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Modern Man in Search of a Soul

4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 · rating details · 1,837 ratings · 68 reviews

A provocative and enlightening look at spiritual unease and its contribution to the void in modern civilization

Considered by many to be one of the most important books in the field of psychology, Modern Man in Search of a Soul is a comprehensive introduction to the thought of Carl Gustav Jung. In this book, Jung examines some of the most contested and crucial areas in the...more

Paperback, 252 pages

Published August 4th 1955 by Mariner Books (first published January 1st 1933)

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Jun 01, 2012 Keely rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, philosophy, reviewed

There are certain people who delight in mythologizing their lives--looking for deep meanings and explanations for who they imagine themselves to be. It is not mere soul-searching, because they dislike even reasonable criticism, and cannot stand to be made aware of the ways their actions conflict with the vision they have of themselves. They want to be special and important, and are less interested in understanding themselves than in creating an image.

There are some rare people for whom the act o...more

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Sep 12, 2012 Nicholas rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: psychology

Having read the Essential Jung by Anthony Storr,this I thought may be covering much the same ground, but aside from the first chapter on dream analysis there seemed to be little that was duplicated and thankfully there was no mention of Alchemy which to my mind overcomplicated the former.

This contains 11 essays that are aimed at giving the reader a comprehensive overview of Jungs'theories and opinions,which mainly pertain to a non-religious spiritual rebalancing of the psyche.Although the firs...more

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Feb 07, 2009 Cat rated it 5 of 5 stars

Jung's lecture "The Spiritual Problem of Modern Man" is so very rich and entirely relevant, still, today. It was delivered in Zurich in 1931 at the cusp of another horrific war. I forgot what a plain-spoken sage he could be at times, deep, elegant and never denying our capacity for both good and evil. I'm still digesting ... If you read only one essay by Carl Jung, this should be the one.

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Mar 29, 2013 Ian rated it 4 of 5 stars

this book is not to find yourself, so don't misinterpret the title of it, "modern man in search of a soul". these essays written by the Swiss psychotherapist are to explain the mindset of how a therapist needs to adjust his attitude towards his patients in order to provide effective therapy. it takes an account for the complex beliefs of society through history and experience, so the data can be used to give an accurate explanation of the patient's neuroses. Freud and Adler denied the presence o...more

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Feb 06, 2013 Ismael Galvan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Modern Man in Search of a Soul is a great introduction to Carl Jung’s theories of analytical psychology. The book is broken down into eleven essays dealing with topics of dream analysis, Freudian psychology, spirituality, and religion. Some consider Jung’s ideas radical because they take into account the soul. While many people believe that the soul exists, it’s impossible to prove it either way and thus begin the arguments. Taking this stance introduces an element of metaphysics into treating m...more

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Sep 21, 2012 Martin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Jung, more than any other psychologist of his time, built a model of the psyche that accommodated a spiritual sense, with his conceptions of: synchronicity(acausal connection principle); archetypes; and the collective unconscious.

"Modern Man in Search of a Soul is the perfect introduction to the theories and concepts of one of the most original and influential religious thinkers of the twentieth century. Lively and insightful, it covers all of his most significant themes, including man's need fo...more

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Mar 14, 2012 Tom rated it 5 of 5 stars

The eleven chapters in this work are, save one, lectures delivered by Jung prior to its 1933 publication. Carl Jung snipes at times at the wide target of Freud’s narrowly focused psychology, such as observing that free association merely leads to projecting one’s own complexes. But, at times it seems the crowded dreamscape of Jung’s own archetypes may be a projection of his own issues. Still, I enjoy reading vintage Jung since his relentless probing of the human psyche seems to have given him a...more The eleven chapters in this work are, save one, lectures delivered by Jung prior to its 1933 publication. Carl Jung snipes at times at the wide target of Freud’s narrowly focused psychology, such as observing that free association merely leads to projecting one’s own complexes. But, at times it seems the crowded dreamscape of Jung’s own archetypes may be a projection of his own issues. Still, I enjoy reading vintage Jung since his relentless probing of the human psyche seems to have given him a sagacity causing such wise observation as from "Stages of Life,"

"The nearer we approach to the middle of life, and the better we have succeeded in entrenching ourselves in our personal attitudes and social positions, the more it appears as if we had discovered the right course and the right ideals and principles of behavior. For this reason we suppose them to be eternally valid, and make a virtue of unchangeably clinging to them. We overlook the essential fact that the social goal is attained only at the cost of a diminution of personality. Many -- far too many -- aspects of life which should also have been experienced lie in the lumber-room among dusty memories; but sometimes, too, they are glowing coals under grey ashes."

