Jung's Concept Research Articles

Affirming the Contradiction: Jungian Aesthetics, Reification, and the Shadow

This paper explores the problem of reification as manifested in the fields of art and depth psychology. By considering C. G. Jung's interpretive strategy and contrasting this with the archetypal tradition's focus on image, the author seeks to outline and expand upon some of the theoretical tensions thus implied. It is suggested that the notion of reification is directly related to Jung's concept of the shadow, and that the minimizing of ego dynamics within the archetypal tradition may expose certain aspects of this approach to question.

How Becoming Is the Divine Self

Following process thought the reader will not “abstract” from this article, but will instead read concrete words, sentences, and thoughts while sensing feelings, as they evoke in him or her their own reflections, images, and daydreamings. These ongoing imagings may circumambulate around one, yet dominant, emphasis: Jung's concept of the Self—a capital “S” with its classical emphasis on God's omnipotence. It is argued that Jung's Calvinistic Reformation background and assumptions about the image of God influenced his concept of the Self. The reader is invited to explore how that focus in Jungian thought and practice might be re-visioned from the perspective of process philosophy and theology, which would allow the reader to approach Jungian thought differently.

Analytical Psychology, Indian Healing Traditions, and the Emerging Frontiers of Neuroscience

One of C. G. Jung's seminal concepts is the union of the opposites, a process that leads to a higher coniunctio. I propose that when we alchemically dissolve numerous frames and perspectives dealing with a similar issue, we may dissolve these similarities to constellate a unique synthesis and a deeper understanding of the issue. In this article, I blend the Indian healing traditions, allopathic psychiatry, and analytical psychology with the emerging research in neuroscience. I consider the emerging research in the triune brain, microchimerism, junk DNA, mirror neurons, and the neuroplastic impact of purposefulness, resilience, and the healing image. Some of the possible theoretical and clinical implications of these neuroscientific frontiers are explored in a preliminary manner.

The cultural significance of synchronicity for Jung and Pauli

This paper considers the cultural significance of C.G. Jung's concept of synchronicity, as this was envisaged both by Jung himself and by the physicist Wolfgang Pauli, Jung's most important discussant in developing the concept. For both thinkers the principle of synchronicity was, above all, an attempt to develop an expanded, more holistic understanding of science. The paper argues, however, that their motives for proposing this development were not just, as might be expected, scientific, philosophical, and psychological (including personal), but also historical, social, political, and religious, and involved consideration of esoteric as well as mainstream currents of thought.

Performance and Persona: Goffman and Jung's approaches to professional identity applied to public relations

Public relations work involves shaping, reflecting and communicating identity for organisations and individuals, and is in turn shaped by the professional identity both of the field and individual public relations practitioners. This paper explores these issues from the dual perspectives of sociologist Erving Goffman's (1922–1982) reflections on the performance of work and Carl Jung's (1875–1961) concept of Persona, the socially acceptable face of the individual or group. The former explores these issues through observation of external behaviours, the latter by engaging with the psyche. Goffman and Jung, despite their conflicting worldviews, offer a complementary understanding of the operation, internal and external, of professional identity.The paper, which is conceptual and interpretive, with the objective of building theory, summarises contemporary approaches to professional identity in public relations and other fields, before introducing Goffman, who is often mentioned in this context, and Jung, who is not. Together these two scholars offer insights into the interior and exterior aspects of identity, which is here applied to public relations, raising questions both about the production of identity as a commodity for others and the production of self-image of public relations practitioners. The introduction of Jungian thinking brings the inward or experiential dimension of professional identity to this debate.

The Visionary Psyche: Jung's Analytical Psychology and Its Impact on Theories of Shamanic Imagery

AbstractThis article considers the shaman's visionary encounters with spirit beings from the critical viewpoint of several innovative theories of shamanism: Richard Noll's cognitive approach and Michael Winkelman's neurophenomenological perspective. These distinct approaches are analyzed in light of Jung's central concepts of the archetypes, the collective unconscious, and the individuation process, which have had a huge formative influence upon the academic investigation of visions and spiritual experiences. The centrality of Jung's theoretical reasoning within these recent studies of shamanism strongly demonstrates the continued importance of his analytical psychology and provides valuable insight into the historical and conceptual development of this expanding field of interest.

