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The Portable Jung

C.G. Jung,

Joseph Campbell (Editor)

R.F.C. Hull (Translator)

4.25 · Rating details · 3,062 ratings · 82 reviews

This comprehensive collection of writings by the epoch-shaping Swiss psychoanalyst was edited by Joseph Campbell, himself the most famous of Jung's American followers. It comprises Jung's pioneering studies of the structure of the psyche - including the works that introduced such notions as the collective unconscious, the Shadow, Anima and Animus - as well as inquries into ...more

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Paperback, 659 pages

Published 1976 by Penguin (first published 1971)

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Nov 28, 2013 Roy Lotz rated it liked it

Shelves: misanthropology, germanophilia, religion-mysticism-theology

People will do anything, no matter how absurd, to avoid facing their own souls.

Many years ago, after finishing Joseph Campbell’s Hero with a Thousand Faces, I was so impressed that I set myself the goal to read all of the authors Campbell cites as major influences—Freud, Nietzsche, Frazer, Durkheim, William James, and the biggest influence, Carl Jung. Unfortunately, as in most of my reading projects, I got sidetracked before finishing; so this collection of Jung’s works, edited by Campbell himself, sat neglected and unread on my bookshelf for a long while. Finally my plan is complete.

Carl Jung wrote an enormous amount during his lifetime—his collected works run to 20 hefty volumes—which made Campbell’s task as editor especially difficult. Fortunately, Campbell did the job admirably. The collection begins with a short but thorough overview of Jung’s biography in Campbell’s introduction. Then, in the first part, we are introduced to Jung’s terminology and fundamental ideas. In the second part, we see Jung’s system in action as he analyzes visions, dreams, poetry, religions, and modernity itself. The collection ends with two rather speculative pieces, one on synchronicity and the other his famous Answer to Job. In the process, we follow Jung from his days as an enterprising psychologist to his retirement as an old scholar.

Jung began as Freud’s star pupil; but eventually, in an Oedipal struggle, Jung broke with Freud due to theoretical disagreements. As is well known, Freud thought that the sex drive was fundamental to human behavior. For Freud, dreams, neuroticisms, and religious visions were all suppressed memories and secret desires, buried deep in the unconscious due to their illicit nature, manifesting themselves in veiled language and strange behavior.

Jung, by contrast, places a high emphasis on spirituality and mysticism in his theories. This is because Jung believed that, buried underneath any individual’s unconscious, there lay a ‘collective unconscious’ even deeper. While the personal unconscious contains suppressed memories and desires, the collective unconscious contains the collective memories and desires of the species—in other words, instincts. These instincts are manifested in what Jung calls ‘archetypes’. Archetypes are comparable to Kant’s categories of thought, except that Jung’s archetypes are categories of feeling and experience. Taken together, they are the essential forms of human life. These forms are coded in mythological symbols—most famously the mandala—which is why Jung focused so intensely on religion.

This difference in theory translated into difference in psychoanalytic practice. For Freud, psychotherapy consisted mainly of battling the demons within. Everybody has at least a taint of neuroticism, since society demands we suppress some desires. Mental hygiene depends on confronting one’s own suppressed desires and coming to terms with them.

Jung’s goals are somewhat different. This is apparent in Jung’s central concept of ‘individuation’. The project of mental maturation depends on the ability of the conscious to harmonize itself with the personal and the collective unconscious. This is represented in the symbol of the mandala, the circle with pairs of opposites arranged around the center. Every individual contains opposite qualities and competing pulls, many of these unconscious. Lots of people, especially in the modern world, deal with these unconscious needs by shunning them entirely, which leads to a spiritual crisis. The way to psychic health is rather to unearth one’s hidden self through dreams, myths, and ceremonies, thus achieving a balance between the conscious and the unconscious. The mature individual emerges as a unique harmony of conscious and unconscious forces.

It is hard for me to evaluate all this. Because this book is a sampling, much of the intellectual work I would like to have seen has doubtless been omitted. This gives the impression, perhaps untrue, that Jung was only interested in proclaiming his conclusions rather than convincing skeptical readers.

