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丕賱鬲賳賯賷亘 賮賷 兀睾賵丕乇 丕賱賳賮爻
賷丐賰丿 丕賱丿賰鬲賵乇 賷賵賳睾 兀賳 亘賯丕亍 丨囟丕乇丞 丕賱廿賳爻丕賳 賯丿 鬲鬲賵賯賮 廿賱賶 丨丿賾 賰亘賷乇 毓賱賶 爻丿賾 丕賱賮噩賵丞 丕賱賲鬲爻毓丞 亘賷賳 噩丕賳亘賷 丕賱賵丕毓賷丞 賵丕賱禺丕賮賷丞 賮賷 丕賱賳賮爻 丕賱廿賳爻丕賳賷丞. 賵丕賱賰鬲丕亘 賴賵 賮賷 丌賳 賲毓丕賸貙 鬲丨匕賷乇 噩丕丿 賵賵氐賮 賲胤賵賱 賷亘賷賳 兀賳 丕賱廿賳爻丕賳貙 賵賴賵 賷毓賷卮 賮賷 毓氐乇 賱賲 鬲毓丿 鬲賴丿丿賴 賮賷賴 丕賱賰賵丕乇孬 丕賱胤亘賷毓賷丞 賵賱丕 兀禺胤丕乇 丕賱兀賵亘卅丞 丕賱毓丕賱賲賷丞貙 亘丕鬲 毓乇囟丞 賱兀禺胤丕乇 丕賱鬲睾賷乇丕鬲 丕賱鬲賷 鬲丨丿孬 丿丕禺賱賴. 賮賯胤 毓賳丿賲丕 賷賮賴賲 丕賱賮乇丿 孬賳丕卅賷丞 胤亘賷毓鬲賴-賯丿乇鬲賴 毓賱賶 廿鬲賷丕賳 丕賱卮乇賾 賰賯丿乇鬲賴 毓賱賶 廿鬲賷丕賳 丕賱禺賷乇-賷爻鬲胤賷毓 兀賳 賷賮賴賲 賵賷賰丕賮丨 丕賱禺胤乇 丕賱匕賷 賷兀鬲賷 賲賳 賯亘賱 賲賳 賴賲 賮賷 丕賱爻賱胤丞.
104 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1961
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35540 people want to read
About the author
C.G. Jung
1,872听books10.8k听followersCarl Gustav Jung (/j蕣艐/; German: [藞karl 藞伞蕣staf j蕣艐]), 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鈥攖he 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鈥攖he 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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Displaying 1 - 30 of 794 reviews
September 15, 2015
I opened this book without any expectations, so I can鈥檛 say I was surprised by its contents; but I am indeed surprised that it is still so well-liked and widely read. The Undiscovered Self is a book mired in a Cold War mentality鈥攆ear of communism, totalitarianism, technology, world destruction鈥攕o I find it interesting how many people feel that it hasn鈥檛 lost any of its relevance. Well, perhaps they鈥檙e right; after all, we still have oppressive governments, dangerous mass-movements, and weapons capable of destroying the world. So what is Jung鈥檚 message, then?
Jung accepts Freud鈥檚 central premise that the mind is separated into the conscious and the unconscious. The conscious is the realm of the rational, the scientific, the social, the cultural; the unconscious is the realm of the irrational, the violent, the spiritual, the religious, the holy. Jung believes that, in the past, when religion was more integral to our society, these two parts of ourselves were in greater harmony; but in modern times there has arisen a split, leading to a sort of general neuroticism. The main problem is that we have attempted to suppress the unconscious completely, emphasizing only the conscious part of our nature; and this is a problem because the unconscious is the source of our individuality.
Look again at the list of things Jung associates with the conscious mind: rationality, science, culture, and so on. These are things that are, by definition, impersonal; they are the same for everyone. Thus the modern view of humankind has lost sight of the individual completely; we only attempt to understand ourselves statistically, as one part of a whole. Even modern religion, in Jung鈥檚 opinion, has turned into a mass movement, whereas it should really be a way to connect individual souls with the divine. This overemphasis on the conscious mind has made us suggestible; we are always seeking value and definition from the outside, since we can鈥檛 find it within. The result of this is that the few people who have embraced their individuality can easily become leaders, perhaps tyrants, bending the masses to their whims.
Jung鈥檚 proposed solution is simple: encourage people to get in touch with their unconscious minds. This can be done through ritual, meditation, or even by seeing a psychologist. Partly this will mean acknowledging and coming to terms with the violent side of our nature. Most of the time, we view violence as something confined to evil people, enemies and criminals. This is a dangerous view, as it fails to force people to realize that the capacity for violence is a part of human nature, and thus lies within everyone. Until we understand this, we will be prone to being stirred up in violent mass-movements, since it is the people who believe they are good and peaceful who are most easily persuaded to do nasty things.
It is interesting to compare Jung鈥檚 prescription to Freud鈥檚 analysis in Civilization and its Discontents. The picture Freud paints of modern society is generally very similar to Jung鈥檚. Freud also thinks that a source of unhappiness for the modern individual is our repressed unconsciousness. However, Freud thinks that these unconscious desires are so dangerous and illicit that they simply must be suppressed in order to have a functioning society. We just have to accept a certain amount of unhappiness, and try to minimize the occasions when our repressed violent impulses boil over into wars and exterminations. Jung has a less pessimistic view of our unconscious desires; he accepts that they can be violent, but he also sees them as a great source of strength and happiness.
For my part, I think the psychological premise in both of these works is simplistic. I don鈥檛 think we can get very far in the analysis of the mind by dividing it up into two chunks, conscious and unconscious; nor do I think that living in a modern society requires such intense repression and self-negation. Further, I can鈥檛 agree with Jung that our troubles stem from an overemphasis on reason; rather, I think a lack of rational thinking is more often the problem. And besides, what is this 鈥渢rue self鈥� that we are trying to get in touch with? After reading Montaigne, the writer who best exemplified the chaotic torrent of our conscious experience, I am very skeptical that there is any such being at our core to get in touch with, and that we are, rather, like our thoughts, an ever-changing flux.
Jung accepts Freud鈥檚 central premise that the mind is separated into the conscious and the unconscious. The conscious is the realm of the rational, the scientific, the social, the cultural; the unconscious is the realm of the irrational, the violent, the spiritual, the religious, the holy. Jung believes that, in the past, when religion was more integral to our society, these two parts of ourselves were in greater harmony; but in modern times there has arisen a split, leading to a sort of general neuroticism. The main problem is that we have attempted to suppress the unconscious completely, emphasizing only the conscious part of our nature; and this is a problem because the unconscious is the source of our individuality.
Look again at the list of things Jung associates with the conscious mind: rationality, science, culture, and so on. These are things that are, by definition, impersonal; they are the same for everyone. Thus the modern view of humankind has lost sight of the individual completely; we only attempt to understand ourselves statistically, as one part of a whole. Even modern religion, in Jung鈥檚 opinion, has turned into a mass movement, whereas it should really be a way to connect individual souls with the divine. This overemphasis on the conscious mind has made us suggestible; we are always seeking value and definition from the outside, since we can鈥檛 find it within. The result of this is that the few people who have embraced their individuality can easily become leaders, perhaps tyrants, bending the masses to their whims.
Jung鈥檚 proposed solution is simple: encourage people to get in touch with their unconscious minds. This can be done through ritual, meditation, or even by seeing a psychologist. Partly this will mean acknowledging and coming to terms with the violent side of our nature. Most of the time, we view violence as something confined to evil people, enemies and criminals. This is a dangerous view, as it fails to force people to realize that the capacity for violence is a part of human nature, and thus lies within everyone. Until we understand this, we will be prone to being stirred up in violent mass-movements, since it is the people who believe they are good and peaceful who are most easily persuaded to do nasty things.
It is interesting to compare Jung鈥檚 prescription to Freud鈥檚 analysis in Civilization and its Discontents. The picture Freud paints of modern society is generally very similar to Jung鈥檚. Freud also thinks that a source of unhappiness for the modern individual is our repressed unconsciousness. However, Freud thinks that these unconscious desires are so dangerous and illicit that they simply must be suppressed in order to have a functioning society. We just have to accept a certain amount of unhappiness, and try to minimize the occasions when our repressed violent impulses boil over into wars and exterminations. Jung has a less pessimistic view of our unconscious desires; he accepts that they can be violent, but he also sees them as a great source of strength and happiness.
For my part, I think the psychological premise in both of these works is simplistic. I don鈥檛 think we can get very far in the analysis of the mind by dividing it up into two chunks, conscious and unconscious; nor do I think that living in a modern society requires such intense repression and self-negation. Further, I can鈥檛 agree with Jung that our troubles stem from an overemphasis on reason; rather, I think a lack of rational thinking is more often the problem. And besides, what is this 鈥渢rue self鈥� that we are trying to get in touch with? After reading Montaigne, the writer who best exemplified the chaotic torrent of our conscious experience, I am very skeptical that there is any such being at our core to get in touch with, and that we are, rather, like our thoughts, an ever-changing flux.
May 23, 2021
I read this book and I gained a greater appreciation of my own nature. Without self-knowledge there can be no growth. The ills of society and the destructive forces that plague us are due to a lack of reflection or willingness to do personal work. To know one's self is the most important part of being human, because with self-knowledge comes compassion and integrity.
As an artist attempting to find her place in a society that is loud and demands that "winners" vie for a turn in the spotlight, I have often felt at odds with the whole infrastructure of success.
This book opened my eyes to the true cause for agony in our world.
At the time, when I read this book, I felt a little like Humpty Dumpty. I felt like there must be something wrong with me for not wanting to participate or push myself into the spotlight 鈥攖hat I was broken or unable to find the spark necessary for competition based success. I was unable to reconcile what IS with what AUGHT to be. I wondered, why do we so often stray from peaceful and rational serenity? This book made more sense of the whole, explained my dilemma, and informed my vocational purpose in creating art.
As an artist attempting to find her place in a society that is loud and demands that "winners" vie for a turn in the spotlight, I have often felt at odds with the whole infrastructure of success.
This book opened my eyes to the true cause for agony in our world.
At the time, when I read this book, I felt a little like Humpty Dumpty. I felt like there must be something wrong with me for not wanting to participate or push myself into the spotlight 鈥攖hat I was broken or unable to find the spark necessary for competition based success. I was unable to reconcile what IS with what AUGHT to be. I wondered, why do we so often stray from peaceful and rational serenity? This book made more sense of the whole, explained my dilemma, and informed my vocational purpose in creating art.
November 4, 2021
袟薪邪褔懈 蟹邪 褌芯胁邪 斜懈谢 褑械谢懈褟褌 褌芯蟹懈 褕褍屑. 袙械谢懈泻 挟薪谐!
December 9, 2011
Everyone needs to read this book. In a society over-saturated with media and driven by mass consumerism, it is hard to figure out who you are as an individual. Jung argues that no society can thrive if individuals to not get to know themselves. Not in the conscious "I like to read" sense but in the unconscious sense.
February 8, 2022
袟邪褖芯 薪械 斜褟褏 锌芯褋械谐薪邪谢 泻褗屑 挟薪谐 写芯褋械谐邪?
袚谢邪胁薪芯, 蟹邪褖芯褌芯 锌褋懈褏芯谢芯蟹懈褌械 / 锌褋懈褏芯邪薪邪谢懈褌懈褑懈褌械 锌懈褕邪褌 芯斜懈泻薪芯胁械薪芯 泻褉邪泄薪芯 薪械褔械褌懈胁薪芯.
袠 械褌芯, 泻邪泻胁芯 懈蟹泻谢褞褔械薪懈械!
袨褖械 褋 锌褗褉胁懈褌械 懈蟹褉械褔械薪懈褟 屑械 褋锌械褔械谢懈. 袠屑邪褕械 薪械褖芯 芯褌 褋芯褉褌邪 "蟹邪写 胁褋械泻懈 芯褋胁懈写械褌械谢褋褌胁邪薪, 褋褌芯褟褌 锌芯薪械 芯褖械 10 褋 锌褋懈褏懈褔薪懈 褉邪蟹褌褉芯泄褋褌胁邪 ..." :).
袧邪泻褉邪褌泻芯 - 屑薪芯谐芯 懈蟹褔懈褋褌械薪芯 懈 褋褌褉褍泻褌褍褉懈褉邪薪芯, 屑薪芯谐芯 谢芯谐懈褔薪芯 屑懈 蟹胁褍褔懈 胁褋懈褔泻芯. 袩芯褌芯泻 芯褌 屑懈褋谢懈, 泻芯泄褌芯 蟹胁褍褔懈 斜褍写械薪, 邪薪邪谢懈褌懈褔械薪, 泻褉懈褌懈褔械薪. 袟邪写褗谢卸懈褌械谢薪芯 褖械 褋械 褔械褌械 芯褖械 芯褌 挟薪谐, 泻邪泻褌芯 胁锌褉芯褔械屑 懈屑邪屑 写邪 薪邪胁邪泻褋胁邪屑 懈 褋 锌谢邪薪芯胁械褌械 褋懈 蟹邪 肖褉芯泄写.
袚谢邪胁薪芯, 蟹邪褖芯褌芯 锌褋懈褏芯谢芯蟹懈褌械 / 锌褋懈褏芯邪薪邪谢懈褌懈褑懈褌械 锌懈褕邪褌 芯斜懈泻薪芯胁械薪芯 泻褉邪泄薪芯 薪械褔械褌懈胁薪芯.
袠 械褌芯, 泻邪泻胁芯 懈蟹泻谢褞褔械薪懈械!
袨褖械 褋 锌褗褉胁懈褌械 懈蟹褉械褔械薪懈褟 屑械 褋锌械褔械谢懈. 袠屑邪褕械 薪械褖芯 芯褌 褋芯褉褌邪 "蟹邪写 胁褋械泻懈 芯褋胁懈写械褌械谢褋褌胁邪薪, 褋褌芯褟褌 锌芯薪械 芯褖械 10 褋 锌褋懈褏懈褔薪懈 褉邪蟹褌褉芯泄褋褌胁邪 ..." :).
袧邪泻褉邪褌泻芯 - 屑薪芯谐芯 懈蟹褔懈褋褌械薪芯 懈 褋褌褉褍泻褌褍褉懈褉邪薪芯, 屑薪芯谐芯 谢芯谐懈褔薪芯 屑懈 蟹胁褍褔懈 胁褋懈褔泻芯. 袩芯褌芯泻 芯褌 屑懈褋谢懈, 泻芯泄褌芯 蟹胁褍褔懈 斜褍写械薪, 邪薪邪谢懈褌懈褔械薪, 泻褉懈褌懈褔械薪. 袟邪写褗谢卸懈褌械谢薪芯 褖械 褋械 褔械褌械 芯褖械 芯褌 挟薪谐, 泻邪泻褌芯 胁锌褉芯褔械屑 懈屑邪屑 写邪 薪邪胁邪泻褋胁邪屑 懈 褋 锌谢邪薪芯胁械褌械 褋懈 蟹邪 肖褉芯泄写.
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October 3, 2024Last night, I had the most bizarre dream. Not even Freud would find a coherent interpretation. It was like I was minding my own business, strolling through a surreal Dali painting, trying to fathom the difference between a masterpiece and an inkblot, when , suddenly, I felt a silent, but opressive presence.
" - Hey, you ! You neglect me, as always, " said a voice from nowhere. I look around.. I see nobody, except my shadow..
"- Oh, Shady...Don't start again !
My nerves are more tense than an erect tool. What is it now ?
- Oh, don't play dumb ! You know exactly why I'm here . You never listen to me ! "
" - Listen to you ? You're my shadow, you're supposed to follow me around, not give me life advices. "
" - Whoa ! Typical. Always ignoring the darkest side of yourself. Jung will be so disappointed.
" - Oh ! Here we go with the Jungian lecture. What is it this time ? My repressed desires ? My unconscious mind ?
" - Exactly. You keep pushing me away, pretending I don't exist. But I'm a part of you, buddy. That part that wants it all, right here , right now, that part who wants to read women's minds, ( btw, trust me, you don't want that ) - and who thinks he's the navel of the planet.
" - Listen to me , little bastard.
