Aspects of the Masculine [Paperback]

C. G. Jung (Author), John Beebe (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Bollingen Series | Publication Date: May 1, 1989

Extracted from Volumes 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13 and 14. Extracts are also taken from Dream Analysis, C. G. Jung: Letters (Volumes 1 and 2) and C. G. Jung Speaking. A collection of Jung's most important contributions to the depth psychological understanding of masculinity, not only the psychology of men but the essence of masculinity in both sexes.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'The Editor's insightful introduction and careful selection of Jung's papers are invaluable in enabling the interested reader to trace Jung's personal quest on the path to the discovery of his own masculinity through his writings on the Hero; the personal and collective unconscious; the Stages of Life; the personification of the opposites; anima/animus; Mercurius and alchemy.' - Ann Casement, Analytical Psychologist/Anthropologist; 'While the power and influence of the animus appears everywhere throughout Jung's writings, John Beebe has judiciously chosen just the right essays to focus our attention on the subject, making this work absolutely essential reading if we are to understand the enigma of the masculine and its role in defining the spiritual meaning of gender.' - Eugene Taylor, Harvard Medical School --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press; 1st Princeton/Bollingen pbk. ed edition (May 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691018847
• ISBN-13: 978-0691018843
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,248,775 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist, an influential thinker and the founder of analytical psychology (also known as Jungian psychology). Jung's radical approach to psychology has been influential in the field of depth psychology and in counter-cultural movements across the globe. Jung is considered as the first modern psychologist to state that the human psyche is "by nature religious" and to explore it in depth. His many major works include "Analytic Psychology: Its Theory and Practice," "Man and His Symbols," "Memories, Dreams, Reflections," "The Collected Works of Carl G. Jung," and "The Red Book."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Jung on the Masculine, August 9, 2000

By 

Michael P. McGarry (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Aspects of the Masculine (Paperback)

This volume is a selection of writings from the Collected Works of Carl Jung (1875-1961), a selection focusing on the "masculine". The contents of this book would be somewhat surprising for someone expecting a book about "men's issues". When Jung says the "masculine", he is thinking about multiple interacting levels, including (1) the consciousness of real men; (2) the "animus", or unconscious masculine, in real women; (3) the hero myth; (4) the representations of "spirit" in myth; and (5) the alchemical problem of the unification of opposites. Some of these selections focus on the role the father and the mother play in an individual's psyche. There is a whole section devoted to the animus ("The Masculine in Women"), some of Jung's few statements specifically on the psychology of women. About a quarter of the selections are from Jung's late writings, his extended psychological analysis of alchemy. Only a rare mind will understand these works on first reading; most folks will have to delve deeper in Jung's psychology and then come back to these to fully appreciate them. Nevertheless, the selections of this volume may be an excellent introduction to Jung's writings for someone already intrigued by an "expanded" understanding of the masculine.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Man laid bare, the inside edition, January 16, 2011

By 

Kevin Fuller "Kev" (Evansville, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Aspects of the Masculine (Paperback)

One thing about Dr. Jung. He doesn't take an impersonal, detached view of his subjects, rather it is obvious he has lived the experiences he puts the analytic lens to, and that with heart. This is perhaps the most personal and heart wrenching work I have read from Jung. He faces the psyche of the male with all the gusto of a matador facing a prize bull.

Although we like to consider ourselves unique, I don't think hardly any of us could argue with Jung's insights on masculinity. It turns out there are a limited number of psychological experiences we can encounter which manifest in yet again a limited number of archetypes. So, the masculine journey we find, follows most closely that journey of the supreme example of the Father, the Sun. The sun rises in the morning, reaches it's apex at high noon where it shines the most light, and makes it's way back down to the nebulous realm below the horizon. Symbolically, in life the male rises from the primordial unconscious, attains Ego after much striving, only to begin to lose libido as he approaches old age, again descending to the unconscious.

But we find Nature abhors a vacuum and this loss of libido is compensated by the Anima, or the feminine side all men possess. We in older age become softer, gentler and more creative, or else we stultify and become rigid, set in our ways as if those ways depend solely on us to carry them forward. Having attained the age of forty five, I can relate deeply to this book and the phases of life it brings to light. Not only in others do I see these psychological workings, but in myself as well.

Because of works like these, I consider Jung a pioneer. Not just in psychological knowledge does he excel, but in the prudential variety as well. One would do good to read closely books such as these and ponder their nuances and even echoes in one's life.