Jung on Evil

Encountering Jung

by C.G. Jung, Murray Stein (Editor)

Well-known for his articulation of the "shadow side" of human individuality and culture, C. G. Jung wrote a great deal about the question of evil throughout his life and in scattered places in his work. In this book his position is pieced together from many sources. In his early work on the unconscious, for instance, he considered the role of evil in the mental processes of the severely disturbed. Later, he viewed the question of moral choice within the framework of his ideas about archetypes and discussions about moral choices, conscience, and the continual ethical reflection that is necessary for all of us. The material here includes letters to Freud and Father Victor White and selections from his writings ranging from his Answer to Job to his travel piece on North Africa.

Genres: Psychology, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Mythology

219 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1995

About the author

Carl 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.

Reviews

[Danine]

A very insightful book. I've always been fascinated by Jung's "Shadow" studies and this book has in depth coverage of that and other aspects of evil.

This book help answer some of the questions I've pondered since high school. Jung references Freud, Nietzsche, Goethe and Heine. I better understand the mob mentality of Nazi Germany and the psychological mental state of Hitler. There has been concern that Jung was a Nazi sympathizer however that was not an issue as I read this book. I read this book for the psychology of evil.

I'm not to sure what Jung's view on Christianity is. At times he was not a cheerleader for Christianity but then he would reference God in a very personal way.

The introductions was insightful and did a fabulous of setting the foundation for the book. Chapter 2 (Introduction to the Problems of Alchemy) was the roughest to get through as it was heavy with mythology, Latin, German and Hebrew.

I was very pleased with this book and it help explain a lot of my life questions concerning evil.

[Feamelwen]

As always, Jung tends to repeat himself often. However his views remain unique in the field of psychology even 100 years later, since he was neither a proponent of scientism, nor was he a total mystic, always following psychological reality and "psychological facts" (which he distinguished from physical facts) where they led.

Some observations on non-western cultures remain massively cliched and cringe-worthy. Jung was best when he stuck to what he knew best : western and mostly Judeo-Christian mysticism and its psychological implications for man and culture.

Answer to Job is included in these essays, and remains the best character study of of the Judeo-Christian God even written, which makes that entity approachable, complex, and possessed of a peculiar personality.

In conclusion, in Jung's eyes, the problem of Evil, it would seem, is less about why and more about how (how should we live with it, and why is it necessary as a category of thought).

[Karen]

My third read in the Encountering Jung series, and just as strong as the other two (Jung on Active Imagination and Jung on Mythology). However, because this book deals with the concepts of good and evil, there is considerably more religious argument and many times when the book would be of greater interest to philosophers than psychologists.
The piece titled ‘After the Catastrophe’ was particularly fascinating when reflecting on recent North American events.

[Katryn Lume]

The Shadow.

[ReConnect]

Great book on evil !

[Connie Cox]

As a jungian informed practitioner and reader of the same, I can say this is one of his best works

[Steven]

This is a great book that pulls together a wide selection of Jung’s writing on evil, which, as Stein notes in is superb introduction, spanned Jung’s career even if it wasn’t ever presented systematically or consistently. What Stein has accomplished is assembled in one volume a broad range of how Jung dealt with the problem of evil. Excellent endnotes and index. Includes a bibliography of Jung’s work. The source location for all of the selections is clearly indicated, and referenced back to the Collected Works. Stein also includes paragraph numbers in the margins so the selection can be precisely located.

[Hotspur]

How Trump perfectly embodies the shadow of Carl Jung!