Customer Reviews

Symbols of Transformation (Collected Works of C.G. Jung Vol.5)

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Historically, Symbols of Transformation was not only the book in which Jung delcared his split with Freud but also became later a sort of litmus test to see just how well people could deal with the depth psychology literature--which is to say, Symbols of Transformation is a very overwhelming read. Jung's ideas are brilliant but the volume could use significant editing or perhaps reduce more of his page long excercizes in etymology or other mental wanderings to footnotes (as though there were not already pages upon pages of footnotes!) It is tempting to think that Jung is showing off however one must remember the challenge he felt himself under and the certainty with which his peers would reject him. I cannot think of a book that more deserves cliff notes, and yet, when it is all said and done, his premise is staggering and no less elegant than Darwin's theory of species diversification. The notion that those energies which feed the libido and spirituality flow from the same pool or are perhaps the same thing altogether, comes as startling but is only the beginning of a long narrative Jung unravels that leaves mankind forever linked with his mythic past, spirituality recognized as an essential part of the human psychology. But this is where cliff notes would make a nice addition (or some sort of chapter summary) because the implications go on and on and on and on. I don't think you can read this and be unchanged because so many ideas are raised that the creative mind is at once set in motion, and soon you'll find new ideas creeping into your awareness that were never there before, and are not really contained within this book either.

Although I would not suggest Transformations to any and everyone, it is as important as any other critical landmark in the development of modern psychology and even the philosophy of our entire species. If you are a person who wishes to confront those ideas of what it means to be a human being and who wishes to meet one of the great 20th century intellectuals in his own territory (instead of all those 2nd and 3rd hand sources), I strongly recommend giving this book a try. Just don't expect an easy or even agreeable read; Jung is if nothing else always challenging.

This work is a landmark both in psychology--the beginning of Jung's revelation of the Collective Unconscious resulting in his break with Freud--& his own quest for individuation. In his own words: p. 304: "It is not possible to live too long amid infantile surroundings, or in the bosom of the family, without endangering one's psychic health. Life calls us forth to independence, and anyone who does not heed this call because of childish laziness or timidity is threatened with neurosis." Furthermore, he states that (despite many modern Jungians emphasizing his Thinking nature), p. 109: "All passion is a challenge to fate" & p. 110: "Anyone who refuses to experience life must stifle his desire to live--in other words, he must commit partial suicide. This explains the death fantasies that usually accompany the renunciation of desire." Needless to say, the break with Freud was extremely traumatic for Jung--yet it led to his own individuation (see his biography, "Memories, Dreams, Reflections"). Of course, in Jung's era it was not uncommon for the erudite to intersperse their writings with poetic allusions, French & Latin phrases, etc. which make such works exceedingly trying for modern readers. Still, this is a breakthrough book. I'd suggest reading his immediate disciples' works first as well as "Man & His Symbols" which was written at the end of Jung's life (with some of his primary students) for a general vs. technical audience. Books are also available by Marie-Louise von Franz, Barbara Hanna, Jolande Jacobi, as well as Emma Jung. Some interesting observations in this work: p. 181: "Children cannot distinguish their own instincts from the influence and will of their parents" & p. 303: (quoting Gerhart Hauptmann via W. Stekel)--"Poetry is the art of letting the primordial word resound through the common word."

This is not an easy read, but it is worth the time and effort. I have a link to Dictionary.com and purchased a Latin translation program to help me through. I have notes all over the margins and have to read and reread and reread paragraphs to follow Jung's train of thought. The book is a lot of work, but it is fascinating, and nothing this good ought to be easy. You will get back everything you put in, but it requires committment.

Jung has put forth his concept of the libido in this book and has presented it in a very clear way. This work also points the way towards psychic maturity, that of liberating ourselves away from the protective womb of the mother and embarking on our individual journey towards wholeness. Reading this book is a learning experience indeed!

Jung's intention behind writing this book and otherwise investigating this field was to expand the symbolic expressions that arise from the unconscious beyond the scope of Freud's pansexualism. For the most part Jung deferred to Freud's interpretation of dreams, but radically opposed Freud's exclusive reliance on sexuality as the sole cause of unconscious impulses. "Symbols of Transformation" is Jung's attempt at explaining a variety of other-than-sexual causes for the symbols and impulses that arise from the unconscious. By discussing these unconscious forces, Jung relies upon his theory of the collective unconscious and the archetypes, which he deals with more explicitly in volume 9/1.

