Carl Gustav Jung, Essay Example

In the field of human psychology perhaps no other person has had such a profound effect as Carl Gustav Jung, whose approach to psychology built on the works of Sigmund Freud and lent new insights into human behavior. This essay examines the contribution of Carl Jung to the field of psychology and his profound influence on other associated fields of human endeavor.

Jung’s approach to human psychology differed profoundly from mainstream psychology as he believed in pursuing a syncretistic approach that led him to study dreams, art, mythology, religion, alchemy, astrology, sociology, literature and philosophy. His first work published in 1903 titled On the Psychology and Pathology of So-Called Occult Phenomenon reflected his lifelong interest in mysticism and the need to provide valid scientific arguments for the various mental afflictions and their subsequent treatment (Charet, 1993, pp. 149-150).  Jung was the founder of analytical psychology and he carried forward Freud’s work on interpretation of dreams by weaving in eastern concepts of Mandala (Jung, 2001, p. 170) or mystical imagery to depict the varied type of dreams and their interpretation.  Jung’s concepts of analytical psychology were published in his 1917 book, Psychology of the Unconscious. This work brought forth the concept of individuation in which Jung held that the conscious and the unconscious part of human mind both were necessary for defining a person as an integrative whole. Jung’s analysis of the unconscious differed from that of Sigmund Freud in that Freudian concepts of the unconscious had negative undertones, while Jung considered the unconscious in more positive light that was necessary for the well being of individuals. Where Jung diverged from the mainstream of psychology was in his concept of a Collective Consciousness, which Jung theorized was a deeper layer of unconsciousness below the layer of personal unconscious (Douglas, 2007, pp. 107-108), a concept more in tune with eastern metaphysical thought. Jung had a profound effect in the field of psychology. His concepts of introversion and extraversion, the complex, collective consciousness and the archetype found a large following across the world through the early twentieth century and are today being examined with renewed interest by psychotherapists who have recognized the weaknesses in the post-Jungian positivist approach to psychotherapy (Douglas, pp. 113-114).  Jung’s concept of synchronicity, calling it “a meaningful coincidence of two or more events, where something other than probability of chance is involved” (Jung & Main, 1997, p. 90) has been used by physicists the world over.

In conclusion it can be reiterated that the contributions of Carl Gustav Jung to the study of human psychology were significant. Analytical Psychology as a new branch of psychology was Jung’s everlasting contribution to psychology where Jung not only provided new insights in the working of the human mind but also provided the possible rational explanations for mystical concepts. Jung’s syncretistic approach combining arts, religion and diverse philosophies into psychiatric practices have been used and modified in holistic techniques. In the field of humanities Jung continues to be compulsory reading and contemporary psychological research into the human consciousness continue to refer to the concepts evolved by Carl Jung. Present day psychotherapists have renewed their interest in Jungian psychology as they have recognized that Jung offers explanations to certain gaps in the modern positivist approach to psychotherapy.

Works Cited

Charet, F. (1993). Spiritualism and the Foundations of C.G. Jung’s Psychology. NY: SUNY Press.

Douglas, C. (2007). Analytical Psychotherapy. In R. J. Corsini, D. Wedding, & F. Dumont, Current Psychotherapies (pp. 107-139). NY: Cengage Learning.

Jung, C. G. (2001). Dreams. NY: Routledge.

Jung, C., & Main, R. (1997). Jung on Synchronicity and the Paranormal. NY: Routledge.