Carl Jung and the Modern World

Carl Jung passed away 50  years ago today. What would he have thought of the modern world? Some interesting and thoughtful speculation on that question by Mark Vernon can be found at the BBC News Magazine website.

An excerpt:

The life of the psyche is crucial. Jung believed it is fed not just by psychology, but better by the great spiritual traditions of our culture, with their subtle stories, sustaining rituals and inspiring dreams. The agnostic West has become detached from these resources. 

It is as if people are suffering from "a loss of soul". Too often, the world does not seem to be for us, but against us.

Towards the end of his life, Jung reflected that many - perhaps most - of the people who came to see him were not, fundamentally, mentally ill. They were, rather, searching for meaning. 

It is a hard task. "There is no birth of consciousness without pain," he wrote. But it is vital. Without it, human beings lose their way.

Jung's ideas resonate more with each passing year.

As for the "paranormal", he once wrote: "It all depends on how we look at things, and not how they are in themselves."

Paul Kimball