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Jung's Collected Works #7
Dos Escritos Sobre Psicologia Analitica
Los dos escritos tempranos aquí reunidos, "Sobre la psicología de lo insonsciente" y "Las relaciones entre el yo y lo inconsciente", pertenecen a las obras más importantes de Carl Gustav Jung. Sobre la base de un rico material empírico se expone en ellos los conceptos fundamentales de la Psicología Analítica y se explora "el problema que representa ese inconsciente caótico que dormita inquieto bajo el ordenado mundo de la consciencia". Enfrentado a los efectos desastrosos de la psicología de las naciones, Jung elabora la idea de un inconsciente colectivo y estudia sus relaciones con la psique individual. Ambos escritos reflejan así el empeño junguiano de fomentar el desarrollo psicológico de los individuos.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1953
240 people are currently reading
3968 people want to read
About the author
C.G. Jung
1,881 books11.6k followersCarl Gustav Jung (/jʊŋ/; German: [ˈkarl ˈɡʊstaf jʊŋ]), often referred to as C. G. Jung, was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist who founded analytical psychology. Jung proposed and developed the concepts of extraversion and introversion; archetypes, and the collective unconscious. His work has been influential in psychiatry and in the study of religion, philosophy, archeology, anthropology, literature, and related fields. He was a prolific writer, many of whose works were not published until after his death.
The central concept of analytical psychology is individuation—the psychological process of integrating the opposites, including the conscious with the unconscious, while still maintaining their relative autonomy. Jung considered individuation to be the central process of human development.
Jung created some of the best known psychological concepts, including the archetype, the collective unconscious, the complex, and synchronicity. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), a popular psychometric instrument, has been developed from Jung's theory of psychological types.
Though he was a practising clinician and considered himself to be a scientist, much of his life's work was spent exploring tangential areas such as Eastern and Western philosophy, alchemy, astrology, and sociology, as well as literature and the arts. Jung's interest in philosophy and the occult led many to view him as a mystic, although his ambition was to be seen as a man of science. His influence on popular psychology, the "psychologization of religion", spirituality and the New Age movement has been immense.
The central concept of analytical psychology is individuation—the psychological process of integrating the opposites, including the conscious with the unconscious, while still maintaining their relative autonomy. Jung considered individuation to be the central process of human development.
Jung created some of the best known psychological concepts, including the archetype, the collective unconscious, the complex, and synchronicity. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), a popular psychometric instrument, has been developed from Jung's theory of psychological types.
Though he was a practising clinician and considered himself to be a scientist, much of his life's work was spent exploring tangential areas such as Eastern and Western philosophy, alchemy, astrology, and sociology, as well as literature and the arts. Jung's interest in philosophy and the occult led many to view him as a mystic, although his ambition was to be seen as a man of science. His influence on popular psychology, the "psychologization of religion", spirituality and the New Age movement has been immense.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
December 30, 2009
"Archetypes usually appear in projection; and, because projections are unconscious, they appear on persons in the immediate environment, mostly in the form of abnormal over- or under-valuations which provoke misunderstandings, quarrels, fanatascisms, and follies of every description." p. 95.
"The process of coming to terms with the unconscious is a true labour, a work which involves both action and suffering. It has been named the transcendent function because it represents a function based on real and imaginary or rational and irrational, data, thus bridging the yawning gulf between conscious and unconscious." p 80.
"Every individual needs revolution, inner division, overthrow of the existing order, and renewal, but not by forcing them upon his neighbors under the hypocritical cloak of Christian love or the sense of social respnsibility or any of the other beautiful euphemisms for unconscious urges to personal power. Individual self-reflection, return of the individual to the ground of human nature, to his own deepest being with its individual and social destiny --here is the beginning of a cure for that blindness which reigns at the present hour." CGJ 1918.
Trauma - besides the traumatic experience there is often a disturbance in the province of love.
"...the fact remains that love, its problems and its conflicts, is of fundamental importance in human life and, as careful inquiry consistently shows, is of far greater tsignificance than the individual suspects. The trauma theory has therefore been abandoned as antiquated; for with the discovery that not the trauma but a hidden love conflict is the root of the neurosis, the trauma loses its causal significance." p. 18.
"The process of coming to terms with the unconscious is a true labour, a work which involves both action and suffering. It has been named the transcendent function because it represents a function based on real and imaginary or rational and irrational, data, thus bridging the yawning gulf between conscious and unconscious." p 80.
"Every individual needs revolution, inner division, overthrow of the existing order, and renewal, but not by forcing them upon his neighbors under the hypocritical cloak of Christian love or the sense of social respnsibility or any of the other beautiful euphemisms for unconscious urges to personal power. Individual self-reflection, return of the individual to the ground of human nature, to his own deepest being with its individual and social destiny --here is the beginning of a cure for that blindness which reigns at the present hour." CGJ 1918.
Trauma - besides the traumatic experience there is often a disturbance in the province of love.
"...the fact remains that love, its problems and its conflicts, is of fundamental importance in human life and, as careful inquiry consistently shows, is of far greater tsignificance than the individual suspects. The trauma theory has therefore been abandoned as antiquated; for with the discovery that not the trauma but a hidden love conflict is the root of the neurosis, the trauma loses its causal significance." p. 18.
March 1, 2019
I would strongly recommend you read this right after reading Liber Novus, which you should've read if you're thinking of undertaking any serious study of Jung's corpus nowadays. You may get frustrated often because of how vague and rash and full of conviction Jung frequently is in this book, but go through to the end because it's worth it (especially if you've read LN, I'd almost say only if you've read LN). Then after you've read this book you move on to Secret of the Golden Flower by Richard Wilhelm, with Jung's commentary, of course.
Begin with the Appendix and allow your keen skepticism and criticism to go bananas on him. This contains what are the embryonic stages of the essays that Jung developed later on into the two parts that is this actual book (i.e. On the Psychology of the Unconscious; The Relations between the Ego and the Unconscious). Doing so you will find a lot of questions to ask, some of which are answered in the main essays (not always satisfactorily, of course, he's still vague, all too vague, all too often is this book; idem rash). Jung himself, in the conclusion of the first essay, and at the very last two paragraphs of the second one, explains himself why he thinks he can't but be this vague and difficult to understand sometimes. Therefore I recommend you certainly read the conclusion of the first essay before starting to read both main essays, or the whole book altogether for that matter.
