Adaptation

The process of coming to terms with the external world, on the one hand, and with
ones own unique psychological characteristics on the other. (See also neurosis.)
Before [individuation] can be taken as a goal, the educational
aim of adaptation to the necessary minimum of collective
norms must frst be attained. If a plant is to unfold its specifc
nature to the full, it must frst be able to grow in the soil in
which it is planted.["efnitions," !" #, par. $#%.]
&he constant 'ow of life again and again demands fresh
adaptation. (daptation is never achieved once and for all.
["&he &ranscendent )unction," !" *, par. %+,.]
-an is not a machine in the sense that he can consistently
maintain the same output of work. .e can meet the demands
of outer necessity in an ideal way only if he is also adapted to
his own inner world, that is, if he is in harmony with himself.
!onversely, he can only adapt to his inner world and achieve
harmony with himself when he is adapted to the
environmental conditions.["/n 0sychic 1nergy," ibid., par. $2.]
&he transition from child to adult initially entails an increasing
adaptation to the outer world. "hen the libido meets an
obstacle to progression, there is an accumulation of energy
that normally gives rise to increased e3orts to overcome the
obstacle. But if the obstacle proves insurmountable, the
stored4up energy regresses to an earlier mode of adaptation.
&his in turn activates infantile fantasies and wishes, and
necessitates the need to adapt to the inner world.
&he best e5amples of such regressions are found in hysterical
cases where a disappointment in love or marriage has
precipitated a neurosis. &here we fnd those well4known
digestive disorders, loss of appetite, dyspeptic symptoms of all
sorts, etc. . . . [typically accompanied by] a regressive revival
of reminiscences from the distant past. "e then fnd a
reactivation of the parental imagos, of the /edipus comple5.
.ere the events of early infancy4never before important4
suddenly become so. &hey have been regressively
reactivated. 6emove the obstacle from the path of life and this
whole system of infantile fantasies at once breaks down and
becomes as inactive and ine3ective as before.
["0sychoanalysis and 7eurosis,"!"+, par. 2#8.]
In his model of typology, Jung descried two sustantially different modes of
adaptation, intro!ersion and extra!ersion. "e also lin#$ed failures in adaptation to the
outrea# of neurosis.
&he psychological trouble in neurosis, and the neurosis itself,
can be formulated as an act of adaptation that has failed.
[ Ibid., par. 2$+ 9italics in original:.]
Progression
The daily ad!ance of the process of psychological adaptation, the opposite
of regression. (See also neurosis.)
0rogression is a forwards movement of life in the same sense
that time moves forwards. &his movement can occur in two
di3erent forms; either e5traverted, when the progression is
predominantly in'uenced by ob<ects and environmental
conditions, or introverted, when it has to adapt itself to the
conditions of the ego 9or, more accurately, of the =sub<ective
factor>:. ?imilarly, regression can proceed along two lines;
either as a retreat from the outside world 9introversion:, or as
a 'ight into e5travagant e5perience of the outside world
9e5traversion:. )ailure in the frst case drives a man into a
state of dull brooding, and in the second case into leading the
life of a wastrel. ["/n 0sychic 1nergy," ibid., par. $$.]
In the normal course of life, there is a relati!ely easy progression of liido% energy
may e directed more or less at will. This is not the same as psychological
de!elopment or indi!iduation. &rogression refers simply to the continuous flow or
current of life. It is commonly interrupted y a conflict or the inaility to adapt to
changing circumstances.
uring the progression of libido the pairs of opposites are
united in the co4ordinated 'ow of psychic processes. . . . But in
the stoppage of libido that occurs when progression has
become impossible, positive and negative can no longer unite
in co4ordinated action, because both have attained an e@ual
value which keeps the scales balanced.[Ibid., par. #%.]
The struggle etween the opposites would continue unaated if the process of
regression, the ac#ward mo!ement of liido, did not set in, its purpose eing to
compensate the conscious attitude.
&hrough their collision the opposites are gradually deprived of
value and depotentiated. . . . In proportion to the decrease in
value of the conscious opposites there is an increase in value
of all those psychic processes which are not concerned with
outward adaptation and therefore are seldom or never
employed consciously.["/n 0sychic 1nergy," ibid., par. #A.]
's the energic !alue of these pre!iously unconscious psychic processes increases,
they manifest indirectly as disturances of conscious eha!ior and symptoms
characteristic of neurosis. &rominent aspects of the psyche one then needs to ecome
aware of are the persona, the contrasexual complex (anima(animus) and the shadow.
