The Undiscovered Self

The Undiscovered Self

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  • Create Date:2022-03-13 08:54:59
  • Update Date:2025-09-07
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  • Author:C.G. Jung
  • ISBN:0451217322
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Summary

One of the world’s greatest psychiatrists reveals how to embrace our own humanity and resist the pressures of an ever-changing world。

In this challenging and provocative work, Dr。 Carl Jung—one of history’s greatest minds—argues that civilization’s future depends on our ability as individuals to resist the collective forces of society。 Only by gaining an awareness and understanding of one’s unconscious mind and true, inner nature—“the undiscovered self”—can we as individuals acquire the self-knowledge that is antithetical to ideological fanaticism。 But this requires that we face our fear of the duality of the human psyche—the existence of good and the capacity for evil in every individual。

In this seminal book, Jung compellingly argues that only then can we begin to cope with the dangers posed by mass society—“the sum total of individuals”—and resist the potential threats posed by those in power。

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Reviews

tigerlilycorinne

I didn’t read this to learn, I read this because it was lent to me and because it seemed like an interesting thing to read about, since I was taking a social psych course。 It’s a good thing I didn’t read it to learn, though, because I think a good amount of the info in here sailed right past me。 Good job Jung for writing the book where I finally met my match because what was this book trying to say? I don’t know。 I think I got the gist of each chapter, but all the particularities were AHH—and ye I didn’t read this to learn, I read this because it was lent to me and because it seemed like an interesting thing to read about, since I was taking a social psych course。 It’s a good thing I didn’t read it to learn, though, because I think a good amount of the info in here sailed right past me。 Good job Jung for writing the book where I finally met my match because what was this book trying to say? I don’t know。 I think I got the gist of each chapter, but all the particularities were AHH—and yes, I did pause after every sentence to digest it, and yes it helped, and no, I still do not understand the whole book。 So some disjoint thoughts for you!He’s got this weird thing about religion。 I mean, he’s got some really interesting thoughts, but I don’t think that everything he thinks is right。 For me it was just, you know, interesting。 Huh。 Moving on。 When he talked about religious fervor and the reallocation of people’s beliefs into the mass near-reverence of Powers of State, etc, that was pretty cool。 And then he gets into God this and Spirituality that and he lost me a bit there。It’s a lot of philosophizing。 Which, like, god Corinne, you’re being a bit of an idiot, what did you think it was going to be? In my defense, I’ve been reading a lot of my Social Psych textbook, full of “studies have shown” and “the experiment of __ demonstrates __。” Full of numbers and names。 This was not at all that。 It was “this is what I believe” but in the most thorough way possible; it was like reading an extremely long paper before you shove in the evidence。 I don’t know why I’m trying to explain what a book is。 It’s a book。 Full of thoughts。 And yeah it’s based on a whole ton of thought surrounding real evidence and research, but the evidence and research aren’t presented。 (That’s not a critique, it’s a comment)。The writing is so fucking dense。 It’s really impressive。 I hate it, but in like the most respectful way。 I understand that this is masterful rendering of the English language, and I appreciate that greatly。 However, for those of us without extraordinary brains, it’s hard to parse through because every single word of the sentence is integral to the sentence and holds a very important function, every single sentence is so full of meaning, every page just feels like you’ve read a scholarly article。 Tough luck for us average people。 I think it’s super cool。 I can’t handle it。 My thoughts。 Those are all of them。 Bad review sorry。 。。。more

Nimā

this book doesn't answer any questions but raises the ever repeating question surrounding the diminishment of individuality this book doesn't answer any questions but raises the ever repeating question surrounding the diminishment of individuality 。。。more