I would give it three stars because I was so irritated so often by how rash Jung was, often whilst still purporting to be scientific (this was almost a century ago though, granted). He's not, almost not in the least. But it's no bad advice (which he gives himself in the book) to try and feel your way through what he's trying to get at. I often had the urge to lay down the book and exclaim "screw you, asshole!" but upon reading further almost invariably he made up for it with not unreasonable explanations and so forth. Not unreasonable may even be quite a good way to describe the contents of this book, whatever they may be (except science), empiricism, philosophy, analytical psychology. The reason I gave four (or perhaps more precisely three and a half) is because I simply really like Jung and his ideas and style of thinking. His interest line up with mine quite well, and I "resonate" with a lot of what he says. Though it may be difficult to apply it to yourself sometimes, in my case I often have the feeling that he's really on to something deep and true, and perhaps extremely useful.
Read with an open mind and heart. Give this book a chance, it's not the best but if you allow his train of thought to take you for a ride, and you simply watch whatever happens and the effects that it produces in you, I doubt you won't find any merit in it. He demands a radical honesty with yourself if you really want to find this value. Moreover it's a difficult book to make proper highlights in due to its density of ideas, but it's definitely for the better if you do because there's no way you're going to understand what he's talking about without reviewing it multiple times and chewing on the material rather elaborately.
An important caveat though is that whatever happens, you try to be aware that all that may be going on is suggestion. It's up to you to separate the gold from the base.
If you just want to get an overview of Jung's thought then this may be a good book, but I highly doubt there aren't much better ones out there (though presumably more voluminous, which is very much justifiable in my humble opinion).
Begin with the Appendix and allow your keen skepticism and criticism to go bananas on him. This contains what are the embryonic stages of the essays that Jung developed later on into the two parts that is this actual book (i.e. On the Psychology of the Unconscious; The Relations between the Ego and the Unconscious). Doing so you will find a lot of questions to ask, some of which are answered in the main essays (not always satisfactorily, of course, he's still vague, all too vague, all too often is this book; idem rash). Jung himself, in the conclusion of the first essay, and at the very last two paragraphs of the second one, explains himself why he thinks he can't but be this vague and difficult to understand sometimes. Therefore I recommend you certainly read the conclusion of the first essay before starting to read both main essays, or the whole book altogether for that matter.
I would give it three stars because I was so irritated so often by how rash Jung was, often whilst still purporting to be scientific (this was almost a century ago though, granted). He's not, almost not in the least. But it's no bad advice (which he gives himself in the book) to try and feel your way through what he's trying to get at. I often had the urge to lay down the book and exclaim "screw you, asshole!" but upon reading further almost invariably he made up for it with not unreasonable explanations and so forth. Not unreasonable may even be quite a good way to describe the contents of this book, whatever they may be (except science), empiricism, philosophy, analytical psychology. The reason I gave four (or perhaps more precisely three and a half) is because I simply really like Jung and his ideas and style of thinking. His interest line up with mine quite well, and I "resonate" with a lot of what he says. Though it may be difficult to apply it to yourself sometimes, in my case I often have the feeling that he's really on to something deep and true, and perhaps extremely useful.
Read with an open mind and heart. Give this book a chance, it's not the best but if you allow his train of thought to take you for a ride, and you simply watch whatever happens and the effects that it produces in you, I doubt you won't find any merit in it. He demands a radical honesty with yourself if you really want to find this value. Moreover it's a difficult book to make proper highlights in due to its density of ideas, but it's definitely for the better if you do because there's no way you're going to understand what he's talking about without reviewing it multiple times and chewing on the material rather elaborately.
An important caveat though is that whatever happens, you try to be aware that all that may be going on is suggestion. It's up to you to separate the gold from the base.
If you just want to get an overview of Jung's thought then this may be a good book, but I highly doubt there aren't much better ones out there (though presumably more voluminous, which is very much justifiable in my humble opinion).
July 24, 2019
In this book Jung manages to enable the reader of the picturization of the fantastic, sometimes even dramatic nature of the core concepts introduced by him which is aimed towards the goal of reaching a satisfactory compensation of the contrasting theories put forward by Freud and Adler, (which can be seen as a parallel to the realization of the self), in addition to explaining relatively how Nietzsche's one sidedness led to his malady which ultimately benefited him (his saying "yes" to his instincts consolidates this point of view) and many others. Putting that aside, he dwells into the realm of the unknown to acquaint us with the autonomous functions causing us to insurmountably wage war within ourselves by the usage underhand tricks which we solely equip ourselves for the sake of putting an end to it, which almost everytime fails miserably as the 'libido' piles up for later manifestation. He negates the constraints on the bounds of the topics by asking the reader to follow his poetic manner of writing which is somewhat correlative to the dealings of the matters discussed because it is of no small difficulty to recognize, conceptualize and rationalize the unconscious figures by a plain narrative device generally employed for educational purposes. That's one of the key functions of why and how he makes one understand the totality and the seriousness of the contents. Although the processes and the functionality of the anima and the animus aren't very much expanded upon, their influences can definitely be spotted through introspection. In fact, that's one of the key necessities for understanding, as we tend to only believe and conceive the psychological 'facts' we experienced. For one to understand, it is of great significance that the previous actions are thoroughly scrutinized which might lead to the discovery of invariable influences propounded upon him during the 'possession' by the unconscious factors. There is demanded of the reader a significant change of perspective glued with the misconception, over-identification of and with, traits, beliefs, actions and behaviors which lead to the very destruction of the same individual if not invariably recognized. This is what makes the most abstract of his ideas soluble and entirely within our reach. This should be accepted as a solid foundation for one aspiring to read more of his works with more than little understanding, furthering with the fact that this can be readily understood and applied by anyone who whishes to understand the recurring problems faced and head towards, as Jung put it, the psychic goal, i.e, Individuation.