I'm just trying to be a person of integrity, with civic, moral sense, and if possible - to save the planet from...shadows like you. "
All of a sudden, I woke up agitated.. And felt a huge need to cool off with some cold water.
But.. when I looked in the mirror...I was out of breath.. It was no one but Him. My shadow, grinning at me. A deafening silence broke my eardrums.
Jung, why don't you write fairy tales ?
" - Hey, you ! You neglect me, as always, " said a voice from nowhere. I look around.. I see nobody, except my shadow..
"- Oh, Shady...Don't start again !
My nerves are more tense than an erect tool. What is it now ?
- Oh, don't play dumb ! You know exactly why I'm here . You never listen to me ! "
" - Listen to you ? You're my shadow, you're supposed to follow me around, not give me life advices. "
" - Whoa ! Typical. Always ignoring the darkest side of yourself. Jung will be so disappointed.
" - Oh ! Here we go with the Jungian lecture. What is it this time ? My repressed desires ? My unconscious mind ?
" - Exactly. You keep pushing me away, pretending I don't exist. But I'm a part of you, buddy. That part that wants it all, right here , right now, that part who wants to read women's minds, ( btw, trust me, you don't want that ) - and who thinks he's the navel of the planet.
" - Listen to me , little bastard.
I'm just trying to be a person of integrity, with civic, moral sense, and if possible - to save the planet from...shadows like you. "
All of a sudden, I woke up agitated.. And felt a huge need to cool off with some cold water.
But.. when I looked in the mirror...I was out of breath.. It was no one but Him. My shadow, grinning at me. A deafening silence broke my eardrums.
Jung, why don't you write fairy tales ?
April 13, 2022
". 賷噩亘 兀賳 賱丕 賳購賮賴賲 丕賱廿賳爻丕賳 毓賱賶 兀賳賴 賵丨丿丞 賲鬲賰乇乇丞. 亘賱 賴賵 賮賷 丕賱丨賯賷賯丞 卮賷亍 賮乇賷丿 賵賲賮乇丿 賱丕 賷賲賰賳賳丕 賮賷 丕賱鬲丨賱賷賱 丕賱兀禺賷乇 兀賳 賳毓賭乇賾賮賴 賵賱丕 兀賳 賳卮亘賴賴 亘兀賷 卮賷亍 爻賵丕賴."
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賲賳 丕賱氐毓亘 丕賳 鬲賯乇兀 賰鬲丕亘 賱賭"賰丕乇賱 賷賵賳噩" , 賲毓 鬲乇噩賲丞 爻賷卅丞 賵丨乇賮賷丞 禺丕賱賷丞 賲賳 丕賱賲毓賳賶 丕賱丨賯賷賯賷 賱賰賱賲丕鬲 丕賱賲丐賱賮 ,,
兀睾賱亘 丕賱氐丨賮丕鬲 鬲噩丿 兀賳賴丕 賲噩乇丿 賰賱賲丕鬲 賯丿 乇鬲亘鬲 亘胤乇賷賯丞 氐毓亘丞 丕賱賮賴賲 ,, 賲噩乇丿 鬲乇噩賲丞 賲賳 丕賱賱睾丞 丕賱兀氐賱賷丞 丕賱賶 丕賱賱睾丞 丕賱毓乇亘賷丞 亘胤乇賷賯丞 爻乇賷毓丞 賵睾賷乇 毓賲賷賯丞,
賵賱兀賳 兀爻賱賵亘 "賰丕乇賱 賷賵賳噩" 賲毓賯丿 賵氐毓亘 賱賱睾丕賷丞 , 丨賷孬 賷鬲胤乇賯 丕賱賶 毓丿丞 賲賵丕囟賷毓 賮賷 丕賱爻胤乇 丕賱賵丕丨丿 丿賵賳 賲賯丿賲丞 兀賵 賳賴丕賷丞 賱兀賮賰丕乇賴 丕賱卮禺氐賷丞 , 卮毓乇鬲 亘兀賳賳賷 囟丕卅毓丞 賮賷 兀睾賱亘 丕賱氐賮丨丕鬲 賵賰丕賳 賷噩亘 兀賳 兀毓賷丿 賯乇丕卅鬲賴丕 兀賰孬乇 賲賳 賲乇丞 賱毓賱賷 兀賮賴賲 卮賷亍 噩丿賷丿丕賸..
卮毓乇鬲 亘兀賳 丕賱賰鬲丕亘 賳賵毓丕賸 賲丕 睾賷乇 賲賳丕爻亘 賱賱夭賲賳 丕賱丨丕賱賷, 賱兀賳賳丕 賳乇賶 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 賲丕夭丕賱 賷賳鬲賯丿 賵賷鬲胤乇賯 廿賱賶 鬲氐乇賮丕鬲 丕賱賳馗丕賲 丕賱卮賷賵毓賷 ,賵賰賷賮 賷賲賰賳賴 丕賱鬲丨賰賲 亘禺賷丕乇丕鬲 丕賱賮乇丿, 賵鬲賯賷丿 賲爻鬲賯亘賱賴 賵禺胤胤賴 丕賱卮禺氐賷丞 ,
賵賱賱兀爻賮 賰丕賳 賴匕丕 丕賱賲賵囟賵毓 賷鬲賰乇乇 賮賷 賰賱 賮氐賱 賲賳 賰鬲丕亘賴.
賵賱賰賳 廿匕丕 睾賷乇賳丕 賰賱賲丞 "丕賱丨夭亘 丕賱卮賷賵毓賷" 廿賱賶 兀丨夭丕亘賳丕 丕賱爻賷丕爻賷丞 丕賱丨丕賱賷丞 爻賵賮 賳乇賶 兀賳 丕賱夭賲賳 賷毓賷丿 賳賮爻賴 賲乇丞 丕禺乇賶 賵賱賰賳 鬲丨鬲 賲爻賲賷丕鬲 噩丿賷丿丞.
賵丕賱丌賳 賱賵 鬲噩丕賴賱賳丕 丕賱鬲乇噩賲丞 丕賱爻賷卅丞 , 賵丕賱賴賵爻 丕賱卮丿賷丿 賮賷 丕賱賳馗丕賲 丕賱卮賷賵毓賷, 爻賵賮 賳噩丿 兀賳 丕賱賰鬲丕亘 賷丨鬲賵賷 毓賱賶 丕賱賰孬賷乇 賲賳 丕賱賲毓賱賵賲丕鬲 丕賱賲賮賷丿丞 賵丕賱賲賳丕爻亘丞 賱賱噩賲賷毓 ..
禺氐賵氐丕 鬲胤乇賯賴 丕賱賶 丕賱賳賮爻 丕賱亘卮乇賷丞 ,
毓賱賶 丕賱乇睾賲 兀賳 丕賱兀賲孬賱丞 丕賱鬲賷 賰丕賳 賷賰鬲亘賴丕 賲賵噩賴丞 丕賱賶 丕賱賲噩鬲賲毓 丕賱睾乇亘賷 丕賱丨丿賷孬 , 賵賱賰賳 丕賱賰孬賷乇 賲賳 丕賱賲卮丕賰賱 鬲賳胤亘賯 毓賱賷賳丕 賳丨賳 丕賷囟丕賸,
賮賲丕 夭丕賱鬲 丕賱賲丐爻爻丕鬲 丕賱丿賷賳賷丞 鬲乇賷丿 賲賳 兀鬲亘丕毓賴丕 丕賱廿賳氐賷丕毓 丕賱鬲丕賲 亘丿賵賳 賳賯丕卮 兀賵 鬲賮賰賷乇 禺丕氐 亘賴賲, 賵鬲乇賷丿 賲賳賴賲 兀賳 賷賰賵賳賵丕 賳爻禺 賲鬲卮丕亘賴賴 賵賲賰乇乇丞 賱丕 噩丿賷丿 兀賵 鬲賲賷賷夭 賮賷 兀賮賰丕乇賴賲 丕賵 兀賮毓丕賱賴賲,
賵賱賱兀爻賮 賲丕夭賱賳丕 廿賱賶 丕賱丌賳 賱丕賳賮賴賲 兀賳 賲賷夭丞 丕賱噩賲丕毓丞 賴賷 賲賳丨 丕賱兀賲丕賳 賱兀賮乇丕丿賴丕 賵鬲賳馗賷賲 丕賱賰鬲賱 丕賱亘卮乇賷丞 賵氐賳毓 賯乇丕乇 賷丐丿賷 廿賱賶 鬲丨賯賷賯 賲胤丕賱亘 丕賱賮乇丿 .. 賵賳丨賳 亘賰賱 兀爻賮 賳噩賴賱 匕賱賰 廿賱賶 丕賱丌賳 , 賵賰賱 賲丕賷賲賰賳賳丕 賮毓賱賴 賴賵 丕賱廿賷賲丕賳 亘賯丕卅丿 兀毓賲賶 賯丿 賱丕 賷賰賵賳 噩丿賷乇丕賸 亘丕賱毓賲賱 鬲丨鬲 爻賱胤鬲賴 兀賵 丕賱鬲囟丨賷丞 賱兀噩賱賴.
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丕賱賰鬲丕亘 賮賷賴 丕賱賰孬賷乇 賲賳 丕賱賲毓丕賳賷 丕賱賲禺賮賷丞 賵丕賱毓賲賷賯丞 , 丨賷孬 賷鬲丨丿孬 毓賳 丕賱賳賮爻 丕賱亘卮乇賷丞 賵毓賳 囟賷丕毓 鬲賲賷夭賴丕 賲毓 丕賱丨卮賵丿 丕賱鬲賷 賱丕鬲賮毓賱 卮賷卅丕賸 爻賵賶 丕賱兀賳氐賷丕毓 賱賱賯賵丞 丕賱毓馗賲賶 賮賷 丿丕卅乇鬲賴丕 , 賵賱賴匕丕 丕賱爻亘亘 賳乇賶 兀賳 鬲賲賷夭 丕賱兀賳爻丕賳 賷禺鬲賮賷 賷賵賲丕賸 亘毓丿 賷賵賲 賱賲丕 賷賵丕噩賴賴 賲賳 毓賯亘丕鬲 賳賮爻賷丞 賵賲丕丿賷丞 鬲丿賲乇 賮賷 丿丕禺賱賴 賰賱 丨亘 賱賱兀賰鬲卮丕賮 賵丕賱鬲胤賵乇 . 賱兀賳賳丕 亘亘爻丕胤丞 賳毓賷卮 賮賷 賲噩鬲賲毓 賱丕賷亘丨孬 毓賳 賯丕卅丿 噩丿賷丿 賷賳賷乇 馗賱賲丞 丕賱胤乇賷賯, 賵丕賳賲丕 賷亘丨孬 毓賱賶 鬲丕亘毓 兀毓賲賶 賷賳賮匕 賰賱 兀賲乇 賷賵噩賴 廿賱賷賴 丿賵賳 賳賯丿 兀賵 爻丐丕賱 兀賵 丨鬲賶 賲噩乇丿 丕賱鬲賮賰賷乇 賮賷 禺胤賵鬲賴 丕賱賯丕丿賲丞.
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"廿賳 丕賱丕賳鬲賯丕氐 賲賳 賯賷賲丞 丕賱賳賮爻 賵賲賯丕賵賲丞 丕賱鬲賳賵賷乇 丕賱爻賷賰賵賱賵噩賷賾
賯丕卅賲丕賳 廿賱賶 丨丿賺賾 賰亘賷乇賺 毓賱賶 丕賱禺賵賮 丕賱賲乇賷毓 賲賳 丕賱丕賰鬲卮丕賮丕鬲 丕賱鬲賷 賯丿 鬲賳噩賲購 毓賳 丕賱鬲賳賯賷亘 賮賷 兀睾賵丕乇賴丕 丕賱禺賮賷賾丞
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賲賳 丕賱氐毓亘 丕賳 鬲賯乇兀 賰鬲丕亘 賱賭"賰丕乇賱 賷賵賳噩" , 賲毓 鬲乇噩賲丞 爻賷卅丞 賵丨乇賮賷丞 禺丕賱賷丞 賲賳 丕賱賲毓賳賶 丕賱丨賯賷賯賷 賱賰賱賲丕鬲 丕賱賲丐賱賮 ,,
兀睾賱亘 丕賱氐丨賮丕鬲 鬲噩丿 兀賳賴丕 賲噩乇丿 賰賱賲丕鬲 賯丿 乇鬲亘鬲 亘胤乇賷賯丞 氐毓亘丞 丕賱賮賴賲 ,, 賲噩乇丿 鬲乇噩賲丞 賲賳 丕賱賱睾丞 丕賱兀氐賱賷丞 丕賱賶 丕賱賱睾丞 丕賱毓乇亘賷丞 亘胤乇賷賯丞 爻乇賷毓丞 賵睾賷乇 毓賲賷賯丞,
賵賱兀賳 兀爻賱賵亘 "賰丕乇賱 賷賵賳噩" 賲毓賯丿 賵氐毓亘 賱賱睾丕賷丞 , 丨賷孬 賷鬲胤乇賯 丕賱賶 毓丿丞 賲賵丕囟賷毓 賮賷 丕賱爻胤乇 丕賱賵丕丨丿 丿賵賳 賲賯丿賲丞 兀賵 賳賴丕賷丞 賱兀賮賰丕乇賴 丕賱卮禺氐賷丞 , 卮毓乇鬲 亘兀賳賳賷 囟丕卅毓丞 賮賷 兀睾賱亘 丕賱氐賮丨丕鬲 賵賰丕賳 賷噩亘 兀賳 兀毓賷丿 賯乇丕卅鬲賴丕 兀賰孬乇 賲賳 賲乇丞 賱毓賱賷 兀賮賴賲 卮賷亍 噩丿賷丿丕賸..
卮毓乇鬲 亘兀賳 丕賱賰鬲丕亘 賳賵毓丕賸 賲丕 睾賷乇 賲賳丕爻亘 賱賱夭賲賳 丕賱丨丕賱賷, 賱兀賳賳丕 賳乇賶 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 賲丕夭丕賱 賷賳鬲賯丿 賵賷鬲胤乇賯 廿賱賶 鬲氐乇賮丕鬲 丕賱賳馗丕賲 丕賱卮賷賵毓賷 ,賵賰賷賮 賷賲賰賳賴 丕賱鬲丨賰賲 亘禺賷丕乇丕鬲 丕賱賮乇丿, 賵鬲賯賷丿 賲爻鬲賯亘賱賴 賵禺胤胤賴 丕賱卮禺氐賷丞 ,
賵賱賱兀爻賮 賰丕賳 賴匕丕 丕賱賲賵囟賵毓 賷鬲賰乇乇 賮賷 賰賱 賮氐賱 賲賳 賰鬲丕亘賴.
賵賱賰賳 廿匕丕 睾賷乇賳丕 賰賱賲丞 "丕賱丨夭亘 丕賱卮賷賵毓賷" 廿賱賶 兀丨夭丕亘賳丕 丕賱爻賷丕爻賷丞 丕賱丨丕賱賷丞 爻賵賮 賳乇賶 兀賳 丕賱夭賲賳 賷毓賷丿 賳賮爻賴 賲乇丞 丕禺乇賶 賵賱賰賳 鬲丨鬲 賲爻賲賷丕鬲 噩丿賷丿丞.
賵丕賱丌賳 賱賵 鬲噩丕賴賱賳丕 丕賱鬲乇噩賲丞 丕賱爻賷卅丞 , 賵丕賱賴賵爻 丕賱卮丿賷丿 賮賷 丕賱賳馗丕賲 丕賱卮賷賵毓賷, 爻賵賮 賳噩丿 兀賳 丕賱賰鬲丕亘 賷丨鬲賵賷 毓賱賶 丕賱賰孬賷乇 賲賳 丕賱賲毓賱賵賲丕鬲 丕賱賲賮賷丿丞 賵丕賱賲賳丕爻亘丞 賱賱噩賲賷毓 ..
