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Psychology of the Unconscious
In this, his most famous and influential work, Carl Jung made a dramatic break from the psychoanalytic tradition established by his mentor, Sigmund Freud. Rather than focusing on psychopathology and its symptoms, the Swiss psychiatrist studied dreams, mythology, and literature to define the universal patterns of the psyche.
In Psychology of the Unconscious , Jung seeks a symbolic meaning and purpose behind a given set of symptoms, placing them within the larger context of the psyche. The 1912 text examines the fantasies of a patient whose poetic and vivid mental images helped Jung redefine libido as psychic energy, arising from the unconscious and manifesting itself consciously in symbolic form. Jung's commentary on his patient's fantasies offers a complex study of symbolic psychiatry and foreshadows his development of the theory of collective unconscious and its constituents, the archetypes.
The author's role in the development of analytical psychology, a therapeutic process that promotes creativity and psychological development, makes this landmark in psychoanalytic methodology required reading for students and others interested in the practice and process of psychology.
In Psychology of the Unconscious , Jung seeks a symbolic meaning and purpose behind a given set of symptoms, placing them within the larger context of the psyche. The 1912 text examines the fantasies of a patient whose poetic and vivid mental images helped Jung redefine libido as psychic energy, arising from the unconscious and manifesting itself consciously in symbolic form. Jung's commentary on his patient's fantasies offers a complex study of symbolic psychiatry and foreshadows his development of the theory of collective unconscious and its constituents, the archetypes.
The author's role in the development of analytical psychology, a therapeutic process that promotes creativity and psychological development, makes this landmark in psychoanalytic methodology required reading for students and others interested in the practice and process of psychology.
624 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1912
About the author
C.G. Jung
1,019 books8,794 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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July 2, 2020
I've been reading Jung since I was a teenager. I was very early on taken by subjects like synchronicity, archetypes and the collective unconscious. In my view, the facticity of the preceding is evident for anyone who has studied mythology and dream symbolism. I've been aware of the mythological/religious content of my own dreams for as long as I can remember. It's in the elucidation of the language of the subconscious where Jung was a pioneer. I'm not always in agreement with him about everything. I'll mention some of the cases of disagreement below, but even my disagreements do not detract from how formative and pioneering Jung's thought was, for not just psychology, but for philosophy and for understanding the human subconscious in general.
I wanted to start reading Jung again because, after going through Schelling, it is apparent to me that Schelling's stance on mythology was probably influential for psychology in general, and for Jung in particular. Jung does in fact cite Schelling's Philosophy of Mythology once in this book. I found that interesting. This work actually marked the schism between Freud and Jung. Freud increasingly saw the libido as a sexual drive, whereas Jung saw the libido as more contextual. Jung variously described the libido as energy, drive, passion, motivation, etc. Jung saw the sex drive as only one of a number of possible applications of the libido. This difference with Freud ultimately drove a wedge between them. This book pretty much sealed the separation of the Freudian and Jungian schools of psychology. Obviously, I'm way more Jungian than Freudian. I give credit to Freud, but he became too dogmatic in his views. Jung was more open to letting his experience as a psychologist mold his thinking. That doesn't mean Jung wasn't prone to some of the ignorance and prejudice that was ubiquitous at the time. Jung's belief that there are "lower" races should be seen in the Jungian context, though. He saw certain peoples as functioning in a more primal (i.e. lower) state of human development. These peoples are analogous to the time of adolescence of a specific human being. I'm not sure he saw these so-called "lower" races as inherently inferior, because he also saw rightly that it is in these cultures that mythology and symbolism is often the richest. The communal collective unconscious of certain peoples may contain some of the richest mythology because of how recent the connection is to a more primitive civilization. Indeed, one of the major epiphanies of Jung was when a non-white patient attempted to show him the "phallus" of the sun. At the time, Jung thought that it was simply the ravings of a disturbed man until he was reading up on Mithraism and the same mythological descriptions of the sun occurred in a text published later. Jung mentioned in this book, and in a number of other places, how important this revelation of subconscious archetypes was for him. I concur that the odds of the same mythological description occurring in the Mithraic text and in the ravings of this man is almost nil if one appeals to coincidence. If Jung didn't see all humanity as interconnected, he would not have found this insight so universally applicable. I do not want to seem as if I am excusing Jung's prejudices, only clarifying the context that they occurred in. One should also note that this book is a very early work. He almost certainly did change his views on certain things. One example I can cite is that here, Jung equates introversion almost exclusively with psychosis. He sees introversion as incest inversion; a desire to return to the mother. Later on, Jung didn't see introversion as, ipso facto, a sign of a psychological complex. I'm an extreme introvert, so I take exception to the idea that my introversion is necessarily a mental illness. Not that I am not eccentric and slightly neurotic in my own way, but my introversion isn't an illness. There is a lot to suggest that Jung later changed his views on introversion. One can hope that he also changed some of his more prejudicial views on people.
Jung seemed to have been consumed with the visions of a certain "Miss Frank Miller" for pretty much the entirety of this book. Apparently, she was a poet given to visions and mania. Jung spends pretty much the whole of this book on her poetry and visions. He sees evidence of a psychosis in her visions and in her poetry. He notes the mythological and archetypal components in both, but he definitely saw evidence of a complex in both as well. I've being studying mysticism and religion for years, so I am not inclined to trivialize someone's visions and poetic imagination as the ravings of a disturbed mind necessarily. Jung's breakdown of the mythological aspects of Miss Miller's visions and poetry is interesting, even though I think he has a tendency to trivialize something that could've been spiritually significant for this woman. Not surprisingly, Jung also sees religion, and Christianity specifically, as containing unconscious projections of the libido. Once again, I've been studying religion too long to trivialize it as simply a matter of human psychological projection. Jung may have changed his views on the preceding later, but I know that his equating the shadow self with an evil that needed to be integrated is something I have always taken issue with. It's not that I deny the existence of the shadow. Indeed, Christianity never denied there was such a thing. I simply deny that it can be integrated as an evil. Evil can't function as a unity, so integrating it is a contradiction in terms. This is one thing I've always opposed Jung on.
There's some sections in here I consider interesting and I'd like to quote those. Thankfully, this book is in the public domain, so it won't be as difficult. The following is interesting because, while it still contains negative appraisals of Christianity, it also has some positive ones:
"The people of this age had grown ripe for identification with the Logos (word) "become flesh," for the founding of a new fellowship, united by one idea, in the name of which people could love each other and call each other brothers.... The meaning of those cults I speak of Christianity and Mithracism is clear; it is a moral restraint of animal impulses. The dynamic appearance of both religions betrays something of that enormous feeling of redemption which animated the first disciples and which we today scarcely know how to appreciate, for these old truths are empty to us. Most certainly we should still understand it, had our customs even a breath of ancient brutality, for we can hardly realize in this day the whirlwinds of the unchained libido which roared through the ancient Rome of the Caesars. The civilized man of the present day seems very far removed from that. He has become merely neurotic. So for us the necessities which brought forth Christianity have actually been lost, since we no longer understand their meaning. We do not know against what it had to protect us. For enlightened people, the so-called religiousness has already approached very close to a neurosis. In the past two thousand years Christianity has done its work and has erected barriers of repression, which protect us from the sight of our own " sinfulness." The elementary emotions of the libido have come to be unknown to us, for they are carried on in the unconscious; therefore, the belief which combats them has become hollow and empty. Let whoever does not believe that a mask covers our religion, obtain an impression for himself from the appearance of our modern churches, from which style and art have long since fled."