August 21, 2011
Excellent introduction to Jung's views on therapy and the ultimate goal of individuation. He begins by discussing the history of psychology, then Freud and Adler. Ultimately he shows how both of their theories are correct, but only limited to the specific personality types they represent and the neurosis' they suffer from. Jung's theories are concerned with the entire span of life and all personality types, both healthy and mentally unstable. Jung also discusses his views on the unconscious, the personal complexes and the collective. You really begin to see his own unique views finding major foundations in this book. A must for those who want a short introduction.
March 28, 2015
this is de definite starting point to anyone interested in jung 's theory, opposing to the widely accepted "man and his symbols". yes it is a complex book but I think Jung made a good effort to explain some of the key points of his theory and the result is a book worth reading and digesting, not too complicated and somehow short. A must read for those interested in Jung!
April 10, 2017
"Aš pats tiek Freudo, tiek Adlerio atžvilgiu turėjau didžiulį pranašumą, nes išaugau ne vienpusiškos neurozių psichologijos terpėje, o atėjau iš psichiatrijos, Nietzsche's dėka pasirengęs suvokti šiuolaikinę psichologiją ir gerai susipažinęs ne tik su Freudo teorija, bet ir su Adlerio pažiūrų evoliucija. Taigi aš nuo pat pradžių įsitraukiau į konfliktą ir buvau priverstas ne tik svetimas nuomones, bet ir savą laikyti reliatyviomis, t. y. tam tikro psichologinio tipo išraiškomis."
Du C. G. Jungo tekstai, žymintys psichoanalitinės minties, įtampoje tarp Freudo deterministinių ir Adlerio teleologinių teorijų, evoliucionavimą į nepriklausomą analitinės psichologijos mokyklą. Plačios ir įžvalgios Jungo refleksijos nusidriekia nuo kasdienio gyvenimo, klinikinių atvejų, neurozių, iki, vadinkime, individo psichinės sveikatos etikos, asmenybės brendimą palaikančių veiksnių bei netgi kultūrinių ar istorinių procesų apmąstymo.
Ar psichologui dera kištis į kultūrinius procesus?... "Tačiau pavienio žmogaus psichologija atitinka tautų psichologiją. Tai, ką daro tautos, daro ir kiekvienas atskiras žmogus, ir kol jis tai daro, daro tai ir visa tauta. Tik pasikeitus atskiro žmogaus nuostatai ims keistis ir tautos psichologija." Tad štai kaip.
Du C. G. Jungo tekstai, žymintys psichoanalitinės minties, įtampoje tarp Freudo deterministinių ir Adlerio teleologinių teorijų, evoliucionavimą į nepriklausomą analitinės psichologijos mokyklą. Plačios ir įžvalgios Jungo refleksijos nusidriekia nuo kasdienio gyvenimo, klinikinių atvejų, neurozių, iki, vadinkime, individo psichinės sveikatos etikos, asmenybės brendimą palaikančių veiksnių bei netgi kultūrinių ar istorinių procesų apmąstymo.
Ar psichologui dera kištis į kultūrinius procesus?... "Tačiau pavienio žmogaus psichologija atitinka tautų psichologiją. Tai, ką daro tautos, daro ir kiekvienas atskiras žmogus, ir kol jis tai daro, daro tai ir visa tauta. Tik pasikeitus atskiro žmogaus nuostatai ims keistis ir tautos psichologija." Tad štai kaip.
August 22, 2024
Without say this book will have to be eventually re-read.
This is a tough read. Not because of Jung's unique writing style (speaking in symbolism/reference instead of trying to explain every single thing) but rather due to the endless ocean of complex psychological terminology.
I was told this book was a great entry into Jung's work, which it is. (Despite the fact that it is also the 7th Volume of his collected works). Jung's views on individualism strike true and close to heart especially in a time like this.
As always:
"Men are in a state of temptation; they want and they do not want. And because they want and yet cannot think out what it is they really want, their conflict in largely unconscious, and thence comes neurosis."
This is a tough read. Not because of Jung's unique writing style (speaking in symbolism/reference instead of trying to explain every single thing) but rather due to the endless ocean of complex psychological terminology.
I was told this book was a great entry into Jung's work, which it is. (Despite the fact that it is also the 7th Volume of his collected works). Jung's views on individualism strike true and close to heart especially in a time like this.
As always:
"Men are in a state of temptation; they want and they do not want. And because they want and yet cannot think out what it is they really want, their conflict in largely unconscious, and thence comes neurosis."
October 12, 2008
I'm pretty biased at this point - I love pretty much everything about C. Jung. He's my new hero - anyways, here he does a fantastic job showing the essential and vast difference between his approach and Freuds approach - and then goes into, from the analytical side, what his approach is all about - and its wonderful.
December 19, 2013
Along with Symbols of Transformation (CW 5), this volume (CW 7) represents a good introduction to Jung's "analytical psychology" as it diverged from Freud's psychoanalysis.
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August 5, 2011Like most Jung, this is a tough read. There's some great stuff in here though.
March 30, 2022
[This is Entry 373 from this book] - Here one may ask, perhaps, why it is so desirable that a man should be individuated. Not only is it desirable, it is absolutely indispensable because, through his contamination with others, he falls into situations and commits actions which bring him into disharmony with himself. From all states of unconscious contamination and non-differentiation there is begotten a compulsion to be and to act in a way contrary to one’s own nature. Accordingly a man can neither be at one with himself nor accept responsibility for himself. He feels himself to be in a degrading, unfree, unethical condition. But the disharmony with himself is precisely the neurotic and intolerable condition from which he seeks to be delivered, and deliverance from this condition will come only when he can be and act as he feels is conformable with his true self. People have a feeling for these things, dim and uncertain at first, but growing ever stronger and clearer with progressive development. When a man can say of his states and actions, “As I am, so I act,” he can be at one with himself, even though it be difficult, and he can accept responsibility for himself even though he struggles against it. We must recognize that nothing is more difficult to bear with than oneself. (“You sought the heaviest burden, and found yourself,” says Nietzsche.) Yet even this most difficult of achievements becomes possible if we can distinguish ourselves from the unconscious contents. The introvert discovers these contents in himself, the extravert finds them projected upon human objects. In both cases the unconscious contents are the cause of blinding illusions which falsify ourselves and our relations to our fellow men, making both unreal. For these reasons individuation is indispensable for certain people, not only as a therapeutic necessity, but as a high ideal, an idea of the best we can do.