Regression
The ac#ward mo!ement of liido to an earlier mode of adaptation, often
accompanied y infantile fantasies and wishes. (See also depression%
compare progression.)
6egression . . . as an adaptation to the conditions of the inner
world, springs from the vital need to satisfy the demands of
individuation.["/n 0sychic 1nergy," ibid., par. $2.]
"hat robs 7ature of its glamour, and life of its <oy, is the habit
of looking back for something that used to be outside, instead
of looking inside, into the depths of the depressive state. &his
looking back leads to regression and is the frst step along that
path. 6egression is also an involuntary introversion in so far as
the past is an ob<ect of memory and therefore a psychic
content, an endopsychic factor. It is a relapse into the past
caused by a depression in the present.["&he ?acrifce," !" 2,
par. #A2.]
Jung elie!ed that the loc#age of the forward mo!ement of energy is due to the
inaility of the dominant conscious attitude to adapt to changing circumstances.
"owe!er, the unconscious contents therey acti!ated contain the seeds of a new
progression. )or instance, the opposite or inferior function is waiting in the wings,
potentially capale of modifying the inadequate conscious attitude.
If thinking fails as the adapted function, because it is dealing
with a situation to which one can adapt only by feeling, then
the unconscious material activated by regression will contain
the missing feeling function, although still in embryonic form,
archaic and undeveloped. ?imilarly, in the opposite type,
regression would activate a thinking function that would
e3ectively compensate the inade@uate feeling. ["/n 0sychic
1nergy," !" *, par. #2.]
The regression of energy confronts us with the prolem of our own psychology. )rom
the final point of !iew, therefore, regression is as necessary in the de!elopmental
process as is progression.
6egarded causally, regression is determined, say, by a
"mother f5ation." But from the fnal standpoint the libido
regresses to the imago of the mother in order to fnd there the
memory associations by means of which further development
can take place, for instance from a se5ual system into an
intellectual or spiritual system.
&he frst e5planation e5hausts itself in stressing the
importance of the cause and completely overlooks the fnal
signifcance of the regressive process. )rom this angle the
whole edifce of civiliBation becomes a mere substitute for the
impossibility of incest. But the second e5planation allows us to
foresee what will follow from the regression, and at the same
time it helps us to understand the signifcance of the memory4
images that have been reactivated.[Ibid., pars. +,f. ]
Jung elie!ed that ehind the mundane symptoms of regression lay its symolic
meaning* the need for psychological renewal, reflected in mythology as the +ourney of
the hero.
It is precisely the strongest and best among men, the heroes,
who give way to their regressive longing and purposely
e5pose themselves to the danger of being devoured by the
monster of the maternal abyss. But if a man is a hero, he is a
hero because, in the fnal reckoning, he did not let the
monster devour him, but subdued it, not once but many times.
Cictory over the collective psyche alone yields the true value4
the capture of the hoard, the invincible weapon, the magic
talisman, or whatever it be that the myth deems most
desirable.["&he 6elations between the 1go and the
Dnconscious" !" $, par. A#%.]
Regressive restoration of the persona
' term used to descrie what can happen when there has een a ma+or collapse in the
conscious attitude.
&ake as an e5ample a businessman who takes too great a risk
and conse@uently goes bankrupt. If he does not allow himself
to be discouraged by this depressing e5perience, but,
undismayed, keeps his former daring, perhaps with a little
salutary caution added, his wound will be healed without
permanent in<ury. But if, on the other hand, he goes to pieces,
ab<ures all further risks, and laboriously tries to patch up his
social reputation within the confnes of a much more limited
personality, doing inferior work with the mentality of a scared
child, in a post far below him, then, technically speaking, he
will have restored his persona in a regressive way. . . .
)ormerly perhaps he wanted more than he could accomplishE
now he does not even dare to attempt what he has it in him to
do.[Ibid., par. A2+.]
&he regressive restoration of the persona is a possible course
only for the man who owes the critical failure of his life to his
own in'atedness. "ith diminished personality, he turns back
to the measure he can fll. But in every other case resignation
and self4belittlement are an evasion, which in the long run can
be kept up only at the cost of neurotic sickliness.[Ibid., par.
A28.]
Conflict
' state of indecision, accompanied y inner tension. (See
also opposites and transcendent function.)
&he apparently unendurable con'ict is proof of the rightness
of your life. ( life without inner contradiction is either only half
a life or else a life in the Beyond, which is destined only for
angels. But Fod loves human beings more than the angels.
[!.F. Gung Hetters, vol. %, p. ,$2.]
