Modern Man in Search of a Soul
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- Author：C.G. Jung
- ISBN：041525390X
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Summary
Modern Man in Search of a Soul is the perfect introduction to the theories and concepts of one of the most original and influential religious thinkers of the twentieth century。 Lively and insightful， it covers all of his most significant themes， including man's need for a God and the mechanics of dream analysis。 One of his most famous books， it perfectly captures the feelings of confusion that many sense today。 Generation X might be a recent concept， but Jung spotted its forerunner over half a century ago。 For anyone seeking meaning in today's world， Modern Man in Search of a Soul is a must。
Reviews
Ryan Sutherland
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Super interesting book。 A great intro for people newly learning of Jung's ideas。 Super interesting book。 A great intro for people newly learning of Jung's ideas。 。。。more
bimri
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Jung was a game changer for REAL！ His ideas are so simple yet so profound！ Maybe the greatest Psychologist who's ever lived！ I begun rereading it immediately I completed， to savor the tenets of analytical psychology， from its best founder。 Jung was a game changer for REAL！ His ideas are so simple yet so profound！ Maybe the greatest Psychologist who's ever lived！ I begun rereading it immediately I completed， to savor the tenets of analytical psychology， from its best founder。 。。。more
Peter Adams
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Jung is the most well known student of Freud and he departed from him when changed direction into the spiritual aspects of the psyche。 Whereas Freud believed neurosis is grounded in sexual repression， Jung believed that this was an insufficient explanation for most people。 Jung thought the bulk of neurosis， especially those in later years， is due to spiritual struggles， a lack of overarching meaning in their lives。The point of the book is to give an overall introduction to Jung’s ideas and to nu Jung is the most well known student of Freud and he departed from him when changed direction into the spiritual aspects of the psyche。 Whereas Freud believed neurosis is grounded in sexual repression， Jung believed that this was an insufficient explanation for most people。 Jung thought the bulk of neurosis， especially those in later years， is due to spiritual struggles， a lack of overarching meaning in their lives。The point of the book is to give an overall introduction to Jung’s ideas and to nudge the attitude of the therapist to take the spiritual side of the patient into consideration。 Jung defines a “Modern man” as someone who is unsatisfied with believing spiritual matters from an authority， and wants to experience truths for himself。 The modern man is unconvinced that life is all about trying to be a flawed imitation of someone else， but he wants to explore how to embrace this brave new world in his full individual form。 Jung recognizes that even though people experience neurosis because of their abnormality， some are neurotic because they are too normal。 And Jung takes into account that people have a higher calling than mere psychological stableness。A major theme in Jung’s ideas is that of the collective unconscious。 The collective unconscious is the shared elements of the psyche in the same way we share elements of our physiology。 It is a set of memories and structures encoded in our DNA， so to speak， that it passed down by heredity from our ancestors。 I also got the impression that it means that we share the same psychic fabric that is updated in real-time。The way Jung asserts the collective unconscious is by pointing out the remarkable similarities of methodology across cultures and time。 He also points out how symbols， even abstract symbols， come to mean the same thing from cultures that have no way of influencing each other。Freud thought that all experiences， fantasies and desires originate in consciousness， and the unacceptable and inappropriate is discarded into the unconsciousness。 Jung thought the opposite， namely that the unconscious was the birthplace of all fantasies， desires and ideas， and they will enter consciousness once they’ve grown up to the surface， so to say。Jung thinks that a fundamental function of our psyche lies in its self-regulatory methods for compensation to maintain an equilibrium。 An example of this might be that a dream might exaggerate something when the unconscious detects a flawed perspective in the conscious。Jung points out that every interaction of the personalities of human beings are like mixing chemical substances， and they will affect each other。 You can have no influence on someone who cannot exert influence on you as well （This is， by the way， an important point when understanding how to influence people in general。）。 Jung rejects the idea that the psychotherapist should， or can， be behind a smokescreen of professional father-like authority， unaffected by the patient。There’s something paradoxical in creating a framework of “individuation。” Jung acknowledges this and says the only way you can “individuate” yourself is through real experience。 