禺氐賵氐丕 鬲胤乇賯賴 丕賱賶 丕賱賳賮爻 丕賱亘卮乇賷丞 ,
毓賱賶 丕賱乇睾賲 兀賳 丕賱兀賲孬賱丞 丕賱鬲賷 賰丕賳 賷賰鬲亘賴丕 賲賵噩賴丞 丕賱賶 丕賱賲噩鬲賲毓 丕賱睾乇亘賷 丕賱丨丿賷孬 , 賵賱賰賳 丕賱賰孬賷乇 賲賳 丕賱賲卮丕賰賱 鬲賳胤亘賯 毓賱賷賳丕 賳丨賳 丕賷囟丕賸,
賮賲丕 夭丕賱鬲 丕賱賲丐爻爻丕鬲 丕賱丿賷賳賷丞 鬲乇賷丿 賲賳 兀鬲亘丕毓賴丕 丕賱廿賳氐賷丕毓 丕賱鬲丕賲 亘丿賵賳 賳賯丕卮 兀賵 鬲賮賰賷乇 禺丕氐 亘賴賲, 賵鬲乇賷丿 賲賳賴賲 兀賳 賷賰賵賳賵丕 賳爻禺 賲鬲卮丕亘賴賴 賵賲賰乇乇丞 賱丕 噩丿賷丿 兀賵 鬲賲賷賷夭 賮賷 兀賮賰丕乇賴賲 丕賵 兀賮毓丕賱賴賲,
賵賱賱兀爻賮 賲丕夭賱賳丕 廿賱賶 丕賱丌賳 賱丕賳賮賴賲 兀賳 賲賷夭丞 丕賱噩賲丕毓丞 賴賷 賲賳丨 丕賱兀賲丕賳 賱兀賮乇丕丿賴丕 賵鬲賳馗賷賲 丕賱賰鬲賱 丕賱亘卮乇賷丞 賵氐賳毓 賯乇丕乇 賷丐丿賷 廿賱賶 鬲丨賯賷賯 賲胤丕賱亘 丕賱賮乇丿 .. 賵賳丨賳 亘賰賱 兀爻賮 賳噩賴賱 匕賱賰 廿賱賶 丕賱丌賳 , 賵賰賱 賲丕賷賲賰賳賳丕 賮毓賱賴 賴賵 丕賱廿賷賲丕賳 亘賯丕卅丿 兀毓賲賶 賯丿 賱丕 賷賰賵賳 噩丿賷乇丕賸 亘丕賱毓賲賱 鬲丨鬲 爻賱胤鬲賴 兀賵 丕賱鬲囟丨賷丞 賱兀噩賱賴.
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丕賱賰鬲丕亘 賮賷賴 丕賱賰孬賷乇 賲賳 丕賱賲毓丕賳賷 丕賱賲禺賮賷丞 賵丕賱毓賲賷賯丞 , 丨賷孬 賷鬲丨丿孬 毓賳 丕賱賳賮爻 丕賱亘卮乇賷丞 賵毓賳 囟賷丕毓 鬲賲賷夭賴丕 賲毓 丕賱丨卮賵丿 丕賱鬲賷 賱丕鬲賮毓賱 卮賷卅丕賸 爻賵賶 丕賱兀賳氐賷丕毓 賱賱賯賵丞 丕賱毓馗賲賶 賮賷 丿丕卅乇鬲賴丕 , 賵賱賴匕丕 丕賱爻亘亘 賳乇賶 兀賳 鬲賲賷夭 丕賱兀賳爻丕賳 賷禺鬲賮賷 賷賵賲丕賸 亘毓丿 賷賵賲 賱賲丕 賷賵丕噩賴賴 賲賳 毓賯亘丕鬲 賳賮爻賷丞 賵賲丕丿賷丞 鬲丿賲乇 賮賷 丿丕禺賱賴 賰賱 丨亘 賱賱兀賰鬲卮丕賮 賵丕賱鬲胤賵乇 . 賱兀賳賳丕 亘亘爻丕胤丞 賳毓賷卮 賮賷 賲噩鬲賲毓 賱丕賷亘丨孬 毓賳 賯丕卅丿 噩丿賷丿 賷賳賷乇 馗賱賲丞 丕賱胤乇賷賯, 賵丕賳賲丕 賷亘丨孬 毓賱賶 鬲丕亘毓 兀毓賲賶 賷賳賮匕 賰賱 兀賲乇 賷賵噩賴 廿賱賷賴 丿賵賳 賳賯丿 兀賵 爻丐丕賱 兀賵 丨鬲賶 賲噩乇丿 丕賱鬲賮賰賷乇 賮賷 禺胤賵鬲賴 丕賱賯丕丿賲丞.
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"廿賳 丕賱丕賳鬲賯丕氐 賲賳 賯賷賲丞 丕賱賳賮爻 賵賲賯丕賵賲丞 丕賱鬲賳賵賷乇 丕賱爻賷賰賵賱賵噩賷賾
賯丕卅賲丕賳 廿賱賶 丨丿賺賾 賰亘賷乇賺 毓賱賶 丕賱禺賵賮 丕賱賲乇賷毓 賲賳 丕賱丕賰鬲卮丕賮丕鬲 丕賱鬲賷 賯丿 鬲賳噩賲購 毓賳 丕賱鬲賳賯賷亘 賮賷 兀睾賵丕乇賴丕 丕賱禺賮賷賾丞
February 19, 2025
The dictator State has one great advantage over bourgeois reason: along with the individual it swallows up his religious forces. The State takes the place of God; that is why, seen from this angle, the socialist dictatorships are religions and State slavery is a form of worship. But the religious function cannot be dislocated and falsified in this way without giving rise to secret doubts, which are immediately repressed so as to avoid conflict with the prevail trend towards mass-mindedness. [鈥 The policy of the State is exalted to a creed, the leader or party boss becomes a demigod beyond good and evil, and his votaries are honored as heroes, martyrs, apostles, missionaries. There is only one truth and beside it no other. It is sacrosanct and above criticism. Anyone who thinks differently is a heretic, who, as we know from history, is threatened with all manner of unpleasant things. Only the party boss, who holds the political power in his hands, can interpret the State doctrine authentically, and he does so just as suits him.
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My reading plan for November is always Nonfiction November; my focus is, of course, nonfiction. I read a variety of nonfiction genres, and always try to fit in a book on psychology, usually picking something by . Little did I know how profound reading during this upsetting time would be. Jung addressed the rise of fascism in Nazi Germany and made a prediction that someday the United States would succumb to fascist nationalism as well. How prophetic he was.
1957, is very concerned with the Cold War, Communism and the threat of nationalism. He looks to the future and predictions the rise of fascism in the United States.
Jung is alarmed about mass-mindedness ~~ the reduction of individuals to anonymous, like-thinking units of humanity, to be manipulated by propaganda, journalism and advertising into fulfilling whatever function is required of them by those in power. Jung already saw this emerging in 1957 western culture.
Jung believes that resisting this mass mentality can only be done effectively by the person who understands their own individuality. He advocates a return to the helpful medieval view that man is a microcosm, a reflection of the great cosmos in miniature. We have to get ourselves in order before we can get the rest of the world in order. Modern man is estranged from his instincts and taught to distrust them, imposing an alien reason on them and creating a split consciousness. Yet instincts cannot be suppressed ~~ an example is the continued appeal of religion even in the face of knowledge that conflicts with it. When we have no religion, we create alternative gods out of money, work, the state, politicians.
takes the us through a journey in which it is impossible not to think about one鈥檚 own psyche. It is a beautiful work of art in which it is clear to see the damage that mass movements do to the human species. Every day people set out to find the similarities between humans around the world, and try to pin them together. It has become a fashion, but it is important not to forget that each and everyone of us is an individual. There is no such thing as two equal humans. Jung emphasizes the damage that nationalism, dictatorships and fascism cause to the individual, and how, as humans, we should try to understand our consciousness, and its foundations. This work is beautifully written, eye opening, and filled with passion. will hopefully lead you into a state of introspection and self-reflection.
Lastly, there are no easy answers in about how to discover the undiscovered self: 鈥檚 whole point is that we should get away from great generalizations and theories, and view individual an individual.
~~~
My reading plan for November is always Nonfiction November; my focus is, of course, nonfiction. I read a variety of nonfiction genres, and always try to fit in a book on psychology, usually picking something by . Little did I know how profound reading during this upsetting time would be. Jung addressed the rise of fascism in Nazi Germany and made a prediction that someday the United States would succumb to fascist nationalism as well. How prophetic he was.
1957, is very concerned with the Cold War, Communism and the threat of nationalism. He looks to the future and predictions the rise of fascism in the United States.
Jung is alarmed about mass-mindedness ~~ the reduction of individuals to anonymous, like-thinking units of humanity, to be manipulated by propaganda, journalism and advertising into fulfilling whatever function is required of them by those in power. Jung already saw this emerging in 1957 western culture.
Jung believes that resisting this mass mentality can only be done effectively by the person who understands their own individuality. He advocates a return to the helpful medieval view that man is a microcosm, a reflection of the great cosmos in miniature. We have to get ourselves in order before we can get the rest of the world in order. Modern man is estranged from his instincts and taught to distrust them, imposing an alien reason on them and creating a split consciousness. Yet instincts cannot be suppressed ~~ an example is the continued appeal of religion even in the face of knowledge that conflicts with it. When we have no religion, we create alternative gods out of money, work, the state, politicians.
takes the us through a journey in which it is impossible not to think about one鈥檚 own psyche. It is a beautiful work of art in which it is clear to see the damage that mass movements do to the human species. Every day people set out to find the similarities between humans around the world, and try to pin them together. It has become a fashion, but it is important not to forget that each and everyone of us is an individual. There is no such thing as two equal humans. Jung emphasizes the damage that nationalism, dictatorships and fascism cause to the individual, and how, as humans, we should try to understand our consciousness, and its foundations. This work is beautifully written, eye opening, and filled with passion. will hopefully lead you into a state of introspection and self-reflection.
Lastly, there are no easy answers in about how to discover the undiscovered self: 鈥檚 whole point is that we should get away from great generalizations and theories, and view individual an individual.
Read
February 15, 2013This book is a lot better before you read it -- the distinguished black cover with its thought-provoking image: the profile of a man's head, in white, with a smaller, multicolored profile inside, superimposed by a black labyrinth. It's all so perfectly 1958! (The year The Undiscovered Self -- a beautiful title! -- was released.) But the book itself is basically an acidulous, slightly paranoid attack on Communism, tinged with a faint apology for Jung's onetime acceptance of the Nazis.
In 1958, Science and Progress were unstoppable, creating a monolithic state. Opening the book at random:
Whereas the man of today can easily think about and understand all the "truths" dished out to him by the State, his understanding of religion is made considerably more difficult owing to the lack of explanations.
You can thank R.F.C. Hull for that flat-footed translation -- or possibly the problem is the manuscript itself, by the aging Carl Jung. (He died in 1961.) Incidentally, that passage I just quoted was highlighted in blue by the nameless previous owner of my copy (a nice Mentor paperback). That highlighter got started on the very first page, when the book is described, under the headline "Prescription for Salvation." She (or he) underlined:
Dr. Jung affirmed that the survival of our civilization might well depend upon closing the widening gulf between the conscious and unconscious aspects of the human psyche.
The problem is that -- as that first, random quotation implied -- the "unconscious" turns out to basically mean Christianity.
Jung was not much of a prophet. Ten years after this book, the vast and monolithic state began to wither, replaced by niche-marketing, Hippies, libertarian Republicans and Jesus freaks. The Age of Ideology was over, replaced by the Age of Entrepreneurial Snack Bars. No longer was this passage true:
The bigger the crowd the more negligible the individual becomes. But if the individual, overwhelmed by the sense of his own puniness and impotence, should feel that his life has lost its meaning -- which, after all, is not identical with public welfare and higher standards of living -- then he is already on the road to State slavery and, without knowing or wanting it, has become its proselyte.
Farewell, State slavery! Hello, Starbucks!
In 1958, Science and Progress were unstoppable, creating a monolithic state. Opening the book at random:
Whereas the man of today can easily think about and understand all the "truths" dished out to him by the State, his understanding of religion is made considerably more difficult owing to the lack of explanations.
You can thank R.F.C. Hull for that flat-footed translation -- or possibly the problem is the manuscript itself, by the aging Carl Jung. (He died in 1961.) Incidentally, that passage I just quoted was highlighted in blue by the nameless previous owner of my copy (a nice Mentor paperback). That highlighter got started on the very first page, when the book is described, under the headline "Prescription for Salvation." She (or he) underlined:
Dr. Jung affirmed that the survival of our civilization might well depend upon closing the widening gulf between the conscious and unconscious aspects of the human psyche.
The problem is that -- as that first, random quotation implied -- the "unconscious" turns out to basically mean Christianity.
Jung was not much of a prophet. Ten years after this book, the vast and monolithic state began to wither, replaced by niche-marketing, Hippies, libertarian Republicans and Jesus freaks. The Age of Ideology was over, replaced by the Age of Entrepreneurial Snack Bars. No longer was this passage true:
The bigger the crowd the more negligible the individual becomes. But if the individual, overwhelmed by the sense of his own puniness and impotence, should feel that his life has lost its meaning -- which, after all, is not identical with public welfare and higher standards of living -- then he is already on the road to State slavery and, without knowing or wanting it, has become its proselyte.
Farewell, State slavery! Hello, Starbucks!
January 30, 2019
Jordan Peterson introduced me to Jung thru his books and his videos. While walking into work last week i stumbled upon a box of books in the trash and The Undiscovered Self just so happened to be in the mix, so I read it. This was my first Jung book and I honestly wasn鈥檛 blown away but I couldn鈥檛 put it down. Some of the material is above my pay grade however that which I could grasp I could definitely dig it. I look at it this way, here鈥檚 this book lying on its death bed about to be sent into a trash heap to decompose and just as that鈥檚 about to occur it gets another shot at doing its job once more, and for that reason this book is special to me, we were meant for each other. I would say this books shelf life has just had a Cinderella ending.
Now I don鈥檛 know Jung well enough outside of the fact that Peterson seems to be blown away by him to understand this book that well, it鈥檚 a lot of jibber jabber to me, but I think if I was to dedicate more time to reading more of his works and finding out about the man himself I could come to be a fan as well, I see more Jung books in my future.
鈥淚t is, unfortunately, only too clear that if the individual is not truly regenerated in spirit, society cannot be either, for society is the sum total of individuals in need of redemption.鈥�
Now I don鈥檛 know Jung well enough outside of the fact that Peterson seems to be blown away by him to understand this book that well, it鈥檚 a lot of jibber jabber to me, but I think if I was to dedicate more time to reading more of his works and finding out about the man himself I could come to be a fan as well, I see more Jung books in my future.
鈥淚t is, unfortunately, only too clear that if the individual is not truly regenerated in spirit, society cannot be either, for society is the sum total of individuals in need of redemption.鈥�
February 24, 2011
Jung's thesis in this book is that modern society turns individuals into a social mass where they are categorized by statistical averages that dehumanize people who are, inherently, unique beings who operate by "irregularity." Modern society thus turns inevitably into the state with its standardized laws and policies, and is run by rulers that are "mouthpieces of the state doctrine," and by a "Leader" who "almost infallibly becomes the victim of his own inflated ego-consciousness." This is how Jung has the "constitutional state" drifting into "the situation of a primitive form of society, namely the communism of a primitive tribe where everybody is subject to the autocratic rule of a chief or an oligarchy." This is interesting political theory.
The modern state suppresses individuality with official doctrine, creeds, and truth and turns people into social units. To correct this situation, Jung sees a vital role for the individual's private relationship with "an extramundane authority" (as opposed to mass, organized religion) that taps into "the inner man." This is "the undiscovered self." As to what that might be, Jung calls it "an insoluble puzzle" that, nevertheless, must be allowed expression via symbols and such that conduce "to synthesis" (versus "a dissociation of personality"), allowing the individual to regain control of his or her life. For Jung, the "puzzle" that must be solved is to adapt instinctive, a priori archetypal forms "into ideas which are adequate to the challenges of the present." Psychic health appears to involve some sort of "immediate relation to God," a tapping into one's instinctive being, and expression of what lies inside rather than its suppression. Somehow, this leads to self-knowledge and health and, we presume, counters mass society and its oppressive nature.
Jung weaves many separate ideas together in a long, tenuous, stream of consciousness sort of way and it's not particularly clear what we will find when we tap into our unconscious and how that will counter the ills of mass society. Jung is clear that evil is built into our nature so the presumption must be that understanding this side of our nature enables us to control it somehow. He also affirmatively asserts we must love our neighbor. Where love stops, he says, power, violence and terror begin. Jung seems to have faith that when one looks inside, somehow love will find a way to conquer power, violence and terror. Human history suggests, however, that it's also prudent that power be held in reserve if love fails to do its job. That, it is evident, would make Jung uncomfortable.