And from “Psychology and Literature”: “It is always dangerous to speak of one’s own times, because what is at stake in the present is too vast for comprehension.”

I also love his take on the criticism process: “The truth is that poets are human beings, and that what a poet has to say about his is often far from being the most illuminating word on the subject. What is required of us, then, is nothing less than to defend the importance of the visionary experience against the poet himself… the personal life of the poet cannot be held essential to his art — but at most a help or a hindrance to his creative task. He may go the way of a Philistine, a good citizen, a neurotic, a fool or a criminal. His personal career may be inevitable and interesting, but it does not explain the poet."

Jung also dives into the materialism vs. dualism argument: “The objection has already been raised that this approach reduces psychic happenings to a kind of activity of the glands; thoughts are regarded as secretions of the brain, and so we achieve a psychology without the psyche. From this standpoint, it must be confessed, the psyche does not exist in its own right; it is nothing in itself, but is the mere expression of physical processes. That these processes have the qualities of consciousness is just an irreducible fact — were it otherwise, so the argument runs, we could not speak of the psyche at all; there would be no consciousness, and so we should have nothing to say about anything. Consciousness, therefore, is taken as the sine qua non of psychic life — that is to say, as the psyche itself. And so it comes about that all modern "psychologies without the psyche” are studies of consciousness which ignore the existence of unconscious psychic life.” Thus, Jung is revealed as a subtle spiritualist.

Finally, from “The Basic Postulates of Analytical Psychology”, Chapter IX of Modern Man in Search of a Soul, Jung nearly wins me over to his archetypes idea. Perhaps it is true … indulging and reading his arguments reminds me of the feeling I get watching a really good cable TV U.F.O. documentary, I want to believe:

“It would be positively grotesque for us to call this immense system of experience of the unconscious psyche an illusion, for our visible and tangible body itself is just such a system. It still carries within it the discernible traces of primeval evolution, and it is certainly a whole that functions purposively — for otherwise we could not live. It would never occur to anyone to look upon comparative anatomy or physiology as nonsense. And so we cannot dismiss the collective unconscious as illusion, or refuse to recognize and study it as a valuable source of knowledge…

It would certainly show perversity if we tried to explain the lives of our ancestors in terms of their late descendants; and it is just as wrong, in my opinion, to regard the unconscious as a derivative of consciousness. We are nearer the truth if we put it the other way round.”
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Feb 27, 2009 Andy rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've really been enjoying Jung. He's a breath of fresh air after submerging myself in all of that Freud. Freud always takes the most reductive route, because his focus is on justifying psychology as a science and science is purposely reductive. (I realize now that he wasn't nearly reductive enough to meet current scientific standards.) But Jung corrects a lot of Freud by placing some of the theories that Freud thought of as fundamental in a larger context, and also by seeing around Freud's myopi...more

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Apr 30, 2011 Danielle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: relates-to-china, relates-to-europe

I feel a little sheepish to say that this is the longest work I've ever read by Jung. It was a good introduction, though, and I'm looking forward to trying some of his other writing. I think the first portion of the book would be hard for someone who isn't familiar with Freud and the the emergence of psychoanalysis, but anyone with a basic grasp should manage all right. The later portion is much easier to read, ha, but equally informative. Throughout, Jung maintains a frank tone which seems to f...more

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Jul 30, 2011 Rashad Raoufi added it · review of another edition

its a very interesting and thought provoking book, its condeses all his ideas on nature of man,his evolution from eden to post war industralised europe,right down to the dawn of american empire. he has some good analysis of modernity and concept of ethnocentrism and hes very open minded, he doesnt write much about islam, just gets a passing mention which is a shame. its characteriscally dense and sometimes its hard to understand not only because of the big words but also the concepts so i had to...more

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Feb 17, 2012 Heather Campbell rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: spirituality-religion

I had to put some space between finishing and reviewing this book. Jung was Freud's student--in my opinion this is one case where the student outshines the teacher. This will be my forever reference to mind/spirit health. Jung's explanation of creativity is amazing--but his real feat is explaining the modern person who has found traditional religious custom lacking and what he should do next. The modern man has broken with the past and the masses, is solitary, needs to be sound and proficient,an...more

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May 06, 2012 P. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: dreams, teaching-parenting, prayer-faith

"....But we cannot life the afternoon of life according to according to the programme of life's morning--for what was great in the morning will be little at evening, and what in the morning was true at evening will have become a lie....After having lavished its light upon the world, the sun withdraws its rays in order to illumine itself....Whoever carries over into the afternoon the law of the morning--that is, tha aims of nature--must pay for so doing with damage to his soul..."

