Sunday, July 11, 2021

Psychology and Religion: West and East / Jung - Short Summary

Psychology and Religion: West and East is a set of works by Carl Gustav Jung included in the eleventh volume of his Complete Works The religious problem occupies a central place in the work of CG Jung who in almost all his writings, especially those of recent years, paid special attention. What he means by religion is not restricted to a certain confession. In his own words, religion consists of "a careful and conscientious observation of that which Rudolf Otto has aptly baptized with the name of the ' numinous '".

Carl Jung's great merit lies in having been able to recognize that the original representations that underlie and are common to the different religions constitute archetypal contents of the human soul.

Western religion 

The first part gathers writings on Western religion:

In Psychology and Religion Jung uses the dream series of a man of our days to expose the function of the unconscious psyche, a function that is largely reminiscent of the alchemical tradition .

In the work on the dogma of the Trinity, he shows the parallels between Christianity , Egyptian pharaonic theology, and Babylonian and Greek ideas , while in the essay on the text of the Mass , Aztec and Aztec rites are used for comparative purposes alchemical texts .

In Response to Job he deals with the ambivalent image of God, whose transformation in the human soul requires to be understood in psychological terms. Knowing that neuroses are often motivated by religious causes, he insists in the essays The relationship of psychotherapy with the healing of souls and Psychoanalysis and healing of souls on the need for psychology and theology to join forces.

Eastern religion 

The second part groups mainly commentaries and prologues to oriental religious texts, such as the I Ching or the Bardo Todol . Essentially, they all confront and compare western and eastern expressions and ideas.