Introduction
One summer evening in 1948, Carl Jung was conversing with a colleague of Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atom bomb. His guest had worked on the Manhattan Project and Jung was keen to know if atomic weapons could really annihilate humanity. The answer was that they could:
"Jung sat focused, having listened closely to each word, absorbing. Suddenly, he lifted his hands and smote his left palm with his right fist, saying, with some finality, "Good!". Somehow the subject was settled and we never had any further explanation." (1)
Charming. Now we are talking about the same Jung, the inventor of analytic psychology, the mystic, the visionary, the man who many (not least Jung himself) believed had come closer than anyone else in identifying the cosmic landscape that man must successfully navigate in order to become closer to God? Unfortunately, we are. We say unfortunately, because the questionable morality that Jung at times demonstrated, and in particular his shameful flirtation with Nazism, has clouded his considerable achievements in terms of the mapping of individual development, the ideas of the collective unconscious and archetypes, and his contribution to our understanding of the stages of life and how we cope with the inevitability of death.
Jung's morality will be looked at in more detail to help us try to understand and explain why his spiritual beliefs have had such an influence on the New Age movement - in direct opposition to the commonly held view that what he had to say was of more relevance to those in the latter stages of life. Along the way, we shall consider Jung's early spiritual experiences before focusing on his model of the human psyche and how it compares with the models of Freud and Adler. The psyche in relation to older people will be discussed, as will the types of client that Jung typically treated. We will then move on to the stages of life and consider Jung's own experiences, and a part of his controversial past, before ending with what we hope will be an answer as to why, instead of those experiencing the second half of life, his ideas are more relevant and applicable to those of a younger generation.
Early dreams, and their influence on Jung's theory of the psyche
Carl Gustav Jung (1875 -1961) was born into a family steeped in the dual religious influences of Swiss Protestantism and pagan spirituality. His maternal grandfather, Samuel Preiswerk, claimed direct contact with the spirit world, conversing daily with his diseased first wife while his second wife and his daughter (Jung's mother) listened in. Four of Jung's uncles claimed divine revelation and the gift of second sight. His childhood, when he wasn't using churches and graveyards as his playgrounds (or contemplating God raining down holy turds onto pious places of worship) was spent in lonely and melancholic daydream. (2)
Jung says he was only three or four when he had a particular dream that was to pre-occupy him for the rest of his life. In the dream, he falls through a hole in the ground and descends into a large chamber where a giant, obviously phallic, symbol is seated on a golden throne. His mother screams: "man-eater" at the object before Jung awakes in terror. Many years later, he equated his childhood fears of religion (the black Jesus, his mistake in identifying the name Jesus with the then banned Jesuits) with the phallic symbol "They represented a dark creative force in nature", the investigation, of which, Jung pursued throughout his life. (3)
Four years before his famous vision, in 1913, of a monstrous blood-red flood engulfing Europe (foreseeing the onslaught of World War 1) Jung had a less dramatic, yet for the future of analytical psychology, far more important dream. One that was to be crucial in helping him develop his theory of the human psyche. In this dream, he sees himself in a large medieval home. After a few moments aimlessly wandering around, he ventures into a vaulted Gothic room and from there, into an ancient Roman cellar. In the cellar, he lays eyes on a hole in the middle of the floor and peers into its opening. He focuses on a tomb filled with prehistoric pottery, bones and skulls. For Jung, the house represented the psyche, with unconscious additions: The upper floor stood for consciousness and the ground floor for the first level of the unconscious. The cave represented the primitive world. The darkness of the lower levels meant they could rarely be illuminated by consciousness. The dream, he thought, pointed to the foundations of cultural history - a history of successive layers of consciousness:
"My dream constituted a kind of structural diagram of the human psyche; it postulated something of an altogether impersonal nature underlying the psyche. " (4)
Jung recalled this dream twenty-six years later, in 1935, when addressing a somewhat hostile audience of pro-Freud academics at the Tavistock Clinic in London. It was there that he presented his final conclusions in relation to the structure of the human psyche.
