Integrity in Depth (Carolyn and Ernest Fay Series in Analytical Psychology) [Paperback]

John Beebe (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

" . . . a remarkable book, possibly the best in Jungian literature to convey the felt experience of the Self rather than simply ideas or theories about it."--Journal of Analytical Psychology

(David Tacey Journal of Analytical Psychology 20100401)

“An eloquent book with wide-ranging scholarship. . . . Beebe describes a cultural return that offers some hope that integrity is so deep-seated a human faculty that we cannot do without it.”--Robert A. Johnson, author of Transformation

(Robert A. Johnson, author of Transformation ) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

John Beebe is a psychiatrist and practicing Jungian analyst in San Francisco. In addition to his private practice, he is a clinical assistant professor at the University of California Medical School. He serves as U.S. editor of the Journal of Analytical Psychology, is the founding editor of the San Francisco Jung Institute Library Journal, and has produced three earlier books as editor and co-author.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 165 pages
• Publisher: Fromm Intl; 1st paperback ed edition (June 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0880642130
• ISBN-13: 978-0880642132
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,702,030 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Integrity in Action, August 17, 1998

By 

Thomas Fulton (Minneapolis, Minnesota USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Integrity in Depth (Carolyn and Ernest Fay Series in Analytical Psychology) (Paperback)

Integrity in Depth, by John Beebe, is a quiet, profound meditation on the concept of integrity. Dr. Beebe, a psychiatrist, Jungian analyst and scholar, has found a way to write effectively about a term that encompasses many qualities including authenticity, completeness, wholeness, and honesty. I found the book wise, tolerant, sophisticated but accessible, succinct, and filled with subtle compassion.

Beebe explores integrity from a psychological rather than moral perspective, while honoring the links between the two. For Beebe, integrity is neither blind obedience to "an elaborated system of justice." Nor is it to be confused with heroic inflation or ego-driven rebellion. Beebe locates integrity in the interplay of what Andrew Samuels terms "original morality" and "moral imagination." Integrity is found not in the outcome of a struggle between the two, but in the pattern of a dance. Integrity resides in the space between.

Beebe maintains that integrity is not selflessness, but balance between ego and Self. He writes: "Cicero and Franklin discovered a paradox: integrity, which would seem to presuppose a conscience uncontaminated by concern for political advantage, cannot be separated from personal ambition for approval. Rather it is the right way to win that approval." To Beebe, true integrity imparts a quality of delight.

Integrity in Depth explores the concept of integrity in many contexts. It includes important contributions to the discussion of ethics in psychotherapy. It also includes interesting ideas on the relationship of anxiety and shame to integrity, the function of the dream in restoring integrity, the relationship of eastern thought to integrity, and the connections between integrity and Twelve Step programs. There is an extended reflection on integrity and the work of Jung and some rather profound Post-Jungian observations on integrity and gender.

One reason why the book had an impact on me is that it contains so much evidence of Beebe's own integrity. This is manifested in many ways - the entire tone of the book, the precision of the language, the care with which ideas are attributed to others, and the author's willingness to include examples of his own experiences and feelings. In this sense, the book shows as well as tells the meaning of integrity. This is a fine book of obvious relevance to both personal life and the growing moral bewilderment of modern American society.