Carl Gustav Jung was one of the pioneers of psychology, associated at least for a time with Sigmund Freud
and lionised by the counterculture in the 1960's for his willingness to consider unorthodox theories and subjects shunned by most psychologists.
He was also criticised in later years for abandoning psychotherapy for esoteric researches that many thought became more of a type of mysticism than a practical therapy.
There may be a grain of truth in this, although Jung's researches into alchemy and other subjects did yield some insights, such as his theory of Individuation exemplified by the Tibetan Mandala as a symbol of psychic wholeness and maturity.
Jung had significant experience in mental asylums with serious cases and this made him quite a successful therapist in the late 19th century. He was seen as having his own mystique apart from Freud and as the number two guy for awhile in the Psychanalytic movement or as some put it Jung was the "Crown Prince" to Freud's King.
Carl Jung was especially valued by Freud as the latter did not want to be head of a purely Jewish club (all the other prominent psychanalysts were Jews!). Like almost everyone else Jung eventually broke with Freud and went his own way.
Freud by then had become obsessed with being the authority figure in Psychoanalysis which stifled other's ideas and drove many to give up and do their own thing. Alfred Adler, Wilhelm Reich and to some extent Fritz Perls are good examples of this phenomenon.
Jung is especially associated with Dreams and he developed many of the techniques for working with dreams and their symbols in psychotherapy. He worked upon the imagery in dreams partly from an anthropological viewpoint and developed the idea that there are Archetypes in the human psyche which recur again and again in art and in dreams.
This was part of his theory of the Collective Unconscious or a deeper layer of the human psyche which often uses timeless images to point the way forward in life. The Anima and the Animus are well known examples of these psychic archetypes
as are the Wise Old Man as a symbol of the Self and many others. Various gods and goddesses around the world are
likely to be similar collective archetypes.
Jung's views on the process of Individuation are also interesting, with the psyche or Self gradually tending to complete itself in life with various emphases on different skills and concerns.
The Mandala he thought was a good example of this process,
and Jung became an expert on world history and especially the psychological meaning of it's symbols. Jung incorporated art therapy of various sorts into his psychotherapy.
Jung saw the historical Alchemists as really seeking personal Individuation or psychic fulfillment, and only using the idea of transmuting base metal into gold as a smokescreen for their true aims, to confuse the general ignorant population and the persecuting authorities in various epochs.
Another idea by Jung was that of Synchronicity or the coincidence of events which are not really just coincidence.
Although I forget the ins and outs of it after so many years
since I read it, I do remember his logical and inventive methods in dealing with such questions.
This willingness to step outside the normal dry safety of the average academic world gained Jung a big reputation in the post second world war period with the younger generation, who saw him as a sort of ally against the establishment and the deadening concrete world of Capitalism. Of course by that time he was an old man although still willing to give people the benefit of his wisdom on many subjects.
Another idea was that of a possible afterlife, which is usually
derided by the academic world. In this respect he was willing to entertain the possibility that we go to some other world or dimension after death where we meet everyone again and update them as to what has been learnt since they died. Possibly this world is outside Time and Space and exists as images much as dreams use an eidetic or picture language to express themselves.
This is the sort of idea which many spiritual movements espouse as fact, and although Jung did not say it was definitely true he was willing to say it might be true. Such ideas went further than most academics are willing to go at least in print!
In other words Jung tried his best to keep an open mind and look at all possibilities and evidence and in this way was actually more scientific than the majority of academics who only allow the very orthodox views to be considered.
Jung's collected works are available in most university libraries
(a big number of weighty tomes) and various lighter popular books such as Dreams and their Symbols can give you a fair summary of much of his work.
Carl Gustav Jung was a pioneer in psychology and developed many useful techniques, although especially for younger people his therapeutic methods are less useful and appropriate I feel than those of Wilhelm Reich (bio-energetic therapy) and to a lesser extent the Gestalt Therapy of Fritz Perls.
and lionised by the counterculture in the 1960's for his willingness to consider unorthodox theories and subjects shunned by most psychologists.
He was also criticised in later years for abandoning psychotherapy for esoteric researches that many thought became more of a type of mysticism than a practical therapy.
There may be a grain of truth in this, although Jung's researches into alchemy and other subjects did yield some insights, such as his theory of Individuation exemplified by the Tibetan Mandala as a symbol of psychic wholeness and maturity.
Jung had significant experience in mental asylums with serious cases and this made him quite a successful therapist in the late 19th century. He was seen as having his own mystique apart from Freud and as the number two guy for awhile in the Psychanalytic movement or as some put it Jung was the "Crown Prince" to Freud's King.
Carl Jung was especially valued by Freud as the latter did not want to be head of a purely Jewish club (all the other prominent psychanalysts were Jews!). Like almost everyone else Jung eventually broke with Freud and went his own way.
Freud by then had become obsessed with being the authority figure in Psychoanalysis which stifled other's ideas and drove many to give up and do their own thing. Alfred Adler, Wilhelm Reich and to some extent Fritz Perls are good examples of this phenomenon.
Jung is especially associated with Dreams and he developed many of the techniques for working with dreams and their symbols in psychotherapy. He worked upon the imagery in dreams partly from an anthropological viewpoint and developed the idea that there are Archetypes in the human psyche which recur again and again in art and in dreams.
This was part of his theory of the Collective Unconscious or a deeper layer of the human psyche which often uses timeless images to point the way forward in life. The Anima and the Animus are well known examples of these psychic archetypes
as are the Wise Old Man as a symbol of the Self and many others. Various gods and goddesses around the world are
likely to be similar collective archetypes.
Jung's views on the process of Individuation are also interesting, with the psyche or Self gradually tending to complete itself in life with various emphases on different skills and concerns.
The Mandala he thought was a good example of this process,
and Jung became an expert on world history and especially the psychological meaning of it's symbols. Jung incorporated art therapy of various sorts into his psychotherapy.
Jung saw the historical Alchemists as really seeking personal Individuation or psychic fulfillment, and only using the idea of transmuting base metal into gold as a smokescreen for their true aims, to confuse the general ignorant population and the persecuting authorities in various epochs.
Another idea by Jung was that of Synchronicity or the coincidence of events which are not really just coincidence.
Although I forget the ins and outs of it after so many years
since I read it, I do remember his logical and inventive methods in dealing with such questions.
This willingness to step outside the normal dry safety of the average academic world gained Jung a big reputation in the post second world war period with the younger generation, who saw him as a sort of ally against the establishment and the deadening concrete world of Capitalism. Of course by that time he was an old man although still willing to give people the benefit of his wisdom on many subjects.
Another idea was that of a possible afterlife, which is usually
derided by the academic world. In this respect he was willing to entertain the possibility that we go to some other world or dimension after death where we meet everyone again and update them as to what has been learnt since they died. Possibly this world is outside Time and Space and exists as images much as dreams use an eidetic or picture language to express themselves.
This is the sort of idea which many spiritual movements espouse as fact, and although Jung did not say it was definitely true he was willing to say it might be true. Such ideas went further than most academics are willing to go at least in print!
In other words Jung tried his best to keep an open mind and look at all possibilities and evidence and in this way was actually more scientific than the majority of academics who only allow the very orthodox views to be considered.
Jung's collected works are available in most university libraries
(a big number of weighty tomes) and various lighter popular books such as Dreams and their Symbols can give you a fair summary of much of his work.
Carl Gustav Jung was a pioneer in psychology and developed many useful techniques, although especially for younger people his therapeutic methods are less useful and appropriate I feel than those of Wilhelm Reich (bio-energetic therapy) and to a lesser extent the Gestalt Therapy of Fritz Perls.