Jung was an analytical psychologist who worked extensively on human personality, especially in the unconscious and spiritual aspects, the archetypes of the collective unconscious, and the terms 'introvert' and 'extrovert.' He is famous for Memories, Dreams, Reflections.
Carl Gustav Jung (July 26, 1875-June 6, 1961) was a Swiss analytical psychologist, and regarded the founder of analytical psychology. He cautioned that modern people rely heavily on science and logic and emphasized the importance of balance and the benefit of integrating spirituality and appreciation of unconscious realms.
Carl Jung Apart from Sigmund Freud
Jung was a student and a friend of Sigmund Freud, before he broke off in 1913 as he went on to outline a theory very different from Freud's materialistic psychoanalysis. Jung's works are numerous, but his most popular are Man and his symbols, and the autobiographical Memories, Dreams, Reflections.
Unlike Freud, Jung divided the psyche into three interacting separate parts: the consciousness (the ego), the personal unconscious and the collective unconscious. He emphasized the understanding of the psyche by exploring dreams, mythology and religion.
His experiences with Freud, interjected with ideas from mythology, religion and philosophy, led him to posit an unconscious that revealed itself in symbolic form through dreams, mysticism and religion. The Jungian notion refers to an unconscious, inherited part of the mind common to humankind.
Jung's Collective Unconscious, the Archetype
The key to Jung's idea of a collective unconscious lies in the notion of an 'archetype.' He claimed that the collective unconscious determines that our experience is conceived according to 'archetypes,' certain organizing principles. He outlined some of the most powerful archetypes that shape our lives and account for our behaviour.
Jung's 'mother' archetype amounts to more than just the common or ordinary biological relation that we all bear to a mother. What is significant is that we all expect something or someone in our lives to fulfill the role of nurturing us and providing us with comfort in times of need. His theory comes into play in psychotherapy when revealing the patterns of behavior people exhibit, for example, when the biological mother does not fulfil the archetypal role.
Jung's Personality Types: Introvert and Extrovert
Jung distinguished between a number of personality types. He invented the terms 'introvert' and 'extrovert' to describe two of the most basic. Although these have been synonymous with shyness or with exhibitionism, Jung claimed that introverted personalities were those whose 'ego' was turned more towards the internal and unconscious, whereas extroverts were oriented more towards outer reality and external activity.
Significance of Jung's Philosophy
According to Jung, the self is the master archetype, in which we structure our whole lives, and that the self is in a constant process of development which became fully realized when all personality aspects are equally expressed. Therefore, to be overly introvert or overly extrovert represents an immaturity in development. However, in normal development, as we grow older we tend to balance out the different aspects of our personality, and ultimately, the self is fully realized when we die.
Critics on Jung's Psychology
Critics have found Jung's psychology overly mystical and unscientific in some parts, since the emphasis, as with Freud Theory, is on subjective interpretation that lacks in empirical warrant. Despite criticism, Jung's ideas have been enormously popular. Jungian psychology has led to the development of highly accurate personality profiling, such as the Myers-Briggs Type indicator, and has contributed to the development of psychometric testing, the use of which is widespread in human resources departments for assessing the suitability of job employment.
Recommended Readings by Carl Jung
- Symbols of Transformation, 1911
- Psychology and Alchemy, 1944
- Memories, Dreams, Reflections, 1961
- Man and his Symbols, 1964
Sources:
Biographical Dictionary, edited by Una Mcgovern, Chambers, 2002
Philosophy, the Great Thinkers by Philip Stokes, Capella, 2007
Philosophy by Dr. Jeremy Stangroom, ABC Books, 2006
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