&he self is made manifest in the opposites and in the con'ict
between themE it is acoincidentia oppositorum [coincidence of
opposites]. .ence the way to the self begins with con'ict.
["Individual ream ?ymbolism in 6elation to (lchemy," !" %A,
par. A28.]
,onflict is a hallmar# of neurosis, ut conflict is not in!arialy neurotic. Some degree
of conflict is e!en desirale since without some tension etween opposites the
de!elopmental process is inhiited. ,onflict only ecomes neurotic when it interferes
with the normal functioning of consciousness.
&he stirring up of con'ict is a Huciferian virtue in the true
sense of the word. !on'ict engenders fre, the fre of a3ects
and emotions, and like every other fre it has two aspects, that
of combustion and that of creating light.["0sychological
(spects of the -other (rchetype," !" 8i, par. %$8.]
-hen a conflict is unconscious, tension manifests as physical symptoms, particularly
in the stomach, the ac# and the nec#. ,onscious conflict is experienced as moral or
ethical tension. Serious conflicts, especially those in!ol!ing lo!e or duty, generally
in!ol!e a disparity etween the functions of thin#ing and feeling. If one or the other is
not a conscious participant in the conflict, it needs to e introduced.
&he ob<ection [may be] advanced that many con'icts are
intrinsically insoluble. 0eople sometimes take this view
because they think only of e5ternal solutions4which at bottom
are not solutions at all. . . . ( real solution comes only from
within, and then only because the patient has been brought to
a di3erent attitude.["?ome !rucial 0oints in 0sychoanalysis,"
!" +, par. #I#.]
Jungs ma+or contriution to the psychology of conflict was his elief that it had a
purpose in terms of the self$regulation of the psyche. If the tension etween the
opposites can e held in consciousness, then something will happen internally to
resol!e the conflict. The solution, essentially irrational and unforeseeale, generally
appears as a new attitude toward oneself and the outer situation, together with a sense
of peace% energy pre!iously loc#ed up in indecision is released and the progression of
liido ecomes possile. Jung called this the tertium non datur or transcendent
function, ecause what happens transcends the opposites.
"olding the tension etween opposites requires patience and a strong ego, otherwise a
decision will e made out of desperation. Then the opposite will e constellated e!en
more strongly and the conflict will continue with renewed force.
Jungs asic hypothesis in wor#ing with neurotic conflict was that separate
personalities in oneself$complexes$were in!ol!ed. 's long as these are not made
conscious they are acted out externally, through pro+ection. ,onflicts with other
people are thus essentially externali.ations of an unconscious conflict within oneself.
Opposites
&sychologically, the ego and the unconscious. (See
also compensation, conflict, progression and transcendent function.)
&here is no consciousness without discrimination of opposites.
["0sychological (spects of the -other (rchetype," !" 8i, par.
%$*.]
&here is no form of human tragedy that does not in some
measure proceed from [the] con'ict between the ego and the
unconscious.["(nalytical 0sychology and "eltanschauung,"
!" *, par. $I#.]
-hate!er attitude exists in the conscious mind, and whiche!er psychological function
is dominant, the opposite is in the unconscious. This situation seldom precipitates a
crisis in the first half of life. /ut for older people who reach an impasse, characteri.ed
y a one$sided conscious attitude and the loc#age of energy, it is necessary to ring
to light psychic contents that ha!e een repressed.
&he repressed content must be made conscious so as to
produce a tension of opposites, without which no forward
movement is possible. &he conscious mind is on top, the
shadow underneath, and <ust as high always longs for low and
hot for cold, so all consciousness, perhaps without being
aware of it, seeks its unconscious opposite, lacking which it is
doomed to stagnation, congestion, and ossifcation. Hife is
born only of the spark of opposites.["&he 0roblem of the
(ttitude4&ype," !" $, par. $*.]
This in turn acti!ates the process of compensation, which leads to an irrational
0third,1 the transcendent function.
/ut of [the] collision of opposites the unconscious psyche
always creates a third thing of an irrational nature, which the
conscious mind neither e5pects nor understands. It presents
itself in a form that is neither a straight =yes> nor a straight
=no.>["&he 0sychology of the !hild (rchetype," !" 8i, par.
A*2."&he 0sychology of the !hild (rchetype," !" 8i, par. A*2.]
Jung explained the potential renewal of the personality in terms of the principle of
entropy in physics, according to which transformations of energy in a relati!ely
closed system ta#e place, and are only possile, as a result of differences in intensity.
0sychologically, we can see this process at work in the
development of a lasting and relatively unchanging attitude.