Nor should I omit to remark that it is at the same time the primitive Christian ideal of the Kingdom of Heaven which “is within you.” The idea at the bottom of this ideal is that right action comes from right thinking, and that there is no cure and no improving of the world that does not begin with the individual himself. To put the matter drastically: the man who is pauper or parasite will never solve the social question.
Nor should I omit to remark that it is at the same time the primitive Christian ideal of the Kingdom of Heaven which “is within you.” The idea at the bottom of this ideal is that right action comes from right thinking, and that there is no cure and no improving of the world that does not begin with the individual himself. To put the matter drastically: the man who is pauper or parasite will never solve the social question.
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October 6, 2021Sunku vertinti Jungo knygas, ypač šią, nes labai daug temų, kurias jis aprašo, galima labai ryškiai pamatyti kine, perskaityti naujesnėje literatūroje, išvysti šią medžiagą kažkaip perteiktą spektakliuose. Bet tuo pačiu žavu, jog Jungas jau prieš 100 metų pradėjo nagrinėti labai svarbias individualizacijos temas, dar neturėdamas daug teorijų ar tyrimų tam. Rekomenduoju su šia knyga save giliau panagrinėti.
September 1, 2021
8.8/10
June 24, 2024
A much more comfortable read than the last couple volumes of Jung's work. Here we see the culmination of Jung's exploration on type into the collective subconscious and the introduction of the anima/Animus. We still do not find a great depth of archetypes though clearly this is on it's way. I look forward to what comes next. I feel like I've grasped a general sketch of Jung's thinking, and he frequently still leaves me in the dust scratching my head and trying to come to terms.
October 7, 2022
Definitely interesting hypothesis and ideas about the psyche but it seems very pseudo psychology. It seems more of an art
January 28, 2019
Human tends to search for the unknown outside of him ignoring the hidden world that has inside him. This book is a good start to light some basic aspects of it. The conclusion you get, is that even the universe which is infinite, is an negligible quantity in front of the size of the human soul.
July 14, 2017
As good an introduction to Jung as "Man and His Symbols." Maybe better if you're willing to work through Jung's sometimes convoluted formulations. The Appendices here are especially helpful, as they show more clearly why Jung made some of the changes he did to the material that composes the main part of the book (the recapitulation of certain key sections also gives the reader a chance to rethink their initial encounters with repression, the erotic drive, the will to power, and so forth).
I think the clearest formulation of the Anima I've ever read is here too. And anyone interested in the collective unconscious will find it interesting to see why Jung traveled down that path to begin with - it's a lot less mysterious than the occult/alchemical readings of Jung would have you believe. The picture of the mind and the individual presented here is a fantastic entry point for readers wanting to understand how Jung and Freud differed.
There's also an awful lot of conservative, just plain wrong thinking about sex and gender in these essays. Whether neo-Jungians are Jung himself ever corrected this thinking is an entirely different question. Some might find it enlightening to see what Jung thought of homosexuality (from a psychological standpoint), gender roles, gender stereotypes, and etc. at this point in his career. It's not exactly encouraging. It does not make the work any less interesting and in many ways it doesn't affect the value of Jung's other insights, but I don't see it mentioned often and thought it worth bringing up.
I think the clearest formulation of the Anima I've ever read is here too. And anyone interested in the collective unconscious will find it interesting to see why Jung traveled down that path to begin with - it's a lot less mysterious than the occult/alchemical readings of Jung would have you believe. The picture of the mind and the individual presented here is a fantastic entry point for readers wanting to understand how Jung and Freud differed.
There's also an awful lot of conservative, just plain wrong thinking about sex and gender in these essays. Whether neo-Jungians are Jung himself ever corrected this thinking is an entirely different question. Some might find it enlightening to see what Jung thought of homosexuality (from a psychological standpoint), gender roles, gender stereotypes, and etc. at this point in his career. It's not exactly encouraging. It does not make the work any less interesting and in many ways it doesn't affect the value of Jung's other insights, but I don't see it mentioned often and thought it worth bringing up.
December 18, 2020
I was surprised to find much of the first part of this book, "On the Psychology of the Unconscious", to be a critique of Freud as much as an outline of Jung's position on the topic. Written and revised during World War I and subsequently revised, it is somewhat fragmented, yet still a good introduction to the topic. Part two is a further discussion of the relation of the ego to the unconscious including an introduction to individuation. The wealth of concepts is such that it is easy to lose track of the overall subject matter. My appreciation for the text was primarily concerned with the literary allusions and references to thinkers from Heraclitus to Nietzsche and beyond.
November 15, 2008
Jung is a total crackpot.
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October 23, 2014missing pages
February 3, 2022
Amazing. 3rd book of Jungs I've finished. Probably the best introduction to his overall perspectives and ideas, a good starting place to get into Jung. Lots of info to digest.
Want to read
November 6, 2012nb
October 19, 2023
The two essays within this volume are “On the Psychology of the Unconscious” and “The Relations Between the Ego and the Unconscious”. Both discuss the makeup and behavior of the unconscious, as well as describes some of Jung’s therapeutic methods.
“On the Psychology of the Unconscious” could be viewed as the history of Jung’s theory of the unconscious. Starting with Freud, then Adler, then Jung, he shows the evolution and mistakes his predecessors made, which explains was due to them projecting their own psychological type onto the unconscious. He spends quite a bit of time explaining the differences between psychological types and how the unconscious works between these types, but admits that he has only scratched the surface. I’d be interested to find out whether anyone really picked up the torch and studied this area in a serious way. He also touches on his theory of the Transcendant Function, which as I understand it is the ability to relate and harmonize between the conscious and unconscious, with the development of this function being the ultimate goal of therapy.
