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Summary: The Myth of the Man, Look elsewhere for Biography
Review: "What we are to our inward vision, and what man appears to be sub specie aeternitatis, can only be expressed by way of myth. Myth is more individual and expresses life more precisely than does science... Thus it is that I have now undertaken, in my eighty-third year, to tell my personal myth. I can only make direct statements, only "tell stories." Whether or not the stories are "true" is not the problem. The only question is whether what I tell is _my_ fable, _my_ truth." (C. G. Jung, p. 3)If you're looking for a book "about" the life of Carl Jung, keep on looking. This is not so much a biography as it is a window into the process of Jung's experience. Think of this as Jung's "case summary" of his life. We don't read many of the amusing anectdotes, or "objective" critical insights that other biographies offer in abundance. Instead we get to experience Jung's auto-mythos for ourselves. Jung reveals much, imparts wisdom, offers us early memories, and paints the canvas of his life for us. It's an incredible gift from a wise and self-reflective man. Jung was not without his faults, as other biographers have pointed out, he had many--some quite appalling! More than one of his analysands became his lover--behavior that would cost him his license today. But again, this is material you should look elsewhere for. Here he ponders his fears, his weaknesses, the ones that he has already accepted and worked with. I recommend this book for people who have never read Jung before. It teaches more about his approach than any of his other books. It finds the meaning in his own life, viewed through his approach to life. "Meaninglessness inhibits fullness of life and is therefore the equivalent to illness. Meaning makes a great many things endurable--perhaps everything." (p. 340)
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Summary: Jung's heroic confrontation with his own inner life
Review: "called or uncalled, the gods are present." -C.G. Jung Arguably the greatest autobiography of the century, Memories, Dreams, Reflections is a man's attempt to reconcile his own inner life with the inadequate rubrics of his time: intellectual, philosophical, and psychological. Jung had the courage to disown Freud's idea that the unconscious was merely a cause of mayhem for the ego. Rather the self, the archetype of wholeness, both guides the ego to its highest fulfillment and presents it with demons in the form of dreams and fantasies. Ideas we take for granted today originate here: The idea that there is a symbolic language that connects all minds which he dubbed the collective unconscious. That men have an inner feminine life and vice versa. The valuation of all religions and philosophies, east and west, as food for the soul. Yet Jung is no dreamer. He was able to draw on Nietzsche and Schopenhauer, as well as non traditional sources, to make his points. His intellectual achievement is gargantuan, being that he is a 19th century character trained by traditional medicine, and bred by Swiss Christianity. I urge anyone who is unsatisfied with popular psychology, religion, and culture to read this book. It is a common inclusion in philosophy of religion classes and is still read in psychology schools. It is especially good for young people just coming to grips with their spirituality, and for the elderly searching for a sense of meaning in their lives. For those attempting to reconcile their intellectual and spiritual lives, Jung provides a way of looking at things, not a dogma or philosophy, that adds luster to both.
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Summary: The place to begin one's study of C.G. Jung's work
Review: "Memoirs, Dreams, Reflections" helped me to establish a contextual framework for understanding the life of this truly seminal thinker and his work. It is an excellent place to start before diving into some of Jung's often esoteric and abstract essays, transcribed lectures, and books. One of Jung's greatest achievements has been his ability to produce a new vocabulary for modern man to deal with the processes that occur where the personal psyche meets objective reality. His genius lies in his blend of deep intuitive thinking and strict scientific empiricism. Jung's contributions are still slowly trickling down into the collective understanding of modern culture.
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Summary: The Myth of the Man, Look elsewhere for Biography
Review: "What we are to our inward vision, and what man appears to be sub specie aeternitatis, can only be expressed by way of myth. Myth is more individual and expresses life more precisely than does science... Thus it is that I have now undertaken, in my eighty-third year, to tell my personal myth. I can only make direct statements, only "tell stories." Whether or not the stories are "true" is not the problem. The only question is whether what I tell is _my_ fable, _my_ truth." (C. G. Jung, p. 3) If you're looking for a book "about" the life of Carl Jung, keep on looking. This is not so much a biography as it is a window into the process of Jung's experience. Think of this as Jung's "case summary" of his life. We don't read many of the amusing anectdotes, or "objective" critical insights that other biographies offer in abundance. Instead we get to experience Jung's auto-mythos for ourselves. Jung reveals much, imparts wisdom, offers us early memories, and paints the canvas of his life for us. It's an incredible gift from a wise and self-reflective man. Jung was not without his faults, as other biographers have pointed out, he had many--some quite appalling! More than one of his analysands became his lover--behavior that would cost him his license today. But again, this is material you should look elsewhere for. Here he ponders his fears, his weaknesses, the ones that he has already accepted and worked with. I recommend this book for people who have never read Jung before. It teaches more about his approach than any of his other books. It finds the meaning in his own life, viewed through his approach to life. "Meaninglessness inhibits fullness of life and is therefore the equivalent to illness. Meaning makes a great many things endurable--perhaps everything." (p. 340)
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Summary: An epochal book about an epochal man....
Review: ...my only complaint is that his family hacked out all the "controversial" stuff. Should be considered an autobiographical myth (as Jung himself implies) rather than precisely factual. The first sentence is one of my favorites: "My life is a story of the self-realization of the unconscious." -- Craig Chalquist, M.S., creator of the Thineownself self-exploration site.