(fter violent oscillations at the beginning the opposites
e@ualiBe one another, and gradually a new attitude develops,
the fnal stability of which is the greater in proportion to the
magnitude of the initial di3erences. &he greater the tension
between the pairs of opposites, the greater will be the energy
that comes from them . . . [and] the less chance is there of
subse@uent disturbances which might arise from friction with
material not previously constellated.["/n 0sychic 1nergy," !"
*, par. +8.]
Some degree of tension etween consciousness and the unconsciousness is oth
una!oidale and necessary. The aim of analysis is therefore not to eliminate the
tension ut rather to understand the role it plays in the self$regulation of the psyche.
2oreo!er, the assimilation of unconscious contents results in the ego ecoming
responsile for what was pre!iously unconscious. There is thus no question of anyone
e!er eing completely at peace.
&he united personality will never @uite lose the painful sense
of innate discord. !omplete redemption from the su3erings of
this world is and must remain an illusion. !hristJs earthly life
likewise ended, not in complacent bliss, but on the cross.["&he
0sychology of the &ransference," !" %#, par. +II.]
Jung further elie!ed that anyone who attempts to deal with the prolem of the
opposites on a personal le!el is ma#ing a significant contriution toward world peace.
&he psychological rule says that when an inner situation is not
made conscious, it happens outside, as fate. &hat is to say,
when the individual remains undivided and does not become
conscious of his inner opposite, the world must perforce act
out the con'ict and be torn into opposing halves.["!hrist, (
?ymbol of the ?elf," !" 8ii, par. %A#.]
Compensation
' natural process aimed at estalishing or maintaining alance within the psyche.
(See also acti!e imagination, dreams, neurosis and self$regulation of the psyche.)
&he activity of consciousness is selective. ?election demands
direction. But direction re@uires the e5clusion of everything
irrelevant. &his is bound to make the conscious orientation
one4sided. &he contents that are e5cluded and inhibited by the
chosen direction sink into the unconscious, where they form a
counterweight to the conscious orientation. &he strengthening
of this counterposition keeps pace with the increase of
conscious one4sidedness until fnally . . . . the repressed
unconscious contents break through in the form of dreams
and spontaneous images. . . . (s a rule, the unconscious
compensation does not run counter to consciousness, but is
rather a balancing or supplementing of the conscious
orientation. In dreams, for instance, the unconscious supplies
all those contents that are constellated by the conscious
situation but are inhibited by conscious selection, although a
knowledge of them would be indispensable for complete
adaptation["efnitions," !" #, par. #8+.]
In neurosis, where consciousness is one$sided to an extreme, the aim of analytic
therapy is the reali.ation and assimilation of unconscious contents so that
compensation may e reestalished. This can often e accomplished y paying close
attention to dreams, emotions and eha!ior patterns, and through acti!e imagination.
Neurosis
' psychological crisis due to a state of disunity with oneself, or, more formally, a
mild dissociation of the personality due to the acti!ation of complexes. (See
also adaptation, conflict and self$regulation of the psyche.)
(ny incompatibility of character can cause dissociation, and
too great a split between the thinking and the feeling function,
for instance, is already a slight neurosis. "hen you are not
@uite at one with yourself . . . you are approaching a neurotic
condition.["&he &avistock Hectures," !" %*, par. ,*,.]
1very neurosis is characteriBed by dissociation and con'ict,
contains comple5es, and shows traces of regression and
abaissement.["(nalytical 0sychology and 1ducation," !" %$,
par. AI+.]
Jungs !iew was that an outrea# of neurosis is purposeful, an opportunity to ecome
conscious of who we are as opposed to who we thin# we are. /y wor#ing through the
symptoms that in!arialy accompany neurosis$anxiety, fear, depression, guilt and
particularly conflict$we ecome aware of our limitations and disco!er our true
strengths.
In many cases we have to say, =&hank heaven he could make
up his mind to be neurotic.> 7eurosis is really an attempt at
self4cure. . . . It is an attempt of the self4regulating psychic
system to restore the balance, in no way di3erent from the
function of dreams4only rather more forceful and drastic.["&he
&avistock Hectures," !" %*, par. ,*8.]
I myself have known more than one person who owed his
entire usefulness and reason for e5istence to a neurosis,
which prevented all the worst follies in his life and forced him
to a mode of living that developed his valuable potentialities.
&hese might have been sti'ed had not the neurosis, with iron
grip, held him to the place where he belonged. ["&he 0roblem
of the (ttitude4&ype," !" $, par. #*.]
