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ericzadravec 's review for:
The Red Book: A Reader's Edition
by Carl G. Jung
Reading The Red Book was akin to a trip. Uncomfortable and unsettling at times, uplifting and exciting at others, and ultimately leaving me refreshed and rejuvinated at its end.
The Red Book was one of the intriguing books I have read. It consists of Jung's deep fantasies and interactions with figures in his mind, which he treats as symbols of psychic processes. After describing these interactions, Jung espouses conclusions from them, thereby absorbing the experiences. The language used is entirely unlike any of Jung's other works. His visions and dialogues are fantasical, while his conclusion are deeply religious and philosophical. Yet one can find the foundations of Jung's psychological theories in the conclusions of his dialogues.
While Jung wasn't psychotic in the modern sense, Jung, and some contempraries, have commented that his experiences bore similarities to a psychosis. Indeed, Jung believed he would have gone mad had he not been able to absorb and integrate his intense fantasies. I found that Jung's fantasies had an aura of 'madness' to them, in that they were disconnected from the collective conscious and reality. Yet as the introduction points out, Jung's experiences were not unique and similar to the self exploration of other intellectuals during this time period. Certainly then, The Red Book raises many interesting questions about the nature of psychosis, fantasy, and the creative function of the psyche.
Moreover, I found parallals between the ideas of The Red Book and that of other texts such as The Bhagavad Gita, Joseph Campbell's Hero With a Thousand Faces, and some precepts of Buddhist philosophy. All touch on similar ideas of a unitary divinity behind existence and the dialectical nature of reality. Yet Jung's work was fascinatingly unique, vast, and difficult to explain. I suspect I will reread it in the future to grasp it more fully.
Overall, The Red Book is an incredible document in the intellectual history of the 20th century and the history of psychology. I recommend that anyone interested in Jung's psychology and ideas read this book.
The Red Book was one of the intriguing books I have read. It consists of Jung's deep fantasies and interactions with figures in his mind, which he treats as symbols of psychic processes. After describing these interactions, Jung espouses conclusions from them, thereby absorbing the experiences. The language used is entirely unlike any of Jung's other works. His visions and dialogues are fantasical, while his conclusion are deeply religious and philosophical. Yet one can find the foundations of Jung's psychological theories in the conclusions of his dialogues.
While Jung wasn't psychotic in the modern sense, Jung, and some contempraries, have commented that his experiences bore similarities to a psychosis. Indeed, Jung believed he would have gone mad had he not been able to absorb and integrate his intense fantasies. I found that Jung's fantasies had an aura of 'madness' to them, in that they were disconnected from the collective conscious and reality. Yet as the introduction points out, Jung's experiences were not unique and similar to the self exploration of other intellectuals during this time period. Certainly then, The Red Book raises many interesting questions about the nature of psychosis, fantasy, and the creative function of the psyche.
Moreover, I found parallals between the ideas of The Red Book and that of other texts such as The Bhagavad Gita, Joseph Campbell's Hero With a Thousand Faces, and some precepts of Buddhist philosophy. All touch on similar ideas of a unitary divinity behind existence and the dialectical nature of reality. Yet Jung's work was fascinatingly unique, vast, and difficult to explain. I suspect I will reread it in the future to grasp it more fully.
Overall, The Red Book is an incredible document in the intellectual history of the 20th century and the history of psychology. I recommend that anyone interested in Jung's psychology and ideas read this book.