Jung begins with a short chapter on two modes of thinking which explain the means through which unconscious archetypes can intrude upon conscious. The first mode of thinking he mentions is directed thinking, which is defined by taking thoughts and ideas meaningful to the individual and translating them into objectively relay-able symbols, or in our case, words. This type of thought he claims is discursive and tends to be quite exhausting. The applications and merits of this type of thought are self-evident. The next form of thinking he addresses is dreaming or fantasy-thinking. In this type of thought, images come and go as they please. The verbal constraints found in directed thinking vanish and instead, images and feelings. This form of thinking is effortless, spontaneous and seemingly guided by unconscious motives (18). Jung writes that the advantages modern man has over his ancestors is that he has learned to focus his energies onto directed thinking, while the earlier humans who had the same intellectual capacities (although less material knowledge) emphasized this fantasy-thinking. It was this early preponderance on fantasy-thinking that caused early humans to invest so heavily in mythology. Their myths were the living manifestations of the societies focus on fantasy thinking. Whatever it was that pre-occupied the unconscious of the early society quickly manifested itself in the sphere of mythology. These unconscious motivations are what Jung will call archetypes. He finds that the same archetypes that can be inferred from mythology are the exact same archetypes found in the psyche of people today. Just as their motivations crafted myths, Jung believes they still influence us today.

Jung later picks up on the archetype of sexuality, which he believed Freud used so nebulously that it lost all meaning (135). Jung does to a degree recognize that sexual energy or more generally as he used the term, libido had overtly sexual sources. He writes that music most assuredly had sexual origins, but to place music in the same category as sex today would be absurd. Jung writes that the sexual energy was divorced from the physiologically act and applied to secondary sexual situations. In the case of music, one's dance or drumming could secure them a mate. Jung also suggests that reinvested energy may be what causes animals to build nests and care for their young. As the original energy caused the production of ova and spermatozoa, animals that could direct their energy to safe-guarding the environment of their offspring led to advantages in child production. I am not sure how well these theories mesh up with evolutionary biology, but this is how Jung understood it.

This reallocation of sexual energy Jung also attributes to the origin of art. This freed energy simply sought a abstract expression beyond its original biological intention. In this sense, Jung is expanding Freud's definition of libido beyond its strictly sexual origin to account for any bodily impulse that encourages the individual to act.

Such impulses Jung identified as the source of neurotic behavior. Spontaneous rhythmic behavior Jung (as well as Freud) attributed to rhythmic suckling of children that finds other applications upon sexual maturity. Jung mentions a case of a young girl beset by such an affliction coupled with sexual compulsions. Jung explained it as sexual energy redirecting itself though rhythmic behavior, which he finds to be a common means of dissipating energy (but in the case of the girl, the rhythm could not fully release her energy). He goes on to write that a dog scratching at a locked door or a man stroking his beard when thinking are both ways of expressing energy when the individual's intended object cannot be achieved. When the expression of libido is completely blocked, Jung claims that all manner of aberrant behavior manifests unconsciously. If this energy is not properly released, neuroses arise.

The remainder of the book addresses various examples of archetypal images found in mythology and the unconscious impulses associated with them, such as the hero as a manifestation of the idealized unconscious, the voyage as roughly spiritual awakening and water as the unconscious. I feel that many of these examples are difficult to follow due to their seemingly esoteric nature. If one is well versed in obscure Greek mythology, perhaps they would read a bit more easily, but I found that his sometimes brainy, abstract meanderings ultimately detracted from his argument. Regardless, by thus juxtaposing the impulses and archetypes of the unconscious, Jung allows his reader to draw his/her own conclusions about how well mythology is a symbolic expression for the yearnings of the unconscious. By following the myths, we can see how earlier thinkers mapped out the unconscious mind, letting us know what to seek and what to avoid in getting to know the Self. As is a common critique of Jung, I wished he would have been more explicit with his correlations rather than leaving the actual connecting of the dots up to the reader.

This book is great for clarifying some complicated and misunderstood ideas like "infantile regression" and the "incest taboo" but Jung tends to digress from the main subject of the book - the Miller fantasies.

The excessive references from mythology tend to make the book a bit of a drag towards the end where he discusses the various aspects of the Mother archetype.

Nevertheless it's an essential book for anyone who wants to understand how fantasies work and how the unconscious communicates with and warns the conscious mind that is on the path to psychosis.

This is a version of the book that ended Jung's relationship with Freud, for it discloses a series of dream (and other kinds of) symbols interpreted synthetically rather than reductively. Interesting for those into exploring the early Jung but definitely not for those new to his thought.

Great book of a great thinker. It would be better if the year of the reprint was displayed at the moment of the purchase.

This is a great book! Perhaps one of the best written in the field.
That said, it is very thick with material, lots of mythological
references, sort of in the fashion of Joseph Campbell, but here
as they illuminate modern psychological concepts, at least in the Jungian sense.
It does presuppose some understanding of Jungian concepts, but
you can get through it and sort of pick it up as you go. Be warned,
though, Jung is the sort of writer who sometimes doesn't get right
to the point, but then again, this isn't a primer. He supposes you
know all the basics. I spent the summer of 83 sitting out by the pool
trying to get through it. In the end,it may have saved my life, as it
underscores certain things people should know about psychology.
It could very well then be the best money you have ever spent.

It was a real struggle to get through it. I think once you do, though,
Jung gets much easier thereafter. In some ways it's like learning to read
Shakespeare or the King James Bible or a foreign language...or just
deciphering what your spouse really means. Think about it!