In any rea#down in conscious functioning, energy regresses and unconscious
contents are acti!ated in an attempt to compensate the one$sidedness of
consciousness.
7euroses, like all illnesses, are symptoms of malad<ustment.
Be4cause of some obstacle4a constitutional weakness or
defect, wrong education, bad e5periences, an unsuitable
attitude, etc.4one shrinks from the diKculties which life brings
and thus fnds oneself back in the world of the infant. &he
unconscious compensates this regression by producing
symbols which, when understood ob<ectively, that is, by
means of comparative research, reactivate general ideas that
underlie all such natural systems of thought. In this way a
change of attitude is brought about which bridges the
dissociation between man as he is and man as he ought to be.
["&he 0hilosophical &ree," !" %,, par. +$,.]
Jung called his attitude toward neurosis energic or final since it was ased on the
potential progression of energy rather than causal or mechanistic reasons for its
regression. The two !iews are not incompatile ut rather complementary* the
mechanistic approach loo#s to the past for the cause of psychic discomfort in the
present% Jung focused on the present with an eye to future possiilities.
I no longer seek the cause of a neurosis in the past, but in the
present. I ask, what is the necessary task which the patient
will not accomplishL["0sychoanalysis and 7eurosis," !"+, par.
2$I.]
In psychic disturbances it is by no means suKcient in all cases
merely to bring the supposed or real causes to consciousness.
&he treatment involves the integration of contents that have
become dissociated from consciousness.["&he 0hilosophical
&ree," !" %,, par. +#+.]
Jung did not dispute )reudian theory that 3edipal fixations can manifest as neurosis
in later life. "e ac#nowledged that certain periods in life, and particularly infancy,
often ha!e a permanent and determining influence on the personality. /ut he found
this to e an insufficient explanation for those cases in which there was no trace of
neurosis until the time of the rea#down.
)reudJs se5ual theory of neurosis is grounded on a true and
factual principle. But it makes the mistake of being one4sided
and e5clusiveE also it commits the imprudence of trying to lay
hold of unconfnable 1ros with the crude terminology of se5. In
this respect )reud is a typical representative of the
materialistic epoch, whose hope it was to solve the world
riddle in a test4tube.["&he 1ros &heory," !" $, par. ,,.]
If the f5ation were indeed real [i.e., the primary cause] we
should e5pect to fnd its in'uence constantE in other words, a
neurosis lasting throughout life. &his is obviously not the case.
&he psychological determination of a neurosis is only partly
due to an early infantile predispositionE it must be due to some
cause in the present as well. (nd if we carefully e5amine the
kind of infantile fantasies and occurrences to which the
neurotic is attached, we shall be obliged to agree that there is
nothing in them that is specifcally neurotic. 7ormal
individuals have pretty much the same inner and outer
e5periences, and may be attached to them to an astonishing
degree without developing a neurosis.["0sychoanalysis and
7eurosis," !"+, par. 2#+.]
-hat then determines why one person ecomes neurotic while another, in similar
circumstances, does not4 Jungs answer is that the indi!idual psyche #nows oth its
limits and its potential. If the former are eing exceeded, or the latter not reali.ed, a
rea#down occurs. The psyche itself acts to correct the situation.
&here are vast masses of the population who, despite their
notorious unconsciousness, never get anywhere near a
neurosis. &he few who are smitten by such a fate are really
persons of the =higher> type who, for one reason or another,
have remained too long on a primitive level. &heir nature does
not in the long run tolerate persistence in what is for them an
unnatural torpor. (s a result of their narrow conscious outlook
and their cramped e5istence they save energyE bit by bit it
accumulates in the unconscious and fnally e5plodes in the
form of a more or less acute neurosis.["&he )unction of the
Dnconscious," !" $, par. A8%.]
Jungs !iew of neurosis differs radically from the classical reducti!e approach, ut it
does not sustantially change what happens in analysis. 'cti!ated fantasies still ha!e
to e rought to light, ecause the energy needed for life is attached to them. The
o+ect, howe!er, is not to re!eal a supposed root cause of the neurosis ut to estalish
a connection etween consciousness and the unconscious that will result in the
renewed progression of energy.
Hysteria
' state of mind mar#ed y an exaggerated rapport with persons in the immediate
en!ironment and an ad+ustment to surrounding conditions that amounts to imitation.
