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person1875–1961

Carl Jung

Disciplines:
psychology
jungian psychology/archetypes
jungian psychology/unconscious
switzerland

Summary

Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst — founder of analytical psychology — who created the concepts of archetypes, the collective unconscious, introversion/extroversion, and individuation — whose split with Freud and subsequent mystical-psychological work shaped 20th century popular psychology.

Core Contribution

Creates the collective unconscious and archetype theory — Jung's argument (that beneath the personal unconscious lies a deeper collective unconscious populated by universal archetypes — Shadow, Anima, Self — shared across humanity) is the most influential non-Freudian depth psychology and has permeated art, literature, and popular self-help.

Key Spikes & Highlights

  • Published the Red Book in 2009 — 78 years after his death; the book (a manuscript of visionary experiences, calligraphed and illustrated by Jung himself) was kept locked by his family for decades; its publication revealed that the theoretical concepts in his published work emerged from deeply personal mystical experiences he was reluctant to make public
  • His affair with Sabina Spielrein (a patient) and the cover-up involving Freud are the most documented ethical violation in the history of psychoanalysis; Freud knew and helped manage the fallout; the case also produced important theoretical work that Spielrein published under her own name

Notable Works & Achievements

Psychology of the Unconscious

Psychological Types

Modern Man in Search of a Soul

Memories, Dreams, Reflections

The Red Book

Historical Influences

Freud Goethe Friedrich Nietzsche

Intellectual Lineage

Kesswil, SwitzerlandUniversity of BaselBurghölzli psychiatric hospitalFreud Küsnacht

Contemporaries & Peers

Sigmund Freud Alfred Adler Sabina Spielrein

Minds Influenced

Popular psychology MBTI personality typing

Intellectual Posterity

Collective unconscious Archetypes Introversion/extroversionMBTI Individuation Synchronicity Red Book

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