An excerpt I enjoyed:
“Positive as well as negative occurrences can constellate the inferior counter-function. When this happens, sensitiveness appears. Sensitiveness is a sure sign of the presence of inferiority. This provides the psychological basis for discord and misunderstanding, not only as between two people, but also in ourselves. The essence of the inferior function is autonomy: it is independent, it attacks, it fascinates and so spins us about that we are no longer masters of ourselves and can no longer rightly distinguish between ourselves and others.
And yet it is necessary for the development of character that we should allow the other side, the inferior function, to find expression. We cannot in the long run allow one part of our personality to be cared for symbiotically by another; for the moment when we might have need of the other function may come at any time and find us unprepared, as the above example shows.”
“The Relations Between the Ego and the Unconscious” is much more technical, mapping the geography of the unconscious: archetypes, personal unconscious, collective unconscious, personal and syzygy. He also describes the dangers when one loses balance with their unconscious: some feel godlike and become a narcissistic megalomaniac, some feel pathetic and crushed by the weight of the unconscious.
The personal unconscious, the part of one’s unconscious based on one’s unique experiences, as opposed to the collective unconscious which is not unique to us and common to humans, is typically made of repressed or denied parts of oneself, memories, attitudes or feelings. The persona is a more readily visible part of the collective unconscious, as it is the “mask” or sub-personality one adopts to get through the world. One can imagine the engineered demeanor of a businessman, lawyer or actor (not implying personas only exist in one’s professional life). These are necessary to exist but should be viewed as a compromise between the world and the individual. Issues arise when one places too much or not enough emphasis on the persona. Analysis of the persona is part of Jung’s therapeutic process.
Analysis can bring about unexpected results as the unconscious is always actively trying to balance and drive forward development. Examples include fantasies/daydreams and dreams of a more cosmic/spiritual nature, which lie in the realm of the collective unconscious. Dreams where one is very big or small can also point to a new dynamic between the ego and the unconscious.
He also describes the dangers of regression of the persona. The process itself can be painful and difficult, which may cause one to stop. He describes it as ““A collapse of the conscious attitude is no small matter. It always feels like the end of the world, as though everything had tumbled back into original chaos. One feels delivered up, disoriented, like a rudderless ship that is abandoned to the moods of the elements. So at least it seems. In reality, however, one has fallen back upon the collective unconscious, which now takes over the leadership.” This can occur through analysis or shocks in a person’s life (he gives the example of a businessman with a sudden loss of fortune. His persona is no longer adapted to the world or his conscious attitude and this will be very painful and disorienting.)
If it goes badly, he describes three most possible outcomes: “The first case signifies paranoia or schizophrenia; the second may either become an eccentric with a taste for prophecy, or he may revert to an infantile attitude and be cut off from human society; the third signifies the regressive restoration of the persona.” So taking the businessman example, if he does not try to grow and develop from his experience, he can either try to readopt his former persona, double down and become inflated where he completely identifies with his persona, or become a broken husk of the man he was before).
The rest of this essay is on the process of individuation, where Jung theorizes that the unconscious is always pushing one to an end goal of development. This involves better understanding the unconscious and its aims, typically through dreams and fantasies/daydreams. He describes other techniques, such as talking to oneself and being in an active stance in one’s fantasies/daydreams. The whole idea is common in psychological, self-development systems where you have to split yourself into an observer and an object being observed. An excerpt I enjoyed:
“Continual conscious realization of unconscious fantasies, together with active participation in the fantastic events, has, as I have witnessed in a very large number of cases, the effect firstly of extending the conscious horizon by the inclusion of numerous unconscious contents; secondly of gradually diminishing the dominant influence of the unconscious; and thirdly of bringing about a change of personality.”
“On the Psychology of the Unconscious” could be viewed as the history of Jung’s theory of the unconscious. Starting with Freud, then Adler, then Jung, he shows the evolution and mistakes his predecessors made, which explains was due to them projecting their own psychological type onto the unconscious. He spends quite a bit of time explaining the differences between psychological types and how the unconscious works between these types, but admits that he has only scratched the surface. I’d be interested to find out whether anyone really picked up the torch and studied this area in a serious way. He also touches on his theory of the Transcendant Function, which as I understand it is the ability to relate and harmonize between the conscious and unconscious, with the development of this function being the ultimate goal of therapy.
An excerpt I enjoyed:
“Positive as well as negative occurrences can constellate the inferior counter-function. When this happens, sensitiveness appears. Sensitiveness is a sure sign of the presence of inferiority. This provides the psychological basis for discord and misunderstanding, not only as between two people, but also in ourselves. The essence of the inferior function is autonomy: it is independent, it attacks, it fascinates and so spins us about that we are no longer masters of ourselves and can no longer rightly distinguish between ourselves and others.
And yet it is necessary for the development of character that we should allow the other side, the inferior function, to find expression. We cannot in the long run allow one part of our personality to be cared for symbiotically by another; for the moment when we might have need of the other function may come at any time and find us unprepared, as the above example shows.”
“The Relations Between the Ego and the Unconscious” is much more technical, mapping the geography of the unconscious: archetypes, personal unconscious, collective unconscious, personal and syzygy. He also describes the dangers when one loses balance with their unconscious: some feel godlike and become a narcissistic megalomaniac, some feel pathetic and crushed by the weight of the unconscious.
The personal unconscious, the part of one’s unconscious based on one’s unique experiences, as opposed to the collective unconscious which is not unique to us and common to humans, is typically made of repressed or denied parts of oneself, memories, attitudes or feelings. The persona is a more readily visible part of the collective unconscious, as it is the “mask” or sub-personality one adopts to get through the world. One can imagine the engineered demeanor of a businessman, lawyer or actor (not implying personas only exist in one’s professional life). These are necessary to exist but should be viewed as a compromise between the world and the individual. Issues arise when one places too much or not enough emphasis on the persona. Analysis of the persona is part of Jung’s therapeutic process.