.ysteria is, in my view, by far the most fre@uent neurosis of
the e5traverted type. . . . ( constant tendency to make himself
interesting and produce an impression is a basic feature of the
hysteric. &he corollary of this is his proverbial suggestibility,
his proneness to another personJs in'uence. (nother
unmistakable sign of the e5traverted hysteric is his
e3usiveness, which occasionally carries him into the realm of
fantasy, so that he is accused of the "hysterical lie."["Feneral
escription of the &ypes," !" #, par. 2##.]
"ysterical neurosis is usually accompanied y compensatory reactions from the
unconscious.
[&hese] counteract the e5aggerated e5traversion by means of
physical symptoms that force the libido to introvert. &he
reaction of the unconscious produces another class of
symptoms having a more introverted character, one of the
most typical being a morbid intensifcation of fantasy activity.[
Ibid., par. 2##.]
Dissociation
The splitting of a personality into its component parts or complexes, characteristic
of neurosis.
( dissociation is not healed by being split o3, but by more
complete disintegration. (ll the powers that strive for unity, all
healthy desire for selfhood, will resist the disintegration, and
in this way he will become conscious of the possibility of an
inner integration, which before he had always sought outside
himself. .e will then fnd his reward in an undivided self.
["-arriage as a 0sychological 6elationship," !" %$, pars.
,,+f.]
In the analysis of neurotic rea#downs, the aim is to ma#e the conscious ego aware of
autonomous complexes. This can e done oth through reducti!e analysis and y
o+ectifying them in the process of acti!e imagination.
1very form of communication with the split4o3 part of the
psyche is therapeutically e3ective. &his e3ect is also brought
about by the real or merely supposed discovery of the causes.
1ven when the discovery is no more than an assumption or a
fantasy, it has a healing e3ect at least by suggestion if the
analyst himself believes in it and makes a serious attempt to
understand.["&he 0hilosophical &ree," !" %,, par. +#2.]
Night sea journey
'n archetypal motif in mythology, psychologically associated with depression and
the loss of energy characteristic of neurosis.
&he night sea <ourney is a kind of descensus ad inferosMa
descent into .ades and a <ourney to the land of ghosts
somewhere beyond this world, beyond consciousness, hence
an immersion in the unconscious.["&he 0sychology of the
&ransference," !" %#, par. +22.]
2ythologically, the night sea +ourney motif usually in!ol!es eing swallowed y a
dragon or sea monster. It is also represented y imprisonment or crucifixion,
dismemerment or aduction, experiences traditionally weathered y sun$gods and
heroes* 5ilgamesh, 3siris, ,hrist, 6ante, 3dysseus, 'eneas. In the language of the
mystics it is the dar# night of the soul.
Jung interpreted such legends symolically, as illustrations of the regressi!e
mo!ement of energy in an outrea# of neurosis and its potential progression.
&he hero is the symbolical e5ponent of the movement of
libido. 1ntry into the dragon is the regressive direction, and
the <ourney to the 1ast 9the =night sea <ourney>: with its
attendant events symboliBes the e3ort to adapt to the
conditions of the psychic inner world. &he complete
swallowing up and disappearance of the hero in the belly of
the dragon represents the complete withdrawal of interest
from the outer world. &he overcoming of the monster from
within is the achievement of adaptation to the conditions of
the inner world, and the emergence 9=slipping out>: of the
hero from the monsterJs belly with the help of a bird, which
happens at the moment of sunrise, symboliBes the
recommencement of progression.["/n 0sychic 1nergy," !" *,
par. #*.]
'll the night sea +ourney myths deri!e from the percei!ed eha!ior of the sun, which,
in Jungs lyrical image, 0sails o!er the sea li#e an immortal god who e!ery e!ening is
immersed in the maternal waters and is orn anew in the morning.78Symols of the
2other and of 9eirth,8,- :, par. ;<=.> The sun going down, analogous to the loss
of energy in a depression, is the necessary prelude to reirth. ,leansed in the healing
waters (the unconscious), the sun (ego$consciousness) li!es again.
Psychosis
'n extreme dissociation of the personality. ?i#e neurosis, a psychotic condition is due
to the acti!ity of unconscious complexes and the phenomenon of splitting. In
neurosis, the complexes are only relati!ely autonomous. In psychosis, they are
completely disconnected from consciousness.
&o have comple5es is in itself normalE but if the comple5es are
incompatible, that part of the personality which is too contrary
to the conscious part becomes split o3. If the split reaches the
organic structure, the dissociation is a psychosis, a
schiBophrenic condition, as the term denotes. 1ach comple5
then lives an e5istence of its own, with no personality left to
tie them together.["&he &avistock Hectures," !" %*, par. ,*A.]