Even so, I cannot help thinking that Jung’s work suffers from the same methodological problems as Freud’s. This is most apparent in the section wherein Jung analyzes a series of a subject’s dreams with the goal of uncovering mandala symbolism. The problem with dream analysis is that there is no way of showing that any given interpretation is the correct one—since by definition interpretations cannot be proven correct. Any system that proposes to find the ‘hidden meaning’ of something is thus doomed to be unscientific, since interpretations cannot be falsified. And this is not to mention some of Jung’s wackier ideas, such as synchronicity (‘meaningful coincidences’ connected by meaning rather than causation).

Even if we dismiss his scientific work, however, Jung has much to offer. Like his mentor, Freud, Jung deserves a high place in the annals of psychology just for his contributions to our vocabulary. Before reading this volume, I didn’t know that we owe the terms ‘introverted’, ‘extroverted’, and the basis of the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator to Jung. (And I will say that I once took a Myers-Briggs test and was really impressed by the results.) As an essayist and cultural critic, Jung also did valuable work—particularly on the spiritual poverty of modernity. What I most appreciate, however, is simply his effort to see the value in myth, ritual, and religion without committing us to a literal interpretation of dogmas and miracles.

As much as I appreciate this, I have to admit this collection left me a little cold. While I disagree with both men, I find Freud’s mind to be more original and penetrating, and his writing to be richer and more exciting. By contrast, I often found it difficult to motivate myself through the pieces in this collection. Jung’s arguments often lacked force; and his writing, though admittedly a translation, lacked style. Nevertheless, I am glad to have acquainted myself more deeply with Jung, not only to complete my Joseph Campbell project, but to witness the operations of such a roving, curious, insatiable mind. ...more

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Mar 29, 2009 Chloé rated it it was amazing

I love this book. I even carry it in my purse, because I can always reread sections and get more out of it each time. The introduction by Joseph Campbell was my first exposure to Carl Jung (and Campbell as well). It was very clear and comprehensive, and with Campbell's vast knowledge on mythological matters, thus linking him to analytical psychology to an extent, I trust that the selections of text are some of the best for a good understanding of Jung's theories. It covers his views on marriage, ...more

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Sep 21, 2013 Natacha Pavlov rated it really liked it

Shelves: psychology

This compilation consists of 15 articles that cover a range of Jung’s work. Given the variety of articles found in this book, it would be a great place to start to get an overall feel for the breadth of Jung’s work. Some of the topics covered include the collective unconscious, psychological types, dream symbolism in relation to alchemy, spiritual problem of modern man, differences in thinking between East and West, synchronicity and his dissertation “Answer to Job.” As usual, I retained some in This compilation consists of 15 articles that cover a range of Jung’s work. Given the variety of articles found in this book, it would be a great place to start to get an overall feel for the breadth of Jung’s work. Some of the topics covered include the collective unconscious, psychological types, dream symbolism in relation to alchemy, spiritual problem of modern man, differences in thinking between East and West, synchronicity and his dissertation “Answer to Job.” As usual, I retained some interesting points, the following of which are nowhere near exhaustive in a 650-page book:

-We have no ‘problems’ during childhood because we haven’t yet internalized them (aka: ‘taken them personal’). This is linked to the lack of ‘I-ness’ at that age, and it’s therefore the development of that ability later on that triggers our awareness of ‘problems’

--We have a personal unconscious (aka your own history) and collective unconscious (broader; inherited patterns by a species, essentially made up of archetypes)

--The role of ego, which is likely influenced by the unconscious and is part of the personality, but not the whole of it

--The existence of anima and animus as proof of the unconscious’s autonomy

--The concept that uniting our conscious and unconscious offers ways to analyze problems and how to best deal with them in the future (for indeed there will always be issues to deal with!)

