Modern Man in Search of a Soul

Abstract

THIS is a translation of a collection of eleven essays, of which ten were originally given as lectures, by Dr. C. G. Jung. They cover various not very closely related topics, to which a certain coherence is given by the general outlook of the analytical psychology of the author. With the exception of three, they are critical of the psychoanalytic views of Freud. The general purport of the book is given in the translator's preface, and. may be summarised thus. We are on the verge of a spiritual rebirth. Some look in hope towards a renaissance of revealed religion. Others, rejecting institutional religion altogether, look to science for a new enlightenment of reason. The middle position is that of those who have outgrown the churches, yet feel that “a religious attitude to life is as essential to them as a belief in the authenticity of science”. To such Jung's teaching will appeal, as “synthesising his knowledge of the soul, gained in his many years of practice as psychiatrist and analyst, into a fund of information available and applicable to everyone”. It will be seen that the book moves largely on philosophical lines.