[In schiBophrenia] the split4o3 fgures assume banal,
grotes@ue, or highly e5aggerated names and characters, and
are often ob<ectionable in many other ways. &hey do not,
moreover, co4operate with the patientJs consciousness. &hey
are not tactful and they have no respect for sentimental
values. /n the contrary, they break in and make a disturbance
at any time, they torment the ego in a hundred waysE all are
ob<ectionable and shocking, either in their noisy and
impertinent behaviour or in their grotes@ue cruelty and
obscenity. &here is an apparent chaos of incoherent visions,
voices, and characters, all of an overwhelmingly strange and
incomprehensible nature.["/n the 0sychogenesis of
?chiBophrenia," !" ,, par. 2I*.]
Jung elie!ed that many psychoses, and particularly schi.ophrenia, were psychogenic,
resulting from an abaissement du niveau mental and an ego too wea# to resist the
onslaught of unconscious contents. "e reser!ed +udgment on whether iological
factors were a contriuting cause.
Complex
'n emotionally charged group of ideas or images. (See also -ord 'ssociation
@xperiment.)
[( comple5] is the image of a certain psychic situation which is
strongly accentuated emotionally and is, moreover,
incompatible with the habitual attitude of consciousness.["(
6eview of the !omple5 &heory," !" *, par. AI%.]
&he via regia to the unconscious . . . is not the dream, as
[)reud] thought, but the comple5, which is the architect of
dreams and of symptoms. 7or is this via so very N"royal,"
either, since the way pointed out by the comple5 is more like a
rough and uncommonly devious footpath.[ Ibid., par. A%I.]
)ormally, complexes are 8feeling$toned ideas8 that o!er the years accumulate around
certain archetypes, for instance 8mother8 and 8father.8 -hen complexes are
constellated, they are in!arialy accompanied y affect. They are always relati!ely
autonomous.
!omple5es interfere with the intentions of the will and disturb
the conscious performanceE they produce disturbances of
memory and blockages in the 'ow of associationsE they
appear and disappear according to their own lawsE they can
temporarily obsess consciousness, or in'uence speech and
action in an unconscious way. In a word, comple5es behave
like independent beings.["0sychological )actors in .uman
Behaviour," ibid., par. A2,.]
!omple5es are in fact "splinter psyches." &he aetiology of
their origin is fre@uently a so4called trauma, an emotional
shock or some such thing, that splits o3 a bit of the psyche.
!ertainly one of the commonest causes is a moral con'ict,
which ultimately derives from the apparent impossibility of
aKrming the whole of oneJs nature.["( 6eview of the !omple5
&heory," ibid., par. AI+.]
1veryone knows nowadays that people "have comple5es."
"hat is not so well known, though far more important
theoretically, is that comple5es can have us.[Ibid., par. AII.]
Jung stressed that complexes in themsel!es are not negati!e% only their effects often
are. In the same way that atoms and molecules are the in!isile components of
physical o+ects, complexes are the uilding loc#s of the psyche and the source of all
human emotions.
!omple5es are focal or nodal points of psychic life which we
would not wish to do withoutE indeed, they should not be
missing, for otherwise psychic activity would come to a fatal
standstill.["( 0sychological &heory of &ypes," !" #, par. 8A2.]
!omple5es obviously represent a kind of inferiority in the
broadest sense . . . [but] to have comple5es does not
necessarily indicate inferiority. It only means that something
discordant, unassimilated, and antagonistic e5ists, perhaps as
an obstacle, but also as an incentive to greater e3ort, and so,
perhaps, to new possibilities of achievement.[Ibid., par. 8A2.]
?ome degree of one4sidedness is unavoidable, and, in the
same measure, comple5es are unavoidable too.
["0sychological )actors in .uman Behaviour," !" *, par. A22.]
The negati!e effect of a complex is commonly experienced as a distortion in one or
other of the psychological functions (feeling, thin#ing, intuition and sensation). In
place of sound +udgment and an appropriate feeling response, for instance, one reacts
according to what the complex dictates. 's long as one is unconscious of the
complexes, one is liale to e dri!en y them.
&he possession of comple5es does not in itself signify neurosis
. . . and the fact that they are painful is no proof of
pathological disturbance. ?u3ering is not an illnessE it is the
normal counterpole to happiness. ( comple5 becomes
pathological only when we think we have not got it.
["0sychotherapy and a 0hilosophy of Hife," !" %#, par. %$8.]
Identification with a complex, particularly the anima(animus and the shadow, is a
frequent source of neurosis. The aim of analysis in such cases is not to get rid of the
complexes$as if that were possile$ut to minimi.e their negati!e effects y
understanding the part they play in eha!ior patterns and emotional reactions.