It's interesting that Jung notes poetry as containing inherently unconscious archetypal imagery. I would add that lyrics to songs also qualify in the same regard. While mining Miss Miller's poetry and visions for unconscious symbolism and signs of psychoses, Jung cited her recounting of one of her visions:
" After an evening of care and anxiety, I lay down to sleep at about half past eleven. I felt excited and unable to sleep, although I was very tired. There was no light in the room. I closed my eyes, and then I had the feeling that something was about to happen. The sensation of a general relaxation came over me, and I remained as passive as possible. Lines appeared before my eyes, sparks and shining spirals, followed by a kaleidoscopic review of recent trivial occurrences."
I found the details of the above vision fascinating because it reminds me of the lyrics of a song by New Order. After the suicide of Joy Division's frontman, Ian Curtis, the rest of the members of Joy Division went on to form New Order. Their first abum, Movement, was haunted by the death Ian Curtis. There are lyrics in the song The Him that remind me of the above vision:
"Small boy kneels humble in a great hall,
He pays penance to the air above him,
White circles, black lines surround me
Reborn, so plain my eyes see
This is the reason that I came here
To be so near to such a person.
I'm so tired. I'm so tired"
I always found the part about white circles and black lines interesting. The song obviously has a lot to do with Ian Curtis. I find it interesting that a similar vision was had by this woman: spirals, lines, and the reference to being tired is also interesting. It's entirely possible that Bernard Sumner, or whoever wrote the lyrics, had read this book and was influenced by it unconsciously, but I think it's doubtful.
This was a very interesting early work of Jung's. I certainly recommend it. This contains many of the elements that we associate with Jung, and the theories he would continue to develop the rest of his life. I give it around 4 stars. Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious is a superior work, but this is still very good
I wanted to start reading Jung again because, after going through Schelling, it is apparent to me that Schelling's stance on mythology was probably influential for psychology in general, and for Jung in particular. Jung does in fact cite Schelling's Philosophy of Mythology once in this book. I found that interesting. This work actually marked the schism between Freud and Jung. Freud increasingly saw the libido as a sexual drive, whereas Jung saw the libido as more contextual. Jung variously described the libido as energy, drive, passion, motivation, etc. Jung saw the sex drive as only one of a number of possible applications of the libido. This difference with Freud ultimately drove a wedge between them. This book pretty much sealed the separation of the Freudian and Jungian schools of psychology. Obviously, I'm way more Jungian than Freudian. I give credit to Freud, but he became too dogmatic in his views. Jung was more open to letting his experience as a psychologist mold his thinking. That doesn't mean Jung wasn't prone to some of the ignorance and prejudice that was ubiquitous at the time. Jung's belief that there are "lower" races should be seen in the Jungian context, though. He saw certain peoples as functioning in a more primal (i.e. lower) state of human development. These peoples are analogous to the time of adolescence of a specific human being. I'm not sure he saw these so-called "lower" races as inherently inferior, because he also saw rightly that it is in these cultures that mythology and symbolism is often the richest. The communal collective unconscious of certain peoples may contain some of the richest mythology because of how recent the connection is to a more primitive civilization. Indeed, one of the major epiphanies of Jung was when a non-white patient attempted to show him the "phallus" of the sun. At the time, Jung thought that it was simply the ravings of a disturbed man until he was reading up on Mithraism and the same mythological descriptions of the sun occurred in a text published later. Jung mentioned in this book, and in a number of other places, how important this revelation of subconscious archetypes was for him. I concur that the odds of the same mythological description occurring in the Mithraic text and in the ravings of this man is almost nil if one appeals to coincidence. If Jung didn't see all humanity as interconnected, he would not have found this insight so universally applicable. I do not want to seem as if I am excusing Jung's prejudices, only clarifying the context that they occurred in. One should also note that this book is a very early work. He almost certainly did change his views on certain things. One example I can cite is that here, Jung equates introversion almost exclusively with psychosis. He sees introversion as incest inversion; a desire to return to the mother. Later on, Jung didn't see introversion as, ipso facto, a sign of a psychological complex. I'm an extreme introvert, so I take exception to the idea that my introversion is necessarily a mental illness. Not that I am not eccentric and slightly neurotic in my own way, but my introversion isn't an illness. There is a lot to suggest that Jung later changed his views on introversion. One can hope that he also changed some of his more prejudicial views on people.
Jung seemed to have been consumed with the visions of a certain "Miss Frank Miller" for pretty much the entirety of this book. Apparently, she was a poet given to visions and mania. Jung spends pretty much the whole of this book on her poetry and visions. He sees evidence of a psychosis in her visions and in her poetry. He notes the mythological and archetypal components in both, but he definitely saw evidence of a complex in both as well. I've being studying mysticism and religion for years, so I am not inclined to trivialize someone's visions and poetic imagination as the ravings of a disturbed mind necessarily. Jung's breakdown of the mythological aspects of Miss Miller's visions and poetry is interesting, even though I think he has a tendency to trivialize something that could've been spiritually significant for this woman. Not surprisingly, Jung also sees religion, and Christianity specifically, as containing unconscious projections of the libido. Once again, I've been studying religion too long to trivialize it as simply a matter of human psychological projection. Jung may have changed his views on the preceding later, but I know that his equating the shadow self with an evil that needed to be integrated is something I have always taken issue with. It's not that I deny the existence of the shadow. Indeed, Christianity never denied there was such a thing. I simply deny that it can be integrated as an evil. Evil can't function as a unity, so integrating it is a contradiction in terms. This is one thing I've always opposed Jung on.
There's some sections in here I consider interesting and I'd like to quote those. Thankfully, this book is in the public domain, so it won't be as difficult. The following is interesting because, while it still contains negative appraisals of Christianity, it also has some positive ones:
"The people of this age had grown ripe for identification with the Logos (word) "become flesh," for the founding of a new fellowship, united by one idea, in the name of which people could love each other and call each other brothers.... The meaning of those cults I speak of Christianity and Mithracism is clear; it is a moral restraint of animal impulses. The dynamic appearance of both religions betrays something of that enormous feeling of redemption which animated the first disciples and which we today scarcely know how to appreciate, for these old truths are empty to us. Most certainly we should still understand it, had our customs even a breath of ancient brutality, for we can hardly realize in this day the whirlwinds of the unchained libido which roared through the ancient Rome of the Caesars. The civilized man of the present day seems very far removed from that. He has become merely neurotic. So for us the necessities which brought forth Christianity have actually been lost, since we no longer understand their meaning. We do not know against what it had to protect us. For enlightened people, the so-called religiousness has already approached very close to a neurosis. In the past two thousand years Christianity has done its work and has erected barriers of repression, which protect us from the sight of our own " sinfulness." The elementary emotions of the libido have come to be unknown to us, for they are carried on in the unconscious; therefore, the belief which combats them has become hollow and empty. Let whoever does not believe that a mask covers our religion, obtain an impression for himself from the appearance of our modern churches, from which style and art have long since fled."