As fascinating as I found the book, the main source of my ambivalence pertained to his lengthy interpretation of the biblical story of Job given in the last chapter “Answer To Job.” While I found it very interesting, my impression of that dissertation is that it mostly delivers a very negative view and/or understanding of God, stating things like ‘at that time, God was more archaic and thus susceptible to persuasion by Satan.’ I’m no theologian (and neither is Jung, as he acknowledges himself early on), but a statement like that is almost instantly confusing if not illogical, depending on one’s view of God. It all boils down to inferring that God had to undergo ‘growth’ aka ‘learning’, and if I take Jung’s word on it, then that begs the question of from whom—and that therefore God is not all-knowing. For if God needs to be taught by something and/or someone else, then how can He be called all-knowing? To me this displays a very different view of God than I happen to have, and while it’s fascinating to read his interpretation, it reminds me that a view that is as foundational as God will likely affect everything else. He also expresses clear confusion (which is at least somewhat understandable) over God’s dual loving-revengeful identity, and has his moments where he underlines that Jesus also displays both such attributes. While I personally wouldn’t see this duality as a ‘negative’, it feels like this detail is used to point to an ‘unpredictability’ in God’s character as a result of these presumed ‘contradicting’ attributes.
I also realize that this may be the view that Jung was brought up with, and let’s just say I won’t be surprised if much of it is derived from some church teachings, some of which are no doubt fond of reiterating the ‘you deserve to suffer’ spiel.

Despite its length, the book wasn’t too difficult to grasp. The most testing was the linguistically-challenging chapter 8, which tackled introverted and extraverted personality types. Having read a few books on him by now, I’ve no doubt he’s one of the most important minds of our time. But the last chapter has genuinely peaked my interest on his views of God and how he came to them (and perhaps he was vague about them on purpose?). Perhaps what’s fascinating is that while he may have been ambivalent on the matter, he was a proponent of spiritual exploration and saw from experience how a belief in such a concept can and often does enhance a person’s life. Complex and fascinating being to say the least. =)
...more

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Jan 19, 2012 Clay Kallam rated it really liked it

Shelves: philosophy

"The Portable Jung" solved a problem for me: I had always wanted to read some of Jung's work, but I had no idea where to start -- and he has written a lot of very long books. This compendium, edited by Joseph Campbell, seemed to me to be a very good introduction to Jung's thought.

There are 15 essays in the 650 pages, and though as usual some are better than others, by the time I finished "The Portable Jung" I felt I had a much better understanding of his thought. Of course, some of his ideas hav ...more

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Aug 24, 2010 Lezlee Hays rated it it was amazing

As far as I'm concerned you're never really done reading this book. The thing that struck me while reading it, is how on earth did one man have a brain so fantastically intelligent and creative at the same time. How on earth did he have time to have all these amazing thoughts. While he certainly does owe much to the thinking of Freud, Jung's thoughts diverge pretty greatly from where Freud left off and take us to amazing places. Some of these things are astute observations. Other are incredible ...more

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Jul 25, 2011 Chris brown rated it it was amazing

Shelves: psychology-sociology-philosophy, favorite-books, shelfari-favorites

The first thing that I will say is that this is an amazing book. This is well worth the trip down to the local bookstore; finding the Psychology section; searching through what is really "self-help" (late night crapola that has become popular) to find this gem. If you're like most people then you'll probably go to amazon or some other place so I will save you the trouble and post the link.

http://www.amazon.com/Portable-Jung-V...

Now to the book.

Edited by Joseph Campbell ( http://en.wikipedia.org/ ...more

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Oct 08, 2009 Chris rated it really liked it

I loved reading Jung for the first time. I was introduced to his writing through the strong references of Joseph Campbell (who compiled and edited this book),and many others who have appreciated his incisive probings into the meaning of the unconscious and personality types.

Jung really seems like a person who cares. His writings come across as a bit more hortatory (encouraging and urging) rather than a technical dissection of the mind. He isn't just a psychologist or a scientist, he's a philosop I loved reading Jung for the first time. I was introduced to his writing through the strong references of Joseph Campbell (who compiled and edited this book),and many others who have appreciated his incisive probings into the meaning of the unconscious and personality types.