The human psyche
Jung had often used diagrams in lectures and sermons. At the Tavistock lectures, he called one of his diagrams the Cross of the Functions, resembling an ancient circular mandala, similar to those used in Eastern meditation. Jung identified the acts of SENSATION (telling you something exists) THINKING (telling you what it is) FEELING (telling you whether it is good or not) and INTUITION (telling you where it has come from and where it is going) as the four functions of the psyche.
Jung's theory divides the psyche into three distinct parts. The first is consciousness, an intermittent phenomenon. Jung, according to Nelson-Jones and others, considered consciousness as a transitory component of the psyche, and therefore "people can only get an awareness of the external world through a succession of conscious moments" (5) At the centre of consciousness is the ego, which has the external task of providing "a system of relationship between consciousness and input from the environment and the internal task of providing a system of relationship between consciousness and unconscious processes" (6)
Closely related is the personal unconscious, which includes anything that is not presently conscious, but could, perhaps, be. The personal unconscious is like most people's understanding of the unconscious in that it includes both memories that are easily brought to mind and those that have been suppressed. Finally, Jung adds the collective unconscious which could be defined as one's "psychic inheritance" It is the reservoir of our experiences as a species, a kind of knowledge that we are all born with, yet can never be directly conscious of. It influences all of our experiences and behaviours, particularly the emotional ones, but we only know about it indirectly, by looking at those influences.
The contents of the collective unconscious are called archetypes. Jung defines archetypal images as those with archaic or primordial characters corresponding to familiar mythological motives. Important archetypes include ANIMA - a man's archetype of a woman, ANIMUS - a woman's archetype of a man, the PERSONA - the "front" that we put on for other people, the SHADOW - representing the things that are unacceptable to other people and are repressed into the personal unconsciousness and the SELF, which is the "archetype of archetypes", encompassing both conscious and unconscious components.
As Jung, ever determined to be thought of and revered as the head of the psychotherapeutic movement, incorporated a number of elements from the psychologies of Sigmund Freud (1856 - 1939) and Alfred Adler (1870 -1937) into his own, it is worth looking at their views on the structure of the psyche. It is not an altogether straightforward exercise. All three often used the same words to describe different processes and sometimes called the same processes different names (7)
Freud theorized that the mind contained three structures: the id, which is the structure of personality that contains sexual and aggressive impulses, some of which are in the unconscious in a similar way to that of Jung's SHADOW archetype, the ego which is the structure of personality that gives the individual the mental powers of judgement, memory, perception and decision making and the superego, the structure of personality that includes the conscience and the ego-ideal - the individual's personal model of all that is exemplary in life, bringing to mind Jung's archetype of the SELF. Alfred Adler argued that human beings strive to overcome early feelings of inferiority through the construction of personal and subjective goals. He stressed the unity of mind, body and spirit and the interaction between individuals and the larger community. Adler's holistic approach to man's journey towards becoming a full individual parallels Jung's individuation theory and quest for spirituality.