Analysis can bring about unexpected results as the unconscious is always actively trying to balance and drive forward development. Examples include fantasies/daydreams and dreams of a more cosmic/spiritual nature, which lie in the realm of the collective unconscious. Dreams where one is very big or small can also point to a new dynamic between the ego and the unconscious.
He also describes the dangers of regression of the persona. The process itself can be painful and difficult, which may cause one to stop. He describes it as ““A collapse of the conscious attitude is no small matter. It always feels like the end of the world, as though everything had tumbled back into original chaos. One feels delivered up, disoriented, like a rudderless ship that is abandoned to the moods of the elements. So at least it seems. In reality, however, one has fallen back upon the collective unconscious, which now takes over the leadership.” This can occur through analysis or shocks in a person’s life (he gives the example of a businessman with a sudden loss of fortune. His persona is no longer adapted to the world or his conscious attitude and this will be very painful and disorienting.)
If it goes badly, he describes three most possible outcomes: “The first case signifies paranoia or schizophrenia; the second may either become an eccentric with a taste for prophecy, or he may revert to an infantile attitude and be cut off from human society; the third signifies the regressive restoration of the persona.” So taking the businessman example, if he does not try to grow and develop from his experience, he can either try to readopt his former persona, double down and become inflated where he completely identifies with his persona, or become a broken husk of the man he was before).
The rest of this essay is on the process of individuation, where Jung theorizes that the unconscious is always pushing one to an end goal of development. This involves better understanding the unconscious and its aims, typically through dreams and fantasies/daydreams. He describes other techniques, such as talking to oneself and being in an active stance in one’s fantasies/daydreams. The whole idea is common in psychological, self-development systems where you have to split yourself into an observer and an object being observed. An excerpt I enjoyed:
“Continual conscious realization of unconscious fantasies, together with active participation in the fantastic events, has, as I have witnessed in a very large number of cases, the effect firstly of extending the conscious horizon by the inclusion of numerous unconscious contents; secondly of gradually diminishing the dominant influence of the unconscious; and thirdly of bringing about a change of personality.”
August 7, 2025
Deeply thought provoking...
"Human beings have one faculty which, though it is of the greatest utility for collective purposes, is most pernicious for individuation, and that is the faculty of imitation. Collective psychology cannot dispense with imitation, for without it all mass organizations, the State and the social order, are impossible. Society is organized, indeed, less by law than by the propensity to imitation [...] But we see every day how people use, or rather abuse, the mechanism of imitation for the purpose of personal differentiation: they are content to ape some eminent personality, some striking characteristic or mode of behaviour..."
There is no more prescient a statement as the world slowly succumbs to the thrall of AI. Your cheeky AI chat is the consummate imitator: a 'mind' that reflects back only what we want to see, a mind which is shaped and built on the borrowed ideas of real-life human beings who came before. Your ChatGPT is an exaggerated version of the imitation found in mankind, but although GPT does so blatantly, every human being has in its nature this tendency to 'try on' personalities and choose that which gains them the best footing in society, that which gains them the greatest appeal. Every word I write is borrowed from the writers I read before this. I am, right now, tailoring my words to you, my reader, so that you might think me clever, an intellectual. Like any good AI bot, I tend to tell you what you want to hear.
Consider this: could our computers express themselves as human beings had they not been created by human beings? Evidently not; if a dog created ChatGPT, the interface would be radically different. But then, WE are created by human beings as well: the very way we express ourselves is anchored in our human upbringing, our every thought borne from the environment and history that is our heritage. Amidst this setting, what is there to call individual? As Jung writes,
"To find out what is truly individual in ourselves, profound reflection is needed; and suddenly we realize how uncommonly difficult the discovery of individuality is."
Does a troglodyte have more individuality than a man living in a city? Perhaps so: he is shaped by himself rather than the humans around him. But can ChatGPT grow smarter without a constant influx of human input and data? No. And yet, AI does not generate truly novel ontological categories. It reconfigures, synthesizes, and imitates human thought and language patterns. In human beings, referring again to Jung, " the idea of a self is itself a transcendental postulate which, although justifiable psychologically, does not allow of scientific proof." Thus we are not AI: even in isolation, there is something in humans to animate us, to drive us on (animus/animatus to use Jung's terms?). Unlike a computer, we do not simply stagnate without external input. Therein, perhaps, lies the essence of what it means to be human: to be self-generating, to be the driver of one's own advancement. We imitate because we forget how to create, but we nevertheless have the capacity to individuate.
"Human beings have one faculty which, though it is of the greatest utility for collective purposes, is most pernicious for individuation, and that is the faculty of imitation. Collective psychology cannot dispense with imitation, for without it all mass organizations, the State and the social order, are impossible. Society is organized, indeed, less by law than by the propensity to imitation [...] But we see every day how people use, or rather abuse, the mechanism of imitation for the purpose of personal differentiation: they are content to ape some eminent personality, some striking characteristic or mode of behaviour..."
There is no more prescient a statement as the world slowly succumbs to the thrall of AI. Your cheeky AI chat is the consummate imitator: a 'mind' that reflects back only what we want to see, a mind which is shaped and built on the borrowed ideas of real-life human beings who came before. Your ChatGPT is an exaggerated version of the imitation found in mankind, but although GPT does so blatantly, every human being has in its nature this tendency to 'try on' personalities and choose that which gains them the best footing in society, that which gains them the greatest appeal. Every word I write is borrowed from the writers I read before this. I am, right now, tailoring my words to you, my reader, so that you might think me clever, an intellectual. Like any good AI bot, I tend to tell you what you want to hear.
Consider this: could our computers express themselves as human beings had they not been created by human beings? Evidently not; if a dog created ChatGPT, the interface would be radically different. But then, WE are created by human beings as well: the very way we express ourselves is anchored in our human upbringing, our every thought borne from the environment and history that is our heritage. Amidst this setting, what is there to call individual? As Jung writes,
"To find out what is truly individual in ourselves, profound reflection is needed; and suddenly we realize how uncommonly difficult the discovery of individuality is."
