Psychology of the Unconscious: A Study of the Transformations and Symbolisms of the Libido. A Contribution to the History of the Evolution of ThoughtJung, C. G. (Carl Gustav)
Philosophy
Psychology of the Unconscious: A Study of the Transformations and Symbolisms of the Libido. A Contribution to the History of the Evolution of Thought
Jung, C. G. (Carl Gustav)
Libido (Psychology); Mother and child; Psychoanalysis; Subconsciousness; Symbolism (Psychology)
It is very easy to understand that criticism and opposition should
develop against a psychology so difficult of comprehension, and so
disturbing to the ideas which have been held by humanity for ages; a
psychology which furthermore requires a special technique as well as an
observer trained to recognize and appreciate in psychologic phenomena a
verification of the statement that there is no such thing as chance, and
that every act and every expression has its own meaning, determined by
the inner feelings and wishes of the individual.
It is not a simple matter to come out boldly and state that every
individual is to a large extent the determiner of his own destiny, for
only by poets and philosophers has this idea been put forth—not by
science; and it is a brave act to make this statement with full
consciousness of all its meaning, and to stand ready to prove it by
scientific reasoning and procedure.
Developed entirely through empirical investigation and through an
analysis of individual cases, Freudian psychology seems particularly to
belong to that conception of Max Müller’s that “An empirical
acquaintance with facts rises to a scientific knowledge of facts as soon
as the mind discovers beneath the multiplicity of single productions the
unity of an organic system.”[1]
Psychoanalysis is the name given to the method developed for reaching
down into the hidden depths of the individual to bring to light the
underlying motives and determinants of his symptoms and attitudes, and
to reveal the unconscious tendencies which lie behind actions and
reactions and which influence development and determine the relations of
life itself. The result of digging down into the hidden psyche has been
to produce a mass of material from below the threshold of consciousness,
so astonishing and disturbing and out of relation with the previously
held values, as to arouse in any one unfamiliar with the process the
strongest antagonism and criticism.
Although originally studied only as a therapeutic method for the sick it
was soon realized through an analysis of normal people how slight were
the differences in the content of the unconscious of the sick and of the
normal. The differences observed were seen to be rather in the reactions
to life and to the conflicts produced by contending forces in the
individual.
These conflicts, usually not fully perceived by the individual, and
having to do with objectionable desires and wishes that are not in
keeping with the conscious idea of self, produce marked effects which
are expressed either in certain opinions, prejudices, attitudes of
conduct, faulty actions, or in some definite pathologic symptom. As Dr.
Jung says, he who remains healthy has to struggle with the same
complexes that cause the neurotic to fall ill.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account