Essay/Term paper: Carl gustav jung

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Medicine

Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and
founder of the school of analytical psychology. He
proposed and developed the concepts of the
extroverted and introverted personality,
archetypes, and the collective unconscious. The
issues that he dealt with arose from his personal
experiences. For many years Jung felt as if he had
two separate personalities. One introverted while
the other was extroverted. This interplay results in
his study of integration and wholeness. His work
has been influential not only in psychology, but in
religion and literature as well. Jung was born on
July 26, 1875 in Kesswil, Switzerland, the only
son of a Protestant clergyman. At the age of four
his family moved to Basel. His childhood was a
lonely one. Jung observed his parents and teachers
and tried to understand their behavior, especially
that of his father. The elder Jung had a failing belief
in religion. Jung could never understand why.
There were numerous relatives on either side of his
family that were clergymen. It was expected of
Jung to continue in the family tradition. Jung did
not decide to follow, instead choosing to attend
the University of Basel from 1895-1900. Before
deciding on medicine Jung studied biology,
zoology, paleontology, and archaeology. His
explorations did not stop with that, he looked at
philosophy, mythology, early Christian literature as
well as religion. His interest in religion could be
attributed to his heritage and watching the demise
of his father. After leaving Basel, Jung became an
assistant physician at Burgholzli Psychiatric clinic
under Eugen Bleuler. In 1902 he obtained his
M.D. from the University of Zurich. His
dissertation was entitled "On the Psychology and
Pathology of So -Called Occult Phenomena".
Through this work one of his basic concepts is
outlined, the underlying wholeness of the psyche.
Jung's first research was conducted in 1904. He
studied word association in patients. He found
groups of repressed psychic content for which he
invented the now famous word "complex." This
study brought him close to the work of Sigmund
Freud. Jung's work confirmed many of Freud's
ideas. Between 1907 and 1912 he and Freud
worked very close. Many believed that Jung
would continue Freud's psychoanalysis, but this
did not occur. For temperamental and differences
over the significance of sexuality in human life the
two split. Jung contested Freud's analytic
principles, which he claimed were one-sided,
overly-concrete, and personalistic. When Jung
published "Psychology and the Unconscious"
which went against some of Freud's ideas the
relationship was finished forever. In 1912
"Symbols and Transformations of the Libido" was
published. Jung wanted to understand the
symbolic meaning of the contents of the
unconscious. In order to distinguish between
individual psychology and psychoanalysis Jung
gave his discipline the name "analytical
psychology." After a break with the start of WWI,
Jung wrote the book "Psychological Types". It set
the differences between his position and that of
Freud. Jung became more interested in the study
of mythological and religious symbolism. His
studies took him across the globe observing many
different cultures. He was interested in tracing the
analogies between the contents of the unconscious
in Western man and the myths, cults, and rituals of
primitive peoples. Jungian therapy deals with
dreams and fantasies. A discussion is set up
between the conscious and the contents of the
unconscious. When the therapy works the patient
enters an individuation process. This consists of
psychological transformations ending in the
opposite tendencies working together to achieve
personal wholeness. Jung's total amount of work is
very large. It is estimated at 200 papers. An
edition of his Collected Works in English was
completed in 1972 by the Bollingen Foundation in
New York and Routledge and Kegan Paul in
London. Theory of Symbols Jung believed that
symbol creation was a key in understanding human
nature. Symbol, as defined by Jung, is the best
possible expression for something essentially
unknown. He wanted to investigate the symbols
that are located in different religious, mythological,
and magical systems occur in many cultures and
time periods. To account for these similar symbols
occurring across different cultures and time
periods he suggested the existence of two layers
of the unconscious psyche. The first of the two
layers was the personal unconscious. It contains
what the individual has acquired in his or her life,
but has been forgotten or repressed. While the
collective unconscious is the memory traces
common to all humankind. These experiences
form archetypes. These are innate predispositions
to experience and symbolize certain situations in a
distinct way. There are many archetypes such as
having parents, finding a mate, having children, and
confronting death. Very complex archetypes are
found in all mythological and religious systems.
Near the end of his life Jung added that the
deepest layers of the unconscious function
independently of the laws of space, time and
causality. This is what gives rise to paranormal
phenomena. The introvert and the extrovert are
the main components of personality according to
Jung. The introvert is quiet, withdrawn and
interested in ideas rather than people. While the
extrovert is outgoing and socially oriented. For
Jung a person that had a healthy personality can
realize these opposite tendencies with in ourselves
and can express each. The purpose for dreams is
to compensate for any neglected parts of the
personality. Time Line of Jung's Life 1875 Born in
Kesswil, Switzerland 1879 Moved to Basel 1895
Student at University of Basel 1900 Graduated
from Basel 1900 Assistant physician under Eugen
Bleuler 1902 Obtained M.D. from University of
Zurich 1902 Went to Paris and heard Pierre Janet
1902 Went to London 1903 Married Emma
Rauschenbach 1904 Research in Word
Association 1905 Started lecturing at Zurich 1907
First meeting with Sigmund Freud 1909 Gave up
work at Burgholzi 1911 Lectured in the United
States with Freud 1911 Elected president of the
"International Psychoanalytic Society" 1912
Publication of "Psychology of the Unconscious"
1912 Split with Freud 1913 Gave up lectureship
at Zurich 1914 Resigned from the "International
Psychoanalytic Society" 1920 Went to Tunis and
Algiers 1921 Publication of "Psychological Types"
1924 Studied Pueblo Indians 1926 Studied the
inhabitants of Mount Elgon in Kenya 1933
Professor of Psychology at the Federal
Polytechnical University of Zurich 1933 Edited the
"Central Journal for Psychotherapy and Related
Fields" 1935 President of the Swiss Society for
Practical Psychology 1937 Visited India 1939
Finished editing the "Central Journal for
Psychotherapy and Related Fields" 1941 Retired
from The Federal Polytechnical University of
Zurich 1943 Professor of Medical Psychology at
the University of Basel 1961 Died in Kusnacht, on
Lake Zurich