Jung's views on causes and treatments of schizophrenia in light of current trends in cognitive neuroscience and psychotherapy research I. Aetiology and phenomenology

Jung's writings on schizophrenia are almost completely ignored or forgotten today. The purpose of this paper, along with a follow-up article, is to review the primary themes found in Jung's writings on schizophrenia, and to assess the validity of his theories about the disorder in light of our current knowledge base in the fields of psychopathology, cognitive neuroscience and psychotherapy research. In this article, five themes related to the aetiology and phenomenology of schizophrenia from Jung's writings are discussed:1) abaissement du niveau mental; 2) the complex; 3) mandala imagery; 4) constellation of archetypes and 5) psychological versus toxic aetiology. Reviews of the above areas suggest three conclusions. First, in many ways, Jung's ideas on schizophrenia anticipated much current thinking and data about the disorder. Second, with the recent (re)convergence of psychological and biological approaches to understanding and treating schizophrenia, the pioneering ideas of Jung regarding the importance of both factors and their interaction remain a useful and rich, but still underutilized resource. Finally, a more concerted effort to understand and evaluate the validity of Jung's concepts in terms of evidence from neuroscience could lead both to important advances in analytical psychology and to developments in therapeutic approaches that would extend beyond the treatment of schizophrenia.

A Jungian Approach to Analytic Work in the Twenty‐First Century

In Part 1 of this paper the authors summarize those key concepts in Jungian analytic theory which differentiate it from a psychoanalytic approach. To illustrate these perspectives and their application in clinical work, a patient is introduced. The authors elaborate on a particular dream with the proposition that it holds within it both an image of the internal world of the patient's personal psyche and something which might be viewed as archetypal and emerging from the collective unconscious.Part 2 focuses on more recent developments in Jungian analytic thinking. Michael Fordham's important work in extending Jungian theory into an understanding of infant development is summarized and illustrated by a clinical example. This is followed by a brief summary of how contemporary debate within the Jungian analytic community has been much affected by recent developments in areas outside the analytic discourse which have offered both a challenge to and an affirmation of certain Jungian concepts. Examples given are from emergence theory and neuroscience. The Jungian interest in such phenomena stems from a view of the human psyche as rooted in a wider world of matter, culture, history and an unconscious that is not only personal but also collective.

Becoming Beautiful: The Aesthetics of Individuation

How does beauty contribute to the process of individuation? C. G. Jung's articulation of the value of aesthetic expression for psychological development emerged from his personal engagement with the psychological turmoil he suffered when his intimate friendship with Sigmund Freud was severed. He learned to work with and integrate his experiences by giving them creative form. But for Jung, in the progression toward wholeness, beauty is only beneficial to the extent that it aptly captures an inner experience, so that its meaning can then be discerned and morally engaged. Such meaning and moral engagement subordinate and supersede concerns for beauty. In contrast, this article proposes that beauty is essential to the entire process of individuation. By returning to the origins of Western conceptions of truth, goodness, and beauty in the thought of Plato, concerns for truth (meaning) and goodness (morality) are shown to engage the intellect and will respectively, but only beauty moves the heart by awakening love. When beauty is relegated away, so is love. Wholeness then lacks heart and is left incomplete. Beauty completes wholeness. And ultimately, from Plato's perspective, wholeness itself is a form of beauty. So when coupled with Jung's conception of individuation as a process of becoming whole, psychological development can be seen as a process of becoming beautiful. In the end, based on factors related to his estrangement from Freud, Jung may have resisted giving greater prominence to beauty as a way to keep their perspectives distinct.

Normality in analytical psychology.

