată lui C. G. Jung, caracteristicile gândirii psihanalistului elveţian. Ce e drept, există o mulţime de lucrări despre Jung – printre cele mai cunoscute numărându-se, de exemplu, cele ale Jolandei Jacobi sau Anielei Jaffé, ambele discipole ale psihanalistului elveţian –, însă volumul lui Gerhard Wehr este, poate, cel mai potrivit pentru neofiţii într-ale psihanalizei jungiene.

Concisă, clară, lejeră în abordarea vastului material jungian, monografia lui Wehr nu ocoleşte însă punctele controversate ale teoriilor lui Jung despre psihicul uman. Sunt vizate, astfel, relaţiile psihologiei cu alchimia, chestiunea arhetipului, dar şi problema a ceea ce, în istoria religiilor, este denumit coincidentia oppositorum.

De asemenea, nu este lăsată deoparte ruptura de Freud. La numai 31 de ani, Jung recunoştea realizările lui Sigmund Freud într-o perioadă în care acestea, pe fundalul unui antisemitism din ce în ce mai acut, au avut un slab ecou. În 1907, cei doi se întâlnesc la reşedinţa lui Freud din Viena, în Bergstraße 19. Unul avea 51 de ani, celălalt 32. Firi diferite – Jung, un introvertit, Freud, un extrovertit –, cei doi au discutat fără pauză, după cum mărturiseşte Jung, timp de treisprezece ore. Despre ce? În principal, despre psihanaliză, desigur. (cronică: http://bookaholic.ro/despre-jung-si-p...)

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard rating a book about someone's life. I think it was a nice introduction to Jung's works, letting us know when were certain texts written and in which circumstances, as to get a better understanding of Jung's points of view. Things are easier when you get some context.
Quite a colorful yet secluded and misunderstood life Jung had. It's sad finishing reading a biography 'cause as you read you learn about the person behind the public figure but you know the chapter about their demise will come soon.
Jung's theories are not examined in depth here but it's a good point for a beginner to get some directions.

[Marcos Pensive · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, if uncritical, book on one of my favorite figures in history.
Contained many of the more interesting and unique occurrences and meetings of his life that I had no prior knowledge of.

As always, Jung is endlessly relatable and fascinating to me.