Carl Jung - Man and his Symbols - Review

 Reading Carl Jung can be a daunting task if one is not acquainted with the foundational tenets of analytical psychology. Like any school of thought, Jung's depth psychology has its own unique language, and understanding these specialized terms is essential to grasping even a small portion of the subject. In Jung's later years, he dreamed of speaking to many people about the collective unconscious and its symbols. This dream proved to be very important to the old doctor because he sincerely believed that modern civilization was coming to an end and thought it a dire necessity that his work is understood by the wider public for a kind of "collective-psychic-healing" to begin. In the end, he at least wanted the "educated layman" to have a fundamental understanding of the mind. Man and his Symbols is a successful attempt towards this goal.

Dr. Jung dictated part one of this book, "Approaching the Unconscious." For the most part, however, this is a collaboration of Jungians writing on the subject's most basic tenets, such as the nature of the unconscious, the collective unconscious, and its dreams and symbols.

In part two, "Ancient Myths and Modern Man," Dr. Joseph L. Henderson elaborates on historical symbols as archetypes, including the Hero myth and the Archetype as Initiation that has been seen and experienced throughout the ages.

In part three, the famed Jungian, M. L. von Franz, explores `The Process of Individuation," explaining the psyche's natural evolution towards a state of uniting its opposites and becoming whole. Franz details this abstract process straightforwardly, revealing all therapies' ultimate goal: balance, wholeness, and responsibility.

Aniela Jaffe, another one of the original Jungians, expounds on the nature of the symbol in the visual arts in part four. This is a revealing chapter as it illustrates how so many similar symbols have appeared in art throughout the world over thousands of years.

Jolande Jacobi, the famed Jungian analyst, in part five, relates the methods of Jungian analysis in terms of the importance of dreams and symbols.

Lastly, von Franz concludes with a brilliant essay on "Science and the Unconscious," summarizing the entire book and emphasizing the importance of symbols and the unconscious and their on-going interpretation in the effort to understanding ourselves.

As was the old doctor's wish, Man and his Symbols opened Jung's work to a wider public. It is an ideal text for anyone interested in analytical psychology. It explains the subjects' abstract notions of the mind and the psyche's relation to the world in highly accessible terms. It provides the necessary basics for a general understanding and is a perfect springboard for further study.