Although C.G. Jung’s interest in normality wavered throughout his career, it was one of the areas he identified in later life as worthy of further research. He began his career using a definition of normality which would have been the target of Foucault’s criticism, had Foucault chosen to review Jung’s work. However, Jung then evolved his thinking to a standpoint that was more aligned to Foucault’s own. Thereafter, the post Jungian concept of normality has remained relatively undeveloped by comparison with psychoanalysis and mainstream psychology. Jung’s disjecta membra on the subject suggest that, in contemporary analytical psychology, too much focus is placed on the process of individuation to the neglect of applications that consider collective processes. Also, there is potential for useful research and development into the nature of conflict between individuals and societies, and how normal people typically develop in relation to the spectrum between individuation and collectivity.

The ‘Holy Mother’ and the shadow: revisiting Jung's work on the quaternity

Through a series of clinical vignettes, this paper considers the impact of religious belief, specifically Roman Catholicism, on the psyche and development of mind; in particular, there will be a focus on the influences of the conflation of maternal beliefs with a Catholic belief system when the loss or absence of the father is a primary factor. Further, it will be shown in case examples that split off aspects of the personal shadow such as conflicted and aggressive emotions related to mother and father can conflate with the collective numinous and religious aspects of the 'dark side' of the God-representation and result in 'religious' persecutory symptoms. This has a debilitating effect on the emerging personality, leaving it prone to fears, anxieties and psychotic pockets of experience when there is a numinous persecutory shadow in the background that affects and limits the individual's development. The implications and findings drawn from the clinical vignettes are used to consider the impact of an interrelationship and conflation between aspects of the psyche and religious beliefs. Jung's work on the Trinity and the 'problem of the fourth' (Jung 1942/1948/1991) is also reconsidered in relation to the role of the feminine, the maternal and the 'reality of matter'. A diagram of the multiple levels of the quaternity is used to elaborate and expand on Jung's concept.

Are archetypes transmitted or emergent? A response to Christian Roesler

In this paper the author argues that Jung's concept of archetype should not be reduced to an univocal definition. Jung himself proposed many definitions of this concept, some of them being partially or totally contradictory to others. A univocal and logical way of thinking can lead us to refute and reject part of those definitions, but a complex way of thinking, as proposed by Edgar Morin or Roy Bhaskar for example, can allow us to consider that those apparent contradictions in Jung's definitions of archetype reflect the complexity of the psychic reality. The main argument of the author is that Jung was missing the epistemological concept of emergence (which appeared in science at the time of his death) and that he tried to express it with the epistemological concepts of his time.

Análise cinematográfica do filme "O Fantasma da Ópera" segundo a psicologia junguiana

Este trabalho pretende estabelecer um diálogo entre o filme "O Fantasma da Ópera (2004)" de Joel Schumacher, com a aplicação de conceitos junguianos. Buscamos compreender o filme seguindo o modelo interpretativo proposto por Franz, que é utilizado em contos de fada. Aplicamos categorias junguianas à narrativa cinematográfica, sendo a trama principal um exemplo da dificuldade da heroína do filme com o masculino, isso é a consequência dos aspectos não integrados em sua sombra: ou seja, uma identificação feminina que a coloque como mulher e não apenas como filha, menina, puela. Os aspectos não integrados dizem respeito à sua sexualidade feminina, sua anima. O complexo a possui, ele favorece que aspectos de sua feminilidade não sejam integrados ao ego.