The modern state suppresses individuality with official doctrine, creeds, and truth and turns people into social units. To correct this situation, Jung sees a vital role for the individual's private relationship with "an extramundane authority" (as opposed to mass, organized religion) that taps into "the inner man." This is "the undiscovered self." As to what that might be, Jung calls it "an insoluble puzzle" that, nevertheless, must be allowed expression via symbols and such that conduce "to synthesis" (versus "a dissociation of personality"), allowing the individual to regain control of his or her life. For Jung, the "puzzle" that must be solved is to adapt instinctive, a priori archetypal forms "into ideas which are adequate to the challenges of the present." Psychic health appears to involve some sort of "immediate relation to God," a tapping into one's instinctive being, and expression of what lies inside rather than its suppression. Somehow, this leads to self-knowledge and health and, we presume, counters mass society and its oppressive nature.
Jung weaves many separate ideas together in a long, tenuous, stream of consciousness sort of way and it's not particularly clear what we will find when we tap into our unconscious and how that will counter the ills of mass society. Jung is clear that evil is built into our nature so the presumption must be that understanding this side of our nature enables us to control it somehow. He also affirmatively asserts we must love our neighbor. Where love stops, he says, power, violence and terror begin. Jung seems to have faith that when one looks inside, somehow love will find a way to conquer power, violence and terror. Human history suggests, however, that it's also prudent that power be held in reserve if love fails to do its job. That, it is evident, would make Jung uncomfortable.
May 6, 2015
效芯胁械褕泻芯褌芯 芯褌胁褗褌褉械 懈 芯褌胁褗薪. 袨褋褗蟹薪邪胁邪薪械褌芯 薪邪 懈薪写懈胁懈写邪 褋锌芯褉械写 挟薪谐:
笑褟谢芯褌芯 褉械胁褞 褌褍泻:
小褗褖械褋褌胁褍胁邪 薪械 屑邪谢褗泻 锌褉芯褑械薪褌 褏芯褉邪, 蟹邪 泻芯懈褌芯 褎懈谢芯褋芯褎懈褟褌邪 懈 锌褋懈褏芯谢芯谐懈褟褌邪 褋邪 锌芯褌械薪褑懈邪谢薪芯 芯锌邪褋薪懈 懈 写芯褉懈 胁褉械写薪懈. 孝褟褏薪邪褌邪 锌褉械褌械薪褑懈褟 蟹邪 褉邪蟹斜懈褉邪薪械 薪邪 芯斜泻褉褗卸邪胁邪褖懈褟 薪懈 褋胁褟褌 褋械 谐褉邪写懈 薪邪 芯锌懈褌褗褌 懈屑 写邪 锌芯写褉械写褟褌 卸懈胁芯褌邪 褋懈 褌邪泻邪, 褔械 写邪 锌芯薪械褋邪褌 薪邪泄-屑邪谢泻芯 褋褌褉邪写邪薪懈械 懈 褋褗芯褌胁械褌薪芯 - 写邪 薪邪谢芯卸邪褌 褋胁芯褟褌邪 谐谢械写薪邪 褌芯褔泻邪, 胁褗锌褉械泻懈 胁褋懈褔泻懈 写芯胁芯写懈, 褔械 懈薪写懈胁懈写褗褌 械 锌褉芯褋褌芯 褔邪褋褌 芯褌 械写薪邪 谐褉褍锌邪 懈 褌褉褟斜胁邪 写邪 锌芯泻褉懈械 芯锌褉械写械谢械薪懈 懈蟹懈褋泻胁邪薪懈褟, 蟹邪 写邪 薪械 斜褗写械 锌褉械薪械斜褉械谐薪邪褌 懈谢懈 芯斜褟胁械薪 蟹邪 薪械锌褗谢薪芯褑械薪械薪 蟹邪 芯斜褖械褋褌胁芯褌芯. 孝褍泻 褎懈谢芯褋芯褎懈褟褌邪 懈 锌褋懈褏芯谢芯谐懈褟褌邪 褋械 褟胁褟胁邪褌 邪写械泻胁邪褌薪懈 锌芯屑芯褖薪懈褑懈, 懈蟹胁芯褉 薪邪 锌芯蟹薪邪薪懈械 懈 褉邪蟹斜懈褉邪薪械 泻芯械 械 芯褋薪芯胁芯锌芯谢邪谐邪褖芯褌芯 胁 褉邪蟹胁懈褌懈械褌芯 薪邪 械写懈薪 懈薪写懈胁懈写 懈 屑褟褋褌芯褌芯 屑褍 胁 芯斜褖械褋褌胁芯褌芯. 袛邪谢械褔 褋褗屑 芯褌 屑懈褋褗谢褌邪 写邪 锌褉芯锌芯胁褟写胁邪屑 芯锌褉械写械谢械薪懈 懈写械懈 懈 写邪 锌褉芯屑械薪褟屑 褋褗蟹薪邪胁邪薪芯褌芯 胁褗胁 胁褋械泻懈 芯褌写械谢械薪 褔芯胁械泻, 褉械褕懈谢 写邪 锌褉芯褔械褌械 褌芯胁邪 褉械胁褞, 薪芯 褖械 斜褗写邪 褉械胁薪芯褋褌械薪 蟹邪褖懈褌薪懈泻 薪邪 褉邪蟹斜懈褉邪薪械褌芯, 褔械 褉懈褋泻褗褌 写邪 褋械 懈蟹谐褍斜懈 懈薪写懈胁懈写褍邪谢薪芯褋褌褌邪 械 谐芯谢褟屑, 邪泻芯 褔芯胁械泻 薪械 褋械 蟹邪锌芯蟹薪邪械 锌芯薪械 芯褌褔邪褋褌懈 褋 褍屑芯胁械褌械, 泻芯懈褌芯 写褗褉卸邪褌 泻芯蟹芯胁械褌械 薪邪 锌褋懈褏懈褔薪芯褌芯 薪懈 蟹写褉邪胁械 胁 褌褉褍写芯胁械褌械 褋懈. 袙懈谢褏械谢屑 袙褍薪写, 校懈谢褟屑 袛卸械泄屑褋, 啸械褉屑邪薪 袝斜懈薪谐褏邪褍褋, 肖褉芯泄写, 挟薪谐. 孝械 褋邪 锌褉芯褋褌芯 懈蟹褋谢械写芯胁邪褌械谢懈 薪邪 胁褋械 锌芯-褍褋谢芯卸薪褟胁邪褖芯褌芯 褋械 芯斜褖械褋褌胁芯, 胁 泻芯械褌芯 褋械 芯锌懈褌胁邪屑械 写邪 卸懈胁械械屑, 懈 薪械懈蟹屑械薪薪懈 锌芯屑芯褖薪懈褑懈, 泻芯谐邪褌芯 褋械 褌褗褉褋懈 芯锌褉械写械谢械薪 锌芯写褏芯写, 泻芯泄褌芯 写邪 斜褗写械 芯褌 锌芯谢蟹邪 蟹邪 胁褋械泻懈 械写懈薪 芯褌 薪邪褋 - 泻邪褌芯 芯褌写械谢械薪 懈薪写懈胁懈写 懈 泻邪褌芯 褔邪褋褌 芯褌 谐褉褍锌邪 懈薪写懈胁懈写懈. 孝械褏薪懈褌械 写褍屑懈 薪械 褋械 锟斤拷褌谢懈褔邪胁邪褌 褋 懈蟹褟褖械褋褌胁芯 懈 锌芯械褌懈褔薪芯褋褌, 薪械 薪懈 褏懈锌薪芯褌懈蟹懈褉邪褌 褋 泻褉懈谢邪褌懈 褎褉邪蟹懈 懈 锌褉懈褌褔懈 懈 芯褌 褌褟褏 薪械 懈蟹褋泻邪褔邪褌 谢械褋薪懈 褉械褕械薪懈褟. 挟薪谐 泻邪蟹胁邪:
鈥炐⌒靶夹拘啃拘沸叫靶叫感笛傂锯€� 芯斜懈泻薪芯胁械薪芯 褋械 斜褗褉泻邪 褋 锌芯蟹薪邪薪懈械褌芯 蟹邪 芯褋褗蟹薪邪胁邪薪邪褌邪 袗蟹-谢懈褔薪芯褋褌. 袙褋械泻懈, 泻芯泄褌芯 懈屑邪 袗蟹-褋褗蟹薪邪薪懈械, 械褋褌械褋褌胁械薪芯 褋屑褟褌邪, 褔械 锌芯蟹薪邪胁邪 褋械斜械 褋懈. 袗蟹褗褌 芯斜邪褔械 锌芯蟹薪邪胁邪 褋芯斜褋褌胁械薪懈褌械 褋懈 褋褗写褗褉卸邪薪懈褟, 薪芯 薪械 懈 薪械褋褗蟹薪邪胁邪薪芯褌芯 懈 薪械谐芯胁懈褌械 褋褗写褗褉卸邪薪懈褟. 啸芯褉邪褌邪 懈蟹屑械褉胁邪褌 褋邪屑芯锌芯蟹薪邪薪懈械褌芯 褋懈 褋 芯薪芯胁邪, 泻芯械褌芯 胁 芯褋薪芯胁薪懈 谢懈薪懈懈 蟹薪邪械 蟹邪 褋械斜械 褋懈 褋褉械写薪芯褋褌邪褌懈褋褌懈褔械褋泻懈褟褌 褔芯胁械泻 芯褌 褋芯斜褋褌胁械薪邪褌邪 懈屑 褋芯褑懈邪谢薪邪 褋褉械写邪, 邪 薪械 褋 褉械邪谢薪懈褌械 锌褋懈褏懈褔械褋泻懈 褎邪泻褌懈, 锌芯胁械褔械褌锟斤拷 芯褌 泻芯懈褌芯 褋邪 褌邪泄薪邪 蟹邪 褌褟褏. 袙 褌芯胁邪 芯褌薪芯褕械薪懈械 锌褋懈褏懈泻邪褌邪 械 泻邪褌芯 褌褟谢芯褌芯: 谢邪懈泻褗褌 蟹薪邪械 褌胁褗褉写械 屑邪谢泻芯 蟹邪 薪械谐芯胁邪褌邪 褎懈蟹懈芯谢芯谐懈褟 懈 邪薪邪褌芯屑懈褔薪芯 褍褋褌褉芯泄褋褌胁芯. 袦邪泻邪褉 写邪 卸懈胁械械 胁 褌褟谢芯褌芯 懈 褋 褌褟谢芯褌芯, 写芯 谐芯谢褟屑邪 褋褌械锌械薪 褌芯 褋懈 芯褋褌邪胁邪 薪械懈蟹胁械褋褌薪芯 蟹邪 薪械谐芯; 懈蟹懈褋泻胁邪 褋械 褋锌械褑懈邪谢薪芯 薪邪褍褔薪芯 锌芯蟹薪邪薪懈械, 泻芯械褌芯 写邪 写芯胁械写械 写芯 褋褗蟹薪邪薪懈械褌芯 屑褍 芯薪芯胁邪, 泻芯械褌芯 胁械褔械 械 锌芯蟹薪邪褌芯 蟹邪 褌褟谢芯褌芯. 袛邪 薪械 谐芯胁芯褉懈屑 蟹邪 胁褋械 芯褖械 薪械锌芯蟹薪邪褌芯褌芯, 泻芯械褌芯 薪械 锌芯-屑邪谢泻芯 褋褗褖械褋褌胁褍胁邪.鈥� (袩褉芯写褗谢卸邪胁邪 胁 斜谢芯谐邪: )
笑褟谢芯褌芯 褉械胁褞 褌褍泻:
小褗褖械褋褌胁褍胁邪 薪械 屑邪谢褗泻 锌褉芯褑械薪褌 褏芯褉邪, 蟹邪 泻芯懈褌芯 褎懈谢芯褋芯褎懈褟褌邪 懈 锌褋懈褏芯谢芯谐懈褟褌邪 褋邪 锌芯褌械薪褑懈邪谢薪芯 芯锌邪褋薪懈 懈 写芯褉懈 胁褉械写薪懈. 孝褟褏薪邪褌邪 锌褉械褌械薪褑懈褟 蟹邪 褉邪蟹斜懈褉邪薪械 薪邪 芯斜泻褉褗卸邪胁邪褖懈褟 薪懈 褋胁褟褌 褋械 谐褉邪写懈 薪邪 芯锌懈褌褗褌 懈屑 写邪 锌芯写褉械写褟褌 卸懈胁芯褌邪 褋懈 褌邪泻邪, 褔械 写邪 锌芯薪械褋邪褌 薪邪泄-屑邪谢泻芯 褋褌褉邪写邪薪懈械 懈 褋褗芯褌胁械褌薪芯 - 写邪 薪邪谢芯卸邪褌 褋胁芯褟褌邪 谐谢械写薪邪 褌芯褔泻邪, 胁褗锌褉械泻懈 胁褋懈褔泻懈 写芯胁芯写懈, 褔械 懈薪写懈胁懈写褗褌 械 锌褉芯褋褌芯 褔邪褋褌 芯褌 械写薪邪 谐褉褍锌邪 懈 褌褉褟斜胁邪 写邪 锌芯泻褉懈械 芯锌褉械写械谢械薪懈 懈蟹懈褋泻胁邪薪懈褟, 蟹邪 写邪 薪械 斜褗写械 锌褉械薪械斜褉械谐薪邪褌 懈谢懈 芯斜褟胁械薪 蟹邪 薪械锌褗谢薪芯褑械薪械薪 蟹邪 芯斜褖械褋褌胁芯褌芯. 孝褍泻 褎懈谢芯褋芯褎懈褟褌邪 懈 锌褋懈褏芯谢芯谐懈褟褌邪 褋械 褟胁褟胁邪褌 邪写械泻胁邪褌薪懈 锌芯屑芯褖薪懈褑懈, 懈蟹胁芯褉 薪邪 锌芯蟹薪邪薪懈械 懈 褉邪蟹斜懈褉邪薪械 泻芯械 械 芯褋薪芯胁芯锌芯谢邪谐邪褖芯褌芯 胁 褉邪蟹胁懈褌懈械褌芯 薪邪 械写懈薪 懈薪写懈胁懈写 懈 屑褟褋褌芯褌芯 屑褍 胁 芯斜褖械褋褌胁芯褌芯. 袛邪谢械褔 褋褗屑 芯褌 屑懈褋褗谢褌邪 写邪 锌褉芯锌芯胁褟写胁邪屑 芯锌褉械写械谢械薪懈 懈写械懈 懈 写邪 锌褉芯屑械薪褟屑 褋褗蟹薪邪胁邪薪芯褌芯 胁褗胁 胁褋械泻懈 芯褌写械谢械薪 褔芯胁械泻, 褉械褕懈谢 写邪 锌褉芯褔械褌械 褌芯胁邪 褉械胁褞, 薪芯 褖械 斜褗写邪 褉械胁薪芯褋褌械薪 蟹邪褖懈褌薪懈泻 薪邪 褉邪蟹斜懈褉邪薪械褌芯, 褔械 褉懈褋泻褗褌 写邪 褋械 懈蟹谐褍斜懈 懈薪写懈胁懈写褍邪谢薪芯褋褌褌邪 械 谐芯谢褟屑, 邪泻芯 褔芯胁械泻 薪械 褋械 蟹邪锌芯蟹薪邪械 锌芯薪械 芯褌褔邪褋褌懈 褋 褍屑芯胁械褌械, 泻芯懈褌芯 写褗褉卸邪褌 泻芯蟹芯胁械褌械 薪邪 锌褋懈褏懈褔薪芯褌芯 薪懈 蟹写褉邪胁械 胁 褌褉褍写芯胁械褌械 褋懈. 袙懈谢褏械谢屑 袙褍薪写, 校懈谢褟屑 袛卸械泄屑褋, 啸械褉屑邪薪 袝斜懈薪谐褏邪褍褋, 肖褉芯泄写, 挟薪谐. 孝械 褋邪 锌褉芯褋褌芯 懈蟹褋谢械写芯胁邪褌械谢懈 薪邪 胁褋械 锌芯-褍褋谢芯卸薪褟胁邪褖芯褌芯 褋械 芯斜褖械褋褌胁芯, 胁 泻芯械褌芯 褋械 芯锌懈褌胁邪屑械 写邪 卸懈胁械械屑, 懈 薪械懈蟹屑械薪薪懈 锌芯屑芯褖薪懈褑懈, 泻芯谐邪褌芯 褋械 褌褗褉褋懈 芯锌褉械写械谢械薪 锌芯写褏芯写, 泻芯泄褌芯 写邪 斜褗写械 芯褌 锌芯谢蟹邪 蟹邪 胁褋械泻懈 械写懈薪 芯褌 薪邪褋 - 泻邪褌芯 芯褌写械谢械薪 懈薪写懈胁懈写 懈 泻邪褌芯 褔邪褋褌 芯褌 谐褉褍锌邪 懈薪写懈胁懈写懈. 孝械褏薪懈褌械 写褍屑懈 薪械 褋械 锟斤拷褌谢懈褔邪胁邪褌 褋 懈蟹褟褖械褋褌胁芯 懈 锌芯械褌懈褔薪芯褋褌, 薪械 薪懈 褏懈锌薪芯褌懈蟹懈褉邪褌 褋 泻褉懈谢邪褌懈 褎褉邪蟹懈 懈 锌褉懈褌褔懈 懈 芯褌 褌褟褏 薪械 懈蟹褋泻邪褔邪褌 谢械褋薪懈 褉械褕械薪懈褟. 挟薪谐 泻邪蟹胁邪:
鈥炐⌒靶夹拘啃拘沸叫靶叫感笛傂锯€� 芯斜懈泻薪芯胁械薪芯 褋械 斜褗褉泻邪 褋 锌芯蟹薪邪薪懈械褌芯 蟹邪 芯褋褗蟹薪邪胁邪薪邪褌邪 袗蟹-谢懈褔薪芯褋褌. 袙褋械泻懈, 泻芯泄褌芯 懈屑邪 袗蟹-褋褗蟹薪邪薪懈械, 械褋褌械褋褌胁械薪芯 褋屑褟褌邪, 褔械 锌芯蟹薪邪胁邪 褋械斜械 褋懈. 袗蟹褗褌 芯斜邪褔械 锌芯蟹薪邪胁邪 褋芯斜褋褌胁械薪懈褌械 褋懈 褋褗写褗褉卸邪薪懈褟, 薪芯 薪械 懈 薪械褋褗蟹薪邪胁邪薪芯褌芯 懈 薪械谐芯胁懈褌械 褋褗写褗褉卸邪薪懈褟. 啸芯褉邪褌邪 懈蟹屑械褉胁邪褌 褋邪屑芯锌芯蟹薪邪薪懈械褌芯 褋懈 褋 芯薪芯胁邪, 泻芯械褌芯 胁 芯褋薪芯胁薪懈 谢懈薪懈懈 蟹薪邪械 蟹邪 褋械斜械 褋懈 褋褉械写薪芯褋褌邪褌懈褋褌懈褔械褋泻懈褟褌 褔芯胁械泻 芯褌 褋芯斜褋褌胁械薪邪褌邪 懈屑 褋芯褑懈邪谢薪邪 褋褉械写邪, 邪 薪械 褋 褉械邪谢薪懈褌械 锌褋懈褏懈褔械褋泻懈 褎邪泻褌懈, 锌芯胁械褔械褌锟斤拷 芯褌 泻芯懈褌芯 褋邪 褌邪泄薪邪 蟹邪 褌褟褏. 袙 褌芯胁邪 芯褌薪芯褕械薪懈械 锌褋懈褏懈泻邪褌邪 械 泻邪褌芯 褌褟谢芯褌芯: 谢邪懈泻褗褌 蟹薪邪械 褌胁褗褉写械 屑邪谢泻芯 蟹邪 薪械谐芯胁邪褌邪 褎懈蟹懈芯谢芯谐懈褟 懈 邪薪邪褌芯屑懈褔薪芯 褍褋褌褉芯泄褋褌胁芯. 袦邪泻邪褉 写邪 卸懈胁械械 胁 褌褟谢芯褌芯 懈 褋 褌褟谢芯褌芯, 写芯 谐芯谢褟屑邪 褋褌械锌械薪 褌芯 褋懈 芯褋褌邪胁邪 薪械懈蟹胁械褋褌薪芯 蟹邪 薪械谐芯; 懈蟹懈褋泻胁邪 褋械 褋锌械褑懈邪谢薪芯 薪邪褍褔薪芯 锌芯蟹薪邪薪懈械, 泻芯械褌芯 写邪 写芯胁械写械 写芯 褋褗蟹薪邪薪懈械褌芯 屑褍 芯薪芯胁邪, 泻芯械褌芯 胁械褔械 械 锌芯蟹薪邪褌芯 蟹邪 褌褟谢芯褌芯. 袛邪 薪械 谐芯胁芯褉懈屑 蟹邪 胁褋械 芯褖械 薪械锌芯蟹薪邪褌芯褌芯, 泻芯械褌芯 薪械 锌芯-屑邪谢泻芯 褋褗褖械褋褌胁褍胁邪.鈥� (袩褉芯写褗谢卸邪胁邪 胁 斜谢芯谐邪: )
April 28, 2022
In this book, CG Jung argues that only self-knowledge and religious experience can provide resistance to totalitarianism, but individuals have been failed by organised religion and also by modern science.
The most interesting part for me is Jung's explanation of neurosis. When a neurosis breaks out in an adult, the fantasy world of childhood reappears. These effects develop only when an individual is faced with a situation which he can't overcome by conscious means. The resulting standstill in the development of personality opens a sluice for infantile fantasies, which are latent in everybody, but don't manifest themselves as long as the conscious personality can continue on its way unimpeded.
Since the normal fantasies of a child are nothing other than the imagination of the instincts it follows that the fantasies of the neurotic contain a core of normal instinct, the hallmark of which is adaptedness.
The most interesting part for me is Jung's explanation of neurosis. When a neurosis breaks out in an adult, the fantasy world of childhood reappears. These effects develop only when an individual is faced with a situation which he can't overcome by conscious means. The resulting standstill in the development of personality opens a sluice for infantile fantasies, which are latent in everybody, but don't manifest themselves as long as the conscious personality can continue on its way unimpeded.
Since the normal fantasies of a child are nothing other than the imagination of the instincts it follows that the fantasies of the neurotic contain a core of normal instinct, the hallmark of which is adaptedness.
November 30, 2010
Jung's apologia of his approach, and a defense of the individual, seems dated at times as he uses the old West vs. Communists divide to illustrate his point. But the content is so important, at least important to me as I try to take hold of my own individuality, that I find this little book to be important.
Here are a few passages that I liked from the book:
鈥淚f I want to understand an individual human being, I must lay aside all scientific knowledge of the average man and discard all theories in order to adopt a completely new and unprejudiced attitude. I can only approach the task of understanding with a free and open mind, whereas knowledge of man, or insight into human character, presupposes all sorts of knowledge about mankind in general.鈥� Pg. 18
鈥淚f the psychologist happens to be a doctor who wants not only to classify his patient scientifically but also to understand him as a human being, he is threatened with conflict of duties between the two diametrically opposed and mutually exclusive attitudes of knowledge, on the one hand, and understanding, on the other. This conflict cannot be solved by an either-or, but only by a kind of two-way thinking: doing one thing while not losing sight of the other.鈥� Pg. 19
鈥淭he psychic situation of the individual is so menaced nowadays by advertisement, propaganda and other more or less well-meant advice and suggestions that for once in his life the patient might be offered a relationship that does not repeat the nauseating 鈥榶ou should,鈥� 鈥榶ou must鈥� and similar confessions of impotence. Against the onslaught from outside no less than against its repercussions in the psyche of the individual the doctor sees himself obliged to play the role of counsel for the defense. Fear that anarchic instincts will thereby be let loose is a possibility that is greatly exaggerated, seeing that obvious safeguards exist within and without. Above all, there is the natural cowardice of most men to be reckoned with, not to mention morality, good taste and 鈥� last but not least 鈥� the penal code. This fear is nothing compared with the enormous effort it usually costs people to help the first stirrings of individuality into consciousness, let alone put them into effect. And where these individual impulses have broken through too impetuously and unbelievably, the doctor must protect them from the patient鈥檚 own clumsy recourse to shortsightedness, ruthlessness and cynicism.鈥� Pg. 66
鈥淔reud was expressing his conviction that the unconscious still harbored many things that might lend themselves to 鈥榦ccult鈥� interpretations, as is in fact the case. These 鈥榓rchaic vestiges,鈥� or archetypal forms grounded on the instincts and giving expression to them, have a numinous quality that sometimes arouses fear. They are ineradicable, for they represent the ultimate foundations of the psyche itself. They cannot be grasped intellectually, and when one has destroyed one manifestation of them, they reappear in altered form. It is this fear of the unconscious psyche which not only impedes self-knowledge but is the gravest obstacle to a wider understanding and knowledge of psychology.鈥� Pg. 61
鈥淪ubjectivization (in technical terms transference and countertransference) creates isolation from the environment, a social limitation which neither party wishes for but which invariably sets in when understanding predominates and is no longer balanced with knowledge. As understanding deepens, the further removed it becomes from knowledge. An ideal understanding would ultimately result in each party鈥檚 unthinkingly going along with the other鈥檚 experience 鈥� a state of uncritical passivity and lack of social responsibility. Understanding carried to such lengths is in any case impossible, for it would require the virtual identification of two different individuals. Sooner or later the relationship reaches a point where one partner feels he is being forced to sacrifice his own individuality so that it may be assimilated by that of the other. This inevitable consequence breaks the understanding, for understanding presupposes the integral preservation of the individuality of both partners. It is therefore advisable to carry understanding only to the point where the balance between understanding and knowledge is reached, for understanding at all costs is injurious to both partners.鈥� Pp. 63-64
鈥淏y that time the patient should have acquired enough certainty of judgment to enable him to act on his own insight and decision and not from the mere wish to copy convention 鈥� even if he happens to agree with collective opinion. Unless he stands firmly on his own feet, the so-called objective values profit him nothing, since they then only serve as a substitute for character and so help to suppress his individuality. Naturally, society has an indisputable right to protect itself against arrant subjectivisms, but, in so far as society itself is composed of de-individualized persons, it is completely at the mercy of ruthless individualists. Let it band together into groups and organizations as much as it likes 鈥� it is just this banding together and the resultant extinction of the individual personality that makes it succumb so readily to a dictator. A million zeros joined together do not, unfortunately, add up to one. Ultimately everything depends on the quality of the individual, but fatally shortsighted habit of our age is to think only in terms of large numbers and mass organizations.鈥� Pg. 67