You can’t package experiences， give them to people， and manufacture wisdom on a large scale。 You can， however， as Jung points out， create a method in which people are more likely to have those experiences that would help them lead a more fulfilling life。The goal of psychotherapy， according to Jung， is different for each patient， and there is no one-size-fits all modes of being。 To have successfully adapted to society does not satisfy everyone， and Jung is interested in helping those who feel stuck in life， who are restless in normality， and who seek to find a deeper meaning in life。 Jung thinks individual differences are important when selecting a mode of treatment， and the three important factors are age （stage of life）， introversion/extroversion and if they are materialistic or spiritual， and whether they understand the world primarily through thinking， feeling， sensation or intuition。 Jung coined Introversion and extroversion， although I see the utility， I think there’s a danger in taking the categorization of personalities too seriously。 In my eyes， when people are classified as this or that， they tend to exaggerate the traits of their type， because that’s now there’s a clearer expectation of their behaviour。 We have a tendency to act the way others expect us to。 We often confuse introversion with a lack of confidence， status and social skills， and it seems to me that the majority of people think that shyness is a fixed personality trait。 If someone is shy， there’s no telling what is the nature of their psyche， because they might just lack social skills， which leads to not enjoying social company， which leads to even less social skills。 And categorization and an emphasis on the fixed nature seems to me to only enforce this sort of loop。Jung says that consciousness arises because of conflicts， more precisely， conflicting drives in our psyche， where mere instinct is not sufficient， and so a “mediator” is required。 In the development of the psyche， the consciousness is stable once the ego has been established and there is a difference between “I” and “Me。” To take this idea further， Jung says one's consciousness is expanded by complexity in the psyche， an increased amount of problems and paradoxes in the system。 This notion seems mysterious to me because it’s hard to grasp what “more consciousness” really implies。My favourite chapter in the book is about the anarchic man。 The magical worldview， Jung explains， is the worldview where the psychic life and the physical world is one and the same。 In this world view， there is no individual psychic life。 Their unconsciousness is projected into the world， as objective。 The collective unconscious colours their existence。 This is how primitive people in the jungle lived， and some still live today， I assume。Jung explains how primitive people don’t believe in coincidences， and anything out of the ordinary is not a meaningless conscience that can be explained by the “laws of nature。” On the contrary， anything out of the ordinary is a serious violation of the harmonious way of life caused by a curse from a sorcerer， and the source must be destroyed， killings must be made and sacrifices have to be made。 They are very sensitive to exceptions in the world， and always link them together。 Interestingly， the primitive does not view the event of a sorcerer telling a crocodile to kill someone “supernatural，” but views it just as natural as everything else， magic is nature， nature is magic。A point I’m critical of Jung is that he is too approving of the primitive mind。 A world where the line between the psyche and the world is an orgy of madness。 Villages become hostile to other villages in the event of an elderly woman’s death because apparently， the other village had killed her spirit animal。 Innocent people are killed because of accusations of sorcery， and so much waste of resources and energy on creating needless suffering。 It is clear to me that anyone who visits primitive people has a moral obligation to educate them on causality， science and rationality。 I fail to see how understanding these things are incompatible with jungle life。 Withholding explanations that would alleviate this confusion is uncompassionate in my eyes。Jung does give some interesting examples where things seem to be linked together in ways causality cannot account for。 An example would be W\when anything happens by chance， a duplicate is usually followed up pretty quickly。 Jung calls this for the law of doubles。This was somewhat astounding to read。 Because I have also taken notice of the “law of doubles，” in terms of dating and relationships， and I’ve never thought that anyone would put such a thing in a book！The way we understand physics seems to change our attitudes in life。 Newtonian physics calls for strict causality and determinism。 Einstein’s theory of relativism begged the question that if the most fundamental thing we know， space and time is relative， how can moral laws be absolute？There is a lot of hype around quantum mechanics because science leaves room open for the spiritually minded people’s conviction that conventional causality cannot account for the whole shebang of the cosmos because the deeper levels of physics do not comply with causality as we currently conceptualize it。 