Carl Jung

Who was Carl Jung?

Swiss psychiatrist

When did Jung live?

1875-1961

What was the relationship between Freud and Jung?

They were friends for about 6 years before their relationship broke down and Jung wanted to develop his own ideas

What was a key element of Freud's ideas that Jung challenged?

He thought that Freud overembphasised the importance of sexual urges in the formation of the unconscious

What did Jung believe were the layers of the psyche?

- The consciousness (ego)
- The personal unconscious (contains repressed memories and social conditioning)
- The collective unconscious (shared by all humanity, containing archetypes that shape our understanding of the world)

Whose ideas did Jung use some of when developing his idea of the collective unconscuous? What were these? Which book were they written in?

Immanuel Kant
Phenomena are only understandable because our minds impose meaning on them
Critique of Pure Reason, 1781

What is the term that means that we are born as a 'blank slate'? (something that Jung disagreed with)

tabula rasa

Why did Jung come to the conclusion of the collective unconscious?

- People had similar dreams
- People with mental health problems have similar hallucinations
- Myths from around the world have common themes

What are archetypes?

the forms or images that we use to understand the world

What are some examples of character types Jung gives?

The Mother, the Child-god, the Hero

What is a similar idea to Jung's archetypes?

Platonic Forms (universal ideas that people are aware of before birth)

Which five archetypes did Jung focus on?

- The Persona (pretend personality for society)
- The Shadow (the repressed side of our personalities)
- The Anima and Animus (the aspect of the psyche with characteristics of the opposite sex)
- The Self (balances the conscious and unconscious and is similar to the 'soul')

What is Jung's understanding of God?

A manifestation of the deepest levels of our collective unconscious

Who compares Jung's position on God to Kant's? In what book? What was Kant's position?

Michael Palmer
Freud and Jung on Religion, 1997
We have to assume God exists to account for our moral nature

What was Jung's stance on the existence of God outside the psyche?

The psyche could not 'leap beyond itself' to establish whether there was an objective truth to God

What did Jung refer to the Self as?

The God within us

What religious practice did Jung believe was particularly beneficial?

The Self

What does encountering the Self in the unconscious feel like according to Jung?

A religious experience

What is individuation?

A thought process in which people bring together different elements of their inner world

What does religious belief help us with according to Jung? How?

Individuation
- helps people understand their shared humanity
- images and symbols help recognise the Self
- practices such as meditation and reflection work in a similar way to psychotherapy

What is religion a source of according to Jung?

Comfort

What did Jung find among his patients with no religion?

Mental disorders were more common

Which American psychologist criticised Jung for rushing to conclusions?

Gardner Murphy

Why is there a problem with Jung basing his theories on dreams and folk talea?

They're not suited to scientific experimentation

How could Jung's collective unconscious theory be challenged?

There are other explanations for simialrities between cultural images: the human experience is often similar despite cultural differences

What was Jung's view criticised as?

Reduccionist