Customer Reviews

Projection and Re-Collection in Jungian Psychology: Reflections of the Soul (Reality of the Psyche Series)

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This is one of the few books Marie-Louise von Franz actually wrote (as opposed to being a transcription of seminars she gave at the Jung Institute in Zurich). Thus, in many ways, it is quite dense, and a difficult read. But, I believe this to be one of her finest works, and I'm more than pleased that Open Court has kept it in print. Herein, von Franz details (in two separate sections of the book) the history of scientific discovery and the history of the evolution of religion. The interesting thing, however, is that her focus is on the *errors* made at each step along the way. These, she maintains, represent projections of the unconscious psyche. And, therefore, we have much to learn about ourselves by studying how these things came to be. It truly is a fascinating piece of writing by my favorite of the first generation Jungian analysts.

I'm also a reader of Michel Foucault, who offers another history of human thought. But, unlike Foucault (himself a psychologist), who's focus is almost exclusively on issues relating to external polical power, von Franz's focus is inward, trying to define (as did Jung) the nature of our individual unconscious selves. If your goal is a better understanding of who *you* are, then you should read this book.

Current Jungian thought, influenced highly by Object Relations theory, has tended to minimize von Franz as merely one of the "handmaidens" of Carl Jung. But this woman is far more than just that! She is an intelligent (even brilliant) individual, who was able to take Jung's thought into realms he only alluded to. This book is well worth the effort you will put into reading it. HIGHLY recommended!

Great writer and scientist on her own right, Marie-Louise Von Franz in her book explains and summarizes complex ideas of Carl Jung with good style and clear understanding of the subject. The book deals very comfortably with some of the most difficult subjects of Jungian psychology: projections, the problem of evil and synchronicity. A must read for everyone interested in Jungian psychology and spirituality.

This book explores psychological projection of internal contents onto the external world & its inhabitants & the growth process of withdrawing such projections (re-collection). Von Franz seeks to be scientific & uses analogies from physics & principles of the Philosophy of Science: p. 38: "A general psychological law: The statement of the new truth reveals the previous conceptions as `projections' & tries to draw them into the psychic inner world, & at the same time it announces a new myth, which now passes for the finally discovered `absolute' truth." As one of Jung's primary direct disciples, she explains many of his theories: Self, Collective Unconscious, synchronicity, etc. She discusses evil: demons vs. daimons & notes parallels with Christian mysticism & related mythology. She interestingly analyzes mirroring & reflection among ego, Self, perceived world, & synchronicity. IMHO, her description of ego maps into Buddhism: p. 170: "The field of ego-consciousness is a loose structure of originally separate single islands of consciousness that have gradually grown together. The seams are therefore still perceptible in many people." She notes parallels with other ancient beliefs: "in Stoic philosophy there is the theory that single human souls are sparks of the cosmic fiery ether, that is, of the world-soul...When a human being really tries to lead a spiritual life, these `sparks' gradually grow together into one inner light of reason...This idea of sparks of the psyche...is also to be found in the systems of various Gnostics." And, p. 176: "Individuation is not an egocentric affair but demands & even rigorously necessitates human relatedness," paralleling Buddhist emphasis on compassion accompanying enlightenment. She explains the mutual dependence of ego & Self: p. 187: "Not only is the ego of the empirical human being mirrored in the act of self-knowledge, but also the Self is then first brought from its state of potentiality into realization by virtue of the fact that it is mirrored in the ego, that is, it is recognized. It is only from the standpoint of the Self that the ego can be seen as object and, vice versa." Unfortunately, though citing Mandalas, she doesn't address the many parallels with Buddhist thought or (per Jung) with Kabbalah (e.g. the sparks created in the tsimtsum process of universe creation & the Kabbalists' attempt to re-collect them). There are additional, valuable insights in this book, however, it's a difficult read, perhaps due to translation from German & poor punctuation. Still, it's a valuable book for serious students, not only of Jung, but also of mysticism, mythology, Eastern thought, etc.