It's interesting that Jung notes poetry as containing inherently unconscious archetypal imagery. I would add that lyrics to songs also qualify in the same regard. While mining Miss Miller's poetry and visions for unconscious symbolism and signs of psychoses, Jung cited her recounting of one of her visions:
" After an evening of care and anxiety, I lay down to sleep at about half past eleven. I felt excited and unable to sleep, although I was very tired. There was no light in the room. I closed my eyes, and then I had the feeling that something was about to happen. The sensation of a general relaxation came over me, and I remained as passive as possible. Lines appeared before my eyes, sparks and shining spirals, followed by a kaleidoscopic review of recent trivial occurrences."
I found the details of the above vision fascinating because it reminds me of the lyrics of a song by New Order. After the suicide of Joy Division's frontman, Ian Curtis, the rest of the members of Joy Division went on to form New Order. Their first abum, Movement, was haunted by the death Ian Curtis. There are lyrics in the song The Him that remind me of the above vision:
"Small boy kneels humble in a great hall,
He pays penance to the air above him,
White circles, black lines surround me
Reborn, so plain my eyes see
This is the reason that I came here
To be so near to such a person.
I'm so tired. I'm so tired"
I always found the part about white circles and black lines interesting. The song obviously has a lot to do with Ian Curtis. I find it interesting that a similar vision was had by this woman: spirals, lines, and the reference to being tired is also interesting. It's entirely possible that Bernard Sumner, or whoever wrote the lyrics, had read this book and was influenced by it unconsciously, but I think it's doubtful.
This was a very interesting early work of Jung's. I certainly recommend it. This contains many of the elements that we associate with Jung, and the theories he would continue to develop the rest of his life. I give it around 4 stars. Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious is a superior work, but this is still very good
December 25, 2014
This is a must read for anyone who wants a deeper understanding of Jung's theories. Here Jung examines dreams, mythology, and literature in order to shed light on the repressed aspects of the psyche held within the unconscious. This book focuses particularly upon the repression of the libido, the incest prohibition, and the problem of the libido tied up with the mother image. Here, libido is taken beyond just sexual energy into a broader understanding of psychic energy as a driving force. This is a very good read. I give this book 5 stars. Anyone seeking an understanding of Jung's theories should read this book.
July 3, 2012
Jung analyses the autobiographic sketches of a young woman in order to expose the underlying stereotypical mythic imagery he deems universal for all psyches. As methodological help he turns to scholars dealing with the importance of myth for the creation of religions and collective habits. His terminology is highly based on Freud's findings for the interpretation of dreams. However while Freud insists on the sexually motivated nature of these dreams, Jung argues for a broader definition of the term Libido as a universal energetic driving force behind human action. This extension of Freud's thought is, in my opinion, one of the great achievement of this study.
The analysis itself is logically structured, yet partly loses itself in redundancies. This is something I find typical and annoying in Jung's writing in general. However, the original thoughts are clever, unique, and very employable for the analysis of people and literature both. Jung also exposes a wide knowledge of individual myths in order to expose their underlying universal structures which he attributes to shared mental capacities in all men. Especially his comparison between the Mythras cult and the advent of Christianity are very illuminating. Overall, a very recommendable book for everyone interested in the power of myth, fairy tale, and the origination of human imagination in general.
The analysis itself is logically structured, yet partly loses itself in redundancies. This is something I find typical and annoying in Jung's writing in general. However, the original thoughts are clever, unique, and very employable for the analysis of people and literature both. Jung also exposes a wide knowledge of individual myths in order to expose their underlying universal structures which he attributes to shared mental capacities in all men. Especially his comparison between the Mythras cult and the advent of Christianity are very illuminating. Overall, a very recommendable book for everyone interested in the power of myth, fairy tale, and the origination of human imagination in general.
January 24, 2015
Este libro recopila observaciones de innumerables mitos a través de la óptica del psicoanálisis de inicios del siglo XX.
La labor bibliográfica es impresionante. Jung recorre mitología grecoromana, sumeria, egipcia, judeocristiana, nórdica, y seguro que estoy olvidando un montón más.
Hace referencia a libros de Goethe y Nietsche que no he leído lamentablemente.
Me gustaría contrastar esto con una publicación muy reciente de la escuela gestalt.
La labor bibliográfica es impresionante. Jung recorre mitología grecoromana, sumeria, egipcia, judeocristiana, nórdica, y seguro que estoy olvidando un montón más.
Hace referencia a libros de Goethe y Nietsche que no he leído lamentablemente.
Me gustaría contrastar esto con una publicación muy reciente de la escuela gestalt.
May 29, 2015
چه شخصیت جالبیه یونگ ! بیشتر باید کاراشو خوند بعضی جاهای این کتاب نیاز به آشنایی قبلی زیادی با کارای یونگ و کلا روانکاوی داره .
May 31, 2018
it would be better to read CW.5 (Symbols of Transformation) rather than this
January 12, 2022
K.G.JUNG-DINAMIKA NESVESNOG
✒"Lekar bi trebalo da pacijentu
osigura pravo na apsolutno slobodnu kritiku, pošto se pacijent po svaku cenu mora osećati ljudski ravnopravan.
Verujem da iz iznetog jasno proizilazi da analiza, po mome mišljenju, postavlja duhovnom i moralnom kvalitetu lekara daleko veće zahteve nego primena rutinske tehnike i da terapijski uticaj lekara pre svega leži u ovom, više ličnom pravcu."
🍄Ako vas zanima psihologija i Jung,a nikada do sada niste čitali,ovo je odlično delo da se započne istraživanje.
🍄Opsežno i jednostavno su objašnjeni svi pojmovi koje je Jung uveo u psihologoju-kolektivno nesvesno,arhetipovi,veza psihologije i medicine,religije,mitova,alhemije
🍄U drugoj polovini knjiga se bavi psihoterapijom i primerima iz prakse. Posebno naglašava važnost psihoanalize i ističe da je neophodno da joj se i terapeut podvrgne
🍄Ono što je posebno vredno su Jungovi stavovi prema ostalim psiholozima. On ne odbacuje ni Frojfovu,ni Adlerovu ni teorije ostalih svojih prethodnika. Njegov stav je-svi su oni u pravu,ali se te teorije mogu primeniti samo na pojedine slučajeve. Čovek je celina,suviše kompleksna da bi se ukalupila i lečila jednom metodom. Njegova terapija se sastoji u sintezi svega prethodno naučenog,svih metoda i pristupa,dok se ne postignu rezultati,uz neprekidno samoispitivanje psihologa.