"Since the mind...more

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Nov 19, 2009 Ann M rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction

In answer to those who notice how he criticizes Freud -- Jung was Freud's student when Freud's theories were all the rage, and Freud was not as open to Jung's ideas as he might have been, so Jung was forced to criticize him in order to defend and promote his own work. When he says that psychologists should work together, he means that the powerful, influential and jealous Freud should stop feeling so threatened by him. Nowadays, we take much of Jung's point of view for granted. His theories of a...more

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Oct 13, 2007 Patrick rated it 5 of 5 stars

Ok, so I wrote a review for this book before I finished it, assuming that it would be adequate. Boy, was I wrong. The last chapter of this book is just...W-O-W! It is the most concise explanation of the intellectual and spiritual struggle of modern man I have ever come across. Aside from that, the last chapter provides more insight about the job/responsibilities of a psychotherapist than any other part of the book. below is my original review of the book.

I haven't finished it yet, but I will go...more Ok, so I wrote a review for this book before I finished it, assuming that it would be adequate. Boy, was I wrong. The last chapter of this book is just...W-O-W! It is the most concise explanation of the intellectual and spiritual struggle of modern man I have ever come across. Aside from that, the last chapter provides more insight about the job/responsibilities of a psychotherapist than any other part of the book. below is my original review of the book.

I haven't finished it yet, but I will go ahead and start my review:

This book is exactly what the title implies. It is about Modern, industrial, technological, scientific man, and our search for a soul. This book does some amazing things. It really puts in perspective modern man compared to his ancestors of hundreds and even thousands of years ago. It dispels myths that ancient men believed in spirits and superstitions because they were less informed than we are, but instead postulates that they were informed differently, and not necessarily worse. It explains differences between the masses, and their traditional beliefs, and so-called modernist, who, despite their superior grasp of history, science, and their own context in the world and in history, encounter great troubles when search for the kind of spiritual existence that was commonplace, and even experienced externally (as opposed to internally), hundreds or thousands of years ago. Anyone who is interested in philosophical or spiritual thinking, even in the least bit, should read this book. It can be dry at times, but the unique insights it provides, even today (as it was published in 1933), is invaluable.

I only have one criticism of this book. Carl Gustav Jung, who is known to be the original champion of the theory of "the collective unconscious", tends to use his idea of collective unconscious as punctuation in this book. Though his ideas are put across rather humbly throughout the book, he slips the idea of collective unconscious in at the ends of a groups of paragraphs, seemingly as an advertisement that he, and no one else, is Mr. Collective Unconscious. It definitely applies to most of the essays in the books, though it is sometimes a stretch, but it would be better if he had a single essay on the subject then left the issue alone. The point of view set forth in this book is more than adequate, even if collective unconscious was never mentioned.

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Nov 15, 2007 A rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: psychology majors, anyone looking to learn about jungian theory

Shelves: 2007

While this book gives a solid and intriguing overview of Jung's brand of psychoanalysis, I found it somewhat lacking in further details regarding concepts like the collective unconscious, archetypes, anima/animus, etc. A book like Man and His Symbols, which includes essays from other Jungian psychologists besides Jung himself, goes deeper into the meat of his psychological structures.

Even so, I'm glad I finally read this book, as I always find Jung amiable and illuminating. He does a great job o...more

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Oct 21, 2010 Guillemain Géraud added it

The best introduction to CG Jung Psychology wrote at first in French. wrote as a collaborative works with CG Jung by Dr. Roland Cahen, MD, Psychoanalyst who's been working about 40 years in Paris as such. This work is not originally existing in german and was not written by C.G. Jung. CG Jung used to write in german and in english rarely in french and only for article or paper. But no published books were written by CG Jung in french and absolutely not this one.

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Apr 23, 2013 Mohamed rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The book is a collection of 11 essays that were originally given as lectures (except one that was published as an essay directly). It deals with more than one aspect of Jung's take on psychology, his theory on psychological types, collective unconsciousness and some thoughts on the realization of psychotherapy in real life.
I found it very immersing as his language and thoughts (gratitude for the translator is in order as well) are easy to follow and absorb but still it had a depth that you can c...more

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May 09, 2012 Ankush Thakur rated it 5 of 5 stars

I really don't have words to express my admiration. Jung formed the bridge from Western analytical psychology to the Eastern ideas of the human soul. His broadmindedness and deep intuition are a hair-raising experience. This also happens to be a surprisingly accessible book on psychotherapy, and even the layman will be able to extract much from it.