Olga

The subject of the work is the complicated relations between the individual, his instincts and the religion, the society and the state。 The unity and the conflict between conscious and the unconscious。 On the origin and significance of modern art:'(。。。)modern art: though seeming to deal with aesthetic problems, it is really performing a work of psychological education on the public by breaking down and destroying their previous aesthetic views of what is beautiful in form and meaningful in conte The subject of the work is the complicated relations between the individual, his instincts and the religion, the society and the state。 The unity and the conflict between conscious and the unconscious。 On the origin and significance of modern art:'(。。。)modern art: though seeming to deal with aesthetic problems, it is really performing a work of psychological education on the public by breaking down and destroying their previous aesthetic views of what is beautiful in form and meaningful in content。 The pleasingness of the artistic product is replaced by chill abstractions of the most subjective nature which brusquely slam thedoor on the naïve and romantic delight in the senses and their obligatory love for the object。 This tells us, in plain and universal language, that the prophetic spirit of art has turned away from the old object relationship and towards the – for the time being – dark chaos of subjectivisms。 Certainly art, so far as we can judge of it, has not yet discovered in this darkness what it is that holds all men together and could give expression to their psychic wholeness。 Since reflection seemsto be needed for this purpose, it may be that such discoveries are reserved for other fields of endeavor。Great art till now has always derived its fruitfulness from the myth, from the unconscious process of symbolization which continues through the ages and which, as the primordial manifestation of the human spirit, will continue to be the root of all creation in the future。 The development of modern art with its seemingly nihilistic trend towards disintegration must be understood as the symptom and symbol of a mood of world destruction and world renewal that has set its mark on our age。' 。。。more

Syeollin

Are we losing our individualism? “As a rule, where one is present the other is lacking, and where one capacity is present in perfection it is generally at the cost of all the others。” “Since it is universally believed that man is merely what his consciousness knows of itself, he regards himself as harmless and so adds stupidity to iniquity。 He does not deny that terrible things have happened and still go on happening, but it is always “the others” who do them。 And when such deeds belong to the r Are we losing our individualism? “As a rule, where one is present the other is lacking, and where one capacity is present in perfection it is generally at the cost of all the others。” “Since it is universally believed that man is merely what his consciousness knows of itself, he regards himself as harmless and so adds stupidity to iniquity。 He does not deny that terrible things have happened and still go on happening, but it is always “the others” who do them。 And when such deeds belong to the recent or remote past, they quickly and conveniently sink into the sea of forgetfulness, and that state of chronic woolly-mindedness returns which we describe as “normality。””“As his consciousness has broadened and differentiated, so his moral nature has lagged behind。 That is the great problem before us today。 Reason alone does not suffice。”“The individual man knows that as an individual being he is more or less meaningless and feels himself the victim of uncontrollable forces, but on the other hand, he harbors within himself a dangerous shadow and opponent who is involved as an invisible helper in the dark machinations of the political monster。 It is in the nature of political bodies always to see the evil in the opposite group, just as the individual has an ineradicable tendency to get rid of everything he does not know and does not want to know about himself by foisting it off on somebody else。”“Where love stops, power begins, and violence, and terror。” 。。。more

Rahma。Mrk

العنوان رفع سقف توقعاتي وكنت أُمني نفسي بلقاء من نوع المتميز بالاعتبار أن يونغ من المدرسة الشعورية وله اختلافات مع فرويد。 اذن كنت أتوقع غوص في أعماق الذات。ماذا أجد ؟ غوص لكن في عمق علم النفس أي علاقة بين طبيب النفسي والمريض وغوص في علاقة الدين والدولة بالإنسان。 إذن هو كتاب فلسفي وأكثر من ذلك شذرات أفكار تتمحور كلها حول نقطة مركزية: فردية الذات وعلاقتها بالعقل الجمعي。 تحدث مطولا عن ماركسية بالاعتبارها في نظره دولة القبيلة。 تخرج من هذا كتاب بكم فكرة لكن ليس مثل ما توقعت لهيك تقسيم منخفض بنسبة لي。خ العنوان رفع سقف توقعاتي وكنت أُمني نفسي بلقاء من نوع المتميز بالاعتبار أن يونغ من المدرسة الشعورية وله اختلافات مع فرويد。 اذن كنت أتوقع غوص في أعماق الذات。ماذا أجد ؟ غوص لكن في عمق علم النفس أي علاقة بين طبيب النفسي والمريض وغوص في علاقة الدين والدولة بالإنسان。 إذن هو كتاب فلسفي وأكثر من ذلك شذرات أفكار تتمحور كلها حول نقطة مركزية: فردية الذات وعلاقتها بالعقل الجمعي。 تحدث مطولا عن ماركسية بالاعتبارها في نظره دولة القبيلة。 تخرج من هذا كتاب بكم فكرة لكن ليس مثل ما توقعت لهيك تقسيم منخفض بنسبة لي。خاصة انني قرات ذلك مطولا عند اريك فروم وحداثة السائلة تعرضت لتششت الذات أيضا 。 。。。more