鈥淎nd are not Jesus and Paul prototypes of those who, trusting their inner experience, have gone their own individual ways, disregarding public opinions?鈥� Pg. 69
鈥淭he suffocating power of the masses is paraded before our eyes in one form or another every day in the newspapers, and the insignificance of the individual is rubbed into him so thoroughly that he loses all hope of making himself heard. The outworn ideals of libert茅, 茅galit茅, fraternit茅 help him not at all, as he can direct this appeal only to his executioners, the spokesmen of the masses.鈥� Pg. 72
鈥淵ou can take away a man鈥檚 gods, but only to give him others in return. The leaders of the mass State cannot avoid being deified, and wherever the crudities of this kind have not yet been put over by force, obsessive factors arise in their stead, charged with demonic energy 鈥� for instance, money, work, political influence, and so forth. When any natural human function gets lost, i.e., is denied conscious and intentional expressions, a general disturbance results. Hence, it is quite natural that with the triumph of the Goddess of Reason a general neuroticizing of modern man should set in, a dissociation of personality analogous to the splitting of the world today by the Iron Curtain.鈥� Pg. 77
鈥淚nstincts, however, are highly conservative and of extreme antiquity as regards both their dynamism and their form. Their form, when represented to the mind, appears as an image which expresses the nature of the instinctive impulse visually and concretely, like a picture. 鈥� Instinct is anything but a blind and indefinite impulse, since it proves to be attuned and adapted to a definite external situation. This latter circumstance gives it its specific and irreducible form. Just as instinct is original and hereditary, so, too, its form is age-old, that is to say, archetypal. It is even older and more conservative than the body鈥檚 form.鈥� Pg. 81
鈥淭he fact that our conscious activity is rooted in instinct and derives from it its dynamism as well as the basic features of its ideational forms has the same significance for human psychology as for all other members of the animal kingdom. Human knowledge consists essentially in the constant adaptation of the primordial patterns of ideas that were given us a priori. These need certain modifications, because, in their original form, they are suited to an archaic mode of life but not to the demands of a specifically differentiated environment. If the flow of instinctive dynamism into our life is to be maintained, as is absolutely necessary for our existence, then it is imperative that we remold these archetypal forms into ideas which are adequate to the challenge of the present.鈥� Pg. 82
鈥淭he psychologist has come to see that nothing is achieved by telling, persuading, admonishing, giving good advice. He must also get acquainted with the details and have an authentic knowledge of the psychic inventory of his patient. He has therefore to relate to the individuality of the sufferer and feel his way into all the nooks and crannies of his mind, to a degree that far exceeds the capacity of a teacher or even of a directeur de conscience. His scientific objectivity, which excludes nothing, enables him to see his patient not only as a human being but also as a subhuman who is boundto his body, like an animal. The development of science has directed his interest beyond the range of the consciou personality to the world of unconscious instinct dominated by sexuality and the power drive (or self-assertion) corresponding to the twin moral concepts of Saint Augustine: concupiscentia and superbia. The clash between these two fundamental instincts (preservation of the species and self-preservation) is the source of numerous conflicts. They are, therefore, the chief object of moral judgment, whose purpose it is to prevent these instinctual collisions as far as possible.鈥� Pp. 89-90
鈥淎s I explained above, instinct has two main aspects: on the one hand, that of dynamism, drive or drift, and on the other, specific meaning and intention. It is highly probable that all man鈥檚 psychic functions have an instinctual foundation as is obviously the case with animals.鈥� Pg. 90
鈥淣othing has a more divisive and alienating effect upon society than this moral complacency and lack of responsibility, and nothing promotes understanding and rapprochement more than the mutual withdrawal of projections. This necessary corrective requires self-criticism, for one cannot just tell the other person to withdraw them. He does not recognize them for what they are, any more than one does oneself. We can recognize our prejudices and illusions only when, from a broader psychological knowledge of ourselves and others, we are prepared to doubt the absolute rightness of our assumptions and compare them carefully and conscientiously with the objective facts.鈥� Pp. 114-115
鈥淩ecognition of the shadow, on the other hand, leads to the modesty we need in order to acknowledge imperfection. And it is just this conscious recognition and consideration that are needed wherever a human relationship is to be established. A human relationship is not based on differentiation and perfection, for these only emphasize the differences or call forth the exact opposite; it is based, rather, on imperfection, on what is weak, helpless and in need of support 鈥� the very ground and motive of dependence. The perfect has no need of the other, but weakness has, for it seeks support and does not confront its partner with anything that might force him into an inferior position and even humiliate him. This humiliation may happen only too easily where idealism plays too prominent a role.鈥� Pp. 116-117
鈥淎nyone who has insight into his own action, and has thus found access to the unconscious, involuntarily exercises an influence on his environment. The deepening and broadening of his consciousness produce the kind of effect which the primitives call 鈥榤ana.鈥� It is an unintentional influence on the unconscious prestige, and its effect lasts only so long as it is not disturbed by consciousness.鈥� Pg. 121
鈥淚 am neither spurred on by excessive optimism nor in love with high ideals, but am merely concerned with the fate of the individual human being 鈥� that infinitesimal unit on whom the world depends, and in whom, if we read the meaning of the Christian message aright, even God seeks his goal.鈥� Pg. 125
Here are a few passages that I liked from the book:
鈥淚f I want to understand an individual human being, I must lay aside all scientific knowledge of the average man and discard all theories in order to adopt a completely new and unprejudiced attitude. I can only approach the task of understanding with a free and open mind, whereas knowledge of man, or insight into human character, presupposes all sorts of knowledge about mankind in general.鈥� Pg. 18
鈥淚f the psychologist happens to be a doctor who wants not only to classify his patient scientifically but also to understand him as a human being, he is threatened with conflict of duties between the two diametrically opposed and mutually exclusive attitudes of knowledge, on the one hand, and understanding, on the other. This conflict cannot be solved by an either-or, but only by a kind of two-way thinking: doing one thing while not losing sight of the other.鈥� Pg. 19
鈥淭he psychic situation of the individual is so menaced nowadays by advertisement, propaganda and other more or less well-meant advice and suggestions that for once in his life the patient might be offered a relationship that does not repeat the nauseating 鈥榶ou should,鈥� 鈥榶ou must鈥� and similar confessions of impotence. Against the onslaught from outside no less than against its repercussions in the psyche of the individual the doctor sees himself obliged to play the role of counsel for the defense. Fear that anarchic instincts will thereby be let loose is a possibility that is greatly exaggerated, seeing that obvious safeguards exist within and without. Above all, there is the natural cowardice of most men to be reckoned with, not to mention morality, good taste and 鈥� last but not least 鈥� the penal code. This fear is nothing compared with the enormous effort it usually costs people to help the first stirrings of individuality into consciousness, let alone put them into effect. And where these individual impulses have broken through too impetuously and unbelievably, the doctor must protect them from the patient鈥檚 own clumsy recourse to shortsightedness, ruthlessness and cynicism.鈥� Pg. 66
鈥淔reud was expressing his conviction that the unconscious still harbored many things that might lend themselves to 鈥榦ccult鈥� interpretations, as is in fact the case. These 鈥榓rchaic vestiges,鈥� or archetypal forms grounded on the instincts and giving expression to them, have a numinous quality that sometimes arouses fear. They are ineradicable, for they represent the ultimate foundations of the psyche itself. They cannot be grasped intellectually, and when one has destroyed one manifestation of them, they reappear in altered form. It is this fear of the unconscious psyche which not only impedes self-knowledge but is the gravest obstacle to a wider understanding and knowledge of psychology.鈥� Pg. 61
鈥淪ubjectivization (in technical terms transference and countertransference) creates isolation from the environment, a social limitation which neither party wishes for but which invariably sets in when understanding predominates and is no longer balanced with knowledge. As understanding deepens, the further removed it becomes from knowledge. An ideal understanding would ultimately result in each party鈥檚 unthinkingly going along with the other鈥檚 experience 鈥� a state of uncritical passivity and lack of social responsibility. Understanding carried to such lengths is in any case impossible, for it would require the virtual identification of two different individuals. Sooner or later the relationship reaches a point where one partner feels he is being forced to sacrifice his own individuality so that it may be assimilated by that of the other. This inevitable consequence breaks the understanding, for understanding presupposes the integral preservation of the individuality of both partners. It is therefore advisable to carry understanding only to the point where the balance between understanding and knowledge is reached, for understanding at all costs is injurious to both partners.鈥� Pp. 63-64
鈥淏y that time the patient should have acquired enough certainty of judgment to enable him to act on his own insight and decision and not from the mere wish to copy convention 鈥� even if he happens to agree with collective opinion. Unless he stands firmly on his own feet, the so-called objective values profit him nothing, since they then only serve as a substitute for character and so help to suppress his individuality. Naturally, society has an indisputable right to protect itself against arrant subjectivisms, but, in so far as society itself is composed of de-individualized persons, it is completely at the mercy of ruthless individualists. Let it band together into groups and organizations as much as it likes 鈥� it is just this banding together and the resultant extinction of the individual personality that makes it succumb so readily to a dictator. A million zeros joined together do not, unfortunately, add up to one. Ultimately everything depends on the quality of the individual, but fatally shortsighted habit of our age is to think only in terms of large numbers and mass organizations.鈥� Pg. 67
鈥淎nd are not Jesus and Paul prototypes of those who, trusting their inner experience, have gone their own individual ways, disregarding public opinions?鈥� Pg. 69
鈥淭he suffocating power of the masses is paraded before our eyes in one form or another every day in the newspapers, and the insignificance of the individual is rubbed into him so thoroughly that he loses all hope of making himself heard. The outworn ideals of libert茅, 茅galit茅, fraternit茅 help him not at all, as he can direct this appeal only to his executioners, the spokesmen of the masses.鈥� Pg. 72
鈥淵ou can take away a man鈥檚 gods, but only to give him others in return. The leaders of the mass State cannot avoid being deified, and wherever the crudities of this kind have not yet been put over by force, obsessive factors arise in their stead, charged with demonic energy 鈥� for instance, money, work, political influence, and so forth. When any natural human function gets lost, i.e., is denied conscious and intentional expressions, a general disturbance results. Hence, it is quite natural that with the triumph of the Goddess of Reason a general neuroticizing of modern man should set in, a dissociation of personality analogous to the splitting of the world today by the Iron Curtain.鈥� Pg. 77
鈥淚nstincts, however, are highly conservative and of extreme antiquity as regards both their dynamism and their form. Their form, when represented to the mind, appears as an image which expresses the nature of the instinctive impulse visually and concretely, like a picture. 鈥� Instinct is anything but a blind and indefinite impulse, since it proves to be attuned and adapted to a definite external situation. This latter circumstance gives it its specific and irreducible form. Just as instinct is original and hereditary, so, too, its form is age-old, that is to say, archetypal. It is even older and more conservative than the body鈥檚 form.鈥� Pg. 81