Jung was particularly interested in the psyche in relation to older people. He considered individuation, the integration of all aspects of the psyche that enables a person to become whole, indivisible and distinct from all other people or collective psychology, to be of particular relevance. Individuation is a process that enables us to reach the true goal of life:.... the realisation of the self. When we are older, we tend to focus a lot deeper on the self, and as a result become closer to all people, all life and even, as Jung himself suggests, the Universe itself. "Although the self-archetype is present from birth, its influence does not become significant until middle age. Individuation proceeds in life's morning through education and appropriate life experiences. However, a major emphasis on realizing the self through the process of individuation might be viewed more as a task of the afternoon of human life." (8)
Jung's clients
Most of Jung's clients, like Freud's, were women. While Freud's were mostly under forty and generally neurotic, Jung said: "About a third of my cases are not suffering from any clinically~ definable neurosis, but from the senselessness and aimlessness of their lives. I should not object if this were called the general neurosis of our age. Fully two-thirds of my patients are in the second half of life" (9)
Though by no means all, it has to be said that many of Jung's clients were rich, bored, hopelessly spoilt, vain and crying out for all the attention that money can generally facilitate. Most were totally devoted to Jung and felt better when he was instructing them in how to live their lives. They were convinced that he could help them achieve greatness. Many were offsprings of the powerful and the famous. Just to be closer to him, John D Rockerfeller's daughter Edith relocated from New York to Zurich bringing her children, their personal tutor, a physician, governess and private secretary with her. She stayed for almost seven months. On the very few occasions when he did fall out with clients, a fair degree of hostility could be shown towards him. James Joyce's daughter, Lucrezia, despised him: "To think that such a big fat materialistic Swiss man should try to get hold of my soull" (10)
In treating his clients, Jung generally favoured a process called active imagination (as opposed to the free association that Freud advocated) "Clients were encouraged to follow through on imaginative trains of thought in a directed manner, rather than to allow their thoughts to occur to them in a more spontaneous manner associated with free association" (11) They were encouraged to bring to their sessions written accounts of their dreams, and to make comments in relation to their own interpretations. They were asked to make note of Jung's amplifications, which were reflections, or references, of their dreams that might be found in mythological, cultural or religious symbolism.
Most of his clients enjoyed their sessions: "He was quite easy to talk to. There was a good deal of the peasant about him and he could be very direct. But he also had a wonderful sense of humour." (12)
The stages of life: Jung's theories and experiences
Jung believed that life's complete (or ideal) journey comprised of four distinct stages: Childhood (from birth to puberty) Youth (from puberty to 35-40 years) Middle age (35-40 to extreme old age) Extreme old age
In the first two stages, a strong ego is achieved after separation from the mother, from infancy and from childhood and the acquisition of a clear adult identity. Achievements could include an established social position, relationship or marriage, steady employment and perhaps parenthood. In the last two stages the accent tends to shift from dependence in the ego to a relationship with the self; dedication to outer success modified to include a concern for meaning and an appreciation of spiritual values. In the second half of life, the approach of death becomes a reality. Ultimately, what is involved is a degree of self-acceptance to its inevitability.
Jung himself started the second half of life's journey at a crossroads. "If he assumed, from now on, that his patient's objectives should change when the first half of their life was behind them, it was partly because his own life had changed" (13) By his fortieth birthday, he had achieved fame, power, wealth, knowledge and the best of human fortune. Yet he was disturbed. "He no longer wanted more of these "good things". He had had enough" (14) By this stage in his life, Jung had pretty much evolved all his original ideas and, with the exception of his model of the psyche, which still needed some fine-tuning, they underwent little significant change thereafter. Though Jung went on reading alchemical and theological books - and rereading the bible, "most of his work was done on the periphery of psychology. His thought " processes were mainly oriented towards alchemy, the archetypal, the supra-human and the primitive" (15)
After the events of World War 2, he became increasingly religious, and more inclined to give the psyche priority over external events. He travelled widely in search of further evidence to support his ideas of the collective unconscious, but was finding it difficult handling increasing old age. "One is helpless. On the other hand one feels happily estranged from this world. I like ' nature but not the world of man. I loathe the new style, the new art, the new music, literature, politics and above all, the new man." (16)
Jung was often asked about death. He took the view that if the individual's nature is gradually unfolded over the first twenty years of his life, the last twenty should be spent on preparing for death. Jung could have been referring to himself when he wrote, in The Soul and Death:
"When one is alone at night and it is so dark and silent that one neither hears nor sees anything but thoughts that add and subtract the years, and the long line of disagreeable facts that ineluctably indicate how far the hand of the clock has progressed, and the gradual, irresistible approach of the dark wall that will eventually engulf everything I love, posses, wish for, hope for and strive for." (17)
A question of morality
"I have offended many people, for as soon as I saw that they did not understand me, that was the end of the matter as far as I was concerned." (18)
Jung was anti-Semitic. (19) Freud knew this all too well yet, in a supreme act of opportunism, allowed him into his inner-circle to fend off accusations that the psychoanalytic movement was predominately populated and controlled by Jews. To a lesser degree, he also thought that Jung could overcome his anti-Semitism through his exposure to psychoanalysis.
