The Red Book and Jung's Typology

Abstract

Jung's writings in The Red Book challenge us to revisit his psychological works and find deeper meaning in them. For instance, his exposition of typology can more clearly be appreciated, not as simply attempting to identify what type each of us might be, but as a means through which we might find, engage, and embrace the unknown aspects of ourselves and where life might still be lived. Jung's typology, as expressed in The Red Book and key chapters of Psychological Types, seeks a way to reconcile the irreconcilable and recognize the less developed parts of ourselves. In Psychological Types, Jung tracks the roots of typological opposition occurring throughout Western history and why these issues continue to confound our own age. Jung's writing in typology is a challenge to embrace the less heroic aspects of ourselves and others so that we might more authentically touch divinity and nurture the core of our humanity as well.