Needless to say， this has created a surge of pseudo-scientist charlatans jumping on the bandwagon of twisting quantum mechanics to somehow prove their wacky beliefs。 I get a knee-jerk reaction every time some self-help guru mentions quantum mechanics， but I don’t dismiss the notion entirely， rather， I enjoy my own cup of guilty pleasure in the knowledge that physicists have discovered something beyond comprehension。 Any talk of coincidences annoys the rationalist because his deepest belief is that of causality。 This amazing human achievement， casualty， has brought him to be the ruler of the world， above nature， or so he thinks。 If his theory of causality fails， it will remind him that he is not above nature after all。Rationalists use the derogatory term “superstition，” point their finger and laugh at primitive people who do not dare to go outside if they stub their little toe on a primal equivalent of a table leg because this accident is a sign of their day is cursed。 But Jung thinks we all operate on some level on “superstition。” Our minds are pattern-recognition machines fundamentally， and the person who prides themselves as purely “rational” is arrogant and delusional， because his unconscious beliefs that drive most of his actions are derived from pattern-recognition， and not rationality， which may be labelled as “superstitious。” Jung points this out and notes that we are quick to notice the meaningless and arbitrary beliefs in others， but are blind to those we hold ourselves。My favourite quotes of the book are: “In my picture of the world there is a vast outer realm and an equally vast inner realm; between these two stands man [。。。]” and “The spirit is the body experienced from within， and the body is the outer manifestation of the living spirit。”I’ve experienced times where psychic strength and physical strength was blurred。 Past year or so， I’ve wondered about what the hell energy is， where it comes from and how to get more of it。 The explanation of proper nutrition and a good night’s sleep doesn’t cut it for me。 Seems like you’ve got to use energy to make energy。 It’s so weird。 And I don’t think it’s exclusively a product of mere efficiency of organs and cells， and I sort of think that the psyche is the source of energy just as the physical is the source of energy。It appears that Jung indicates that we are all given a certain amount of masculine energy and feminine energy。 Men tend to use their masculine energy up in their youth， and so in the later years， they become more feminine。 And vice versa。 Jung seems to imply here that we have a certain budget of energy allocated to us at birth。Jung’s discussion of art is interesting。 Freud meant that art is a symptom of neurosis， and Jung agrees this is so to some extent the case， but the theory fails to explain most art。 Jung explains art with the collective unconscious。 Just like a dream is the method of the unconscious to let the conscious know something， the collective unconscious uses the artist to make something apparent to the rest of society。 It’s a somewhat far-fetched idea， but very interesting nonetheless。 Jung asks rhetorically how Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason could be a mere manifestation of drives for sex and power？ It’s just too simple for an explanation。The final point I’d like to add is that Jung indicates that white westerners seem to have a darker collective unconscious， and are more prone to neurosis。 Jung claims that since the collective unconscious is passed down by generations， each country and culture has their own psyche， in some regard。 It does make sense， but it’s not a very welcome idea nowadays， considering people would want to believe that the only thing differentiating people across the globe is mere outward appearance。In conclusion， this was a fascinating read。 After several failed attempts and a lot of hours of slow and concentrated reading， I finally got through it， probably due to the fact I now have read Freud。 I take Jung very seriously due to the fact that so many different， and the large spectre of people， regard him as a genius。 It’s hard to encapsulate how much I like this book in a review because the book was like a river of golden nuggets of wisdom。 It’s no doubt he’s ridiculously smart， and I even suspect that Jung will be my favourite author of all time 。。。more
Wise Fool
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This is a brilliant book！！！ Love the logical reasoning。 The balance he finds in humanity！ It's just one that everyone should read！ There's no way my limited knowledge of words will do this book justice。 Great read！Enjoy！！！ This is a brilliant book！！！ Love the logical reasoning。 The balance he finds in humanity！ It's just one that everyone should read！ There's no way my limited knowledge of words will do this book justice。 Great read！Enjoy！！！ 。。。more
Jonat
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*4。5 STARS*No one doubts the importance of conscious experience。 We spent 1/4 of our lives in a more or less unconscious state， so why then should we question the importance of unconscious happenings ？ This is a book which urges the reader to acknowledge the influence of a spiritual world upon the visible one。
Ramanqu