鈥淭he fact that our conscious activity is rooted in instinct and derives from it its dynamism as well as the basic features of its ideational forms has the same significance for human psychology as for all other members of the animal kingdom. Human knowledge consists essentially in the constant adaptation of the primordial patterns of ideas that were given us a priori. These need certain modifications, because, in their original form, they are suited to an archaic mode of life but not to the demands of a specifically differentiated environment. If the flow of instinctive dynamism into our life is to be maintained, as is absolutely necessary for our existence, then it is imperative that we remold these archetypal forms into ideas which are adequate to the challenge of the present.鈥� Pg. 82
鈥淭he psychologist has come to see that nothing is achieved by telling, persuading, admonishing, giving good advice. He must also get acquainted with the details and have an authentic knowledge of the psychic inventory of his patient. He has therefore to relate to the individuality of the sufferer and feel his way into all the nooks and crannies of his mind, to a degree that far exceeds the capacity of a teacher or even of a directeur de conscience. His scientific objectivity, which excludes nothing, enables him to see his patient not only as a human being but also as a subhuman who is boundto his body, like an animal. The development of science has directed his interest beyond the range of the consciou personality to the world of unconscious instinct dominated by sexuality and the power drive (or self-assertion) corresponding to the twin moral concepts of Saint Augustine: concupiscentia and superbia. The clash between these two fundamental instincts (preservation of the species and self-preservation) is the source of numerous conflicts. They are, therefore, the chief object of moral judgment, whose purpose it is to prevent these instinctual collisions as far as possible.鈥� Pp. 89-90
鈥淎s I explained above, instinct has two main aspects: on the one hand, that of dynamism, drive or drift, and on the other, specific meaning and intention. It is highly probable that all man鈥檚 psychic functions have an instinctual foundation as is obviously the case with animals.鈥� Pg. 90
鈥淣othing has a more divisive and alienating effect upon society than this moral complacency and lack of responsibility, and nothing promotes understanding and rapprochement more than the mutual withdrawal of projections. This necessary corrective requires self-criticism, for one cannot just tell the other person to withdraw them. He does not recognize them for what they are, any more than one does oneself. We can recognize our prejudices and illusions only when, from a broader psychological knowledge of ourselves and others, we are prepared to doubt the absolute rightness of our assumptions and compare them carefully and conscientiously with the objective facts.鈥� Pp. 114-115
鈥淩ecognition of the shadow, on the other hand, leads to the modesty we need in order to acknowledge imperfection. And it is just this conscious recognition and consideration that are needed wherever a human relationship is to be established. A human relationship is not based on differentiation and perfection, for these only emphasize the differences or call forth the exact opposite; it is based, rather, on imperfection, on what is weak, helpless and in need of support 鈥� the very ground and motive of dependence. The perfect has no need of the other, but weakness has, for it seeks support and does not confront its partner with anything that might force him into an inferior position and even humiliate him. This humiliation may happen only too easily where idealism plays too prominent a role.鈥� Pp. 116-117
鈥淎nyone who has insight into his own action, and has thus found access to the unconscious, involuntarily exercises an influence on his environment. The deepening and broadening of his consciousness produce the kind of effect which the primitives call 鈥榤ana.鈥� It is an unintentional influence on the unconscious prestige, and its effect lasts only so long as it is not disturbed by consciousness.鈥� Pg. 121
鈥淚 am neither spurred on by excessive optimism nor in love with high ideals, but am merely concerned with the fate of the individual human being 鈥� that infinitesimal unit on whom the world depends, and in whom, if we read the meaning of the Christian message aright, even God seeks his goal.鈥� Pg. 125
February 24, 2017
The Undiscovered Self - C.G. Jung
Since the dawn of time man have always been on the hunt towards understanding and discovering himself. A topic that has occupied man鈥檚 minds for ages. In this compelling work, C.G Jung approaches the topic of individuality in such a unique way. Presenting the individual鈥檚 struggle for moral and spiritual integrity against the 鈥渕ass psychology鈥� generated by political fanaticism, scientific materialism and technological triumphalism on a global scale.
- The Plight of the individual in modern society
Most people confuse 鈥渟elf-knowledge鈥� with knowledge of their conscious ego personalities. Anyone who has any ego-consciousness at all takes it for granted that he knows himself. But the ego knows only its own contents (desires), not the unconscious (shadow-self) and its contents (dreams, visions and primordial images). In general, people measure their self-knowledge by what the average person in their social environment knows of himself, but not by the real psychic facts which are for the most part hidden from them...hidden by the rule of the state. To understand an individual human being, one must lay aside all scientific knowledge (universal statistical knowledge) of the average man and discard all theories in order to adopt a completely new and unprejudiced attitude towards him\her. Such a task of understanding can be only approached with a free and an open mind to vast realms of unique possibilities.
If statistical reality is the only reality, then it is the sole authority 鈥hen the individual is bound to be a function of statistics and hence a function of the State or whatever abstract principle, in other words - a functioning unit of the state without any personal significance and can be compared to others.
- Religion as the counterbalance to mass-mindedness
Man, as a social being, cannot on the long run exist without a tie to the community; as a result he will never find the real justification for his existence, and his own spiritual and moral judgment, anywhere except in an extra-mundane principle (Meaning: beyond the physical world as religious beliefs 鈥� believe in God鈥檚 might and grace) capable of balancing the overpowering influence of external factors (External factors that quench the individual鈥檚 religious belief, thus his individuality). As Jung explains 鈥淭he individual who is not anchored by God can offer no resistance on his own resources to the physical and moral blandishments of the world. For this, he needs the evidence of inner, transcendent experience which alone can protect him from the otherwise inevitable submersion in the mass. Merely intellectual or even moral insight into the stultification and moral irresponsibility of the mass man is a negative recognition only and amounts to not much more than a wavering on the road to the atomization of the individual. It lacks the driving force of religious conviction since it is merely rational.鈥�
Religion, sole meaning, and purpose lie in the direct relationship of the individual to god. It鈥檚 evident purpose is to maintain the psychic balance. For this reason, he has always taken care that any difficult decision likely to have consequences for himself and others shall be rendered safe by suitable measures of religious nature (prayer).
The State, in turn, demands enthusiasm, self-sacrifice, and love towards itself, and if religion establishes the concept of the 鈥渇ear of God鈥�, then the dictator State takes good care to provide the necessary terror. in that process the state begins to slowly substitute the individuals own belief with that of the state. The state claim it offers protection against such terrors, but in truth, it only offers outer protection from the world. While religion offers both inner serenity (protection of the soul) and outer protection.
- The individual's understanding of himself
Man is the slave of the machines that he thought have conquered space and time for him, he is intimidated and endangered by the might of the war technique which is supposed to safeguard his physical existence; his spiritual and moral freedom. Finally, to add comedy to tragedy, this lord of the elements, hugs to his bosom notions which stamp his dignity as worthless and becomes a landmark of absurdity. All his achievements and possessions do not make him bigger; on the contrary, they diminish him to the lowest levels existence.
Without consciousness, there would practically speaking, be no world, for the world exists as such only in so far as it is consciously reflected and consciously expressed by a psyche. Consciousness is a precondition of being.
Naturally, society itself is composed of de-individualized persons, which makes them completely at the mercy of ruthless individualists. they band the society together into groups and organizations as much as they like 鈥� it is just this banding together and the resultant extinction of the individual personality that makes it succumb so readily to a dictator (Divide and conquer: 賮乇賯 鬲爻丿). In the end, everything rests on the quality of the individual, but the fatally short-sighted habit of our age is to think only in terms of large numbers and mass organizations. It takes only one madman to drive the world crazy!
It's only too clear that if the individual is not truly regenerated in spirit (anchored by religion), society cannot be either, for society is the sum total of individuals in need of redemption. The salvation of the world consists in the salvation of the individual soul. (God helps those who help themselves: 廿賳 丕賱賱賴 賱丕 賷睾賷乇 賲丕 亘賯賵賲 丨鬲賶 賷睾賷乇賵丕 賲丕 亘兀賳賮爻賴賲)
Didn't Prophet Abraham, Muses, Jesus and Muhammad (Peace be upon them), trusted their inner experience, and have gone through their own individual ways, disregarding public opinion?
It is time we asked ourselves exactly why and for what purpose we are lumping together in mass organizations and what constitutes the nature of own individual human being. This is hardly possible except through a new process of self-nourishment. Without self-knowledge, there can be no growth, compassion, and integrity. I would like to add in this matter the following 鈥淗e who knows himself and made known their poverty and inability towards them self (accepted them self in weakness) knew God's self-esteem and his ability and his riches, so its self-knowledge first, and then the knowledge of God after 鈥搊r- He who knows himself has indicated that he knew God grace and riches first then his self.鈥�
- Individual Philosophical and psychological approach to life
Our philosophy is no longer a way of life, as it was in antiquity; it has turned into an exclusively intellectual and academic affair.
Virtually everything depends on the human soul and its functions. It should be worthy of all the attention we can give it when everyone admits that the weal and woe of the future will be decided and solely by the psychic changes in man.
Our loss of consciousness in our world is due primarily to the loss of instinct: "丕賱賮胤乇丞", and the reason for this lies in the materialistic development of the human mind over the past eons. The more power man had over nature, the more his knowledge and skill went to his head and ego consciousness to control.
The seat of faith, however, is not consciousness but spontaneous religious experience, which brings the individual鈥檚 faith into immediate relation with God through instinct.
Since it is believed that man is what his consciousness knows of itself, he regards himself as harmless and so adds stupidity to iniquity. He does not deny that terrible things have happened and still go on happening, but it is always 鈥渢he others鈥� who do them. (Set blame on others, denying his self-weakness and faults)
Neglecting the conditions of our own nature, and denying the concept that we are tempted to do evil in this negligence is the first step of turning us into an instrument of evil. The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist. Not to mention our lack of insight that deprives us of the capacity to deal with evil.
Moral complacency and lack of responsibility are the sole reason for a divisive and alienated society; likewise, nothing promotes understanding and rapprochement more than the mutual withdrawal of projections (withdrawal from rash judgment, blame and prejudice opinions that shape of mass public opinion)
Recognition of the shadow (unconsciousness -self), on the other hand, leads to the modesty we need in order to acknowledge imperfection. A human relationship is not based on differentiation and perfection, for these only emphasize the differences or call forth the exact opposite; it is based, rather on imperfection, on what is weak, helpless and in need of support by the strong , helpful and rich 鈥� such is the very ground and motive of dependence. The perfect has no need of the other, but weakness has.
At the end happiness and serenity, of soul and meaningfulness of life 鈥� can be experienced only by the individual and not by a State, which, through a religious and spiritual understanding of the self (inner world) towards the world we live in and interact with our own consciousness (outer world).