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Summary: An excellent way to understand Jung
Review: A fantastic book, equally informative, fascinating, and insightful. It serves as a very good introduction to Jung's works, which can at times be heavy reading for non-psychologists. You will be impressed by not only the genius of this man, but captivated by the story of his life. This book should a must read for anyone interested in unravelling some of the mysteries of the psyche.
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Summary: Controversial, insightful, self-contradicting...
Review: Admittedly, this is the most important book for those interested not only in the Jungian approach in psychology, but also in the life itself of Carl Gustav Jung. Indeed, this is an autobiography, imbedded in which is most of Jung's theories and quite an adequate outline of his cosmotheory as well. Now, this being the book that "allows" us a glimpse into the soul of this psychologist, i was for one somewhat puzzled by the overall insight i got. While for the most part i appreciated Jung's bold approach in matters considered heavy taboos in his time (not to mention our time as well for certain particular issues), on the other side i found that Jung is self-contradicting at times, or murky, for lack of a more descriptive term. Jung dares to look on the "other side" and consider it openly an integral part of "this" side. What others deem as "paranormal" or "supernatural" is to Jung just the other side of the same coin. He discusses the reality under the accepted reality but he is not straightforward about it. If i wanted to take it far enough I'd even say he's not honest about it. He does mince hiw words much too often and stops short of telling you what he really thinks. But this hardly undermines his openmindedness. Same goes for his treatment of religion. In the beginning of the book he goes to great lengths in his denouncing of the western religion, and yet, all throughout the book he leaves countless hints that he's religious himself, without ever explaining in what sense. This was in my view perplexing. The part of the book where he details his views on psychotherapy and explains how he approached his patients is definately the highlight of this book, and it should be of paramount importance for those interested in that subject area. The last third of the book is mostly about Jung's travels. That part, might be disturbing for some, as one can sense that Jung felt some kind of well hidden superiority over the people he encountered. This superiority is often enough brought forward as his surprise over the insights these people offered him, but it still remains a mystery (at least to me) what he actually "took" from these people pertaining to their beliefs and approach in life. If anything, that is. All criticism aside, this is still essential reading. Jung was a person torn between the desire to explore the off-limits and his fear of being ostracised by the scientific community. In the gray area within that struggle is where one discovers Jung's most thought-provoking theories because that is where he presents himself bare.
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Summary: A must read for those that haven't found their answer
Review: As I began to read this book I immediately noticed that I was relating to things in Jung's life that I have never been able to express to other people. So here I knew that I had found a man that could express very complicated ideas and I pressed on hoping that we would be more and more alike. In fact we were and I am so happy to realize that others feel the things that I have always thought were unmentionable, or didn't even realize were there until they were gently raised to the surface. There were times while reading the book that I got bogged down in the complexity of what was being said only to have a huge "OH!" when I finally understood what Jung meant and how I identified with it so deeply. My pattern of reading the book was to read for awhile and then put the book down (I could only take so much at once) for awhile to let things settle in my mind. I have had several powerful dreams while reading this book and had them analyzed. After things settled a bit I would be "called" by the book and pick it back up and sure enough WHAM it would hit me again with something and I would have to work though it again. This continued until the end of the book. My life is slowly changing because of this book and others of his. As others have said, don't read this book unless you are ready to do some work and go to some places in your psyche that you might have not wanted to look at all of your life--not wanted to look at so badly that it may have caused neurosis.
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Summary: Absolutely Beautiful
Review: Being 16 years old, i get a lot of strange looks from friends when i pull out this book and get absorbed in it. They can't fathom why i would find it so interesting. Well, for one, Jung's childhood experiences coincide with my own to a startling degree. I have had to keep myself from yelling out in public when reading this book and coming across something that i also experienced. Being something of a budding philosopher, i came across many ideas in the chapters to follow that coincide with my own formulated theories. I've never encountered such a beautifully written work in my life before, or a more touching one. Jung's description of the balance of his own psyche has aided me greatly in finding firm footing for my own wandering mind. This book entertains, teaches, and imparts invaluable wisdom to the reader. I wish that he were alive today, and i would do everything in my power to thank him for his impact on my life. If you like psychology, philosophy, or anything of sort, read this. If you're looking for answers to psychic questions, read this. If you've never cared for psychology, read this... it might change your mind. Jung is a genius and possesses rare insight into the matters that concern everyone.
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Summary: A lifetime of a genius
Review: Carl Gustav Jung, a Swiss and former disciple of the great Sigmund Freud, was always at a loss to talk about his personal life and this book is a rare exception in this regard, although not being recognised by Jung as pertainning to his bibliography. As it happened with the publication the many letters he exchanged with Freud, this book was only published after a long series of extenuating negotiations between Jung himself and Aniela Jaffe, the editor. But notwithstanding this preliminary remark, the book is Jung to its deep roots. Despite being recorded in its greatest parts and then transcribed Aniela Jaffe, the book transports the reader in the true atmosphere of Jung's school years, the years he spent at the University, his feuds with his father and the difficult relationship with his mother, his breaking-up with Freud, the interpretation of the 2 personnas of his mother, and so on. The book gets increasing intensity and the account is even dreadful/scary when Jung reports the discovery he made about the power behind anima entities, where the unconscious of man is part woman , and a very powerful one in this regard, to the point of totally anihilating one's self if not taken control of. THis is a necessary reading to anyone interested in the origin and development of psychanalisys in the voice of one of his founders.
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