#7sensesofabook #knjige #psychology #bookstagram #readingaddict #literature
✒"Lekar bi trebalo da pacijentu
osigura pravo na apsolutno slobodnu kritiku, pošto se pacijent po svaku cenu mora osećati ljudski ravnopravan.
Verujem da iz iznetog jasno proizilazi da analiza, po mome mišljenju, postavlja duhovnom i moralnom kvalitetu lekara daleko veće zahteve nego primena rutinske tehnike i da terapijski uticaj lekara pre svega leži u ovom, više ličnom pravcu."
🍄Ako vas zanima psihologija i Jung,a nikada do sada niste čitali,ovo je odlično delo da se započne istraživanje.
🍄Opsežno i jednostavno su objašnjeni svi pojmovi koje je Jung uveo u psihologoju-kolektivno nesvesno,arhetipovi,veza psihologije i medicine,religije,mitova,alhemije
🍄U drugoj polovini knjiga se bavi psihoterapijom i primerima iz prakse. Posebno naglašava važnost psihoanalize i ističe da je neophodno da joj se i terapeut podvrgne
🍄Ono što je posebno vredno su Jungovi stavovi prema ostalim psiholozima. On ne odbacuje ni Frojfovu,ni Adlerovu ni teorije ostalih svojih prethodnika. Njegov stav je-svi su oni u pravu,ali se te teorije mogu primeniti samo na pojedine slučajeve. Čovek je celina,suviše kompleksna da bi se ukalupila i lečila jednom metodom. Njegova terapija se sastoji u sintezi svega prethodno naučenog,svih metoda i pristupa,dok se ne postignu rezultati,uz neprekidno samoispitivanje psihologa.
#7sensesofabook #knjige #psychology #bookstagram #readingaddict #literature
December 26, 2021
I have a conflicted relationship with Swiss psychiatrist C. G. Jung: I got a lot out of reading his ”Man and His Symbols” back in high school, however around 2017-2019 I begun finding his ideas and advice absolutely harmful, then here in 2021 I got a more nuanced view of good old Carl Gustav. This time from the viewpoint of reading Jung to understand his influence on modern Western occultism. Today I find Jung's methods useful for solving the problems I have in life right now but I often find his explanations for why they work unsatisfying and his writing style rather clumsy. Furthermore, my mother owns quite a few books by Jung and his students such as Marie Louise von Franz, James Hillman, Erich Neumann etc which I have promptly started going through. After having plowed through ”The Portable Jung” and re-read ”Man and His Symbols” the time came to ”Psychology of the Unconscious” from 1912.
”Psychology of the Unconscious” is one of Jung's earlier books. Accordingly Jung spends much of it on pointing out what he thought his mentor Sigmund Freud got right and wrong. Here I feel left in the dark, since I haven't read enough Freud to know how much of Jung's criticism I agree with. Jung also spends quite a few pages on arguing against Alfred Adler, another student of Freud who started his own psychological system. Adler combined Freud's theories with Friedrich Nietzsche's ideas, specifically identifying the Freudian libido with the Nietzschean will-to-power. So ”Psychology of the Unconscious” contains a brief biography about Nietzsche for psychologists without an interest in philosophy, as well as Jung's own exegesis of the 'tache man's ideas. To be honest, I have to re-read Nietszche not just Freud in order to say how useful I find Jung's critique of those 2 thinkers in here.
One thing that is clear, however, is that Jung found Nietzsche, Freud and Adler's views of human psychological nature too simplistic in their reliance on one-size-fits-all explanations. This goes a long way to explaining why Jung's own system ended up being so much more complex than either Freud's or Adler's. In particular, Jung felt that none of the three above took religion seriously enough. Not surprising considering that Nietzsche and Freud were atheists, whereas Jung was a Lutheran. (”Aion” which I have yet to read reportedly contains some fairly scathing criticism of Roman Catholic ideas about good and evil)
This is where Jung starts heading into territory a 21st century reader like me finds more akin to occultism than psychology. For example, he goes into detail about how the magical power described by various religions is the same thing as psychic energy. Which in Jung's universe can very much mean psychic in the sense of telekinesis, telepathy, and so on mind you – he took parapsychology very seriously. In this model, deities become metaphorical focus patterns for this energy and "solar hero" myths represent the individual human learning to master this innate raw psychic energy. No wonder Jung is more influential on occultism than psychology nowadays! When Jung starts talking about this psychic energy manifesting in both harmful and beneficial ways, I am also instantly reminded of the talk about positive and negative energies that is a staple of present day popular spirituality.
For all the mysticism a good chunk of ”Psychology of the Unconscious” nonetheless still revolves around analysing a particular psychiatric case story. One of a young woman, whose dreams had clear undertones of repressed lesbianism on her part, and contained a particularly traumatising incident where a crayfish pulled her back into a river she was crossing. Jung argues extensively that this dream is one that his theories could explain in a satisfying manner, but neither Freud nor Adler could.
Anyway, what I got out of this book was finding out how Jung arrived at his particular theories and why he broke with Freud in the ways he did. Since I find Jung's therapeutic methods useful but I don't always agree with him on why they actually work, and I haven't read enough Freud to know whether I agree with Jung's criticisms of his work, this is of limited use to me outside the stuff about applied dream analysis. Maybe I would have gotten less out of the books by Jung I read after this, had I not read ”Psychology of the Unconscious”?
”Psychology of the Unconscious” is one of Jung's earlier books. Accordingly Jung spends much of it on pointing out what he thought his mentor Sigmund Freud got right and wrong. Here I feel left in the dark, since I haven't read enough Freud to know how much of Jung's criticism I agree with. Jung also spends quite a few pages on arguing against Alfred Adler, another student of Freud who started his own psychological system. Adler combined Freud's theories with Friedrich Nietzsche's ideas, specifically identifying the Freudian libido with the Nietzschean will-to-power. So ”Psychology of the Unconscious” contains a brief biography about Nietzsche for psychologists without an interest in philosophy, as well as Jung's own exegesis of the 'tache man's ideas. To be honest, I have to re-read Nietszche not just Freud in order to say how useful I find Jung's critique of those 2 thinkers in here.
One thing that is clear, however, is that Jung found Nietzsche, Freud and Adler's views of human psychological nature too simplistic in their reliance on one-size-fits-all explanations. This goes a long way to explaining why Jung's own system ended up being so much more complex than either Freud's or Adler's. In particular, Jung felt that none of the three above took religion seriously enough. Not surprising considering that Nietzsche and Freud were atheists, whereas Jung was a Lutheran. (”Aion” which I have yet to read reportedly contains some fairly scathing criticism of Roman Catholic ideas about good and evil)
This is where Jung starts heading into territory a 21st century reader like me finds more akin to occultism than psychology. For example, he goes into detail about how the magical power described by various religions is the same thing as psychic energy. Which in Jung's universe can very much mean psychic in the sense of telekinesis, telepathy, and so on mind you – he took parapsychology very seriously. In this model, deities become metaphorical focus patterns for this energy and "solar hero" myths represent the individual human learning to master this innate raw psychic energy. No wonder Jung is more influential on occultism than psychology nowadays! When Jung starts talking about this psychic energy manifesting in both harmful and beneficial ways, I am also instantly reminded of the talk about positive and negative energies that is a staple of present day popular spirituality.