Marco

Now I see more clearly why modern academia is not so fond of Jung; he is explicitly anti-communism, seeing it as an erasure of the inidividual and his responsibilities in the name of an infantile dream of utopia and a redirectioning of the religious impulse that could be directed towards self-knowledge and transcendence to the worship of the state, which by its man-made nature can provide neither。

L。J。 Cherry

A must read for psychologists and therapists。 Jung details the dangers of falling into group-thinking and dissolving our individuality - as pressing today as ever。

sean

my book completely fell apart as i was reading it and i think it was a huge act of synchronicity。 also whenever psychologists whine about the cold war i feel like i'm reading a coming of age stream-of-consciousness。 i still think this book was really good even though i'm really not sure that carl jung ever read marx (not in a derogatory way i just really don't think he did) my book completely fell apart as i was reading it and i think it was a huge act of synchronicity。 also whenever psychologists whine about the cold war i feel like i'm reading a coming of age stream-of-consciousness。 i still think this book was really good even though i'm really not sure that carl jung ever read marx (not in a derogatory way i just really don't think he did) 。。。more

Rudiger

This academic read(?) was hilarious。 Basically, Jung extort his psychoanalysis with dream incorporation as well as exploring dualities of the psyche。 He also bashes both religion and society noting commonalities between a worship of either being detrimental。 Every paragraph explores a thee to a depth but not heavy on the nomenclature that the layman would not understand。

Megan Werle

Jung argues for the importance of understanding our own subconscious minds to avoid getting swept up by the ideology of those in power。 Jung’s terminology and ideas can be difficult to interpret。 He suggests that individuals are isolated from themselves in society:“The individual is increasingly deprived of the moral decision as to how he should live his own life, and instead is ruled, fed, clothed and educated as a social unit。” It is human nature to be made up of good and evil。 We need to reco Jung argues for the importance of understanding our own subconscious minds to avoid getting swept up by the ideology of those in power。 Jung’s terminology and ideas can be difficult to interpret。 He suggests that individuals are isolated from themselves in society:“The individual is increasingly deprived of the moral decision as to how he should live his own life, and instead is ruled, fed, clothed and educated as a social unit。” It is human nature to be made up of good and evil。 We need to recognise that darkness also exists inside our own mind instead of only seeing it in others。 This can prevent us from acting upon the darker parts of our subconscious, evident in events such as the Holocaust。 Speaking of the hydrogen bomb, Jung writes: “One must ask oneself how it is that, for all our progress in the administration of justice, in medicine and in technology, for all our concern for life and health, monstrous engines of destruction have been invented which could easily exterminate the human race。” The darkness of the human mind is also shown through other undertakings such as climate change and capitalist systems that profit from our suffering。 Jung claims that individuals become more powerful to resist these structures when they become conscious of their subconscious。 。。。more

Matej Gabud

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it, click here。 Citati:“Pojedinac se sve više lišava moralne odluke o tome kako treba živjeti svoj život i umjesto toga njime se upravlja, hrani ga se, odijeva i odgaja kao društvenu jedinicu smještenu u odgovarajućoj stambenoj jedinici i zabavlja ga se sukladno standardima koji masama pružaju ugodu i zadovoljstvo。”“Da autonomija pojedinca nije skrivena čežnja mnogih ljudi, taj duboko potisnut fenomen teško bi preživio kolektivno potiskivanje, bilo moralno ili duhovno。”“Društvo, prirodno, ima neporecivo pravo z Citati:“Pojedinac se sve više lišava moralne odluke o tome kako treba živjeti svoj život i umjesto toga njime se upravlja, hrani ga se, odijeva i odgaja kao društvenu jedinicu smještenu u odgovarajućoj stambenoj jedinici i zabavlja ga se sukladno standardima koji masama pružaju ugodu i zadovoljstvo。”“Da autonomija pojedinca nije skrivena čežnja mnogih ljudi, taj duboko potisnut fenomen teško bi preživio kolektivno potiskivanje, bilo moralno ili duhovno。”“Društvo, prirodno, ima neporecivo pravo zaštiti se od krajnjih subjektivizama, ali dok je samo društvo sastavljeno od deindividualiziranih osoba, ono je isključivo u milosti okrutnih individualista。”“Čovjeku možete oduzeti njegove bogove, ali samo ako mu zauzvrat date druge。”“I kao što je tipičan neurotik nesvjestan svoje sjene, tako i normalan pojedinac vidi svoju sjenu u svome susjedstvu ili u čovjeku iza velike granice。” 。。。more