Jung really seems like a person who cares. His writings come across as a bit more hortatory (encouraging and urging) rather than a technical dissection of the mind. He isn't just a psychologist or a scientist, he's a philosopher-poet as well. His writing style incorporates his feelings, which he admits is the only way to honestly represent ones thoughts and ideas that have been formed in the matrix of subjective experience in the first place. He writes in an introduction to his personal reactions in Answer To Job, "I deliberately chose this form [style of writing:] because I wanted to avoid the impression that I had any idea of announcing an 'eternal truth'. The book does not pretend to be anything but the voice or question of a single individual who hopes or expects to meet with thoughtfulness in the public." Indeed, the entire book of selections is replete with this transparency and earnestness in manner, and I greatly appreciated it.

The first 20 pages of these selected writings was called "The Stages Of Life" and I found this to be VERY informative and inspiring. I made copies of it for people to read, it was that good. In the chapter he discusses basic stages of growth from instinct to consciousness, from child to youth to adulthood. He also inspects the nature of interruptions in growth patterns, and he surmises that most people don't ever grow out of the 'youth' stage to become prepared for later phases of life. Very challenging and eye-opening. If any of you reading this review would like, I can give you a copy of that chapter.

Jung is the progenitor of some very important ideas in pschology, including the idea of the collective unconscious, intraverted/extraverted personality types, and a strategy to bridge the conscious mind with the unconscious by a means called the 'transcendent function', which is basically being able to guide your conscious mind while being able to extract from your unconscious mind what is needed to function more healthfully. He also has a wonderful chapter about the difference between the introverted mindset of the mystical eastern traditions, and the extroverted mindset of the rational western traditions.

All in all, this book was among some of the greatest stepping stones in my educational history. I wish I would have read it sooner. Only a couple chapters felt a bit belabored...the rest was very revolutionary. I'll be reviewing it and memorizing for months to come. ...more

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Aug 17, 2008 Johnny rated it liked it

Shelves: psychology

It would take too long to recount the insights in the multiple volume set of Jung’s works available at my local library. It is both voluminous and verbose. It would take up far too much room in my personal library (which is already far too cumbersome), so I am thankful for this paperback volume of 650 pages, edited by the late, great Joseph Campbell. In this volume, Campbell sets out Jung’s basic understanding of archetypes, the collective unconscious, dream theory, perceptions of general person It would take too long to recount the insights in the multiple volume set of Jung’s works available at my local library. It is both voluminous and verbose. It would take up far too much room in my personal library (which is already far too cumbersome), so I am thankful for this paperback volume of 650 pages, edited by the late, great Joseph Campbell. In this volume, Campbell sets out Jung’s basic understanding of archetypes, the collective unconscious, dream theory, perceptions of general personality types, definition of psychic objectivity, appeal to individuation, holistic approach to understanding personality (with its underpinnings in Eastern thought), definition of the symbolic, and explanation of synchronicity. The final portion of the volume is the famous essay, “Answer to Job.”

Personally, I resonate with much of this book. Even though I am an unapologetic Christian in terms of my faith, while Jung struggled against what he perceived as the unhealthy traditions of Christianity (and opened himself to Eastern and alchemical symbolism as a “corrective”) and Campbell functioned as the 20th century’s most noted syncretist, these writings continue to be insightful to me. I love the line suggesting that doubt is a prerequisite for certainty (p. 5), as well as the idea that every conflict stimulates the mind to activity to find a solution (p. 486). I enjoy poking fun at my more positivist friends by reminding them of Jung’s definition of “psychic objectivity” as nothing less than the conviction as to the concrete existence of the spirit-world (p. 136), that “philosophical statements are always subjective” (p. 484), and that “physical truths” are not the only truths (p. 522). I like the way Jung describes the danger of objectifying ourselves and the world around us in terms of mere functionality, defining this as “psychic inflation” rather than merely describing the callous actions such objectification engenders as “godlike” (or perhaps, more accurately, demonic) attitudes (p. 88).

