Sunday, July 25, 2010

Carl Gustav Jung


Carl Gustav Jung (July 26, 1875 – June 6, 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist, an influential thinker and the founder of analytical psychology. Jung is often considered the first modern psychologist to state that the human psyche is "by nature religious" and to explore it in depth. Though not the first to analyze dreams, he has become perhaps the most well known pioneer in the field of dream analysis. Although he was a theoretical psychologist and practicing clinician, much of his life's work was spent exploring other areas, including Eastern and Western philosophy, alchemy, astrology, sociology, as well as literature and the arts. 

He considered the process of individuation necessary for a person to become whole. This is a psychological process of integrating the conscious with the unconscious while still maintaining conscious autonomy. Individuation was the central concept of analytical psychology. Jungian ideas are routinely discussed in part by curriculum of introductory psychology course offerings with most major universities, and although rarely covered by higher level course work, his ideas are discussed further by the Faculty of Humanities. Many pioneering psychological concepts were originally proposed by Jung, including the Archetype, the Collective Unconscious, the Complex, and synchronicity. A popular psychometric instrument, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), has been principally developed from Jung's theories.

“Everything of which I know but which I’m not at the moment thinking, Everything of which I was once conscious but have now forgotten. Everything perceived by my senses but not noted by my conscious mind. Everything which involuntarily and without paying attention to it, I feel, think, remember, want and do. All future things that are taking shapes in me and will sometime come to consciousness. All this is the content of the unconscious.” - Carl Gustav Jung’s definition of the unconscious