The Origins And History Of Consciousness (International Library of Psychology)

by Erich Neumann

Detachment from the uroboros, entry into the world, and the encounter with the universal principle of opposites are the essential tasks of human and individual development. The process of coming to terms with the objects of the outer and inner worlds, of adapting to the collective life of mankind both within and without, governs with varying degrees of intensity the life of every individual. For the extravert, the accent lies on the objects outside, people, things, and circumstances; for the introvert, it lies on the objects inside, the complexes and archetypes. Even the introvert’s development, which relates mainly to the psychic background, is in this sense “bound to the object,” despite the fact that the objects lie inside him and not outside, being psychic forces rather than social, economic, or physical ones.