Steven B. Herrmann, PhD, MFT
Author of "Walt Whitman: Shamanism, Spiritual Democracy, and the World Soul"

To be sure, this is one of Marie Louise von Franz' most brilliant books: a depth-analysis into the nature of projection and re-collection in Jungian psychology. Von Franz defines projection clearly in chapter one, where she points out that the phenomenon under clinical investigation leads to psychological problems when the archaic identity of a subject doing the projecting leads to disturbances in adaptation, at which point integration of the projected content into the subject is desirable (7). As she points out the archaic identity between subject and object still lives at the very bottom of the psyche and this lower and more "primitive" level contains the real secret of all life-intensity and cultural creativity (8). Her aim is to get to the bottom of the projection-making process, to show through her erudition how the goal of Jungian analysis is to help the patient and presumably the reader not to project anymore. This is also the aim, she says, of Zen Buddhist meditation and although she sees such detached consciousness, at least at times, through an idealizing lens, she says we average human beings will, for the most part, have to continue for the rest of our lives to recognize our projections for what they are: as mistaken judgments about people, situations, and events (199). She posits for analytical psychology five stages in the process of withdrawing projections. This leads her to the following discussion. "One of the oldest ways of symbolizing projection," she says, "is by means of projectiles, especially the magic arrow or shot that harms other people" (20). She develops this idea further: "When one becomes the target of another person's negative projection, one often experiences that hatred almost physically as a projectile" (21). "Ultimately," she adds, "it appears that projections always originate in the archetypes and in unconscious complexes" (24). She applies this idea clearly to the problem of transference and countertransference in psychotherapy (27). She is adept at tracing the notion of projection to the withdrawal of projectiles in religious hermeneutics, in Western philosophy, Gnosticism, early Christianity and the schism in the second millennium. Her discussion increases in insight in the connections she makes between "excited points" in the electromagnetic field (posited by modern physicists) and the archetypal nuclei that emit certain psychoid auras of numinosity, or light. Here she makes it clear that in Jung's hypothesis the archetypes in their quiescent state are not projected: "projection is an essential part of the process by which the archetype assumes a determinable shape" (86). Madness and possession by evil spirits, whether in an individual, a family, an analytical relationship, or in groups, may be cured by a shaman, she says, because the shaman has the power to overcome contaminations by toxic emotions: "during his initiation he has overcome his own states of possession" (99). "The Inner Companion" is a marvelous chapter and "Consciousness and Inner Wholeness" makes it clear that Jung's notion of the Self is meant to be understood as an experience that may put an end to projections (160); experiences of Self may sometimes lead to a metanoia of consciousness where changes in the personality become irreversible (161). This may lead to the inner eye of insight and re-collection, or integration of the Self from projection, where little sparks of light in the unconscious begin to light up and one great inner light of consciousness is presumably illuminated (170). The discussion on individuation and relatedness, where she speaks of "the social function of the Self" and "reciprocal individuation," where one gathers around oneself a "soul family"--a group not created by accident and projection, but by something more objective arranged by the Self (177)--is brilliant. Chapter nine discusses reflection with erudition and the "fourfold" mirroring of psyche and matter (synchronicity). She ends her book with a discussion of synchronistic events as "acts of creation in time" that may be observed objectively through reflexio (reflection). This may happen when we are able to perceive the synchronous ordering of events as part of a psychoid process, where one can integrate "absolute knowledge" in an archetypal nuclei as existing "in a space-time continuum in which space is no longer space, nor time time" (193). Such rare moments of re-collection are the aims of Jungian analysis. Ending her book she points to non-possession by the numinosity of the Self as the aim of individuation, modeling the the pinnacle of Chinese wisdom, as instanced in hexagram 15 of the I Ching, "Modesty."

I love MLvF, I own I think 6 of her books and plan to keep buying. I just want to let people know though that this isn't the usual pleasurable walk through fairy tales with her experience and insight. It's more theoretical and abstract, less personal. It's a bit interesting, looking at old myths and philosophies but, eg I never got any personal insight that there is in almost any other of her works. It's metaphysical writing that could be by any number of people.