Rainer

Most of the writing in this small volume is surprisingly timeless。 I would highly recommend it。

Alanna Truong

I highlighted several parts of every page, things I both agreed and disagreed with, but very interesting either way, and surprisingly enjoyable to read。

Christopher Sutherlin

Deeply thought provoking and engaging。 I had heard that Jung is difficult, but I found it very approachable。

Viktor Stoyanov

Защо не бях посегнал към Юнг досега?Главно, защото психолозите / психоаналитиците пишат обикновено крайно нечетивно。 И ето, какво изключение! Още с първите изречения ме спечели。 Имаше нещо от сорта "зад всеки освидетелстван, стоят поне още 10 с психични разтройства 。。。" :)。 Накратко - много изчистено и структурирано, много логично ми звучи всичко。 Поток от мисли, който звучи буден, аналитичен, критичен。 Задължително ще се чете още от Юнг, както впрочем имам да наваксвам и с плановете си за Фройд Защо не бях посегнал към Юнг досега?Главно, защото психолозите / психоаналитиците пишат обикновено крайно нечетивно。 И ето, какво изключение! Още с първите изречения ме спечели。 Имаше нещо от сорта "зад всеки освидетелстван, стоят поне още 10 с психични разтройства 。。。" :)。 Накратко - много изчистено и структурирано, много логично ми звучи всичко。 Поток от мисли, който звучи буден, аналитичен, критичен。 Задължително ще се чете още от Юнг, както впрочем имам да наваксвам и с плановете си за Фройд。 。。。more

Tyler Harris

The Greeks had a maxim。 “Know thyself。” Individual integrity is the key to dissolving mass, collective hysteria, where man’s penchant for projecting his unconscious fears upon an “other” prospers most。 For Jung, self-knowledge begins at the shadow — recognizing the capacity that exists inside of you for evil。 Jung’s prophetic insight into modern man’s lack of self-knowledge still stands today, as true as it was when it was written during the Cold War。 “Resistance to the organized mass can be eff The Greeks had a maxim。 “Know thyself。” Individual integrity is the key to dissolving mass, collective hysteria, where man’s penchant for projecting his unconscious fears upon an “other” prospers most。 For Jung, self-knowledge begins at the shadow — recognizing the capacity that exists inside of you for evil。 Jung’s prophetic insight into modern man’s lack of self-knowledge still stands today, as true as it was when it was written during the Cold War。 “Resistance to the organized mass can be effected only by the man who is as well organized in his individuality as the mass itself。” In other words, a million zeroes can’t add up to one。 Don’t be an empty man。 Find solid ground and stand upon it。 。。。more

Dancing Hamster

I chose to read this essay because it was written for a general public and I've wanted to get into Jung's work。 And to my relief it was not a too difficult read although I had to reread some paragraphs to really understand。 I really liked this book, it gave me perspective on things which I never had before。 Mind blowing and yet simple in a way "Why haven't I thought of this before?"。The Undiscovered Self was written during the times of Cold War and the presence of that war felt greatly in this w I chose to read this essay because it was written for a general public and I've wanted to get into Jung's work。 And to my relief it was not a too difficult read although I had to reread some paragraphs to really understand。 I really liked this book, it gave me perspective on things which I never had before。 Mind blowing and yet simple in a way "Why haven't I thought of this before?"。The Undiscovered Self was written during the times of Cold War and the presence of that war felt greatly in this work。 Despite that we're long passed those times, the lessons were not learned and all Jung wrote about is still a great problem today。 In fact it became an even bigger problem。 And by the problem I mean the suppression of Individuality for the sake of Society (which is nothing without Individuality)。 And we are raised by this Society with absolute conviction that we are small, we are one digit statistic, uncapable of big impact on the world, and whatever inside of us which is not in tune with current paradigm is thrown away to the farest corner of our Psyche。 To me, the main message of this book is that, if not for yourself, but for the world it is our personal responsibillity to start the exploration of Unconscious。 The Unconscious is not what Freud saw it as (just dark suppressed sexual fantasies), it contains many things not just those that we don't like to admit to ourselves。 Why is it important for the world? Because at the minimum the person who had this journey is not easily scared and manipulated。 Jung said that the salvation of the world starts with the salvation of one soul。 。。。more