Coping resources are transformed by the sequence of adverse life events

The authors of the article subtitled “Depression and ways of coping with stress” emphasize in the discussion of their results that “the dispute is whether the symptoms of depression contribute to the choice of less effective ways to deal with stress or perhaps these strategies are used by the patients before the onset of the diseases and this way become risk factors for the depression” [1]. In our opinion, the distinction between these two possible situations, in a single patient, can be based on: (1) the analysis of the coping resources of a particular person and (2) the analysis of the sequence of adverse events and transformations that lead to the development of the depression. By “coping resources”, Taylor et al mean factors such as optimism, mastery, self-esteem, and social support [2]. Orzechowska et al, the authors of the discussed paper, additionally include Antonovsky’s “sense of coherence”, which means understanding of the world, feeling the meaningfulness of the world, and personal resourcefulness. In our formulation of a structuralized interview, we have proposed adding to these abilities some other, probably inherent, factors like curiosity, friendliness, confident attitude, and accentuated sensuality [3,4]. Sensuality or sexuality with high personal involvement is close to the old Jungian concept of libido [5]. Such favorable traits of personality facilitate the patient’s ability to solve problems. Thoits writes that people “in better mental health through problem-solving efforts and purposeful acts, experience fewer negative controllable events and more positive controllable events in their lives and are able to transform or compensate for stressors that they cannot avoid or eliminate” [6]. It should be noted, however, that these characteristics – inherited or acquired in childhood and establishing the “resistance to stress” (in other words, coping resources) – can effectively protect the individual against adverse, negative events. Therefore, the mental state is largely determined by the aforementioned sequence of adverse events and transformations that led to the development of depression. The consequences of negative events are cumulative. The unfavorable transformation of the mental state gradually develops over a long period of time, eventually exceeding the threshold of “psychological resistance” and causing the depression. We should not overlook that this sequence of adverse, negative events often occurs within the context of mental disorders of the patient’s parents and negative events in the patient’s early childhood, such as death of a parent, the parents’ divorce, loss of other close people (e.g., a grandmother who raised the patient), domestic violence (physical or sexual abuse), alcoholism in the family, criminal behavior of family members, serious illness in childhood, and lack of emotional support in the family (e.g., feeling of rejection or no expressions of love). In adulthood, in turn, such adverse events often occur as problems at school (e.g., dropping out), unwanted pregnancy, breakdown of marriage (separation or divorce), death of a loved one, debt, or unstable financial conditions. The specific trajectory of mental development determines how a patient answers the question: “Have you completely overcome the negative influences that could cause feelings of guilt, resentment, grief, humiliation, loss of dignity, anger, or vengefulness”?

A serious misunderstanding: synchronicity and the generation of meaning

This paper points to the problem caused by the fact that numerous academic 'Jung studies' are conducted on the basis of the English translation of Jung's works without any knowledge of his original texts and illustrates it with the misconstrual that Jung's concept of synchronicity suffered in the studies of many recent authors, as exemplified by two articles in the September 2011 issue of the JAP. The translation of 'sinngemäße Koinzidenz' as 'meaningful coincidence' seduced those writers to take synchronistic 'meaning' as meaning the meaningfulness of life or even as 'transcendent meaning', which is incompatible with Jung's synchronicity concept, and to replace Jung's strictly intellectual project of establishing an explanatory principle for synchronistic events (in addition to the principle of causality for all other events) by the fundamentally different project of focusing on the impact that such events may have for the experiencing subjective mind, on 'human meaning-making', and, with a decidedly anti-intellectual bias, of hoping for 'shifts into non-rational states of mind'.

Monuments of memory: defensive mechanisms of the collective psyche and their manifestation in the memorialization process

The paper searches for insight in the area of collective memory as a part of collective consciousness, a phenomenon understood as a stabilizing factor for a society's self-image and identity. Collective memories are seen as originating from shared communications transmitting and creating the meaning of the past in the form of narrative, symbols and signs. As such, they contain the individual, embodied and lived side of our relations to the past. As well as the identity-building and meaning-making functions of collective memories, their defensive function is discussed with a focus on commemorative practices taking place in a transitional space between psychic and social life. Fears of a lack of collective identity and coherence have contributed to the way Polish commemorative practices have been shaped. This is considered in relation to the Smolensk catastrophe in 2010, viewed in the context of the Jungian concept of the collective psyche and the psychoanalytical understanding of defensive group mechanisms against trauma, especially those relating to loss and mourning. It leads to a consideration of how historical experiences and the experience of history can be accessed, as well as their meaning for individual and group development.

