Carl Gustav Jung Essay, Research Paper

Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and

founder of the school of analytical psychology. He

proposed and developed the concepts of the

extroverted and introverted personality,

archetypes, and the collective unconscious. The

issues that he dealt with arose from his personal

experiences. For many years Jung felt as if he had

two separate personalities. One introverted while

the other was extroverted. This interplay results in

his study of integration and wholeness. His work

has been influential not only in psychology, but in

religion and literature as well. Jung was born on

July 26, 1875 in Kesswil, Switzerland, the only

son of a Protestant clergyman. At the age of four

his family moved to Basel. His childhood was a

lonely one. Jung observed his parents and teachers

and tried to understand their behavior, especially

that of his father. The elder Jung had a failing belief

in religion. Jung could never understand why.

There were numerous relatives on either side of his

family that were clergymen. It was expected of

Jung to continue in the family tradition. Jung did

not decide to follow, instead choosing to attend

the University of Basel from 1895-1900. Before

deciding on medicine Jung studied biology,

zoology, paleontology, and archaeology. His

explorations did not stop with that, he looked at

philosophy, mythology, early Christian literature as

well as religion. His interest in religion could be

attributed to his heritage and watching the demise

of his father. After leaving Basel, Jung became an

assistant physician at Burgholzli Psychiatric clinic

under Eugen Bleuler. In 1902 he obtained his

M.D. from the University of Zurich. His

dissertation was entitled "On the Psychology and

Pathology of So -Called Occult Phenomena".

Through this work one of his basic concepts is

outlined, the underlying wholeness of the psyche.

Jung’s first research was conducted in 1904. He

studied word association in patients. He found

groups of repressed psychic content for which he

invented the now famous word "complex." This

study brought him close to the work of Sigmund

Freud. Jung’s work confirmed many of Freud’s

ideas. Between 1907 and 1912 he and Freud

worked very close. Many believed that Jung

would continue Freud’s psychoanalysis, but this

did not occur. For temperamental and differences

over the significance of sexuality in human life the

two split. Jung contested Freud’s analytic

principles, which he claimed were one-sided,

overly-concrete, and personalistic. When Jung

published "Psychology and the Unconscious"

which went against some of Freud’s ideas the

relationship was finished forever. In 1912

"Symbols and Transformations of the Libido" was

published. Jung wanted to understand the

symbolic meaning of the contents of the

unconscious. In order to distinguish between

individual psychology and psychoanalysis Jung

gave his discipline the name "analytical

psychology." After a break with the start of WWI,

Jung wrote the book "Psychological Types". It set

the differences between his position and that of

Freud. Jung became more interested in the study

of mythological and religious symbolism. His

studies took him across the globe observing many

different cultures. He was interested in tracing the

analogies between the contents of the unconscious

in Western man and the myths, cults, and rituals of

primitive peoples. Jungian therapy deals with

dreams and fantasies. A discussion is set up

between the conscious and the contents of the

unconscious. When the therapy works the patient

enters an individuation process. This consists of

psychological transformations ending in the

opposite tendencies working together to achieve

personal wholeness. Jung’s total amount of work is

very large. It is estimated at 200 papers. An

edition of his Collected Works in English was

completed in 1972 by the Bollingen Foundation in

New York and Routledge and Kegan Paul in

London. Theory of Symbols Jung believed that

symbol creation was a key in understanding human

nature. Symbol, as defined by Jung, is the best

possible expression for something essentially

unknown. He wanted to investigate the symbols

that are located in different religious, mythological,

and magical systems occur in many cultures and

time periods. To account for these similar symbols

occurring across different cultures and time

periods he suggested the existence of two layers

of the unconscious psyche. The first of the two

layers was the personal unconscious. It contains

what the individual has acquired in his or her life,

but has been forgotten or repressed. While the

collective unconscious is the memory traces

common to all humankind. These experiences

form archetypes. These are innate predispositions

to experience and symbolize certain situations in a

distinct way. There are many archetypes such as

having parents, finding a mate, having children, and

confronting death. Very complex archetypes are

found in all mythological and religious systems.

Near the end of his life Jung added that the

deepest layers of the unconscious function

independently of the laws of space, time and

causality. This is what gives rise to paranormal

phenomena. The introvert and the extrovert are

the main components of personality according to

Jung. The introvert is quiet, withdrawn and

interested in ideas rather than people. While the

extrovert is outgoing and socially oriented. For

Jung a person that had a healthy personality can

realize these opposite tendencies with in ourselves

and can express each. The purpose for dreams is

to compensate for any neglected parts of the

personality. Time Line of Jung’s Life 1875 Born in

Kesswil, Switzerland 1879 Moved to Basel 1895

Student at University of Basel 1900 Graduated

from Basel 1900 Assistant physician under Eugen

Bleuler 1902 Obtained M.D. from University of

Zurich 1902 Went to Paris and heard Pierre Janet

1902 Went to London 1903 Married Emma

Rauschenbach 1904 Research in Word

Association 1905 Started lecturing at Zurich 1907

First meeting with Sigmund Freud 1909 Gave up

work at Burgholzi 1911 Lectured in the United

States with Freud 1911 Elected president of the

"International Psychoanalytic Society" 1912

Publication of "Psychology of the Unconscious"

1912 Split with Freud 1913 Gave up lectureship

at Zurich 1914 Resigned from the "International

Psychoanalytic Society" 1920 Went to Tunis and

Algiers 1921 Publication of "Psychological Types"

1924 Studied Pueblo Indians 1926 Studied the

inhabitants of Mount Elgon in Kenya 1933

Professor of Psychology at the Federal

Polytechnical University of Zurich 1933 Edited the

"Central Journal for Psychotherapy and Related

Fields" 1935 President of the Swiss Society for

Practical Psychology 1937 Visited India 1939

Finished editing the "Central Journal for

Psychotherapy and Related Fields" 1941 Retired

from The Federal Polytechnical University of

Zurich 1943 Professor of Medical Psychology at

the University of Basel 1961 Died in Kusnacht, on

Lake Zurich