Does a troglodyte have more individuality than a man living in a city? Perhaps so: he is shaped by himself rather than the humans around him. But can ChatGPT grow smarter without a constant influx of human input and data? No. And yet, AI does not generate truly novel ontological categories. It reconfigures, synthesizes, and imitates human thought and language patterns. In human beings, referring again to Jung, " the idea of a self is itself a transcendental postulate which, although justifiable psychologically, does not allow of scientific proof." Thus we are not AI: even in isolation, there is something in humans to animate us, to drive us on (animus/animatus to use Jung's terms?). Unlike a computer, we do not simply stagnate without external input. Therein, perhaps, lies the essence of what it means to be human: to be self-generating, to be the driver of one's own advancement. We imitate because we forget how to create, but we nevertheless have the capacity to individuate.
May 12, 2024
The major takeaway from the two essays are Jung's notion of the collective unconscious, the archetypes (namely, the Shadow, Self, and Anima/Animus, along with others). The two essays contain the core of analytical psychology beginning with a brief overview of Freud's psychoanalysis and Adler's individual psychology which Jung sought to reconcile by establishing the notions of introversion and extraversion as the fundamental attitudes which sway an individual to preferring one of the other.
Overall, the two essays serve as a great introduction to core Jungian ideas. The value, existence, and role of the archetypes are explained in great depth and an intuitive argument for their existence is given. Jung's ideas can be hard to grasp not for their difficulty or complexity alone, but also because the justification of the ideas pulls from literature and historical figures that are not familiar to many today. I would suggest reading Ellenberger's "The Discover of the Unconscious" for a historical survey which better help to understand where Jung pulled from both in the psychological and historical realms.
In relation to justifying the archetypes, I think no field serves this better than affective neuroscience. It is clear that there are distinct patterns of human behavior governed by subcortical neural systems that we have only the most remote consciousness of on a day to day basis. Systems that govern behavior, perception, and affect which serve the notion of a deep rooted system of psychological phenomena (archetypes) governed by evolutionarily determined systems that have homologies in lower mammals "ingrained" by patterns of behavior selected by nature. While the endeavor of mapping archetypes on to material causes discovered by neuroimaging and mapping is messy, affective neuroscience provides the best modern argument for the existence of such ingrained systems.
Overall, this book is great for the reason that it gives Jung's very complicated system of psychology a thorough explanation for the beginner.
Overall, the two essays serve as a great introduction to core Jungian ideas. The value, existence, and role of the archetypes are explained in great depth and an intuitive argument for their existence is given. Jung's ideas can be hard to grasp not for their difficulty or complexity alone, but also because the justification of the ideas pulls from literature and historical figures that are not familiar to many today. I would suggest reading Ellenberger's "The Discover of the Unconscious" for a historical survey which better help to understand where Jung pulled from both in the psychological and historical realms.
In relation to justifying the archetypes, I think no field serves this better than affective neuroscience. It is clear that there are distinct patterns of human behavior governed by subcortical neural systems that we have only the most remote consciousness of on a day to day basis. Systems that govern behavior, perception, and affect which serve the notion of a deep rooted system of psychological phenomena (archetypes) governed by evolutionarily determined systems that have homologies in lower mammals "ingrained" by patterns of behavior selected by nature. While the endeavor of mapping archetypes on to material causes discovered by neuroimaging and mapping is messy, affective neuroscience provides the best modern argument for the existence of such ingrained systems.
Overall, this book is great for the reason that it gives Jung's very complicated system of psychology a thorough explanation for the beginner.
December 11, 2024
I understand why these essays are often identified as the best introduction to Jung's approach. But, as someone who's been deeply immersed in Jungian processes for many many years, I want to offer some serious caveats. The Psychology of the Unconscious, originally written in the 1910s, and The Relations Between the Ego and the Unconscious (1930s) were written roughly two decades apart, and Jung's thought was by no means static. To cite one example, in the earlier he hadn't yet formulated the idea of the an Animus as the feminine equivalent of the masculine Anima. He revised the earlier text, but a reader new to Jung is likely to find some disonances.
More crucially, while Jung was much less constrained by his specific cultural milieu than Freud (who's psychology is primarily based on the Viennese bourgois), parts of both essays reveal the deep imprint of what, nearly a century later, read like straight out stereotypes. It's at its most extreme in regard to assumed gender roles--father's going to work, mother's nurturing families--but also in his descriptions of "primitive" cultures--he values them but misses complexities that have become clear over the last 30 years or so. He assumes the value of a "persona" well-adjusted to social practices that I wouldn't endorse.
I don't think any of that harms the basic value of his ideas. The core is in recognizing the need and complexity of developing a "Self" (not to be confused with the "Ego") located at the mid-point between conscious and unconscious elements of the Psyche. I've drawn on his approach to dreams and other forms of imaginative communication with the unconscious, and I've learned a great deal from his understanding of alchemy (here mentioned only in passing).
If you can read through and around the time-bound passages, there's a ton here. But for a real introduction to Jung, I'd recommend June Singer's Boundaries of the Soul.
More crucially, while Jung was much less constrained by his specific cultural milieu than Freud (who's psychology is primarily based on the Viennese bourgois), parts of both essays reveal the deep imprint of what, nearly a century later, read like straight out stereotypes. It's at its most extreme in regard to assumed gender roles--father's going to work, mother's nurturing families--but also in his descriptions of "primitive" cultures--he values them but misses complexities that have become clear over the last 30 years or so. He assumes the value of a "persona" well-adjusted to social practices that I wouldn't endorse.
I don't think any of that harms the basic value of his ideas. The core is in recognizing the need and complexity of developing a "Self" (not to be confused with the "Ego") located at the mid-point between conscious and unconscious elements of the Psyche. I've drawn on his approach to dreams and other forms of imaginative communication with the unconscious, and I've learned a great deal from his understanding of alchemy (here mentioned only in passing).
If you can read through and around the time-bound passages, there's a ton here. But for a real introduction to Jung, I'd recommend June Singer's Boundaries of the Soul.