For all the mysticism a good chunk of ”Psychology of the Unconscious” nonetheless still revolves around analysing a particular psychiatric case story. One of a young woman, whose dreams had clear undertones of repressed lesbianism on her part, and contained a particularly traumatising incident where a crayfish pulled her back into a river she was crossing. Jung argues extensively that this dream is one that his theories could explain in a satisfying manner, but neither Freud nor Adler could.
Anyway, what I got out of this book was finding out how Jung arrived at his particular theories and why he broke with Freud in the ways he did. Since I find Jung's therapeutic methods useful but I don't always agree with him on why they actually work, and I haven't read enough Freud to know whether I agree with Jung's criticisms of his work, this is of limited use to me outside the stuff about applied dream analysis. Maybe I would have gotten less out of the books by Jung I read after this, had I not read ”Psychology of the Unconscious”?
June 19, 2015
Little did CG know that by 2015, his concepts would not require in-depth explanation because they are common parlance now. For an exhaustive review of his concepts of the Unconscious, which were changed as he grew older, this book is excellent. Can be tiresome for a 20th century person at times, so be patient.
March 14, 2014
Amazing read. One can't help but appreciate Jung's depth and breadth of knowledge of mythology and religion and how aptly he draws from their significance in exploring the importance of symbolism involved in transformation of the psyche. My favorite Jung book to date.
Read
November 9, 2008كتابي جالب راجع به لايه هاي پنهان روح ادمي
هرچند كه ايده ضمير نا خودآگاه از آن يونگ نيست اما با
به نظر من تعبير روياي او بهتر از نظرات فرويد توضيح دهنده ضمير ناخودآگاه است
هرچند كه ايده ضمير نا خودآگاه از آن يونگ نيست اما با
به نظر من تعبير روياي او بهتر از نظرات فرويد توضيح دهنده ضمير ناخودآگاه است
September 14, 2021
"Un oscuro presentimento ci dice che senza questo lato negativo siamo incompleti, che abbiamo un corpo il quale, come ogni corpo, getta inevitabilmente un'ombra, e che se rifiutiamo questo corpo non siamo tridimensionali, bensì piatti e inconsistenti. Ma questo corpo è una bestia con un'anima bestiale, vale a dire è un sistema vivente che obbedisce incondizionatamente all'istinto. Stabilire un'unità con quest'Ombra significa dire di sì all'istinto e perciò dire di sì anche a quella dinamica mostruosa che minaccia nel profondo."
January 12, 2021
A must read for the self-explorer. Carl g. Jung's thoughts on dream analysis and the unconscious is fascanating and can give you great insight in your own psyche and help you obtain self-knowledge. Very interesting read.
February 17, 2021
C.G. Jung orients this wide-ranging exploration of the sun-hero and his struggle against the mother-imago in light of the personal literary output of a patient of his, a Miss Miller. Using the source documents of this neurotic patient's literary output, Dr. Jung explores with great acuity and alacrity the various manifestations of the sun-hero in archaic religions (Attis, Gilgamesh, Isis, Osiris, Dionysus), the poetry of Longfellow ("Hiawatha"), the operas of Richard Wagner (Siegfried, Brunhilde, and Wotan), and, most importantly, in the lives and histories of the mentally and emotionally suffering patients that make up his clients. Jung's understanding and analysis of the mythological and psychological content of these cultural, religious, mythological, and personal stories is vast and all-encompassing; additionally, this erudition is tied to a theory of emotions that, to this reader, appears cogent and rational. Man (and women) are engaged in a constant battle with the mother-imago, with neurotics regressing into nihilistic pursuit of union with the pleasant feelings of infancy, when all needs were met in a grand circle of love; the history of the individual, as well as the culture and religion of all mankind, is the reflection of the working out of this conflict. And behind it all is the sun-hero, in love with both the mother-inspired libido and fearful of true engagement with life, for there is the possibility of death and defeat. All through this book, as encompassing and almost encyclopedic as it is, one is constantly held in thrall to the content, for the analysis and recounting of the theories, and their associated stories, entertains and instructs with the greatest of ease. The acuity of the perception is twinned with a smoothness of prose, making for a work that is truly a joy to peruse. A good book this is!
January 8, 2019
This book was like a gold mine- mostly dross, with some fool's gold and a tiny nugget of real, valuable material. Jung elevates the non-sequitor to an art form. He's a bloody genius, which can be frustrating because the connections between seemingly non-related material probably seemed obvious to him. German scholarly writing was deliberately obscurantist for a long time, and he seems to come on the tail end of that, but I sense that he's trying to be as clear as he can here.
His point is that you can connect individual psychology to group psychology- that the myth is to cultures as the dream is to individuals. There's something to that. He fleshes that out over the course of his career, and I hope to hop on board a bit downstream. He also makes the point that libido isn't just sexual- that there's more behind our Élan vital than just the pleasure principle. He points us to mythology from around the world to make the point. There's something to that, too.
This work left me exhausted. It's hard work to read this sort of thing.
That may be because the psychoanalysts were self-consciously trying to establish a new paradigm for understanding humanity, and so they spanned the Humanities- theology, philosophy, art, literature, and the natural sciences. If you don't know a bunch about all those subjects, you'll just drown. I clung to the driftwood of my BA in Philosophy and my classical high school education, but the waves were still high.
His point is that you can connect individual psychology to group psychology- that the myth is to cultures as the dream is to individuals. There's something to that. He fleshes that out over the course of his career, and I hope to hop on board a bit downstream. He also makes the point that libido isn't just sexual- that there's more behind our Élan vital than just the pleasure principle. He points us to mythology from around the world to make the point. There's something to that, too.
This work left me exhausted. It's hard work to read this sort of thing.
That may be because the psychoanalysts were self-consciously trying to establish a new paradigm for understanding humanity, and so they spanned the Humanities- theology, philosophy, art, literature, and the natural sciences. If you don't know a bunch about all those subjects, you'll just drown. I clung to the driftwood of my BA in Philosophy and my classical high school education, but the waves were still high.
November 22, 2017
How big a heart do you have to swallow and stomach the immensity of this seminal work? How big a mind can you stretch to reimagine the size of the Jung's thorough and vast reach of lateral anthropological knowledge? Finally, how strong a faith do you have in your socio-cultural and cognitive structure to sustain the challenges that will hammer on your inherited systems once Jung connects it with the communal subconscious?
Even the Koran was not spared.
For me, it fortified my faith. Because I've always thought that if my faith in my particular religion has a smidge of credibility, then it would have to be connected with other cultures and societies. That the Khidir character can be connected with the nymphs of the Pacific ocean, the gods of Atlantis and the demons in South America, makes him more real, and closer to heart.