Perhaps, one of the most profound observations in this little volume is when he suggests: “…it is highly improbable that there could ever be a therapy that got rid of all difficulties. Man needs difficulties; they are necessary for health.” (p. 278) Having spent a great deal of my adult life as a critic, I was also taken with Jung’s description of the social importance of “art.” He described the work of the artist as activating an archetypal image and shaping it (and elaborating upon it) until he/she presents the work in a form where it can “educate” the spirit of the age, bringing to the fore some aspect of reality that the current culture needs but has ignored (p. 321).

It was interesting to see how the “seventh” level represents “initiation” into the alchemical mysteries (pp. 339-340) and plays a symbolic role in terms of finding meaning, in much the same way that young Jewish males passing their bar-mitzvahs learn to wrap the “teliphin” around their biceps and arms seven times and how the Bible uses both 7 and 12 as numbers suggesting that the creation is in right relationship with its Creator. Speaking of numerical symbolism, I also benefited from his multiple notations of how the number 4 is “basic” to nature and often in competition with the number 3 (pp. 451-452) which of course forms the basis of 3+4 = 7 and 3*4 = 12.

I also enjoyed his quote from Homer (regarding the “Golden Fleece”) where Thales shares how important the risk of loss is to the value of what we desire:

“That is indeed what most men seek on earth:
‘Tis the rust alone which gives the coin its worth.” (quoted on p. 405).

One of the most famous essays in the book is “On Synchronicity” which we might define as “meaningful coincidence” (p. 509). In this essay, he cites the research of parapsychologist J. B. Rhine in terms of testing for extra-sensory perception. Since conclusions based on those tests can be explained in different ways according to one’s presuppositions, I won’t elaborate—except to note something that really caught my eye. The effect of attitude was absolutely measurable in Rhine’s tests. The hit-ratio went up when the subjects were in a positive mood and went down measurably when they were in a skeptical mood (p. 510).
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Nov 06, 2012 David rated it it was amazing

Shelves: psychology

Joseph Campbell selected numerous excerpts from the writings of Carl Jung and compiled them into this large volume. He assembled it into three parts and his particular sequence helps bring the reader up to speed on the general terms and patient cases that Jung refers to in many of his later works. I felt Campbell assembled a fine selection of Carl Jung's works and by the time I reached the "Answer to Job" chapter at the end of the book I was able to read it at a smooth pace, without needing to s Joseph Campbell selected numerous excerpts from the writings of Carl Jung and compiled them into this large volume. He assembled it into three parts and his particular sequence helps bring the reader up to speed on the general terms and patient cases that Jung refers to in many of his later works. I felt Campbell assembled a fine selection of Carl Jung's works and by the time I reached the "Answer to Job" chapter at the end of the book I was able to read it at a smooth pace, without needing to stop and look anything up.

I find Carl Jung to be a fascinating writer and feel that time spent studying his works will enhance one's understanding of many subjects outside of psychology. How I approach science, logic, rationalism, religion, art, film, history, paranormal studies, myth, sociology, and fiction are slightly different than before I read Jung. It had a unifying effect on how I understand those separate subjects, and it was accomplished simply and profoundly by establishing the psyche as real (or the basis for how reality is approached on a daily basis). It's not to be misunderstood as the external world being "unreal", but rather the reality of one's psyche needing to be the central factor we return home to, for it might be the only thing any one person truly can know. This type of focus tends to abstract the external world a little, making it appear a little less chaotic and a little more symbolic. Whether the outside world actually is that way or not is unimportant in the development of the psyche. I guess this is an expected view for a psychologist.

Jung holds the traditional eastern interpretations of "mind" in high esteem, however he never pushes the reader or his patients to step outside their culture (culture being a heavy influence on the psyche) to find truth, as this defeats the point mentioned above. He holds the ideal of mindful attentiveness to the process manifest in one's personal psyche (as it's often different for each person) centered around certain core, universal concepts. The chapter "On the difference between eastern and western thinking" highlights and better explains these ideas.