"I am a symbol of my soul." C.G Jung
Unknown artist
Since the dawn of time man have always been on the hunt towards understanding and discovering himself. A topic that has occupied man鈥檚 minds for ages. In this compelling work, C.G Jung approaches the topic of individuality in such a unique way. Presenting the individual鈥檚 struggle for moral and spiritual integrity against the 鈥渕ass psychology鈥� generated by political fanaticism, scientific materialism and technological triumphalism on a global scale.
- The Plight of the individual in modern society
Most people confuse 鈥渟elf-knowledge鈥� with knowledge of their conscious ego personalities. Anyone who has any ego-consciousness at all takes it for granted that he knows himself. But the ego knows only its own contents (desires), not the unconscious (shadow-self) and its contents (dreams, visions and primordial images). In general, people measure their self-knowledge by what the average person in their social environment knows of himself, but not by the real psychic facts which are for the most part hidden from them...hidden by the rule of the state. To understand an individual human being, one must lay aside all scientific knowledge (universal statistical knowledge) of the average man and discard all theories in order to adopt a completely new and unprejudiced attitude towards him\her. Such a task of understanding can be only approached with a free and an open mind to vast realms of unique possibilities.
If statistical reality is the only reality, then it is the sole authority 鈥hen the individual is bound to be a function of statistics and hence a function of the State or whatever abstract principle, in other words - a functioning unit of the state without any personal significance and can be compared to others.
- Religion as the counterbalance to mass-mindedness
Man, as a social being, cannot on the long run exist without a tie to the community; as a result he will never find the real justification for his existence, and his own spiritual and moral judgment, anywhere except in an extra-mundane principle (Meaning: beyond the physical world as religious beliefs 鈥� believe in God鈥檚 might and grace) capable of balancing the overpowering influence of external factors (External factors that quench the individual鈥檚 religious belief, thus his individuality). As Jung explains 鈥淭he individual who is not anchored by God can offer no resistance on his own resources to the physical and moral blandishments of the world. For this, he needs the evidence of inner, transcendent experience which alone can protect him from the otherwise inevitable submersion in the mass. Merely intellectual or even moral insight into the stultification and moral irresponsibility of the mass man is a negative recognition only and amounts to not much more than a wavering on the road to the atomization of the individual. It lacks the driving force of religious conviction since it is merely rational.鈥�
Religion, sole meaning, and purpose lie in the direct relationship of the individual to god. It鈥檚 evident purpose is to maintain the psychic balance. For this reason, he has always taken care that any difficult decision likely to have consequences for himself and others shall be rendered safe by suitable measures of religious nature (prayer).
The State, in turn, demands enthusiasm, self-sacrifice, and love towards itself, and if religion establishes the concept of the 鈥渇ear of God鈥�, then the dictator State takes good care to provide the necessary terror. in that process the state begins to slowly substitute the individuals own belief with that of the state. The state claim it offers protection against such terrors, but in truth, it only offers outer protection from the world. While religion offers both inner serenity (protection of the soul) and outer protection.
- The individual's understanding of himself
Man is the slave of the machines that he thought have conquered space and time for him, he is intimidated and endangered by the might of the war technique which is supposed to safeguard his physical existence; his spiritual and moral freedom. Finally, to add comedy to tragedy, this lord of the elements, hugs to his bosom notions which stamp his dignity as worthless and becomes a landmark of absurdity. All his achievements and possessions do not make him bigger; on the contrary, they diminish him to the lowest levels existence.
Without consciousness, there would practically speaking, be no world, for the world exists as such only in so far as it is consciously reflected and consciously expressed by a psyche. Consciousness is a precondition of being.
Naturally, society itself is composed of de-individualized persons, which makes them completely at the mercy of ruthless individualists. they band the society together into groups and organizations as much as they like 鈥� it is just this banding together and the resultant extinction of the individual personality that makes it succumb so readily to a dictator (Divide and conquer: 賮乇賯 鬲爻丿). In the end, everything rests on the quality of the individual, but the fatally short-sighted habit of our age is to think only in terms of large numbers and mass organizations. It takes only one madman to drive the world crazy!
It's only too clear that if the individual is not truly regenerated in spirit (anchored by religion), society cannot be either, for society is the sum total of individuals in need of redemption. The salvation of the world consists in the salvation of the individual soul. (God helps those who help themselves: 廿賳 丕賱賱賴 賱丕 賷睾賷乇 賲丕 亘賯賵賲 丨鬲賶 賷睾賷乇賵丕 賲丕 亘兀賳賮爻賴賲)
Didn't Prophet Abraham, Muses, Jesus and Muhammad (Peace be upon them), trusted their inner experience, and have gone through their own individual ways, disregarding public opinion?
It is time we asked ourselves exactly why and for what purpose we are lumping together in mass organizations and what constitutes the nature of own individual human being. This is hardly possible except through a new process of self-nourishment. Without self-knowledge, there can be no growth, compassion, and integrity. I would like to add in this matter the following 鈥淗e who knows himself and made known their poverty and inability towards them self (accepted them self in weakness) knew God's self-esteem and his ability and his riches, so its self-knowledge first, and then the knowledge of God after 鈥搊r- He who knows himself has indicated that he knew God grace and riches first then his self.鈥�
- Individual Philosophical and psychological approach to life
Our philosophy is no longer a way of life, as it was in antiquity; it has turned into an exclusively intellectual and academic affair.
Virtually everything depends on the human soul and its functions. It should be worthy of all the attention we can give it when everyone admits that the weal and woe of the future will be decided and solely by the psychic changes in man.
Our loss of consciousness in our world is due primarily to the loss of instinct: "丕賱賮胤乇丞", and the reason for this lies in the materialistic development of the human mind over the past eons. The more power man had over nature, the more his knowledge and skill went to his head and ego consciousness to control.
The seat of faith, however, is not consciousness but spontaneous religious experience, which brings the individual鈥檚 faith into immediate relation with God through instinct.
Since it is believed that man is what his consciousness knows of itself, he regards himself as harmless and so adds stupidity to iniquity. He does not deny that terrible things have happened and still go on happening, but it is always 鈥渢he others鈥� who do them. (Set blame on others, denying his self-weakness and faults)
Neglecting the conditions of our own nature, and denying the concept that we are tempted to do evil in this negligence is the first step of turning us into an instrument of evil. The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist. Not to mention our lack of insight that deprives us of the capacity to deal with evil.
Moral complacency and lack of responsibility are the sole reason for a divisive and alienated society; likewise, nothing promotes understanding and rapprochement more than the mutual withdrawal of projections (withdrawal from rash judgment, blame and prejudice opinions that shape of mass public opinion)
Recognition of the shadow (unconsciousness -self), on the other hand, leads to the modesty we need in order to acknowledge imperfection. A human relationship is not based on differentiation and perfection, for these only emphasize the differences or call forth the exact opposite; it is based, rather on imperfection, on what is weak, helpless and in need of support by the strong , helpful and rich 鈥� such is the very ground and motive of dependence. The perfect has no need of the other, but weakness has.
At the end happiness and serenity, of soul and meaningfulness of life 鈥� can be experienced only by the individual and not by a State, which, through a religious and spiritual understanding of the self (inner world) towards the world we live in and interact with our own consciousness (outer world).
"I am a symbol of my soul." C.G Jung
Unknown artist
December 20, 2008
This book is as timeless as human nature. Cases are made in favor of both freedom (delving into the strains of individuality posed by communism and socialism) and the soul (delving into the strains of individuality posed by over adhearance to most of society's organized religions), all through articulations centered around self knowledge.
Jung's main concept of self knowledge has to do with the power of the unconscious and the pulls from it's dark, simplistic instincts (one's shadow). Without self knowledge, the ever-present shadow continues to be ignored, perpetually becoming greater in its danger and influence. When faced with a situation that the conscious can't handle, the shadow comes out, typically resulting in negative actions. While these actions are acted out on an individual level, they collectively have broad social ramifications (a more powerful state, an unthinking and overly dogmatized religion, etc) all of which further inhibit the individual, creating a snowball effect.
Jung argues that we must recognize and deal with the evils of our shadows through honest introspection, and through states of individual being that are not influenced by mass groups. In this book he successfully demonstrates that if an individual is to thrive, he must be in touch with his full, undiscovered self.
Jung's main concept of self knowledge has to do with the power of the unconscious and the pulls from it's dark, simplistic instincts (one's shadow). Without self knowledge, the ever-present shadow continues to be ignored, perpetually becoming greater in its danger and influence. When faced with a situation that the conscious can't handle, the shadow comes out, typically resulting in negative actions. While these actions are acted out on an individual level, they collectively have broad social ramifications (a more powerful state, an unthinking and overly dogmatized religion, etc) all of which further inhibit the individual, creating a snowball effect.
Jung argues that we must recognize and deal with the evils of our shadows through honest introspection, and through states of individual being that are not influenced by mass groups. In this book he successfully demonstrates that if an individual is to thrive, he must be in touch with his full, undiscovered self.
January 18, 2022
The only thing I discovered reading this book is that Carl Jung is a moron ...
October 24, 2022
丕賱賰鬲丕亘 丕卮亘賴 亘丿毓賵丞 賱賱鬲賳賯賷亘 賮賷 丕睾賵丕乇 丕賱賳賮爻 賵賱賷爻 賲毓賱賵賲丕鬲 毓賳賴丕
February 7, 2016
蹖讴 讴鬲丕亘 爻禺鬲 鬲乇噩賲賴 卮丿賴. 賵賱蹖 丕夭 賳馗乇 鬲丨賱蹖賱蹖 賵 丨乇賮丕蹖蹖 讴賴 賲蹖夭賳賴 賳爻亘鬲丕 噩丕賱亘
Read
September 22, 2016禺賵卮亘禺鬲蹖 賵 爻毓丕丿鬲貙 鬲毓丕丿賱 乇賵丨蹖 賵 亘丕 賲毓賳蹖 亘賵丿賳 夭賳丿诏蹖貙 丕蹖賳賴丕 賵 賴賲賴 趩蹖夭 賴丕蹖 丿蹖诏乇貙 丕夭 乇丕賴 鬲賱丕卮 賮乇丿 賮乇丿 賲乇丿賲 亘賴 賵噩賵丿 賲蹖 丌蹖丿貙 賳賴 丕夭 乇丕賴 丿賵賱鬲 賴丕 讴賴 丕夭 蹖讴 胤乇賮 趩蹖夭蹖 噩夭 賯乇丕乇丿丕丿蹖 讴賴 丕賮乇丕丿 賲爻鬲賯賱 賵 丌夭丕丿 亘賴 丿賵乇 丌賳 賮乇丕賴賲 賲蹖 丌蹖賳丿 賳禺賵丕賴丿 亘賵丿貨 賵 丕夭 胤乇賮 丿蹖诏乇 丿賵賱鬲 賴丕 賵 賯丿乇鬲賲賳丿蹖 丌賳賴丕 賴賲蹖卮賴 亘丕毓孬 囟毓賮 丕賮乇丕丿 亘賵丿賴 賵 賴乇趩賴 賯丿乇鬲 丌賳賴丕 亘蹖卮鬲乇 卮賵丿 禺胤乇 丕夭讴丕乇 丕賮鬲丕丿賳 卮禺氐蹖鬲 丕賮乇丕丿 賵 鬲丨鬲 賮卮丕乇 賯乇丕乇 诏乇賮鬲賳 丌賳賴丕 亘蹖卮鬲乇 賲蹖 卮賵丿.
March 31, 2018
Underwhelming. Maybe It was my high expectations for this book that I found it 'okay' with no brilliant insights.
July 26, 2022
... 褋褗胁褉械屑械薪薪懈褟褌 褔芯胁械泻 锌芯蟹薪邪胁邪 褋械斜械 褋懈 褋邪屑芯 写芯泻芯谢泻芯褌芯 械 褋锌芯褋芯斜械薪 写邪 芯褋褗蟹薪邪胁邪 褋械斜械 褋懈.
February 10, 2025
god, what a headache.
November 18, 2013
It is amazing how one, perplexed as it might be by our race, finds everything as plain as the back of his hand after reading this perfectly written book. It might sound like a clich茅, but yes the message of this book is to make us aware of the importance of this overlooked infinitesimal dot on Earth: the individual.
I won't restate every crucial point made by Jung. Nevertheless, I would like to open up my thoughts about all the truths in this book, in brief.
For all what we have, for all the advancements, for all the knowledge we gained, we are the victims of an illusionary world in which we constructed the tyrannical ideas that would, for now and ever, take full control of us depriving us of our basic human right: self-knowledge
As populations grow, needs also increase. We begin squeezing our minds trying to find solutions to complex situations. As a result, we get advancements in technology, sciences, and economics that would aid us in taking on our voyage on Earth until human civilization is annihilated. However, as everything external grows and the need for professional aptness increases, our inner man, our unconscious, is shrouded by a dark, metallic veil. Self-discovery becomes obsolete and power is rendered the domain. We, as a result, succumb to the race's, or the mass as Jung prefers to name, demands which we aren't aware of the source form which they arose. Whether these demands are collective forces of the society or just contagious desires isn't really the case here; both ways lead to the tyranny that deprives the human being from self-discovery obscuring his desires and inclinations. Thus, we find our instincts faded and our personalities shaped to fit our society. Unfortunately, this process of corrosion leads to the rise of arbitrary political power and the neglect of the human soul.
Another disadvantage of this phenomenon is the obscurity in which it places religion. To make advancements we need to employ methods that are basically built on reason; however, as Jung said, reason alone does not suffice. The predominance of reason in our worldly life easily permeates through other "extra-mundane" issues. We give religion a look of suspicion trying to rationalize every aspect of it which is what the atheist does to become an atheist. The truth in this, however, is that we have to accept that some things transcend human-knowledge and that the core of religion, any religion, can contain mythological aspects that we can't work out. Rather than giving up on religion, which gives us inner power awakening the unconscious and giving the individual a golden ticket to his inner soul, we are supposed to hold tight to it.
After all, it is we who construct or destruct ourselves by will. We are capable of inspiring the unconscious guaranteeing ourselves the opportunity of change and are as capable of suppressing it by submerging in the "mass" until we break down with dissociation. It's all fifty-fifty inside us: evilness and kindness, happiness and sadness, not to mention other features. However, we have to choose which part of us we want to invest in. To do this, we need to know who we are.
I won't restate every crucial point made by Jung. Nevertheless, I would like to open up my thoughts about all the truths in this book, in brief.
For all what we have, for all the advancements, for all the knowledge we gained, we are the victims of an illusionary world in which we constructed the tyrannical ideas that would, for now and ever, take full control of us depriving us of our basic human right: self-knowledge
As populations grow, needs also increase. We begin squeezing our minds trying to find solutions to complex situations. As a result, we get advancements in technology, sciences, and economics that would aid us in taking on our voyage on Earth until human civilization is annihilated. However, as everything external grows and the need for professional aptness increases, our inner man, our unconscious, is shrouded by a dark, metallic veil. Self-discovery becomes obsolete and power is rendered the domain. We, as a result, succumb to the race's, or the mass as Jung prefers to name, demands which we aren't aware of the source form which they arose. Whether these demands are collective forces of the society or just contagious desires isn't really the case here; both ways lead to the tyranny that deprives the human being from self-discovery obscuring his desires and inclinations. Thus, we find our instincts faded and our personalities shaped to fit our society. Unfortunately, this process of corrosion leads to the rise of arbitrary political power and the neglect of the human soul.
Another disadvantage of this phenomenon is the obscurity in which it places religion. To make advancements we need to employ methods that are basically built on reason; however, as Jung said, reason alone does not suffice. The predominance of reason in our worldly life easily permeates through other "extra-mundane" issues. We give religion a look of suspicion trying to rationalize every aspect of it which is what the atheist does to become an atheist. The truth in this, however, is that we have to accept that some things transcend human-knowledge and that the core of religion, any religion, can contain mythological aspects that we can't work out. Rather than giving up on religion, which gives us inner power awakening the unconscious and giving the individual a golden ticket to his inner soul, we are supposed to hold tight to it.
After all, it is we who construct or destruct ourselves by will. We are capable of inspiring the unconscious guaranteeing ourselves the opportunity of change and are as capable of suppressing it by submerging in the "mass" until we break down with dissociation. It's all fifty-fifty inside us: evilness and kindness, happiness and sadness, not to mention other features. However, we have to choose which part of us we want to invest in. To do this, we need to know who we are.
