Customer Reviews

Psychology and Religion: West and East (The Collected Works of C. G. Jung, Volume 11)

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_Psychology and Religion: West and East_ is definitely one of the top three most important books in the Princeton/Bollingen series of Jung's collected works. As of now, it is only available in the ...hardcover edition, but you cannot put a price on the life-enhancing knowledge contained in this volume.
I will go over this volume one essay at a time:

The first essay is entitled "Psychology and Religion" and is a very useful, readable, and somewhat generalized overview on Jung's opinions on religion, and its usefulness in preventing neurosis. This essay is an ideal introduction.

Next comes the esaay "A Psychological Approach to the Dogma of the Trinity". This is a very complex and profound essay, and deals with some of the most perplexing and mysterious concepts in all of theology. Specifically, it attempts to explain the precise nature of the Holy Ghost. It may be hard to relate to this essay unless you have had a numinous religious experience, such as a connection of coincidences with an underlying Biblical message. But Jung does a remarkable job dealing with this complex subject.

Next comes the essay "Transformation Symbolism in the Mass". This is my least favorite essay in this collection. Jung describes in excruciating detail the painstaking procedures involved in carrying out a proper symbolic mass. This wouldn't be so bad if Jung would have actually given us his interpretation of the symbolic significance of the procedures contained within the mass, but he does not do this. Instead, he simply explains in a very boring and dry manner what is to be done in performing the mass, and does not venture an interpretation of what any of this means. This is the only weak essay in this volume, however, and the rest of the book is classic, vintage Jung. But to avoid getting bogged down and demotivated, I suggest you skip this essay.

After a few other short but useful essays, we come to the centerpiece of this volume, Jung's masterwork, "Answer to Job". This is Jung's single greatest achievement, and one of his longest essays. This essay alone is worth the price of this collection (although "Answer to Job" is available by itself in paperback). Some critics have accused Jung of blasphemy because of this book, but in my opinion it is the greatest work of theology ever written, by anyone, ever. For more details on this specific masterpiece, refer to my review on the stand-alone paperback edition of this great essay.

Finally, we have the section on Eastern religion. Although this discussion on Asian religion comprises only about 1/4 of _Psychology and Religion: West and East_, it is perhaps the best interpretation of Eastern religion ever written by a westerner, eclipsing even the work of Zen masters Alan Watts and Aldous Huxley. First is the discussion on the Tibetian Book of the Dead, which is fascinating (also see Timothy Leary's companion piece to this ancient work). Next is a very poignant discussion on Yoga and the West. It basically criticises westerners for "doing" Yoga like it is only a type of aerobic exercise, and neglecting the literary, scholarly, and philosophical aspects of Yoga.

Next comes the discossion on "Zen Satori". This is probably the best essay in the section on Eastern religion. Within this relatively short work, Jung provides invaluble insight into Zen enlightenment, and succeeds in showing us the way to a better life, breaking free of fear, hate, negative emotion, and all other sources of neurosis. Words cannot describe the positive and joyous forces which are unleashed by the Zen master Jung within this spectacular essay.

Finally, we have a masterful discussion of the I-Ching. This essay, though brief, is a succint and insightful interpretation of this ancient work. It is absolutely essential for anyone who is interested in the I-Ching, and it is also a competent and thorough introdution for those unfamiliar with the I-Ching.

Overall, this volume of essays is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL for all Jungians. 5 +++ stars. Highest recommendation.

This lengthy tome, while not an easy read and including rather detailed analyses of certain Christian processes as well as the less than scientific (but certainly different) Answer to Job, provides a number of wise observations on the psychology of religion, applicable to both Eastern and Western religious traditions. Some of his main areas of cross-religious focus are:

Belief vs. Thought:
p. 110 "People who believe and don't think always forget that they continually expose themselves to their own worst enemy: doubt. Wherever belief reigns, doubt lurks in the background. But thinking people welcome doubt: it serves them as a valuable stepping-stone to better knowledge. People who can believe should be a little more tolerant with those of their fellows who are only capable of thinking. Belief has already conquered the summit which thinking tries to win by toilsome climbing. The believer ought not to project his habitual enemy, doubt, upon the thinker, thereby suspecting him of destructive designs...let the believer rejoice that others, too, seek to climb the mountain on whose peak he sits."
p. 449 "Irritability, bad moods, and outbursts of affect are the classic symptoms of chronic virtuousness."

The Statistical Distribution of Human Development In Terms of Years and Historical Periods:
p. 308 "There are people who, psychologically, might be living in the year 5000 B. C., i.e., who can still successfully solve their conflicts as people did seven thousand years ago. There are countless troglodytes and barbarians living in Europe and in all civilized countries, as well as a large number of medieval Christians. On the other hand, there are relatively few who have reached the level of consciousness which is possible in our time. We must also reckon with the fact that a few of our generation belong to the third or fourth millennium A. D. and are consequently anachronistic."
p. 333-5: "It takes about twenty years for the ordinary run of people to begin thinking the thoughts of the educated person of today...it takes about twenty years for the general outlook and problems of the educated to percolate down to the uneducated masses."

The nature of human development through neuroses and withdrawal of projections (when a person projects his or her inner perspectives, problems, etc. onto the external world or onto other people, thus denying the internal origin of the projection-and associating it with denial of responsibility for it). Jung's Individuation process involves integrating the split off pieces of one's personality-including projections. The process implies accepting oneself rather than condemning one's faults.
p. 43 "fairly complete human beings are exceptions. It is true that an overwhelming majority of educated people are fragmentary personalities and have a lot of substitutes instead of the genuine goods."
p. 85 "the development of consciousness requires the withdrawal of all the projections we can lay our hands on."
p. 256 "So long as they are unconscious our unconscious contents are always projected, and the projection fixes upon everything `ours,' inanimate objects as well as animals and people...they are more than what they are in themselves and function as such."
p. 339 "We cannot change anything unless we accept it. Condemnation does not liberate; it oppresses...if the doctor wishes to help a human being he must be able to accept him as he is. And he can do this in reality only when he has already seen and accepted himself as he is."

Psychological problems can result from resisting this process; resulting neuroses and suffering help to spur on the process despite egoistic attempts to derail it:
p. 75 "neurosis is always a substitute for legitimate suffering."
p. 350 "A neurosis is never more complicated than the person who has it."
p. 335 "with the decline of religious life, the neuroses grow noticeably more frequent."

Thus, the religions (spiritual) life can be identified with Individuation as opposed to neurosis. Further:
p. 283 "A concrete event by itself can never create meaning, but is largely dependent for this on the manner in which it is understood."
p. 339 "simple things are always the most difficult. In actual life it requires the greatest art to be simple."

Such an approach (to simplicity and creation of meaning) implies further similarity between psychology and religion (West and East).

i have found this book really interesting and if not for the usuall difficult jargons, i would have rated this a five star book. What i found of special interest is the portion of the ANSWER TO JOB...it contained ideas which are controversial yet liberating! Even when i was a child, I already harbored the same questions posited in this work i.e. some irrationalities in the way God works. I also love the psychological analysis of the book of revelation which includes the analysis of the shadow of its author...it was a learning experience for me since i became more convinced that in order for us to be truly human and be more psychologically balanced, we have to integrate all the aspects of our personality including the SHADOW! You'll have an enlightening experience by reading this book.