That the world's mythological languages and systems connect with each other makes it even more important to stop fussing what is ours and theirs, and celebrate instead what is common amongst man, across the generations and bibles.
Even the Koran was not spared.
For me, it fortified my faith. Because I've always thought that if my faith in my particular religion has a smidge of credibility, then it would have to be connected with other cultures and societies. That the Khidir character can be connected with the nymphs of the Pacific ocean, the gods of Atlantis and the demons in South America, makes him more real, and closer to heart.
That the world's mythological languages and systems connect with each other makes it even more important to stop fussing what is ours and theirs, and celebrate instead what is common amongst man, across the generations and bibles.
February 3, 2021
This book needs some serious editing. It reads like a collection of academic notes that have been randomly strung together. Wanting, I suppose, to walk in the footsteps of Nietzche, Jung makes little effort to explain anything he is attempting to teach in a manner the reader would neatly grasp without having to consult external resources that attempt to interpret his writings.
Thankfully, Jung will improve as a writer in the coming years, but sadly in this book he comes off as a raving mystic 99% of time, and I would be hard-pressed to recommend it to anyone.
And this is coming from someone who was really impressed by Psychological Types and rated it a solid 5 stars.
Thankfully, Jung will improve as a writer in the coming years, but sadly in this book he comes off as a raving mystic 99% of time, and I would be hard-pressed to recommend it to anyone.
And this is coming from someone who was really impressed by Psychological Types and rated it a solid 5 stars.
December 31, 2020
I struggled with this book. I thought it would be more theoretical like Freud’s works, where he takes a concept and kind of ruminates on it for a while, but instead he bases most of the book on another author’s work and develops symbolism from that work. Concepts do not seem fully formed or explained - examples are given without a base understanding of the symbol/concepts themselves. It was nice trying to read this, since he’s one of the fathers of modern psychology, but I ultimately just wasn’t that interested.
April 29, 2018
highly comprehensive, in-depth; overstresses mythology, but shows a great knowledge
September 19, 2022
Un testo di psicologia ben fedele a questa: tante parole, giri e rigiri intorno al tema centrale senza mai dare risposte né, addirittura, ipotesi. A fine lettura (se si riesce ad arrivare alla fine!), al lettore rimangono solo tanti “maa... quindi?”
Qualcuno potrebbe ribattere con un “la psicologia ha il compito di analizzare, non di dare risposte". Tralasciando il fatto che, così come la sociologia, essa analizza l'ovvio e lo tratta come scoperta della panacea, inventando, per darsi un tono, una terminologia inutile conosciuta a pochi, dando vita ad un'élite convinta di vedere chissà cosa che i comuni mortali non vedono (e il perpetuare quest'isteria si nota benissimo negli insegnati universitari di queste discipline), questo testo analizza essenzialmente il nulla. Tante citazioni, tanti lavori altrui sui quali dice cose che poi non elabora. Pare la bozza di una miscellanea di pensieri buttati lì.
Centinaia di pagine e non mi è ancora chiaro cosa io abbia letto... del tipo che è accertato che le donne esaurite amino il caviale, che il mondo è “freddo e morto” e quindi gli uomini han creato versioni ottimiste e allegre di tutte le cose: il mito e la religione, che quindi rappresentano i sogni di tutti gli uomini. Questi, tramite fiabe e conoscenze tramandate, riverberano nell'uomo moderno: ad esempio la bambina che sogna di essere una principessa fatata.
«Il pensiero fantastico è proprio degli antichi, dei bambini e delle razze inferiori.»
Tuttavia, Jung qualche risposta universale cerca di fornirla: sapete il motivo dietro il quale si celano i vostri sogni riguardo il venir violentati da un uomo o da un animale? Secondo lo psichiatra, la specie umana ha tendenze sodomite: tramite esempi di 2300 anni prima, egli rivela che l'uomo moderno rifiuta di credere alla sua naturale inclinazione di accoppiarsi con le capre, così come il “rapire e violentare una donna”; eppure, menzionando la citazione di Guglielmo Ferreri: "la cultura cambia, ma non la psicologia umana".
D'altronde, cosa aspettarsi da un egocentrico sociopatico —gli psicologi e i sociologi vivono in un mondo tutto loro dove si danno tante pacche sulla spalla perché nessun altro lo fa, e si fanno gobbi a furia di stare alla scrivania a scrivere del mondo esterno dal quale sono scollegati—, da uno che “We know that lower races, like the negroes, look upon the locomotive as an animal, and call the drawers of the table the child of the table.” (no, l'averlo scritto nel 1916 non vale come giustificazione).
Che dire: Jung avrebbe fatto meglio a scegliere una carriera in lettere, vista la sua passione per la mitologia (il 50% del testo consiste in dettagliati racconti di mitologia out of context), o ad andare in trincea.
Solo i soggetti deviati e devianti —spesso repressi— studiano attivamente di psicologia, e solo i soggetti sottosviluppati credono che sia fattuale e utile.
Buona l'introduzione.
Qualcuno potrebbe ribattere con un “la psicologia ha il compito di analizzare, non di dare risposte". Tralasciando il fatto che, così come la sociologia, essa analizza l'ovvio e lo tratta come scoperta della panacea, inventando, per darsi un tono, una terminologia inutile conosciuta a pochi, dando vita ad un'élite convinta di vedere chissà cosa che i comuni mortali non vedono (e il perpetuare quest'isteria si nota benissimo negli insegnati universitari di queste discipline), questo testo analizza essenzialmente il nulla. Tante citazioni, tanti lavori altrui sui quali dice cose che poi non elabora. Pare la bozza di una miscellanea di pensieri buttati lì.
Centinaia di pagine e non mi è ancora chiaro cosa io abbia letto... del tipo che è accertato che le donne esaurite amino il caviale, che il mondo è “freddo e morto” e quindi gli uomini han creato versioni ottimiste e allegre di tutte le cose: il mito e la religione, che quindi rappresentano i sogni di tutti gli uomini. Questi, tramite fiabe e conoscenze tramandate, riverberano nell'uomo moderno: ad esempio la bambina che sogna di essere una principessa fatata.
«Il pensiero fantastico è proprio degli antichi, dei bambini e delle razze inferiori.»
Tuttavia, Jung qualche risposta universale cerca di fornirla: sapete il motivo dietro il quale si celano i vostri sogni riguardo il venir violentati da un uomo o da un animale? Secondo lo psichiatra, la specie umana ha tendenze sodomite: tramite esempi di 2300 anni prima, egli rivela che l'uomo moderno rifiuta di credere alla sua naturale inclinazione di accoppiarsi con le capre, così come il “rapire e violentare una donna”; eppure, menzionando la citazione di Guglielmo Ferreri: "la cultura cambia, ma non la psicologia umana".