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I don't think the title was appropriate for the contents。 I don't think the title was appropriate for the contents。 。。。more
Karol
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Classic， a must read for everyone concerned with psychology。 The book is written in the "old style" so its hiding some of its points and is not pointing them out on the plain sights。 But even given the age of the book many of its ideas remain highly relevant today。 Classic， a must read for everyone concerned with psychology。 The book is written in the "old style" so its hiding some of its points and is not pointing them out on the plain sights。 But even given the age of the book many of its ideas remain highly relevant today。 。。。more
Satish Suthar
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A very insightful read！ Very difficult to understand in one go， I believe。 I'd need to re-visit the book later to understand it even better。 A very insightful read！ Very difficult to understand in one go， I believe。 I'd need to re-visit the book later to understand it even better。 。。。more
Willem Gheysen
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Digging deep in the subconscious and dreamworld to explore how they influence our look at the world。 Might need to read it a couple of times again to fully understand Jungs theory。
Todd Cheng
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I had read Freud a few years ago and was not the fan of the emerging modern philosophy of psychology。 However， Carl Jung has helped me revisit the age with a deeper respect。 This book will be added to my reread。 I appreciated his insights and rational understanding shared。
Reshid Bey
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Not entirely sure how to rate this honestly。 Will re-read at a later time if enthusiastic。
Alan L
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hm
Đăng Dương
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Very， very well-written。 You can tell that Jung is a really smart guy。
Ariadne Deborah Fassel
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Except that I think he is making unwarranted assumptions about "primitive" man， I found this to be quite informative， according well with my Buddhist studies。Pages 150-183 are missing in my paperback edition。 Except that I think he is making unwarranted assumptions about "primitive" man， I found this to be quite informative， according well with my Buddhist studies。Pages 150-183 are missing in my paperback edition。 。。。more
Chris Tabor
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There were some very poignant chapters that even spoke to me in specifics that seemed eery， yet between each of these were many pages dedicated to fairly tenous understandings of neurology and how it relates to psychology （bearing in mind I'm viewing this from a modern perspective）。 all in all， I remain more Jungian than Freud oriented， and appreciate the gentlemanly tone that Jung provides to Freuds own analysis。 All in all it was very interesting but not necessarily enlightening。 There were some very poignant chapters that even spoke to me in specifics that seemed eery， yet between each of these were many pages dedicated to fairly tenous understandings of neurology and how it relates to psychology （bearing in mind I'm viewing this from a modern perspective）。 all in all， I remain more Jungian than Freud oriented， and appreciate the gentlemanly tone that Jung provides to Freuds own analysis。 All in all it was very interesting but not necessarily enlightening。 。。。more
Aidan
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A good book that gave me a different perspective on psychotherapy， however his blatant obsession with projecting his own flaws onto Sigmund Freud and his sheer insanity is what detracts me from many of Jung's later works。 I would highly recommend you read it however， it Is quite good。 A good book that gave me a different perspective on psychotherapy， however his blatant obsession with projecting his own flaws onto Sigmund Freud and his sheer insanity is what detracts me from many of Jung's later works。 I would highly recommend you read it however， it Is quite good。 。。。more
Ben Clark
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Probably not for the hyper rational types but knowing some therapists it's pretty obvious how significant this book alone was in terms of shaping the mental health treatment of today。 He makes a lot of well written and logically explained statements regarding the interaction between the psychoanalyst and the patient， a lot of which I know for a fact fed into the methods of psychoanalysis today so that's some achievement by itself。Secondly， there is a lot of fluffy talk about spirituality， religi Probably not for the hyper rational types but knowing some therapists it's pretty obvious how significant this book alone was in terms of shaping the mental health treatment of today。 He makes a lot of well written and logically explained statements regarding the interaction between the psychoanalyst and the patient， a lot of which I know for a fact fed into the methods of psychoanalysis today so that's some achievement by itself。Secondly， there is a lot of fluffy talk about spirituality， religion， collective unconsciousness， while the problem remains these things are hard to prove I think Jung offers a lot of food for thought regarding these mystical topics when taking into account the way most of humanity has lived for all of our existence compared to post-enlightenment thinking and the modern western material mentality。 。。。more