In Jungian psychology the psyche is pressed with the task of expanding personal consciousness by gradual incorporation of unconscious contents. This individuation process is done gently, gradually, and taking constant personal responsibility for the negative, suppressed aspects of the unconscious psyche (termed "shadow"). What follows is a natural lead-in to understanding the difference between the personal unconscious contents and the collective unconscious contents that serve as an infinite source of mythological motifs and primal images and archetypes that influence human instinct and help to animate dreams.

The line between the personal and collective unconscious can be a blurry one and incorporating unconscious contents into waking consciousness always runs the risk of psychological instability. The unstable patient who is perhaps socially isolated and psychological immature is perhaps tempted to dissolve the personality and replace parts or all with the super-human archetypal motifs of the collective unconscious, producing the familiar delusions of grandeur and self-importance that follow.

At the opposite extreme, the common psyche looks to cultural and social standards for determining what to suppress into the unconscious and if left unchecked can grow and fester into a cesspool of negative feelings that periodically unleash into unpleasant emotional outbursts or even neurotic episodes. Somewhere in the middle lies the process of individuation and it's gradual incorporation and acceptance into waking consciousness of the unpleasant, negative patterns without losing or dissolving the true personality.

Reading Jung is a refreshing return to the earlier days of psychology when it was consulted as a means for the average person to better themselves spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. We seem to be losing that approach to the subject and perhaps have begun to view it instead as rarely effective medicine for the already mentally ill. ...more

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Nov 04, 2008 Steve rated it liked it

Why can't we talk about Jung, and also talk about the fact that, 1) his work coincides with the rise of "spiritualism," which suggests to me that we can write off a great deal of his less-than-scholarly material as fashion, and 2) much of the theory (yes, theory) that he seems to have invented (the faithful would say "intuited"), accepted as a priori knowledge by an alarming number of "professionals" today, has given us a vast body of widely-accepted but etiologically unsound research? The net r ...more

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Aug 02, 2008 Acid rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: people interested in the archetypes, collective unconscious, personality types

this is a good place to begin reading carl jung...dealing with synchronicity, collective unconscious, archetypes, personality types (introverted, extroverted and all there shades), some case study examples from his work as an analyst... carl jung studied alchemy, mandalas, dreams, patients, and many other avenues in his research for the work upon which he has written...I learned that many symbolic types of knowledge can be integrated into ones personal work, art, music,etc... if one begins to un ...more

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Mar 04, 2011 Amanda rated it it was amazing

Wow...I am enthralled. I knew the major ideas of the psychoanalysts but never read any Freud, Jung, Lacan, etc. until I picked up this five-dollar book at the used book store. I found myself describing Jung's theory of the collective unconscious to everyone I talked with. I don't believe in his ideas with a total certainty, but he must be admired for his brilliant mind. It is an almost transcedent beauty to see how humans are connected to one another. The idea that the human mind is not situated ...more

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Jan 15, 2013 Peter Mcloughlin rated it liked it

Shelves: religion-or-not, psychology, owned-books, 1890-1959, fringes-of-science, 00000good-things, modernism

Jung made some valuable contributions to psychology. The Collective Unconscious and the Mythic Archetypes being the most important. However reading more of Jung leads me to conclude that he also wrote a lot of non-sense. It is because he had a few good Ideas that I give this book 3 stars but not five because I had to do a lot of sifting through garbage to get any gems.

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Aug 10, 2008 Nate Markham rated it it was amazing

Read this cover to cover and felt a much deeper understanding of everything i ever thought that i understood. This book caused a personal changing point in my life and way of thinking. Something big clicked for me when I finally came to understand the collective unconscious and the shadow self. Coming to terms with the reality of the shadow self is the KEY TO THE LOCK.

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Nov 29, 2009 Don Skotch Vail rated it it was ok

I think this man is probably a genius, but he is also probably wrong about so much. Most importantly, he is possibly the worst, most confusing writer I have ever read, and a great thinker that cannot organize his thoughts is likely to miss things.

Wins:
Convincing argument that most of our mind is not accesible to our conciosness. Just might be true.

Convincing argument that we share a collective unconcious. It would make sense that we are born with instinctive common templates about life, nature ...more

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Dec 30, 2007 Christopher Mocella rated it liked it

"It all depends on how we look at things, and not how they are in themselves."

