Customer Reviews

The Undiscovered Self

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_In this book Jung correctly predicted that Communism had to collapse from within. No one else saw that coming. Why should they? For, as he points out, the mass state had all the force of the big battalions on their side- politics, science, and technology were their natural allies. And yet they collapsed.

_Should we rejoice in this? Why? Jung points out that the West is every bit as materialistic as our former Communist opponents. Our spiritual base is gone- in the place of true religion we have aging cults that serve the status quo. There is no inner power there. Every place Jung uses the term Communist, you can substitute Corporate and you have the same animal. That is because both are hierarchical structures where the individual counts for nothing. Indeed, the self-knowledge or individualization that would produce true men and women capable of standing up to the hierarchy is actively discouraged. They are trapped in the illusion of statistical man and of the organization- neither of which really exist. Only a few at the top can exercise the power of a true individual, and even they are usually no more than mouthpieces for the undeveloped masses and their unconscious drives.

_The hope for Jung lies in true religion. The freedom and autonomy of the individual depends on deep inner experience of a metaphysical nature. This is not "faith"; it is direct knowing. Even the deepest faith may melt away with time and circumstances- but not direct experience. It is only this that gives the individual the power to stand up to mass tyranny- and to the World itself. When you haven't made this breakthrough (which requires deep introspection, effort, and, yes, suffering) then other things get deified and charged with demonic energy- money, work, political influence...

_The shallow, rootless mass-man and his organizations are always going to lose, eventually, to the man with deep religious connection to the Macrocosm. Jung the Gnostic, Jung the Christian, Jung the Alchemist, Jung the Magician saw this. The individuated man has the cosmic correspondence within himself.

I first read this book about half a decade ago, and even after much of the reading I've done in between I've found myself coming back to this more then a few time and rereading this masterpiece of philosophy. This is not only one of Jung's best works, Its also flat out one of the best books I have ever read in my entire life. Looking back from when I first read this about 4 or 5 years ago, I find it amazing how much just one line of dialogue here or a paragraph over there has completely shaped so much of the way I think and who I am. This is book is a treasure chest full of jewels for the intellect and the spirit alike which explores individualism and spirituality in so many key ways its a wonder why this hasn't made it on the mandatory reading list for psychology, religious, or philosophy oriented classes. Get your hands on this book, and when your done, hand it to someone else, because its a must read!

If you have read much of Jung's works especially Man and His Symbols then don't expect any surprises this text pertains to the importance of individuation. Important in Jung's time and in our Global Village. This book only pertains to the pertinence of the issue not the how. So once you are done I suggest readingEgo and Archetype. A good book none the less and a decent intro to Jung Psych although I feel that Man and His Symbols is a better introduction.

This book presents an excellent angle on the problems which modern man is facing, despite the technical and political advancements. The real problem is that the individual, the very cell of society, has become obscured by statistics and the Leviathan of the modern State with its people's champions and the unending bureaucracy. Taking into consideration this situation and the proclivity of evil found in the human mind, solutions must be found or devised as soon as possible; the reason for this is that as Carl Jung himself said "Man is the source of all up-coming evil" and that "We know nothing about man". The salvation of a person nowadays is to gain self-knowledge and self-awareness that will protect him/her against the collective psychic disturbances. Self-knowledge does not imply only an idea of knowledge about one's ego, but the need to go further and to tap into the unconscious realm of being. Filling this gap between human ego and unconscious is the goal of all mysticism and religion. To conclude the "Undiscovered Self" lies deep within our spirit, it is the god-force and our true being, some might call it the Image of God. However individuality does not mean isolation, but it opens the gate to true love, the element that brings down tyrannies, and is opposed to the sedated and gregarious mass-mindedness. Further readings that will help clarify what is the self, the knowledge of the self and the unification between the emotions and the reason can be found in the Hesychast Tradition, both Ancient and Modern.

(I read this book some time ago, but the 'insights' from one of the reviewers prompted a response.)

Whoever cautions against discussing politics and religion should simply place their interests elsewhere, otherwise a great danger awaits them in these pages: opposing thoughts, the bane of an ungrounded yet overly-opinionated mind!
This deceptively slim tome represents a distillation of Jung's work, a succinct expression that only dedication and honesty can bring out of one's lifetime efforts. What could be more preponderant during an era of rampant conformity such as ours than a bitterly ironic "self-less-ness": originality in thought and deed is discouraged (sometimes violently) if it goes against the grain of established institutional, national, or credo character; our excesses (including population) move unchecked from psyche through biosphere; not to forget the pall of an undeniably burgeoning shadow that is mass-infantilism coupling with powerful cutting edge technologies: how could we possibly stem the tide of an enantiodromia? The search for Self does not posit an extreme isolationist necessity, but it does lean very heavily towards a need to critique, to question conventional "wisdom", and to test further all of the time-tested truths--reducing them to quaint relics if they be obstinately intractable, or fail to be deepened and rejuvenated.
What a shame that another reviewer here, "Dr." W.G. Covington, Jr. (exemplar of the problem), places Jung's entire validity on whether or not he subscribes to the literal interpretation of tenets in Christianity; perhaps if Jung was "Young", he would be more credible as a visionary. Understanding Christianity as a symbolic (or at the very least, cultural) union between Creator and Creature on the one hand, or a universally immanent manifestation/transformation on the other does nothing to harm the "truth" of the matter, but neither does it mitigate the mythological significance. That is the larger point here: Jung was not anti-Christianity, but he was neither a supporter of organized [Western] religion--the Church especially; and based on the zeitgeist, he saw the negative portents of stale and dogmatic spirituality becoming the pretexts hastening the very evils that our childishly-external belief system is desired to fend off!
Thoreau once wrote: "It is for want of a man that there are so many men." Those words are truer now then at inception, in today's world where pseudo-individuality is a cult following viewed on "reality programs". Some choose the surface of the persona, others the recesses of the group; but where in the middle-ground is the individual, the social-rebel?