Pure morality is perhaps only the preserve of saints, and Jung is by no means alone when we look at the dark-side of those that have achieved what could be perceived as greatness. Richard Wagner was notoriously anti-Semitic, as was Ezra Pound. Picasso was a selfish megalomaniac, W.B Yeats and Phillip Larkin both hated women whilst George Bernard Shaw and H.G Wells were staunch defenders of the racist, pseudo-scientific Eugenics movement (20)
Yet Jung went one step further. He disliked the idea of democratic governance, and admired Adolf Hitler: "The fuhrer embodies in his whole being the meaning and purpose of the popular movement. He incarnates the Germanic psyche." (21) He was particularly impressed with the SS, and saw them as extraordinary men "being transformed into a caste of knights ruling sixty-million natives. There is no more ideal form of government." (22) He often referred to "parasitic elements in Jewish psychology" (23) And he agreed with their persecution, telling the psychiatrist Michael Fordham that, since they were not the same as other people, there was nothing wrong in making them wear different clothes. (24)
Jung could never accept that he was an anti-Semite:
"I cannot see why the Jew, unlike any so-called Christian, is incapable of assuming that he is being criticised personally when one has an opinion about him." (25)
Looking back on his behaviour, the writer and Nobel laureate Thomas Mann came to the conclusion that Jung was "always a half-Nazi" (26)
The influence of Jung on youth, and the new age movement
"With the prestige of science more or less in shambles in the eyes of many, especially youth, Jungian thought has come to exert an influence, albeit indirect, far greater than the actual practice of his therapy" Joel Kovel - A Complete Guide to Therapy (27)
Jung's popularity may be due in great measure to his champions in the New Age movement. If more were known today about his questionable past, it is inconceivable that he would be considered a modern-day sage. Anything untoward in his personal history tends to be glossed over. As far as many in the New Age movement are concerned, his past "indiscretions" should not get in the way of his enlightened beliefs. It is indeed impossible to ignore Jung's understanding and interpretation of civilization's complex and diverse belief systems and his concept of the collective unconscious, in particular, can be seen as very much of relevance to the youth of today.
Our artistic and creative talents tend to emerge during the first half of life. We can, therefore, see the attraction in the practice of analytical psychology increasing this creativity through helping our initial ideas emerge from the unconscious - enabling us to tap into the collective unconscious, the major source of creativity. Jung believed that, through the collective unconscious, the experiences of each person affected the unconscious memories of all persons. The potential of humankind to benefit from a shared consciousness, even if only partly revealed, is of immense interest to the idealist in us all, particularly when we see the world as it is today, and meditate on how much better it could perhaps be.
Yet we live in a world of reality, and there are some people, particularly among the youth, who find this difficult to deal with. Some retreat into fantasy and turn to complex ideologies, including Jung's. David Tacey, author of Jung and the New Age, argues that the popular New Age movement wants to ignore the big issues of the post-modern era. They want to believe that archetypes and gods actually exist as real entities in time and space. They do not want to believe that they are merely metaphors and symbols that cannot, however hard one tries, be taken literally. (28)
Conclusion
"From the middle of life onward, only he who remains vitally alive is ready to die with life. For in the secret hour of life's midday, the situation is reversed and death is born. The second half of life does not signify ascent, unfolding, increase, exuberance, but death, since the end is its goal. The negation of life's fulfilment is synonymous with the refusal to accept its ending. "(29)
Spiritual enlightenment is best attained while we still have the majority of our lives in front of us. After all, what is the point of attaining such knowledge if it cannot be used when dealing with life's everyday realities?