July 31, 2021
Years ago, perhaps in college, I bought Jung鈥檚 slim book. What could be more enticing than 鈥淭he Undiscovered Self鈥�? But it was completely incomprehensible to me. It was not until years later, after I had been exposed to psychotherapeutic jargon, that I could make sense of it. It鈥檚 an interesting book, one that makes a sound argument, and can be of use in helping one find one鈥檚 鈥渦ndiscovered self.鈥�
Jung starts off by saying that science, the political system and religious institutions all diminish the individual by operating on the basis of generalities. Science addresses the statistical norm, not the individual. Political systems, whether socialist or capitalist, democratic or totalitarian, operate in terms of the interests of classes of people, not the individual. And religious institutions define themselves in terms of creeds, which lose individual differences. The only alternative to this is respect for individual experience, which Jung sees as the source of novelty and value in the world. Jung describes such individual experience, which is the source of personal meaning, as religious experience (distinct from religious institutions).
To grasp individual experience, as a physician or a therapist might need to do, one needs both knowledge of the general and understanding of the particular. One must understand not only conscious experience, but also the unconscious, those instinctual responses related to sex and survival which have been superseded or suppressed by the conscious mind. The unconscious has a dark or shadow side, from which we dissociate ourselves, and which we project onto others, those we think least like ourselves. To experience our individual selves, instead of acting as social automatons, we need to recognize and process all aspects of ourselves, including the dark impulses we deny.
According to Jung, we will be at a permanent social impasse if we cannot recognize the shadow side of ourselves. Only if we can mobilize the resources of our unconscious to address the stultifying pressures of a mass culture, will we be able overcome our social differences and contribute something new to the world.
Jung鈥檚 book, published in 1957, seems particularly relevant to some contemporary discussions, such as the acknowledgement of the racism that has pervaded American history (and its denial). Though Jung makes reference to the 1956 protests in Hungary and Poland as examples of resistance to state power, his discussion seems applicable to the Trumpian age, in which different segments of society vilify each other. The polarization of society may be resolved by each individual exploring and acknowledging the shadow side of one鈥檚 own self.
Jung starts off by saying that science, the political system and religious institutions all diminish the individual by operating on the basis of generalities. Science addresses the statistical norm, not the individual. Political systems, whether socialist or capitalist, democratic or totalitarian, operate in terms of the interests of classes of people, not the individual. And religious institutions define themselves in terms of creeds, which lose individual differences. The only alternative to this is respect for individual experience, which Jung sees as the source of novelty and value in the world. Jung describes such individual experience, which is the source of personal meaning, as religious experience (distinct from religious institutions).
To grasp individual experience, as a physician or a therapist might need to do, one needs both knowledge of the general and understanding of the particular. One must understand not only conscious experience, but also the unconscious, those instinctual responses related to sex and survival which have been superseded or suppressed by the conscious mind. The unconscious has a dark or shadow side, from which we dissociate ourselves, and which we project onto others, those we think least like ourselves. To experience our individual selves, instead of acting as social automatons, we need to recognize and process all aspects of ourselves, including the dark impulses we deny.
According to Jung, we will be at a permanent social impasse if we cannot recognize the shadow side of ourselves. Only if we can mobilize the resources of our unconscious to address the stultifying pressures of a mass culture, will we be able overcome our social differences and contribute something new to the world.
Jung鈥檚 book, published in 1957, seems particularly relevant to some contemporary discussions, such as the acknowledgement of the racism that has pervaded American history (and its denial). Though Jung makes reference to the 1956 protests in Hungary and Poland as examples of resistance to state power, his discussion seems applicable to the Trumpian age, in which different segments of society vilify each other. The polarization of society may be resolved by each individual exploring and acknowledging the shadow side of one鈥檚 own self.
December 4, 2020
How the human condition plays out psychologically in our world today on a large scale. The battle of ideologies that masquerade as something else, and the evil and good in each system. People have an unwillingness to see the potential for evil in themselves and in their ideas, instead assigning that to the opposition or other people.
There鈥檚 a call here to be as honest with ourselves and the world as we can be. To ride the psychological wave that鈥檚 happening in our century, and continue to strive to be honest and wrestle with truth.
This isn鈥檛 much of a review, more just a collection of rambling ideas I picked out of the pages, but hey, this was my first foray into this subject/genre of psychology. I thought it was fascinating!
There鈥檚 a call here to be as honest with ourselves and the world as we can be. To ride the psychological wave that鈥檚 happening in our century, and continue to strive to be honest and wrestle with truth.
This isn鈥檛 much of a review, more just a collection of rambling ideas I picked out of the pages, but hey, this was my first foray into this subject/genre of psychology. I thought it was fascinating!
June 21, 2011
This book, contained in Volume 10 of The Collected Works of C.G. Jung, was one of the first I read, having found this cheap paperback in a used bookstore. A critique of mass culture, it may be read in reference both to Jung's early estimations of National Socialism in Germany--estimations he later qualified heavily--and to the Cold War which was at its height during the time of composition. Written for the general public (and published in The Atlantic), this essay is a light read and will not serve as an introduction to analytical psychology.
February 6, 2021
Review to follow
March 8, 2022
The subject of the work is the complicated relations between the individual, his instincts and the religion, the society and the state. The unity and the conflict between conscious and the unconscious.
On the origin and significance of modern art:
'(...)modern art: though seeming to deal with aesthetic problems, it is really performing a work of psychological education on the public by breaking down and destroying their previous aesthetic views of what is beautiful in form and meaningful in content. The pleasingness of the artistic product is replaced by chill abstractions of the most subjective nature which brusquely slam the
door on the na茂ve and romantic delight in the senses and their obligatory love for the object. This tells us, in plain and universal language, that the prophetic spirit of art has turned away from the old object relationship and towards the 鈥� for the time being 鈥� dark chaos of subjectivisms. Certainly art, so far as we can judge of it, has not yet discovered in this darkness what it is that holds all men together and could give expression to their psychic wholeness. Since reflection seems
to be needed for this purpose, it may be that such discoveries are reserved for other fields of endeavor.
Great art till now has always derived its fruitfulness from the myth, from the unconscious process of symbolization which continues through the ages and which, as the primordial manifestation of the human spirit, will continue to be the root of all creation in the future. The development of modern art with its seemingly nihilistic trend towards disintegration must be understood as the symptom and symbol of a mood of world destruction and world renewal that has set its mark on our age.'
On the origin and significance of modern art:
'(...)modern art: though seeming to deal with aesthetic problems, it is really performing a work of psychological education on the public by breaking down and destroying their previous aesthetic views of what is beautiful in form and meaningful in content. The pleasingness of the artistic product is replaced by chill abstractions of the most subjective nature which brusquely slam the
door on the na茂ve and romantic delight in the senses and their obligatory love for the object. This tells us, in plain and universal language, that the prophetic spirit of art has turned away from the old object relationship and towards the 鈥� for the time being 鈥� dark chaos of subjectivisms. Certainly art, so far as we can judge of it, has not yet discovered in this darkness what it is that holds all men together and could give expression to their psychic wholeness. Since reflection seems
to be needed for this purpose, it may be that such discoveries are reserved for other fields of endeavor.
Great art till now has always derived its fruitfulness from the myth, from the unconscious process of symbolization which continues through the ages and which, as the primordial manifestation of the human spirit, will continue to be the root of all creation in the future. The development of modern art with its seemingly nihilistic trend towards disintegration must be understood as the symptom and symbol of a mood of world destruction and world renewal that has set its mark on our age.'
November 6, 2023
鈥淩esistance to the organized mass can be effected only by the man who is as well organized in his individuality as the mass itself.鈥�
I went through a period of intense interest in Jung nearly a decade ago, but somehow I never got around to reading one of his most popular and accessible books. Jung wrote The Undiscovered Self in 1957 for a world riven by state totalitarianism, ideological extremism, the self-alienating forces of mass society, a global bifurcation between East and West, and the looming specter of nuclear annihilation. Underlying and connecting these disorienting phenomena, Jung believed, was a diminution of the significance of the individual; a chimerical elision of the irreducible uniqueness of individual experience鈥斺€渁n irrational datum鈥he true and authentic carrier of reality鈥濃€攂y a scientific, rational, statistical discourse that levelled it down into artificial averages and conceptual abstractions. By viewing the human person solely 鈥渇rom the outside in,鈥� as it were, it reduced concrete, unrepeatable individuals to 鈥渁nonymous units鈥� that could be aggregated into ever-larger abstract collectives, the largest of all being the state. Having been stripped of his true individuality, the mass man becomes estranged from himself, and his agency is exercised only vicariously through the state鈥攐r, more properly, through the individual who embodies the collective delusion of the state and manipulates it through a cult of personality.
Standing in opposition to this mass derangement, in Jung鈥檚 view, is religion, which Jung is careful to distinguish from dogma. Dogmatic absolutism is, like state absolutism, an 鈥渋ntramundane affair,鈥� imposing itself on the individual from the outside and demanding full submission and self-alienation. Religion, by Jung鈥檚 definition, is 鈥渄ependence on and submission to the irrational facts of experience鈥he careful observation and taking account of certain invisible and uncontrollable factors,鈥� which are principally psychological in character: the quest to assimilate the unconscious aspects of one鈥檚 own personality, which Jung calls the individuation process. As the 鈥渃ollective mentality鈥� alienates the individual from himself in his subordination to the mass, so the religious impulse estranges him from 鈥渢he world鈥� by compelling his submission to 鈥淕od鈥�*. The individual鈥檚 relationship to God (in the Abrahamic faiths) or his path to liberation (in the dharmic religions) forms the basis of true ethics, as opposed to convention or crude utilitarianism. For Jung, Christianity is particularly unique because its core symbol is the individuation of a single man, which it identifies with the incarnation of God Himself.
The religious instinct, because of its openness to 鈥渞evelation鈥� and its awareness that the conscious ego must share space with realities beyond its control, is the individual鈥檚 lifeline to himself, holding open the possibility of self-realization and, by extension, freedom from the depersonalizing currents of fanaticism and sycophancy. No longer merely one grain of sand weighed against millions, a man with self-knowledge and personal integrity (insofar as he has literally integrated the objective, subconscious aspects of his personality) is the equal of an organized collective. Each is, for all practical purposes, one individual.
The alienation of mass man from his inner self causes him to project the unassimilated contents of the latter onto others. The ego, left to its own devices, arrogantly supposes that there is nothing beyond the purview of its knowledge. As a result, it ascribes the dark aspects of the unconscious to others in order to maintain the illusion of its own perfection. The result is a world of egotistical antagonisms: societies atomized by mutual distrust, coldness, and psychic isolation, which in turn strengthens the vicarious authority of the state; a world perilously divided, in Jung鈥檚 time, between East and West, each of which projected its shadow side onto the other with potentially extinctive consequences for the human race. The solution must be a rediscovery of the 鈥渦ndiscovered self鈥� with all its irrational and heretofore chaotic dimensions. This, in turn, will allow a withdrawal of projections and a modest acknowledgement of one鈥檚 own imperfections, limitations, and inner darkness: a prerequisite for charity, which is the foundation of all true forms of relationship:
Perhaps a useful prescription for our own time, which, though different from Jung鈥檚 in certain ways, suffers from its own iterations of hivemindedness, superficiality, and egotistical brutality.
*Jung does not take a stance on the truth claims of religion per se, but ascribes significance to religion on the basis that religious experiences are, by nature, internal and psychological, manifesting themselves from the unconscious.
I went through a period of intense interest in Jung nearly a decade ago, but somehow I never got around to reading one of his most popular and accessible books. Jung wrote The Undiscovered Self in 1957 for a world riven by state totalitarianism, ideological extremism, the self-alienating forces of mass society, a global bifurcation between East and West, and the looming specter of nuclear annihilation. Underlying and connecting these disorienting phenomena, Jung believed, was a diminution of the significance of the individual; a chimerical elision of the irreducible uniqueness of individual experience鈥斺€渁n irrational datum鈥he true and authentic carrier of reality鈥濃€攂y a scientific, rational, statistical discourse that levelled it down into artificial averages and conceptual abstractions. By viewing the human person solely 鈥渇rom the outside in,鈥� as it were, it reduced concrete, unrepeatable individuals to 鈥渁nonymous units鈥� that could be aggregated into ever-larger abstract collectives, the largest of all being the state. Having been stripped of his true individuality, the mass man becomes estranged from himself, and his agency is exercised only vicariously through the state鈥攐r, more properly, through the individual who embodies the collective delusion of the state and manipulates it through a cult of personality.
Standing in opposition to this mass derangement, in Jung鈥檚 view, is religion, which Jung is careful to distinguish from dogma. Dogmatic absolutism is, like state absolutism, an 鈥渋ntramundane affair,鈥� imposing itself on the individual from the outside and demanding full submission and self-alienation. Religion, by Jung鈥檚 definition, is 鈥渄ependence on and submission to the irrational facts of experience鈥he careful observation and taking account of certain invisible and uncontrollable factors,鈥� which are principally psychological in character: the quest to assimilate the unconscious aspects of one鈥檚 own personality, which Jung calls the individuation process. As the 鈥渃ollective mentality鈥� alienates the individual from himself in his subordination to the mass, so the religious impulse estranges him from 鈥渢he world鈥� by compelling his submission to 鈥淕od鈥�*. The individual鈥檚 relationship to God (in the Abrahamic faiths) or his path to liberation (in the dharmic religions) forms the basis of true ethics, as opposed to convention or crude utilitarianism. For Jung, Christianity is particularly unique because its core symbol is the individuation of a single man, which it identifies with the incarnation of God Himself.
The religious instinct, because of its openness to 鈥渞evelation鈥� and its awareness that the conscious ego must share space with realities beyond its control, is the individual鈥檚 lifeline to himself, holding open the possibility of self-realization and, by extension, freedom from the depersonalizing currents of fanaticism and sycophancy. No longer merely one grain of sand weighed against millions, a man with self-knowledge and personal integrity (insofar as he has literally integrated the objective, subconscious aspects of his personality) is the equal of an organized collective. Each is, for all practical purposes, one individual.
The alienation of mass man from his inner self causes him to project the unassimilated contents of the latter onto others. The ego, left to its own devices, arrogantly supposes that there is nothing beyond the purview of its knowledge. As a result, it ascribes the dark aspects of the unconscious to others in order to maintain the illusion of its own perfection. The result is a world of egotistical antagonisms: societies atomized by mutual distrust, coldness, and psychic isolation, which in turn strengthens the vicarious authority of the state; a world perilously divided, in Jung鈥檚 time, between East and West, each of which projected its shadow side onto the other with potentially extinctive consequences for the human race. The solution must be a rediscovery of the 鈥渦ndiscovered self鈥� with all its irrational and heretofore chaotic dimensions. This, in turn, will allow a withdrawal of projections and a modest acknowledgement of one鈥檚 own imperfections, limitations, and inner darkness: a prerequisite for charity, which is the foundation of all true forms of relationship:
鈥淩ecognition of the shadow鈥eads to the modesty we need in order to acknowledge imperfection. And it is just this conscious recognition and consideration that are needed wherever a human relationship is to be established. A human relationship is not based on differentiation and perfection, for these only emphasize the differences or call forth the exact opposite; it is based, rather, on imperfection, on what is weak, helpless and in need of support 鈥� the very ground and motive of dependence. The perfect has no need of the other, but weakness has, for it seeks support and does not confront its partner with anything that might force him into an inferior position and even humiliate him.鈥�
鈥淸The] free society needs a bond of an affective nature, a principle of a kind like caritas, the Christian love of your neighbor. But it is just this love for one鈥檚 fellow man that suffers most of all from the lack of understanding wrought by projection. It would therefore be very much in the interest of the free society to give some thought to the question of human relationship from the psychological point of view, for in this resides its real cohesion and consequently its strength. Where love stops, power begins, and violence, and terror.鈥�
Perhaps a useful prescription for our own time, which, though different from Jung鈥檚 in certain ways, suffers from its own iterations of hivemindedness, superficiality, and egotistical brutality.
*Jung does not take a stance on the truth claims of religion per se, but ascribes significance to religion on the basis that religious experiences are, by nature, internal and psychological, manifesting themselves from the unconscious.
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