( comple5 can be really overcome only if it is lived out to the
full. In other words, if we are to develop further we have to
draw to us and drink down to the very dregs what, because of
our comple5es, we have held at a distance.["0sychological
(spects of the -other (rchetype," !" 8i, par. %*+.]
Parental complex
' group of emotionally charged images and ideas associated with the parents. (See
also incest.)
Jung elie!ed that the numinosity surrounding the personal parents, apparent in their
more or less magical influence, was to a large extent due to an archetypal image of the
primordial parents resident in e!ery psyche.
&he importance that modern psychology attaches to the
=parental comple5> is a direct continuation of primitive manJs
e5perience of the dangerous power of the ancestral spirits.
1ven the error of <udgment which leads him unthinkingly to
assume that the spirits are realities of the e5ternal world is
carried on in our assumption 9which is only partially correct:
that the real parents are responsible for the parental comple5.
In the old trauma theory of )reudian psychoanalysis, and in
other @uarters as well, this assumption even passed for a
scientifc e5planation. 9It was in order to avoid this confusion
that I advocated the term =parental imago.>:["&he )unction of
the Dnconscious," !" $, par. A8,.]
The imago of the parents is composed of oth the image created in the indi!idual
psyche from the experience of the personal parents and collecti!e elements already
present.
&he image is unconsciously pro<ected, and when the parents
die, the pro<ected image goes on working as though it were a
spirit e5isting on its own. &he primitive then speaks of
parental spirits who return by night 9revenants:, while the
modern man calls it a father or mother comple5.[Ibid., par.
A8+.]
?o long as a positive or negative resemblance to the parents
is the deciding factor in a love choice, the release from the
parental imago, and hence from childhood, is not complete.
["-ind and 1arth," !" %I, par. $+].
Incest
&sychologically, the regressi!e longing for the security of childhood and early youth.
Jung interpreted incest images in dreams and fantasies not concretely ut
symolically, as indicating the need for a new adaptation more in accord with the
instincts. (This differed so radically from the psychoanalytic !iew that it led to his
rea# with )reud.)
?o long as the child is in that state of unconscious identity
with the mother, he is still one with the animal psyche and is
<ust as unconscious as it. &he development of consciousness
inevitably leads not only to separation from the mother, but to
separation from the parents and the whole family circle and
thus to a relative degree of detachment from the unconscious
and the world of instinct. Oet the longing for this lost world
continues and, when diKcult adaptations are demanded, is
forever tempting one to make evasions and retreats, to
regress to the infantile past, which then starts throwing up the
incestuous symbolism. ["?ymbols of the -other and of
6ebirth," !" 2, par. ,2%.]
"henever [the] drive for wholeness appears, it begins by
disguising itself under the symbolism of incest, for, unless he
seeks it in himself, a manJs nearest feminine counterpart is to
be found in his mother, sister, or daughter. ["&he 0sychology of
the &ransference," !" %#, par. +$%.]
elf!regulation of the psyche
' concept ased on the compensatory relationship etween consciousness and the
unconscious. (See also adaptation, compensation, neurosis, opposites
and transcendent function.)
&he psyche does not merely react, it gives its own specifc
answer to the in'uences at work upon it.["ome !rucial 0oints
in 0sychoanalysis," !" +, par. ##2.]
The process of self$regulation is going on all the time within the psyche. It only
ecomes noticeale when ego$consciousness has particular difficulty in adapting to
external or internal reality. That is often the start of a process, proceeeding along the
lines outlined in the chart, that may lead to indi!iduation.
"he elf!regulation of the Psyche
a. 6ifficulty of adaptation. ?ittle progression of liido.
. 9egression of energy (depression, lac# of disposale energy).
c. 'cti!ation of unconscious contents (fantasies, complexes, archetypal images,
inferior function, opposite attitude, shadow, anima(animus, etc.). ,ompensation.
d. Symptoms of neurosis (confusion, fear, anxiety, guilt, moods, extreme affect,
etc.).
e. Anconscious or half$conscious conflict etween ego and contents acti!ated in
the unconscious. Inner tension. 6efensi!e reactions.
f. 'cti!ation of the transcendent function, in!ol!ing the self and archetypal
patterns of wholeness.
g. )ormation of symols (numinosity, synchronicity).
h. Transfer of energy etween unconscious contents and consciousness.
@nlargement of the ego, progression of energy.
i. 'ssimilation of unconscious contents. Indi!iduation.