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The Undiscovered Self: With Symbols and the Interpretation of Dreams

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This 1957 essay is Jung's major statement on the "Big Picture". In Jung's view, the person who does not know him or herself, who does not understand his or her strengths as an individual, will necessarily fall victim to mass-mentality. Mass-mentality is the Unconscious played out on the global scale, and if left to its own devices, it will continue to produce tragedies similar in scale to what the human race experienced in the two world wars. The antidote, Jung argues, is self-knowledge. This is not philosophical self-knowledge, but rather psychological self-knowledge - a reckoning with one's animal instincts, one's shadow, one's dreams and fantasies. Ultimately, Jung says self-knowledge must involve a spiritual experience - an experience of tradition religious truths as relevant in one's own life. Only this kind of experience will protect a person from the trap of mass-mentality; moreover, the development of culture and perhaps even the survival of the race depend on such individuals who can resist mass-mentality when it is strongest. For Jung, the hope of the human race and the world at large depended ultimately on the inner work individuals do in their most intimate inner world. For Jung, the personal is the political, but in a much more profound way than that in which anyone else has ever used that phrase.

_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.

The only book by Carl Jung that I could read (as opposed to study), and easily understand and appreciate. Although written at the time of the cold war, his thoughts on the individual, religion and the state are as relevant today and truly timeless. I recommend The Undiscovered Self as the best introduction to one of the greatest psychologists and philosophers of the 20th century.

This is a great introductory book to one of the best psychologist/philosophers of our time. It is a king of tough read, but not a like his other works. This one can be read (with dictionary of course) as opposed to studied, although I did read it twice. Simply a fascinating book to read. Do yourself a big favor and get to know Jung.

Somewhat rambling but wise speculations and judgments regarding:
* developing individuality at a time favoring being lost amongst the masses
* the lack of self-knowedge including disregard for the unconscious
* problems of creeds and of religious literalism obscuring intended myth.

The style of presentation seems dated and perhaps pompous: perhaps the translation could be improved. Nevertheless, the concerns are quite worthwhile. Solutions aren't offered but there seems value in emphasizing the nature of the problem.

Released in 1957 (or before), Jung's concerns seem more applicable in the United States (at least) now than ever before: who would have expected a mass movement trying to override good science and the U.S. Constitution? American focus being on the economic value of education, little is done to encourage sound psychological development.

The more I think about this book, the more I realize the importance of the issues Jung raises in it. I was put off some by its style, but there's a lot more profound substance here than in most of the books I read.

The ideas presented by Jung in this book are fascinating, coherent, intelligent and, in many ways still original. They are also important ideas in a century that is just as full of moronic and potentially dangerous causes as the last century was.
It is a short book but it made me say "wow" out loud more than once.

Not only communist masses, known the most at the time of the written interview, but more, much more. And if we recall today's breed of averaged minds in the broadly given axioms of "living standard" as a primary stone of judgement of personal success, we must admit that the majority of psychiatric "infection", as Jung says, lies in the economically most advanced, western democracies (States - Jung). Let's be ourselves, whatever that might be, but know about it, Jung teaches us.

Extraordinary book !

Jung is not unapproachable or unneccessarily esoteric. This book proves it. So many human tragedies hinge on people never having an adequate experience of themselves. A must-read for "modern" human beings.

Although much of this is dated by Jung's constant references to the evils of communism and references to the Iron Curtain, it remains a valuable treatise on the effects of relying too strongly on outside sources for one's raison de etre. Jung deftly explains the common thread of blind faith running through religious, political and scientific beliefs. Pastor, President, Professor: all these people become mouthpieces for dogma. Follow the cults of personality at your own peril. The only way out is through the undiscovered self, the unconscious connection to the "God" archetype. Faith is important. Beware, be aware, be wary of what and who you trust. Summary: Inquire within.

Jung addresses the modern individual's failure and to cultivate and understand the self - the whole self, including those dark crevices of the Unconscious that we'd rather pretend don't exist.

According to Jung, self-knowledge occurs through spiritual experience. While modern mass religion ("creeds") attempts to connect the individual to the "unknowable," a true, meaningful understanding of the self is generally excluded from the formula. This results in a religious understanding that ends up consisting of little else other than rote, external experience occurring outside of oneself and only within predefined parameters. There is no personal connection or life context within such arrangements and no knowledge of self can be gained.

Jung asserts that our lack of self understanding makes us susceptible to replacing true spiritual experience with the fake and prefabricated. The innate human drive to seek out the "unknowable" is channeled into mindless, impersonal acceptance of rigid dogmas, fanaticism, absolutism, herd mentality, etc. This lack also leaves us lost in the shuffle of the mass mentality, sans any meaningful self identity or will/strength to resist the current. We have no anchor within ourselves.

I loved reading this and found it to be far less esoteric and dense than other Jung works.