Psychology Degree Guide: C.G. Jung

Famous for his many contributions to psychology and the founding of Analytical Psychology, Carl Gustav Jung has undeniably made a lasting impression on the study of the mind. During one of the most tumultuous times in history, Jung was proposing innovative concepts. His work also extended to creating psychological profiles of Hitler and the German psyche during World War II. In fact, he is said to have influenced General Dwight Eisenhower through his ideas on convincing the German public to accept defeat. The Guide to the Psychology of C.G. Jung examines his personal life, his approach to psychology, and his contributions to the field. Just one of our many guides on the subject of psychology, this guide is useful for students, counselors, or those interested in learning about the history of psychology.

Personal Life

Carl Gustav Jung (originally Karle Gustav II Jung) was born in Kesswil, Switzerland in the canton of Thurgau. Jung’s father was a rural pastor who worked in the Swiss Reformed Church and his mother was raised in an established Swiss family. He viewed his father as being predictable and consistent, while he considered his mother unreliable. His upbringing would go on to inform his psychological theories and opinions. Later in life, Jung pursued an advanced education in medicine at the University of Basel. In 1900 he went on to work at the Burghölzli psychiatric hospital in Zurich. It was here the he gained direct personal experience in dealing with psychological issues. These experiences allowed Jung to observe patients and begin formulating his theories. He worked in the hospital until 1909, when he opened his own private practice. Jung also worked closely with Sigmund Freud for a number of years and the two maintained a lasting friendship. Eventually, Jung’s involvement in an alleged affair with a patient resulted in the termination of their relationship. Both highly interested in psychoanalysis and the unconscious, they further developed their ideas through correspondence and research. While they held many similar beliefs and approached psychology in a similar fashion, there nevertheless remained substantial differences between them.

Jungian Psychoanalysis

Jung founded analytical psychology, which is sometimes referred to as Jungian psychology. Primarily, this branch of psychology is interested in examining the unconscious forces and motivations which guide human behavior.  Jung believed the unconscious mind to be the means through which development and psychological healing was possible. Approaching psychology in a way that greatly differed from mainstream practice at the time, he considered dreams, myth and folklore as empirical evidence. Jung was among the first to study dream analysis and argue for its significance as revealing to psychological processes. He believed that the unconscious was impossible to research through traditional means, and could not be understood through direct approaches. While he was heavily influenced by Freud and his theories, there remain some important distinctions between the two schools of thought.

One such distinction includes Freud’s emphasis on sexuality in human behavior. While Freud considered sexuality to be the greatest influence to an individual’s actions, Jung found spirituality and metaphysical influences to be integral to individuality. Jung’s concept of a collective unconscious further separated the two psychologists’ theories, as did his development of archetypes. The concept of collective unconscious proposes that personal unconscious experiences are shared and organized. While a personal unconscious is unique to an individual, the collective unconscious influences and binds people together.  The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which attempts to construct a representation of an individual’s psychological processes, was derived from Jung’s theories.

Major Works

Carl Jung wrote prolifically on topics pertaining to his unique branch of psychology. Through these texts he proposed many psychological concepts including the archetype, the collective unconscious, and synchronicity. As a whole, these works display how influences in his personal life affected his theory; through the examination of these texts, it is possible to see the evolution of his ideas.

• Red Book – Released in 2009, this elusive book written by Jung contains original calligraphy, text and visual art. While it may not divulge too much more information about his theories, it may be a helpful tool in learning about the life and inner turmoil of its author.
• The Association Method is a print version of lectures given by Jung at Clark University.  In these lectures, he provides the viewpoints of his association methods, discusses the importance of word constellations, and discusses child psychology as it pertains to association.
• Studies in Word Association is the book which began the long-lasting friendship between Jung and Freud. Spanning over six hundred pages, this full text version is available in eight different formats.
• Memories, Dreams, Reflections- The full text of Jung’s partially autobiographical book is available at this archive.gov website. Read about Jung’s childhood, personal life and professional development as well as his perceptions on spirituality and religion.
• On the Psychology and Pathology of So-Called Occult Phenomena is Carl Jung’s Medical Doctorate dissertation, which was published in 1903. In this text, Jung discusses the medical and psychological bases of popular phenomena in the occult.
• Excerpts from Memories, Dreams, Reflections and Man and His Symbols – A few key excerpts from Jung’s autobiography titled Memories, Dreams, Reflections and some portions from his book, Man and His Symbols, are provided in this fifty-page PDF. Among the selected portions are ruminations on extroversion and introversion as well as the significance of consciousness and the unconscious mind.

Additional Resources

In order to better understand Jungian psychology, review these research articles that are centered on his school of thought. Applications of his principals can also be seen at work in academic essays and resources. Further topics that are related to psychology and psychoanalysis have been included in this section as well.

• Myth and Body: Pandora’s Legacy in a Post Modern World – Polly Young-Eisendrath discusses the ways in which perceptions of Jungian psychology have changed, and justifies the use of myth and universals in the modern world. Further, the applications of mythology in psychotherapy are more deeply explored.
• Psychotherapy in the Third Reich – Considered by the Nazi regime to be a “Jewish Science,” psychoanalysis faced great adversity during the rule of the Third Reich. The New York Times explains how one psychological institution was able to survive in Nazi Germany.
• The International Association for Analytical Psychology is a professional organization for practitioners of analytical psychology. It is dedicated to advancing the knowledge of analytical psychology and maintaining high standards across professions and academia.
• Jung’s View on Myth and Post-Modern Psychology – Narrative self and the social mind are considered in a post-modern context.  The concepts of Jungian psychology are juxtaposed to contemporary approaches through the example of McAdams’ theory of narrative identity.

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