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Nov 11, 2012 Tom rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: jung

This is certainly one of the more readable Jung books. Most likely because was a series of lectures, and the spoken style tends to be more free-flowing than Jung's dense written works.

I am also enjoying this because it covers some aspects of the practice of psychotherapy, which I find really interesting.

It also gives an overview of some of the older approaches to personality psychology, as well as an explanation of Jung's typology (which is the basis of the well-known Myers-Briggs). I tried--qu...more

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Sep 06, 2011 Patrick rated it 5 of 5 stars

Amazon review:
The basic introduction to the thought of Jung, one of the founders of modern psychiatry. Here Jung examines some of the most contested and crucial areas in the field of analytical psychology: dream analysis, the primitive unconscious, and the relationship between psychology and religion.

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Jul 06, 2010 Charles rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: psychology-analytic

Some chapters are much better than others, but the best in this book is worth returning to again and again. Jung's imaginative, expansive, playful yet serious view of psychology's role and scope is invigorating, even if not always accurate. Like Freud, even when Jung is wrong, he's brilliantly wrong.

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Oct 06, 2010 Mr. Hecht rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is typically used as a counterpoint to some of the Freudian analysis of the preceding time period. Jung is easier to read than Freud, however, and this work is still quite relevant today. Jung is the father of the concept of gestalt, which is eloquently detailed within this work.

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Oct 11, 2011 David rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: jungian, psychology, favorites

Along with Man and His Symbols, Modern Man In Search of a Soul is a great introduction to Carl Jung. While the former provides a more textbook introduction of terms and Jung's ideas, I think this book goes a little deeper into Carl Jung’s thought process and is therefore helpful in giving a somewhat deeper idea of his psychology. He also spends a fair amount of time discussing the theories of Freud and Adler -- and where Jung himself agrees with and differs from them.

Ultimately, I believe in thi...more

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Jun 09, 2009 emilie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Another brilliant look into the human psyche. His thoughts on the language of symbols created through mediums such as painting and film were particularly interesting.

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Feb 11, 2013 Gwynn Leigh rated it 5 of 5 stars

Opened me in a lot of ways! He speaks to every humans soul. Our life purpose. A must read for those people wanting to find themselves.

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Aug 07, 2008 Maureen rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone

Shelves: psychology, philosophy

It has been so long since I read this book that I barely remember it. It is very much about dream analysis, and Jung seeks to convey the experience of psychoanalysis from the perspective of the analyst. It also underscores the importance of the unconscious, which endeavors to speak to the self through dreams.

What made a lasting impression, though, was Jung's discussion of modern society, and the dilemma of anyone trying to live in a world that runs contrary to basic human needs. We need quiet i...more

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Feb 23, 2013 Nathan Guinn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Great read. Highlights: Chapter 6, where Jung explains the contrasts between him and Freud, and chapter 11, which is a great lecture on psychotherapy and religion.

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Apr 03, 2010 Dawn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Gotta love the collective unc0ncious...this is a comprehensive introduction to the thought of Carl Gustuv Jung, a chief founder of psychoanalysis. In this book, Jung examines analytical psychology, dream analysis, the primitive unconcious, and the relationship between psycology and religion. Jung, perhaps the most famous student of Sigmund Freud, was not only a medical man but a scholar in the grand style, whose researches, in comparative mythology, alchemy,and the psychology of religion, have i...more

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Jul 21, 2012 Fabrizio Valenza rated it 4 of 5 stars

Molto interessante, soprattutto nella parte introduttiva, in cui spiega l'importanza del corretto approccio ai sogni.

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Dec 10, 2008 Sandra rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction-religion-spiritual-psych

This series of essays is excellent introduction to Jungian psychology, touching on topics including dream analysis, the stages of life, the evolution of the consciousness, the role of religion in the life of modern man to the (in his view) shortcomings of the Freudian and Adlerian schools of thought - a "psychology without the psyche," as he puts it... approaches that overemphasize pathology, instinct and drives at the cost of spirit, faith and meaning. Writing in 1933, his descriptions of the p...more

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About C.G. Jung

Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychologist, influential thinker, and founder of analytical psychology.

Jung's unique approach to psychology was influential in countercultural movements in Europe and the United States in the 1960s. He has emphasized understanding the psyche through exploring the worlds of dreams, art, mythology, world religion and philosophy. Although he was a theoretical psychologis...more

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Books by C.G. Jung

The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious (Collected Works 9i)

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