M。R。 Ruth

Brilliant! I suggest finding a quiet place where you can read without distractions。 The material is compelling and informative。 It warrants your full attention。

Helfren Filex

Carl Jung went on in the book to explain the social dynamism of human and how they think as well as how it impacts how the others think。 His study on how the conscious and unconscious in the human mind, in and outs of the modern philosophical ideology and the conclusion from the war。 This book tell it all。

Silfa

Bintang 3 karena terjemahannya yang membingungkan untuk buku yang memang nggak mudah dipahami。 Capek betul baca buku ini, selain karena terjemahan dan bahasanya yang membuatku harus seringkali mengulangi apa yang kubaca untuk bisa 'sangat sedikit' mengerti maksdunya, juga karena aku membacanya dalam format digital (iPusnas)- yang nggak bisa pakai anotasi-。Ada 7 judul esay dalam buku ini, yang pada intinya memberikan pengetahuan kepada pembaca bahwasanya manusia modern kini telah dibatasi oleh ke Bintang 3 karena terjemahannya yang membingungkan untuk buku yang memang nggak mudah dipahami。 Capek betul baca buku ini, selain karena terjemahan dan bahasanya yang membuatku harus seringkali mengulangi apa yang kubaca untuk bisa 'sangat sedikit' mengerti maksdunya, juga karena aku membacanya dalam format digital (iPusnas)- yang nggak bisa pakai anotasi-。Ada 7 judul esay dalam buku ini, yang pada intinya memberikan pengetahuan kepada pembaca bahwasanya manusia modern kini telah dibatasi oleh kelompok/komunitas/kesadaran massa/ untuk mengenal Diri (self) nya sendiri。 Keadaan ini secara berkelanjutan membawa manusia pada ketidak-acuhan bahkan penyangkalan pada sisi lain dirinya。 Meskipun benar manusia tidak akan bisa mengenali Diri secara utuh (Diri ini terdiri atas alam sadar & alam bawah sadar)。 Namun, alangkah baiknya jika manusia itu mau secara sadar berusaha, dan istikomah untuk menyelami pribadinya。 Mengenal dan menyadari bahwa individunya ini terbentuk bukan hanya dari kesadaran yang terlihat (kebaikan-kebaikan) tetapi juga kemungkinan untuk berbuat jahat。 Hanya dengan begitu justru manusia itu bisa mencegah kejahatan yang bisa tumbuh dari dirinya。 Hanya dengan memahami bagian lain dari 'Diri' lah manusia bisa mengatasi ancaman-ancaman buruk yang disebabkan oleh alam bawah sadarnya。 Oh, dan Ya, alam bawah sadar manusia ini yang seringkali disangkal ternyata tidak hanya berisi kejahatan tapi banyak yang bisa diberdayakan hanya jika manusia itu melakukan 'individuasi'。 Ya, intinya kalau kita tahu hal di alam bawah sadar, baik itu kekuatan atau ancaman kita baru akan bisa menyusun rencana utk memperkuat kekuatan dan melemahkan ancaman dari diri sendiri。 Keren banget sebetulnya materi di buku ini。 Hanya saja karena kemampuan otakku yang terbatas, hanya ini yang bisa kusimpulkan。 Tapi aku senang sudah berhasil menamatkan membacanya。 。。。more

Christian

incredible, mind-blowing, astounding, essential, etc。

ctemtb

The was a quick but heavy read! I will be rereading at some point!