A Jungian Perspective on Global Warming

This article explores the issue of global warming from a Jungian perspective. The scientific consensus is that our warming world is a result of human activity. The effects of continued warming on the planet will be almost unimaginable. Yet, to date, little change in thought or behavior has occurred to address this issue. As such, it is important to explore the deep psychological roots involved with this problem. Jungian psychology provides a unique depth perspective given its views on the structure and dynamics of psyche. Here, the issue of global warming is explored in terms of the Jungian concepts of shadow, complexes, and the archetype of the Self. The process of individuation, whose goal is connecting the ego to the archetype of the Self, is explored as a possible depth psychological approach to addressing global warming. In particular, the concept of holding the tension of opposites between a masculine and feminine view of the global warming issue is emphasized.

Globalization and The Other: Lifeworld(s) on the Brink

This article specifieshow globalizationis not only an economic reality, but isalso a socio-political-psychological and ecological one. It demonstrates how globalization, as an institution created by humans, not only fosters fearand greed among humans, but also decimates non-human animal lifeworlds, and, in doing so, threatens planet Earth itself. The article explores relationship of globalization to Otherness in form of enemy, whether religious, national, ethnic, political, or ecological, latter specifically in form of coral reefs. The exploration highlights fact that if there are endangered species, it is because a dangerous spe- cies exists. Globalization foments an us against them mentality; heightens human competition between groups; and, not surprisingly, draws on what Darwin described as the law of battle, namely, male-male competition. What in a phylogenetic sense originated in service of mating now functions in service of powerand war. Recognition of this socio-political-psychological- ecological reality leads to an inquiry into enemy that is not only outside but also within. Notable descriptions of within are found in Socrates' and Plato's commentaries on nature of humans, in Jung's concept of Shadow, and, strikingly, in observations of David Shulman and Mahmoud Darwish on Israeli-Palestinian conflict and impasse. This investigation of relationship between globalization and Other leads ultimately to realization that, if socio-political-psychological - and ecological - ills are to be treated and cured, then we need to examine Other within. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Western Psychology and Muslim Psychology in Dialogue: Comparisons Between a Qura’nic Theory of Personality and Freud’s and Jung’s Ideas

In this paper, comparisons are made between a newly developed Qura'nic theory of personality and the Freudian and Jungian theories of the mind. Notable similarities were found between the Freudian id, ego, superego and neurosis and the Qura'nic nafs ammarah besoa' (evil-commanding psyche), a'ql (intellect), al-nafs al-lawammah (the reproachful psyche) and al-nafs al-marid'a (the sick psyche), respectively. Noteworthy resemblances were detected also between the Jungian concepts collective unconscious, archetypes, Self and individuation and the Qura'nic constructs roh (spirit), al-asmaa' (the names), qalb (heart), and al-nafs al-mutmainnah (the serene psyche), respectively. These parallels, as well as the departure points, between the models are thoroughly discussed and analyzed. The comparisons performed in this paper open new avenues for dialogue between western models of the psyche and their Muslim counterparts, a dialogue that can enrich both perspectives and advance the field of psychology.

The egg, the vessels and the words.From Izdubar toAnswer to Job1For an imaging thinking

This essay on The Red Book seeks to underscore a characteristic specific to Jung's approach to psychoanalysis. In this book, and more generally, in all of his writings, Jung's thinking is based on his personal experience of the unconscious, in which he leaves himself open to progressive encounters. Some of them, in the years 1913-14 and 1929-30, particularly his meeting with the giant Izdubar, were quite threatening. As a result, he forged an original way of thinking that is qualified here as 'imaging' and 'emergent'. The Red Book served as the first vessel for theories Jung would later express. His way of thinking, with its failures and semi-successes, all of which are always temporary, of course, is compared to the art of the potter. The author shows the kinship between the formation of the main Jungian concepts and the teachings of the French poet, professor, and art critic Yves Bonnefoy. He also considers certain recurrent formal themes in the work of contemporary German painter and sculptor Anselm Kiefer. Lastly, this epistemological study, constantly aware of the demands of Jungian clinical practice, demonstrates the continuity in Jung's work, from The Red Book to Answer to Job, where Jung ultimately elaborated a conception of history that defines our ethical position today.