February 26, 2024
Nuosekliai skaičiau antrą kartą, atskirus skyrius ar poskyrius - nesuskaičiuosiu, kiek sykių. 4/5 vis dėlto už tai, kad nėra jokio įžanginio teksto, paaiškinančio, kaip jungistikoje kito požiūris ir idėjos. Pvz., ar man vaidenasi po ilgesnio laiko grįžus prie paties Jungo, ar tikrai anima ir animus konceptai tolesnėj jungistikoj gerokai pakoreguoti ir ne viskas susiveda tik į juos, iš liet. k. publikuotų autorių lyg ir Kalschedas ("Vidinis traumos pasaulis") įveda nemenkų korekcijų detaliau išryškindamas archetipinės psichikos gynybos veikimo principus?.. Žodžiu, labai trūksta išsamesnio idėjų aptarimo, kaitos ir plėtros paties Jungo darbuose ir tolesnėj jungistikoj. Imsiuos iš naujo kitų Jungo knygų, tai dar detalizuosiu savo požiūrį į bendrą veikalų korpusą, kiek man leidžia kuklus kuklios-skaitytojos-visai-ne-analitikės statusas. Stay tuned. Nors iš tikro čia pačiai man visa tai įdomiausia - pasikartojančiai ir kone nenutrūkstamai :)
Ai, pacituosiu:
"Taigi skirtumas tarp jo [ligonio skilusia psichika] ir Schopenhauerio tas, kad šis jo [ligonio, su redagavimu ne patys geriausi reikalai - E.] požiūris pasiliko grynai spontaniško ūglio stadijoje, o Schopenhaueris tą patį požiūrį abstrahavo ir išreiškė visiems suprantama kalba, šitaip iškeldamas jį iš požeminio pradmens į kolektyvinės sąmonės šviesą. [...] [T]ik tas yra genialus filosofas, kuriam pavyko primityvų ir grynai prigimtinį regėjimą iškelti iki abstrakčios idėjos ir bendros intelektinės nuosavybės" - čiagi apie patį Jungą, neatsižaviu, neatsistebiu, kaip sukurti tokį neįtikėtiną priėjimą prie tokių neapčiuopiamų, tokių išsklidusių, tokių plika akim kone nepastebimų turinių, amžina meilė ir susižavėjimas, nieko negaliu padaryti.
Ai, pacituosiu:
"Taigi skirtumas tarp jo [ligonio skilusia psichika] ir Schopenhauerio tas, kad šis jo [ligonio, su redagavimu ne patys geriausi reikalai - E.] požiūris pasiliko grynai spontaniško ūglio stadijoje, o Schopenhaueris tą patį požiūrį abstrahavo ir išreiškė visiems suprantama kalba, šitaip iškeldamas jį iš požeminio pradmens į kolektyvinės sąmonės šviesą. [...] [T]ik tas yra genialus filosofas, kuriam pavyko primityvų ir grynai prigimtinį regėjimą iškelti iki abstrakčios idėjos ir bendros intelektinės nuosavybės" - čiagi apie patį Jungą, neatsižaviu, neatsistebiu, kaip sukurti tokį neįtikėtiną priėjimą prie tokių neapčiuopiamų, tokių išsklidusių, tokių plika akim kone nepastebimų turinių, amžina meilė ir susižavėjimas, nieko negaliu padaryti.
June 28, 2020
At the time of this writing, I am currently still only halfway through my copy of Will to Power by Friedrich Nietzsche. Over the past few years, I have mostly held to the practice of reading one piece of fiction followed by one piece of nonfiction in order to broaden my tastes, which, if left to their predilections, would leave me exclusively reading novels. Nietzsche’s philosophy has been some of the most exciting nonfiction reading that I have done over the past few years, but in the sections of Will to Power that I have read, I have found myself utterly underwhelmed. Not least because the last book of his that I completed was perhaps my personal favorite—the combined edition of Genealogy of Morals and Ecce Homo—which summed up his greatest strengths with utter clarity and placed his faults in an unsentimental and self-critical light. Will to Power, contrarily is comprised only of unpublished notes, which are, by comparison, repetitive and self-indulgent. When Nietzsche is at his best, he provides a harrowing but rejuvenating breath of fresh air into so many areas of the spirit that all too easily lend themselves to picking up cobwebs. When Nietzsche is at his worst, however, as he is in Will to Power, he occasionally backslides into the nihilism against which he often puts up such a courageous fight elsewhere. Enter Carl Jung, whose thoughts on Nietzsche as an ultimately pathological personality make up several illuminating passages in this present book. So much rhetoric in the present day is obsessed with looking to correct the state, but so little attention is spent on addressing one’s personal development, that I found myself reading this book as if for dear life. The last book of Jung’s I read, Symbols of Transformation, is a much denser read, and if you’re looking for a quality, succinct introduction to Jung, this would definitely be a fine place to start. Some may find Jung a step backwards from Nietzsche, who placed so much value on freeing ourselves from the chains of religion, but so often we find ourselves with nothing to cling to afterwards, and instead of finding ourselves stronger, we only found ourselves, thinner, more insubstantial, and less able to face the world than if we were to gain some wisdom from the past. Essential Reading.
Final Score: 9.5/10
Final Score: 9.5/10
March 22, 2021
If ever there was a sequel to be made of Cronenberg’s film A Dangerous Method, this volume of the Collected Works would be a more than adequate starting point, showing Jung’s effort to move beyond the worldview of Freud, Adler and Spielrein to come into his own views of psychology while also recovering from the mid-life crisis that was his high noon. The attention to such wonderfully innovative ideas as the persona, anima, animus, introversion and extraversion, as well as the collective unconscious, all have their germination here. The two essays and their earlier versions seem to have been earnest attempts to process the world being turned upside-down, as he chronicled artistically in his Liber Novus. That he would return and revise these essays, often around the on-going world wars, shows the unfinished business his clinical studies left him with a need for it all to make sense. As he observes in “The Structure of the Unconscious”: “It is in creative fantasies that we find the unifying function” between the conscious and the unconscious (p. 290). The more mystical yet still scientifically grounded discoveries he made in the afternoon of his life are an inspiration for me, especially at this uncertain point in my career! It is never an easy task to recover the Self from crushing hardship of an unruly world, but with Jung’s hopeful example, new discoveries await.
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