Othman

كتاب خفيف رائع يحث فيه المؤلف القراء من جيله والأجيال التي تخلفه بالبحث عن المعنى الحقيقي للوجود، والاستقلال بالذات، والبعد عن القبلية والتفكير الجماعي الذي يتفشى بين أبتاع الأديان والأنظمة الدكتاتورية。أنصح بقراءة هذا الكتاب。

Merijn Kanters

A message which will be carefully repressed by those forces who still flourish by preventing individuals being an individual, being human, instead of a mouthpiece of a collective。

Kia N

It's more philosophy than psychology I would say。 I don't really get new stuff from this book since I have read other psychology/philosophy books。 For further reading; I would recommend; Friedrich Nietzsche (beyond Good and Evil) or Freud (Interpretation of dreams) because in this book, he also talks about them。My next task is reading Jung's other works It's more philosophy than psychology I would say。 I don't really get new stuff from this book since I have read other psychology/philosophy books。 For further reading; I would recommend; Friedrich Nietzsche (beyond Good and Evil) or Freud (Interpretation of dreams) because in this book, he also talks about them。My next task is reading Jung's other works 。。。more

Yanitsa

Скритият Аз и различните смисли на същестуването в пространството。"Не съм воден от прекомерен оптимизъм, нито от любов към високите идеали, просто съм загрижен за съдбата на отделния човек - тази безкрайно малка единица, от която зависи целият свят。。。" Скритият Аз и различните смисли на същестуването в пространството。"Не съм воден от прекомерен оптимизъм, нито от любов към високите идеали, просто съм загрижен за съдбата на отделния човек - тази безкрайно малка единица, от която зависи целият свят。。。" 。。。more

brenessa

Since this book is split into two different parts I am going to review and rate it in two parts。 The first part talks about self knowledge and the present and future。 It was interesting but I would rate this part a 3。5 because it wasn’t exactly something I would read about for fun。However, the second part omg I rate it a 4 because it was so interesting。 The second part is talking about dreams and the unconscious/conscious mind and the interpretations of dreams and symbols and everything in betwe Since this book is split into two different parts I am going to review and rate it in two parts。 The first part talks about self knowledge and the present and future。 It was interesting but I would rate this part a 3。5 because it wasn’t exactly something I would read about for fun。However, the second part omg I rate it a 4 because it was so interesting。 The second part is talking about dreams and the unconscious/conscious mind and the interpretations of dreams and symbols and everything in between。 It really made me want to learn more about dreams and the mind using Carl and Freud’s theories。 。。。more

Stephanie Gidron

At first, it seemed like a “stream of consciousness” in a book, and it was difficult to read at times。 HOWEVER, the gems that this book drops from time to time is definitely worth the read。 I’ve learned a lot from this little book。 Carl Jung is definitely becoming one of my fave psychologists。

Shirin A。

Having read some of Jung's more strictly psychological work, this short essay collection left me a little disoriented, at least in the beginning。 Three stars for form (not his prose though, which is as exquisite as usual), four stars for ideas。 I did enjoy it, but if you're looking to learn more about his theories, this is not the place to start。 Jung discusses the standardisation of society and the worrying lack of introspection in modern men, a central issue in the pursue of self-destruction h Having read some of Jung's more strictly psychological work, this short essay collection left me a little disoriented, at least in the beginning。 Three stars for form (not his prose though, which is as exquisite as usual), four stars for ideas。 I did enjoy it, but if you're looking to learn more about his theories, this is not the place to start。 Jung discusses the standardisation of society and the worrying lack of introspection in modern men, a central issue in the pursue of self-destruction humanity seems to be bent on。 I found that some of his considerations regarding the condition of man in modern society are still very much relevant today。 Since man's psyche consists of both conscious and unconscious dimensions, allowing the conscious one (ie。 reason) to prevail over the other, can only end badly -you loose touch with man's innate capacity for evil for instance, which a bit counterintuitively does not thwart evil doing。 So Jung tells us, practice self-criticism, seek religion -meaning a spiritual 'practice' that allows you to transcend your conscious realm- and be good to one another。 。。。more

Tyler Harrington

4。5/5 - Heavy, especially in one sitting。