D'altronde, cosa aspettarsi da un egocentrico sociopatico —gli psicologi e i sociologi vivono in un mondo tutto loro dove si danno tante pacche sulla spalla perché nessun altro lo fa, e si fanno gobbi a furia di stare alla scrivania a scrivere del mondo esterno dal quale sono scollegati—, da uno che “We know that lower races, like the negroes, look upon the locomotive as an animal, and call the drawers of the table the child of the table.” (no, l'averlo scritto nel 1916 non vale come giustificazione).
Che dire: Jung avrebbe fatto meglio a scegliere una carriera in lettere, vista la sua passione per la mitologia (il 50% del testo consiste in dettagliati racconti di mitologia out of context), o ad andare in trincea.
Solo i soggetti deviati e devianti —spesso repressi— studiano attivamente di psicologia, e solo i soggetti sottosviluppati credono che sia fattuale e utile.
Buona l'introduzione.
February 18, 2023
a study of the transformations and symbolisms of the libido, a contribution to the history of the evolution of thought
Revised by Jung in 1952 into Symbols of Transformation.
“The Christian religion seems to have fulfilled its great biological purpose, in so far as we are able to judge. It has led human thought to independence…”
“The identification with God necessarily has as a result the enhancing of the meaning and power of the individual. That seems, first of all, to have been really its purpose: a strengthening of the individual against his all too great weakness and insecurity in real life.”
“The separation from the blessedness of childhood, from youth even, has taken the golden glamour from nature, and the future is hopeless emptiness. But what robs nature of of its glamour, and life of its joy, is the poison of retrospective longing…
This distinctly suggests a renunciation, an envy of one's own youth, that time of freedom which one would like to retain through a deep-rooted dislike to all duty and endeavor which is denied an immediate pleasure reward.
Painstaking work for a long time and for a remote object is not in the nature of child or primitive man. It is difficult to say if this can really be called laziness, but it seems to have not a little in common with it, in so far as the psychic life on a primitive stage, be it of an infantile or archaic type, possesses an extreme inertia and irresponsibility in production and non-production.”
“It is the sexual libido which forces the growing individual slowly away from his family. If this necessity did not exist, then the family would always remain clustered together in a solid group. Hence the neurotic always renounces a complete erotic experience, in order that he may remain a child.”
Revised by Jung in 1952 into Symbols of Transformation.
“The Christian religion seems to have fulfilled its great biological purpose, in so far as we are able to judge. It has led human thought to independence…”
“The identification with God necessarily has as a result the enhancing of the meaning and power of the individual. That seems, first of all, to have been really its purpose: a strengthening of the individual against his all too great weakness and insecurity in real life.”
“The separation from the blessedness of childhood, from youth even, has taken the golden glamour from nature, and the future is hopeless emptiness. But what robs nature of of its glamour, and life of its joy, is the poison of retrospective longing…
This distinctly suggests a renunciation, an envy of one's own youth, that time of freedom which one would like to retain through a deep-rooted dislike to all duty and endeavor which is denied an immediate pleasure reward.
Painstaking work for a long time and for a remote object is not in the nature of child or primitive man. It is difficult to say if this can really be called laziness, but it seems to have not a little in common with it, in so far as the psychic life on a primitive stage, be it of an infantile or archaic type, possesses an extreme inertia and irresponsibility in production and non-production.”
“It is the sexual libido which forces the growing individual slowly away from his family. If this necessity did not exist, then the family would always remain clustered together in a solid group. Hence the neurotic always renounces a complete erotic experience, in order that he may remain a child.”
December 1, 2018
Psychologie de l'inconscient est le livre où Jung expose les bases de son système : les névroses sont le lieu d'un conflit entre les différentes dimensions de l'individu ; Freud, en posant l'hypothèse de la nature uniquement sexuelle du refoulé, n'a vu qu'une partie du problème : il y a aussi l'instinct de puissance du moi, qu'avait repéré Adler, et les contenus archétypaux de l'inconscient collectif. Jung nous présente aussi ce dernier, et la notion d'énergie psychique et les formes et valeurs par lesquelles elle trouve (ou non) à s'investir. Il y a enfin cette géniale idée d'homothétie entre la psychologie individuelle et le fonctionnement de la société, avec la même notion de refoulé qui peut surgir sous des formes violentes. Le tout exposé toujours avec beaucoup d'estime et de reconnaissance pour les prédécesseurs (les antiques, Breuer, Adler, et Freud lui-même), et un réel souci de clarté pour le lecteur. On aurait tant aimé s'entretenir avec cet homme dont on devine le regard plein d'intelligence et de bonté. On sent chez lui une unité de perception et de pensée, on sent que c'est le même esprit qui élaborait les systèmes les plus complexes, et pensait à un cadeau pour l'anniversaire de sa nièce, avec la même clarté et la même finesse. Ce livre est le premier à lire pour qui souhaite aborder la pensée du génial médecin suisse ; je pense que je vais relire "énergétique psychique" et "les racines de la conscience" avec une nouvelle compréhension.
June 26, 2018
Varför tog det mig så lång tid att läsa mig igenom "Det omedvetna". Låt oss gå bort från spetsfundigheter om att det var mitt omedvetna som höll mig borta från att läsa den. Det mesta berodde på något helt medvetet.
Likväl fann jag detta för väldigt berikande läsning. Både med anledning av dess bildande karaktär, dess framställning av mytologi och mystik men också för att den sannerligen bjuder in till en kritisk läsning.
Det finns mycket hos Jung som är värt att beakta, men det finns minst lika mycket som är värt att kritisera. Balansgången mellan det subjektiva och det objektiva, den individuella och det kollektiva är något som enligt mig alltid bör lyftas fram i alla sammanhang. Forskning som inte. Dock faller han ofta på otidsenliga betraktelser men också förminskande av karaktäristika som är medfött (här tänker jag framför allt på hans betraktelser över homosexualitet men även hans blick på kvinnan, och i förlängningen då även mannen).
Det här är intressant läsning och det är viktig läsning för hos Jung finns något vi idag ofta verkar tappa sikte på, nämligen att för att utvecklas måste man genomgå smärta genom att brottas med sin motsats.
Likväl fann jag detta för väldigt berikande läsning. Både med anledning av dess bildande karaktär, dess framställning av mytologi och mystik men också för att den sannerligen bjuder in till en kritisk läsning.
Det finns mycket hos Jung som är värt att beakta, men det finns minst lika mycket som är värt att kritisera. Balansgången mellan det subjektiva och det objektiva, den individuella och det kollektiva är något som enligt mig alltid bör lyftas fram i alla sammanhang. Forskning som inte. Dock faller han ofta på otidsenliga betraktelser men också förminskande av karaktäristika som är medfött (här tänker jag framför allt på hans betraktelser över homosexualitet men även hans blick på kvinnan, och i förlängningen då även mannen).
Det här är intressant läsning och det är viktig läsning för hos Jung finns något vi idag ofta verkar tappa sikte på, nämligen att för att utvecklas måste man genomgå smärta genom att brottas med sin motsats.
