Archetypes & Strange Attractors: The Chaotic World of Symbols (Studies in Jungian Psychology By Jungian Analysts)

Rating:
Summary: A fine example of a psychology-physics bridge
Review: Bridging inquiry and speculation into the inner details of the psyche is seductive work. As with any seduction, it can lead to wonderful acts of creation and enjoyment, but also to messy thinking - fallacies of misplaced concreteness (Whitehead), in which the poetic pleasure of expressing parallels between psyche and cosmos can obscure both careful thinking and genuine insight into difficult realities. I find this to be a special danger in the world of Jungian concepts, primarily because the old wizard himself set the stage for exploring links between the science of mind and the mysteries that are not yet in the reach of a given science.

The math and physics of quantum and complexity theories, and of dynamic systems, are both extraordinarily demanding and extraordinarily revealing in their relevance to anything in the world that partakes of interaction, and owes and contributes its nature to other complex interactions. That is to say, anything in the world, seen out of isolation, without any excess of empirical or conceptual filtration. I've read Eenwyk's book twice now, and found it illuminating in both its intelligent and accessible handling of the physics and math involved, and of the fragile but necessary connections of the infinite dynamic of the mind and the world. Highly recommended.