The main reason that I picked up this book is that, since so many others on my shelves have referenced Jung, I may as well read it from the source. I found the early parts of Part I interesting, where Jung forms his analytical psychology theory and defines the various terms and structure of the psyche, Aion included. I found myself browsing through a few sections, however, even the Personality Types section as he began ...more

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Apr 30, 2015 Myra rated it liked it · review of another edition

A Difficult Read, At Best

There is much of Jung's work that I believe in and appreciate. However, I don't believe this book is the best way to understand Jung. His writing is dense and very liberally peppered with Latin phrases, words, and allusions to other writers and works that only the rarest scholar is familiar with these days. I would recommend instead of trying to slog through this work to read "A Very Short Introduction To Jung". It is concise and entirely comprehensible, without the stru ...more

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Feb 15, 2012 Barbara rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction, jungian, psychology

I believe I finished this one in 2009. It was one of the first two books I read by Carl Jung. It was edited by Joseph Campbell, and I think he did an excellent job of choosing which of Jung's writings to include in order to provide a well-rounded look at Jung's work, so that someone new to Jung can in a sense put it all together and get an idea what they want to know more about for further reading. This and Memories, Dreams, Reflections were recommended to me as good choices for someone new to J ...more

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Mar 30, 2010 Florence rated it really liked it

This is my first exposure to the writings of Carl Jung. I found them influencing my thought process in many ways. I frequently try to analyze my dreams and interpret my thoughts and emotional reactions in terms of the collective uncounscious. So this is the source of the Myers-Briggs test! Unlik the broad generalizations of Myers-Briggs, Jung's writing on personality type is nuanced and insightful.

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Oct 24, 2010 Michael rated it it was amazing

Shelves: religion, jung

A terrific anthology of essential Jung, who's more generous than Freud, for my taste. The collective unconscious is the overriding idea of the man's work, but oddly enough I find the essay about the general description of types (extravert, introvert, thinking, feeling, etc.) to be the most interesting, if only because Jung so thoroughly and convincingly demonstrates the infinitely complex interaction between dominant characteristics and unconsciously compensating ones.

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Oct 09, 2011 Habiba Azab rated it really liked it

A wealth of psychological analysis from a unique and valuable perspective. Jung's psychology incorporates the more mysterious aspects of existence, shedding light on the unconscious and its affects on our day-to-day existence. I particularly enjoyed reading 'The Difference Between Eastern and Western Thinking', which I found especially illuminating.

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Sep 17, 2012 John Brooke rated it really liked it

Shelves: brain-works

I've read this book many times and am still blown away each time. There is so much we don't know about ourselves and the mysteries and messages of myths. Aptly edited by Joseph Campbell the myth miester.

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Dec 16, 2012 Stefan rated it it was amazing

Simply the best of Jung. The clarity, depth and engagement in his works is amazing and feels fresh and intellectually challenging and modern. Recommended. If you need somewhere to start reading Jung this is the book!

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Jan 24, 2013 Laurie rated it it was amazing

One of my favorite books of all time. I carry a copy with me everywhere. In my office, at home, travelling, etc. A expert source for psychologists and people interested in the psyche.

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Jan 18, 2014 Jim B rated it it was amazing

I read this through more than once, and can still pick it up and read anywhere to find something I feel or think I have not seen before.

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Aug 16, 2008 Briana Saussy rated it liked it

Shelves: serious-works, culture

I read three essays out of the Portable Jung: Structure of the Psyche, the Relations between the Ego and Unconscious and the Spiritual Problem of Modern Man. I recommend all three because Jung is like licorice--you either love him or you hate him with few people taking an ambivalent position.

In modern psychology he is grudgingly given credit for some of his insights (the role of symbols across cultures, the collective unconscious and the idea of archetypes) but he is also held at arm's length f I read three essays out of the Portable Jung: Structure of the Psyche, the Relations between the Ego and Unconscious and the Spiritual Problem of Modern Man. I recommend all three because Jung is like licorice--you either love him or you hate him with few people taking an ambivalent position.