December 4, 2018
Trích một đoạn C. Jung viết trong Thăm dò tiềm thức: Hẳn nhiên nếu người ta cho rằng giấc mơ tượng trưng cho một cái gì đó, người ta sẽ giải thích nó khác hẳn người nào cho rằng giấc mơ mượn sinh lực chính yếu của một ý tưởng hay một xúc đông quen thuộc bị hóa trang đi mà thôi. Trong trường sau này đem giấc mơ ra giải thích thì sẽ chẳng mấy ý nghĩa bởi vì người ta chỉ thấy cái gì người ta đã biết rồi.
Mình đã đọc đi đọc lại nửa đầu cuốn sách và vẫn phải dừng lại ở điểm này, từ đây trở đi việc đi tiếp giống như dò dẫm trong bóng tối, bước được một bước rồi vẫn không chắc dưới chân mình là đất hay là bùn (chuẩn bị) lún. Toàn bộ phần sau về giải mã biểu tượng và giải mã giấc mơ buộc mình, bằng một sự nghiêm túc và cẩn trọng, quên đi những gì mình nghĩ là mình đã biết và bắt đầu tiếp nhận mà không (vội vàng) thách thức những chiều kích khác của thực tại.
Hợp để đọc khi muốn đi sang một thế giới khác :))
Mình đã đọc đi đọc lại nửa đầu cuốn sách và vẫn phải dừng lại ở điểm này, từ đây trở đi việc đi tiếp giống như dò dẫm trong bóng tối, bước được một bước rồi vẫn không chắc dưới chân mình là đất hay là bùn (chuẩn bị) lún. Toàn bộ phần sau về giải mã biểu tượng và giải mã giấc mơ buộc mình, bằng một sự nghiêm túc và cẩn trọng, quên đi những gì mình nghĩ là mình đã biết và bắt đầu tiếp nhận mà không (vội vàng) thách thức những chiều kích khác của thực tại.
Hợp để đọc khi muốn đi sang một thế giới khác :))
April 11, 2023
Psychology of the Unconscious" by Carl Jung is a groundbreaking exploration of the depths of the human psyche, revealing the complex and powerful role of the unconscious mind in shaping our behavior, emotions, and thoughts. With his unique perspective and insights, Jung delves into the personal and collective unconscious, exploring the archetypes and symbols that shape our understanding of the world and ourselves. This book is an essential read for anyone interested in psychology, philosophy, or personal growth, offering a wealth of thought-provoking ideas and perspectives."
Having said that, I wouldn't consider this my favorite Jung book, nor the best written. It's also highly complex and requires multiple readings to understand. Not for the faint of heart! If interested in Jung start with his memoirs.
Having said that, I wouldn't consider this my favorite Jung book, nor the best written. It's also highly complex and requires multiple readings to understand. Not for the faint of heart! If interested in Jung start with his memoirs.
January 22, 2019
Bastante interessante até mesmo para leigos que não possuem muita afinidade com os estudos psicológicos, mesmo que haja bastante apresentação de casos clinicos e referências a autores específicos da área. Nesse livro, Jung - alem de tratar principalmente dos aspectos do inconsciente e do seu sistema compensatório- trata bastante da interpretação dos sonhos e como eles podem ser, inclusive, premonitório. Mais uma vez Jung flerta com o que muitos acreditam ser misticismo, mas, para mim, a frase do capítulo final sintetiza sua visão: " quer queiramos quer não, mais cedo ou mais tarde, o fator cosmo-visão terá que ser levado em conta porque a alma está em busca da expressão de sua totalidade".
March 23, 2022
It’s a goddamn masterpiece of psychology. Will have you psychoanalyzing the shit out of your unconscious, it’s quite the charm.
It’s about dreams, symbols, collective and individual consciousness, mythology, etc. Many interesting findings through his years of research and practice that are all illustrated with actual client cases. Also, explains the division between Freud’s and Jung’s theories.
In his conclusion he writes: “une psychologie qui ne satisfait que l’intellect ne sera jamais une psychologie pratique, car l’âme, dans sa totalité, ne pourra jamais être comprise et appréhendée par l’intelligence seule.”
Will most definitely be diving more profoundly into his theories.
•Next reads: Métamorphoses de l’âme et ses symboles et l’énergétique psychique
It’s about dreams, symbols, collective and individual consciousness, mythology, etc. Many interesting findings through his years of research and practice that are all illustrated with actual client cases. Also, explains the division between Freud’s and Jung’s theories.
In his conclusion he writes: “une psychologie qui ne satisfait que l’intellect ne sera jamais une psychologie pratique, car l’âme, dans sa totalité, ne pourra jamais être comprise et appréhendée par l’intelligence seule.”
Will most definitely be diving more profoundly into his theories.
•Next reads: Métamorphoses de l’âme et ses symboles et l’énergétique psychique
August 11, 2021
Première fois que je lis Jung. Ce livre est génial pour commencer mais il faut aimer les digressions.
Il détaille ses points de rupture avec Freud et il introduit la notion d’archétype, qui est de l’ordre de l’inconscient collectif. Les archétypes sont des représentations communes, originelles
(Les mythes, les légendes, les divinités) qui nous impactent inconsciemment.
J’ai lu que J. Truby s’est servi de cette notion dans « Anatomy of Story Telling », pour créer des histoires qui utilisent des représentations communes pour créer des histoires qui touchent directement à l’inconscient collectif du public
Il détaille ses points de rupture avec Freud et il introduit la notion d’archétype, qui est de l’ordre de l’inconscient collectif. Les archétypes sont des représentations communes, originelles
(Les mythes, les légendes, les divinités) qui nous impactent inconsciemment.
J’ai lu que J. Truby s’est servi de cette notion dans « Anatomy of Story Telling », pour créer des histoires qui utilisent des représentations communes pour créer des histoires qui touchent directement à l’inconscient collectif du public
May 25, 2017
Ce livre est d'une grande richesse. Avec clarté et synthèse, Carl Gustav Jung explique sa théorie sur l'inconscient. Après la lecture de son autobiographie, ce livre vient décrire plus précisément et clairement sa théorie tout en faisant écho à son vécu. Ce livre est d'autant plus appréciable, qu'il résonne à l'intérieur, offrant les clés de la découverte de soi et de l'acceptation de son ombre. C'est un très bel ouvrage emprunt de l'enthousiasme de son auteur et de son optimisme.
On y découvre aussi la distinction radicale avec la psychologie de Freud.
On y découvre aussi la distinction radicale avec la psychologie de Freud.
April 7, 2020
Onestamente stupendo, apre un mondo su quanto ciò che siamo sia in realtà influenzato dal momento storico in cui viviamo (dunque da convenzioni del tempo) e quanto per vivere sia necessario osservare il proprio inconscio, la propria parte "animale" (spesso repressa per non scandalizzare la società: siamo"umani, troppo umani") e fare di lei parte del nostro quotidiano senza ripudiarla, anzi, imparando ad abbracciarla e sfruttarla per essere cittadini migliori.
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