What defines Jungian thought? Jung had a breathtakingly broad and deep
approach to psychology, one that incorporated everything from type theory to
the paranormal. But, there are core
elements that define and delimit Jungian thought. If a proposition or interpretation
contradicts these elements, it can no longer be considered Jungian, at least in
the classic sense.
Because there are identifiable
boundaries to Jungian thought, some have condemned Jungians as dogmatic. I believe this label is misapplied. Just because a school of thought has a
coherent set of core elements does not make it dogmatic. Jung had a unique way of defining religious
dogma, which is instructive here. He
said dogma is the crystallized experiences and beliefs of someone who once had
a personal experience, but which is now offered as an absolute to be taken on
faith. In other words, dogma stands in
opposition to unique, lived experience.
Jungian thought, at its essence, insists on lived experience. Until it has been lived, it’s only theory and
words. It’s only a dead framework until
we breath life into it each day. That’s
why the programs that awarded me my Jungian certification required 300 hours of
training analysis. Until I demonstrated
that I had assimilated the material as my own, my training was not considered
complete.
That said, what are the core
elements of Jungian thought? Naturally,
different Jungians have defined these elements in slightly different ways. I recently reviewed texts written by Jung and
his successors, and I find five common elements upon which there is general
agreement.
Element 1 – The reality of the psyche
Psychic reality is core to Jungian
thought. Indeed, Jung saw psychic
reality as anything that strikes a person as real, whether it arises from an
internal experience or an external experience.
Where other schools of thought emphasize historical truth or objectively
observable facts, Jung emphasized that anything which has an emotional impact
on the ego is real.
Jung was particularly critical of
the “nothing but” attitude of modern Western culture. He descried the constant belittlement of
experiences that cannot be easily connected to the familiar, tangible world. The “nothing but” attitude is satisfied with
simplistic explanations, and it attempts to reduce everything to mere
cause-and-effect, mere imagination, mere subjectivity. In contrast, Jung insisted that the psyche is
no less real than the physical, and that the psyche has its own structure and
is subject to its own rules. In fact,
that which our conscious mind takes for granted as being real is based upon,
and results from, the unconscious psyche.
In Jung’s words, “We are in all truth so enclosed by psyche images that
we cannot penetrate to the essence of things external to ourselves. All our knowledge is conditioned by the
psyche which, because it alone is immediate, is superlatively real.” Therefore, it is core to Jungian thought to
look beyond the obvious meanings of myths, fairy tales, and historical events
to find the deeper truths of the psyche that underlie them and are revealed
through them.
Element 2 – The ego stands in relation to a vast
unconscious
The immature ego fancies itself the
lord of its domain, both internal and external.
Most modern psychologies support the immature ego in this position,
holding up adaptation as the highest aim of human endeavor. Jung disagrees emphatically. In Jungian thought, the ego is a small boat
floating on an immeasurable ocean, over which it has no control. This ocean is the unconscious, both personal
and collective. The collective
unconscious is the repository of human experience since the beginnings of human
experience, perhaps before. The contents
of the collective unconscious are the archetypes, and these suprapersonal
patterns color the ways that we apprehend and experience life. Archetypes are particularly evident in those
typical and significant human experiences like birth, marriage, sickness, social
unrest, and death.
Jung mapped this vast territory,
and he prescribed a approach in dealing with archetypes. If we dismiss them as imaginary, or we treat
them like playthings for the ego, the archetypes will take their revenge in the
form of psychological and physical symptoms.
On the other hand, if we succumb to their numinosity, archetypes will
enslave us and rob us of our precious uniqueness. Between these extremes, Jung advises a middle
way, wherein we venerate archetypes for their autonomous, godlike qualities
while we strive to assimilate, in some small measure, the power and wisdom they
offer us.
Archetypes reveal themselves to us
in dreams, in myths, in scriptures, in fairy tales, in popular media, and on
the front page of the daily newspapers.
They’re just literary genres or popular notions. They are living entities with roots as deep
as human life itself.
Element 3 – At the center of the psyche lies an
image of God called the Self
In a televised interview, Jung was
once asked if he believed in God. Jung
answered, “I do not need belief. I have
experienced God, and I know he is real.”
There is no such thing as an atheistic Jungian. Religious experience is a core element of
Jungian thought, but this is not the same thing as ascribing to a particular
creed. It is religion as experience.
Jung opposed the notion that human
life comes down to a daily struggle ending in a meaningless death. He urged his patients and students to see life as a journey which begins and
ends at the center of the psyche, as an ever-deepening relationship with the archetype of the
archetypes, the Self. The Self is the
ultimate meaning-maker. If our interior
life is seen as a firmament, the Self is the still point around which this
vastness orbits in its eternal cycle.
Similarly, a relationship with the Self shows us how daily occurrences,
good or bad, bring us to a new level of awareness of the undeniable presence of
the Self. There is a pattern of meaning
behind seemingly random events, and it’s more real that anything we’ve ever
believed to be true.
A relationship with the Self
transforms ego. To know and be known by
the Self is to know God in an intimately personal way.
Element 4 – Individuation is the ultimate and most
challenging human endeavor
We are conditioned to expect
instant answers. New age thinking leads
to the vain belief that our enlightenment is in the next book, on the next
tape, at the next conference. If it
can’t be explained in simple language in an entertaining twenty minutes, it must
be wrong.
Since individuation involves the
process of becoming whole, we must be willing to embrace the ugliest, shunned,
fearsome parts of our shadow. That’s not
pleasant, but it’s necessary.
Individuation is also contrasted to individualism, which is a
self-indulgent stressing of one’s peculiarities. Individuation is a better and more complete
fulfillment of collective qualities. As
Jung put it, “Individuation does not shut out the world, but gathers the world
to itself.”
Individuation does not happen by
accident. For the process to proceed in
any meaningful way, we must build our resolve, especially when the path becomes
perilous and we are lured into seemingly easier byways. We must also dedicate ourselves to
compassion, for others and ourselves.
Humility and moderation are also essential, avoiding the perils of
inflation and possession. Finally, we
must cultivate constant awareness and ever-expanding consciousness.
Element 5 – For those who are aware, there are
constant clues and supports along the way
If you have any doubt about the
reality of the psyche, the influence of the archetypes, the presence of the
Self, or the path of individuation, there are insights near at hand. At night, dreams point the way. In waking life, we are nurtured by symbols,
fairy tales, and myths. When we are most
lost on the way, there are synchronicities, those acausal miracles that grip us
with their numinous meaning.
Of course, we often ignore or
disregard these gifts from the unconscious.
But, when we take them seriously, they become clearer and increasingly
powerful. We are abandoned only when we
turn our back on our true nature.
In summary, Jungian thought is not
for everyone. It is a rigorous system of
thought that reveals new layers of meaning even after decades of study. Jung did not hesitate to dismiss sloppy
thinking, misdirection, and overly simplistic approaches to complex
issues. He had little use for the New
Age thinkers of his time, who browsed world philosophies and religions like
fussy eaters at a buffet table, choosing tidbits that might be delectable but
do not come together as a nutritious meal.
At times, he applied a ruthless judgment to his fellow psychologists,
whom he felt were obsessed with the least significant aspects of the psyche. But, through it all, Jung operated out of
compassion for individual and collective suffering. And he never expected his followers to go
places where he had not gone himself, including the darkest depths of the
unconscious that threatened to swallow the unwary explorer. He left us a 20-volume legacy in the form of
his Collected Works, and a core set of elements that have offered
protection and inspiration to generations of earnest truth-seekers. It’s a worthy path for any who wish or dare
to proceed.