Alex Elman
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An incredible deep and dense read for anyone doing serious soul searching。
Dr。 SUMIT MEHINDRU
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One of the toughest book I have read till this date
Hectorpalomares
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I found this book more interesting and better written than "Man and His Symbols"。 It contains esoteric content that I'm not often exposed to in other media， this is probably the reason why each page was thought provoking。 I found this book more interesting and better written than "Man and His Symbols"。 It contains esoteric content that I'm not often exposed to in other media， this is probably the reason why each page was thought provoking。 。。。more
Malik
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life changing
Jane Peng
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I think this is really a early psychology book。 I see the origin of a lot of psychology theories， for example introversion and extroversion。 However， this book is a bit too focused on dreams and his idea of people instead of really showing an experimental results。 Interestingly， I checkout more about Jung and learnt that he and Wolfgang Pauli， the quantum mechanics guy， worked together on Synchronicity。 This couguht my attention and maybe that will be my next read。 'Atom and Archetype: The Pauli I think this is really a early psychology book。 I see the origin of a lot of psychology theories， for example introversion and extroversion。 However， this book is a bit too focused on dreams and his idea of people instead of really showing an experimental results。 Interestingly， I checkout more about Jung and learnt that he and Wolfgang Pauli， the quantum mechanics guy， worked together on Synchronicity。 This couguht my attention and maybe that will be my next read。 'Atom and Archetype: The Pauli/Jung Letters， 1932–1958 （public library）' 。。。more
Alexandre Ramalho
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Extremely dull。The writing is old and too eloquent， and despite touching some interesting points here and there， the vast majority of it is an aggregation of old psychiatric scientific material， with little or no interest to the modern man。
Jean-michel Boudreault
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Great introduction to Jung’s thought。 He acknowledges his debt to Freud but more importantly he clearly elucidates where his own thought diverges。 This is dated material， of course， but still relevant。 It is striking that we apparently have made little progress since Jung in figuring out the nature of the unconscious。 Yet accessing the unconscious psyche is key to solving our neuroses， as Jung convincingly argues。 The recently acknowledged healing power of psychedelic drugs by way of the direct Great introduction to Jung’s thought。 He acknowledges his debt to Freud but more importantly he clearly elucidates where his own thought diverges。 This is dated material， of course， but still relevant。 It is striking that we apparently have made little progress since Jung in figuring out the nature of the unconscious。 Yet accessing the unconscious psyche is key to solving our neuroses， as Jung convincingly argues。 The recently acknowledged healing power of psychedelic drugs by way of the direct access they provide to the subconscious comes to mind。 。。。more
Niall Roland
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A big， big book。 Yet only 240-odd pages。
James
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A deeply insightful book which would likely benefit from re-reading parts of it。 Jung offers a modern approach to spirituality and introspection which is missing at the moment。
Riley Gramlich
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A concise overview on Jungian psychology。 Jung takes a mind-opening dive into the problem of loss of spiritual life in the modern world。
Joshua Lawson
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I suspect I’ll need more than a single reading to grasp the significance of this book。 Carl Jung’s version of psychotherapy may have gone out of style for the moment， steeped as we are in “evidence-based” models of cognitive and behavioral theory， but I suspect it will return in force when the time is right。 Hopefully sooner rather than later。
Julian Worker
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This is not an easy read by any means。 However， it is fascinating to read the opinions of CG Jung。Childhood and extreme old age， to be sure， are utterly different and yet they have one thing in common : submersion in unconscious psychic happenings。The psyche is a causal factor in disease。 Neurosis is an inner cleavage - the state of being at war with oneself 。。。。what drives people to war with themselves is the intuition or knowledge that they consist of two persons in opposition to one another。
John R French
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