An absolute must for every person at this time in history which is about to become history. As Tom Weller said, I suspect referring to history, a pencil with no point needs no eraser. The only question is - will the individual keep his mind, his individuality, or will he be absorbed into the mass who will calcify with the moribund corpse the global civilization is on the fast track becoming and being at the same time.
Its about that little seed inside everyone of us and at bottom - do we dignify what it is to be human - that is not Newtonian action = opposite and equal reaction and how that translates into the amount of suffering there is on thi planet, or do we dignify what it is to be human and refuse to let our 'seed' or our 'grain' go with the drone grains like HG Wells put it - something like - trundled off like the dust cards of time.
By the way, I loathe eternity cops, I notice there are more breeding in the shallow tadpole pool - thankfully drought will catch them unawares and the space taken away will translate into the sharpened reality of choosing one way or another.
A future that makes the scatological protests from the peanut gallery would be much appreciated and in any case - can't stop it from happening.
This book is a must read even if none of the above I've said makes sense.
Definitely so much of our society all over the planet is in one way or another that of mob education, mob celebration, mob tradition, mob entertainment and mob behavior the most dangerous and evil presentiment facing us all - what we need to do is locate ourselves within this matrix of false identity and identification with such and such ideologies and religions - and find the real self within - again, that seed upon which we can build a real self strong enough to resist the force / forces of the mob, the gangs and the mass political delirious diseases all which are easily found to be corrupt when one thinks of and compares human survival to the mode of production no matter what goverment - communist / capitalist - its all headed in one direction - like a corpse that may take many with it in its death throws.
What ever, its a great read from a great mind and part of everyones heritage.

This is probably one of the most important books I have ever read. The man was a genius and also very courageous to share his worlds view in such an eloquent way. I reread this book all the time, sometimes in full but sometimes just open it up and reflect. I highly recommend it!

This little book most likely reflects the culmination of Jung's thoughts on the individual and society after more than 60 years of work and reflection.

It juxtaposes the role of the individual and that of society. With penatrating insights into the nature of society, Jung expounds that society is really dependent on the individual and not the other way around. This fact is easily forgotten when we think of ourselves as small gogs in a big wheel. Jung states that the individual is the only reality and that when there is no opportunity for growth on the individual level society as a whole is bound for failure.

There are many subtle and imperceptible forces operating in modern society that are antithetical to the individual. Unless each individual is capable of living his life with his own developed conscience society is bound for painful and unforseen disasters. The power for individual development is to be found from within and in so doing the individual is capable or mastering his own destiny.

I have always admired Jung's depth of insight and openness of inquiry, but until reading this little gem of a book I never realized how he was also such a fierce libertarian! Over and over I get the feeling he is referring directly to Nazi Germany and Stalinist USSR in their abuse of State power and the submissive complicity of their citizens, yet he is also more generally, profoundly and powerfully making a solid case for the Individual, and against the State. Yes, this was clearly important to point out in post WWII Europe, but it is even more important to clarify today.

"We accuse the Germans of having forgotten it all again already, but the truth is that we don't know for certain whether something similar might not happen elsewhere....America, which forms the real backbone of Western Europe, seems to be immune because of the outspoken counterposition she has adopted, but in point of fact she is perhaps even more vulnerable than Europe, since her education system is the most influenced by the scientific Weltanschauung with its statistical truths, and her mixed population finds it difficult to strike roots in a soil that is practically without history" (pg. 39-40)

Jung is consistent and clear in applying his notion that our main challenge as individuals is to realize Individuation, and that it is the group (or State in it's largest expression) that is at odds with this challenge and responsibility.

"The State in particular is turned into a quasi-animated personality from whom everything is expected. In reality it is only a camouflage for those individuals who know how to manipulate it. Thus the constitutional State drifts into the situation of a primitive form of society, namely the communism of a primitive tribe where everybody is subject to the autocratic rule of a chief or an oligarchy." (pg 15-16)

Although the modern secular State has taken on the unifying role of traditional religion, it is in fact more pernicious and demoralizing because it cannot offer a real experience of individual connection (we become just another number in the many), which functions to simultaneously both ground us in ourselves (our own unique experience of life), and connect us to the larger sphere of life that is beyond our control and manipulation. In other words, through spiritual experience (which religion symbolizes) we get to experience freedom directly, which means freedom from the group as well.

"For this he needs the evidence of inner, transcendent experience which alone can protect him from the otherwise inevitable submersion in the mass." (pg 23)

(Like us individuals) this book may be small but it is packed with powerful and empowering insights.

When I got this book from the mailbox, I was shocked. Oh my god, so tiny. I was looking forward to a larger, meaty book. That is because, in my old age, there is some glamour and charm in having a standard sized hardcover. Well, this was my only disappointment. The contents were excellent. You'll like the reading, of course. Jung has a great sense of WISDOM and MATURITY in his writings. Just a few sentences and your mind blasts off into another level of awareless. The intellect is a great cloud to be living in. He is that cloud. This books takes you there, and keeps you there. Wow.

But, in all fairness, the small paperback book worked well for me at the local coffee shop. Easy to handle. Great reading.