In modern psychology he is grudgingly given credit for some of his insights (the role of symbols across cultures, the collective unconscious and the idea of archetypes) but he is also held at arm's length from the study of psychology today and especially from the therapy room. Psychoanalysis has been determined to be ineffectual, a waste of time, money, and resources, that culminates mostly in unhelpful navel gazing. On the other hand, for those who still believe in the benefit of psychoanalysis, dream interpretation, myth and story Jung is a figure of paramount importance, insight, and intelligence.

The three essays I mention above are helpful not because they confirm or deny these strong opinions, but because they allow the reader to get into the nitty gritty of what some of Jung's fundamental suppositions are. One example of this that plays out in all three essays is Jung's concern with the collective versus the individual. He uses the terms vaguely, sometimes using them to modify words like psyche, and at other times using them in what seems to be a political sense. I think the vagueness is intentional and that Jung really is interested in how these two notions play out against one another on a lot of different levels. His notion of collective is a departure from Freud, where it seems that every man is an island, perhaps plumbing the depth of his own individual psyche but in a fundamental way cut off from others and unable to articulate or express his experiences to others. Jung wants to address this problem and his assertion of the collective unconscious allows him to do that. The result is that psychic dysfunction, bad dreams, and even what we regard as good or positive is in some way shared among all people and in some parts of these essays he implies even shared beyond people. ...more

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Dec 22, 2014 Mariam rated it it was amazing

This book is a compilation of many articles that were written by Jung.
The way this book was arranged made a lot of sense and took me gradually step by step through Jung's main ideas and the articles were very well-chosen. So I guess it would make a good introduction for someone who wants to get into the Jungian psychology.

At the end of the book, I am not left with a bunch of well organized facts but a feeling that I have more to myself than I actually think I do. I am left with a humanitarian o ...more

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Feb 12, 2019 David Withun rated it really liked it

Shelves: psychology

I am not well-versed enough in contemporary trends in psychology to say how much impact Jung continues to have in that field. Perhaps the fact that a Professor of Literature (Joseph Campbell) was the editor on this volume is indicative of his declining influence in psychology, while he maintains a persistent place in the study of literature and mythology.

Given this assumption and my own academic background in myth and literature, I can only review this work from that perspective. And, indeed, th ...more

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Jul 25, 2010 Michael rated it really liked it

Shelves: quit-school-and-read

(2nd reading)

“In all earnestness I asked myself what kind of world I had stumbled into.”

In this short sentence is encompassed the excitement I have in Jung. In its shadow is the issue I take with him. What I love is the exploration of the mystery that we are and live in. What I cannot stomach is the assumptions we all almost inevitable fall into in our eagerness to know. Of course Jung himself is aware of the danger.

“Do we ever understand what we think? We only understand that kind of thinking w ...more

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Jul 27, 2013 Larry rated it really liked it

A mixed bag, mostly pretty good. The first half of the book or so gives a nice overview of Jungian thought. And I found most of the remaining essays interesting and thought-provoking... with 2 exceptions...

'Individual Dream Symbolism in Relation to Alchemy': I found this rather heavy going. Jung's decision to exclude all personal detail and focus on emerging mandala imagery in a long series of dreams from one individual made this a rather dry and academic exercise.

'Answer to Job': Jung psychoana ...more

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About C.G. Jung

C.G. Jung

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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, l ...more

Books by C.G. Jung

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

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“We want to have certainties and no doubts--results and no experiments--without even seeing that certainties can arise only through doubt and results only through experiment.” — 8 likes

“The conflict between science and religion is in reality a misunderstanding of both. Scientific materialism has merely introduced a new hypostasis, and that is an intellectual sin. It has given another name to the supreme principle of reality and has assumed that this created a new thing and destroyed and old thing. Whether you call the principle of existence "God," "matter," "energy," or anything else you like, you have created nothing; you have simply changed a symbol. The materialist is a metaphysician malgré lui.” — 6 likes

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