PERSONOLOGY – PYC4804 Chapter 4
The analytical theory of Carl Jung
Background
Incorporates the deterministic past but also stresses a teleological perspective toward the
future
Less pessimistic than Freud’s theory
According to Freud, people are perpetually trapped in a conflict between their instinctual drives
and the demands of society
Jung sees people as orientated towards a perpetual creative development in striving to achieve
a complete self
Jung rejected Freud as he did not give enough attention to a person’s religious dimension
Jung theory is typified because he goes to much more deeply into the unconscious in analyzing
the psyche
The view of the person underlying the theory
Human being are complex, dynamic organisms made up of opposing factors that may drive or
draw them into action, either conscious or unconscious
Development of the psyche or consciousness to a dialectical relationship between opposing
forces
Opposing forces push the psyche from a simple, undifferentiated, unconscious natural state to a
complex state of higher psychic awareness and spiritual fulfillment
Unconscious is dominated by the opposite of what dominates at a conscious level
Freud: unresolved and unregenerate conflict is the wellspring of neurosis
Jung: regarded the coming together of the apparently irreconcilable psychic contents as the
basis of healthy development, providing a new position from which the individual can proceed
Jung: regarded as holistic as it does not just concentrate on the structures, processes and
content of the individual psyche
Collective Unconscious: Psyche in a broad, inherited collective context
Described as a quest for human “wholeness”
Dimensions in human functioning
o Psychological dimension: processes and drives that are essential for physical survival (e.g. need
to breathe, eat, drink, etc.)
o Social dimension: concerned with the interaction with other people
o Psychic dimension: refers to all those conscious processes which can be logically understood and
explained by reason and which help a person adapt to reality
o Spiritual / religious dimension: refers to a peoples dependence on and subjection to irrational
experiences – experiences which cannot be understood and explained by human reason
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The analytical theory of Carl Jung
Background
Incorporates the deterministic past but also stresses a teleological perspective toward the
future
Less pessimistic than Freud’s theory
According to Freud, people are perpetually trapped in a conflict between their instinctual drives
and the demands of society
Jung sees people as orientated towards a perpetual creative development in striving to achieve
a complete self
Jung rejected Freud as he did not give enough attention to a person’s religious dimension
Jung theory is typified because he goes to much more deeply into the unconscious in analyzing
the psyche
The view of the person underlying the theory
Human being are complex, dynamic organisms made up of opposing factors that may drive or
draw them into action, either conscious or unconscious
Development of the psyche or consciousness to a dialectical relationship between opposing
forces
Opposing forces push the psyche from a simple, undifferentiated, unconscious natural state to a
complex state of higher psychic awareness and spiritual fulfillment
Unconscious is dominated by the opposite of what dominates at a conscious level
Freud: unresolved and unregenerate conflict is the wellspring of neurosis
Jung: regarded the coming together of the apparently irreconcilable psychic contents as the
basis of healthy development, providing a new position from which the individual can proceed
Jung: regarded as holistic as it does not just concentrate on the structures, processes and
content of the individual psyche
Collective Unconscious: Psyche in a broad, inherited collective context
Described as a quest for human “wholeness”
Dimensions in human functioning
o Psychological dimension: processes and drives that are essential for physical survival (e.g. need
to breathe, eat, drink, etc.)
o Social dimension: concerned with the interaction with other people
o Psychic dimension: refers to all those conscious processes which can be logically understood and
explained by reason and which help a person adapt to reality
o Spiritual / religious dimension: refers to a peoples dependence on and subjection to irrational
experiences – experiences which cannot be understood and explained by human reason
Page 1 of 11