Although Jung's theories are of relevance to those in the latter stages of life, they should really be more applicable to those in the early stages. It is worth asking ourselves if we really need to be spending half our time on earth preparing for death. For this is at the core of Jung's theory pertaining to the second half of one's life. It suggests that we wind down operations, as it were, in preparation for the inevitable. Does it help us, in any way, to assume the responsibilities (that are never clearly defined) of advanced maturity and could it not be argued that, in doing so, we are merely accelerating the onset of death - no matter how enlightened we become in the process?
Jung's Cross of the Functions, his three-part theory of the psyche and his concept of archetypes are best made use of as soon as we are able. If we find them applicable, if we find them of any value, in any way whatsoever, we should be utilising them to their fullest potential. Sooner rather than later. Too many people spend too much time preparing for death.
Notes and References
1) Hayman.R (1999) A Life of Jung W.W Norton & Co/New York pg 384
2) Hyde.M, McGuinness.M (1992) Introducing Jung Icon Books/Cambridge pgs 6,7
3) Ibid pg 5
4) Jung C.G (1961) Memories, Dreams, Reflections Routledge & Kegan PauLondon pg 182
5) Nelson-Jones.R (2001) Theory and Practice of Counselling & Therapy - Third Edition Sage Publications/London pg 54
6) Ibid pg 73
7)
Out of the three, Freud was by far the best writer. Jung in particular struggled: "I know of no creative person who was more hamstrung by his inability to write" - Anthony Stor from Jung (1986) as quoted in NCHP Stage 2 notes: Carl Jung pg 1
8) Theory and Practice of Counselling & Therapy pg 63 9)
9)
A Life of Jung pg 217
10) Hutchinson. J (1957) James Joyce's World Routledge & Kegan Paul/London pg 251
11) Carvalho.R (1990) Psychodynamic Therapy: The Jungian Approach Dryden.W (ed)
Individual
Therapy - A Handbook Open University Press/Buckingham pg 78
12) Mellon.P (1992) Reflections in a Silver Spoon Doubleday/New York pg 161
13) A Life of Jung pg 175
14) Ibid pg 75
15) Homans.P (1979) Jung in Context: Modernity and the Making of a Psychology University of Chicago Press/Chicago
16) Adler.G, Jaffe.A (1973-6) Letters of CG Jung Doubleday/London and Princeton pg 370
17) Jung C.G (1963) The Collected Works Volume 8 Routledge & Kegan Paul/ London pg 405
18) Memories, Dreams, Reflections pg 389
19) In his numerous statements on the matter, Jung himself provides overwhelming evidence to back this accusation. The debate is ongoing. Hyde and McGuinness (Introducing Jung) argue that Jung accepted the presidency of the Nazi-dominated General Medical Society of Psychotherapy in order to support Jewish psychoanalysts.
Nelson-Jones (Theory and Practice of Counselling & Therapy) states that, although Jung held extreme right-wing political views, he was probably not anti-Semitic. Andrew Samuels, on the other hand (in conversation with Michael Jacobs) comes to the conclusion that, even taking into account the attitudes of the time, it cannot be denied that Jung was an anti-Semite.
20) Black.E (2003) War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America's Campaign to Create a Master Race Four Walls, Eight Windows/New York pgs 28, 130
21) Von der Tann.M (1979) A Jungian Perspective on the Berlin Institute for Psychotherapy: A Basis for Mourning San Francisco Jung Institute Library
22) Forham.M (1975) Memories and Thoughts about CG Jung Journal of Analytic Psychology Vot
20, Number 2
23) Ibid
24) Letter to R.J.Z Werblowsky - 28th March 1951. As quoted in A Life of Jung
25) Hayman.R Writing Against: A Biography of Sartre Flamingo/London pg 212
26) A Life of Jung pg 319
27) KoveU (1977) A Complete Guide to Therapy The Harvester Press/London pg 138
28) David Tacey in conversation with Rachael Kohn Jung and the New Age The Spirit of Things ABC National Radio broadcast in October 2001
29) Collected Works Volume 11, as quoted in Introducing Jung pg 169
