Review: Man and His Symbols

Man and His Symbols by C.G. Jung
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is not really a book by Jung, but one edited by him with his personal contribution being the first chapter. Released posthumously, this became him passing the baton to the analysts he trained as a first generation of post-Freudian psychiatrists. Written for a popular audience, this is also an excellent introduction to Jung's views of the unconscious. As for this "collective unconscious", it is like with ET-piloted, "I want to believe", but thinking it through it is hard for me to commit to more than a shared, collective, species experience. Still, as with all Jungian works I find this compelling, enlightening, and educational. Joseph L. Henderson explores "Ancient Myths and Modern Man" in a survey not unlike something like Joseph Campbell. There is a chapter and conclusion from Swiss Jungian Marie-Louise von Franz. I found most compelling the final two chapters. The penultimate one "Symbolism in the Visual Arts" by Aniela Jaffé bringing up modern artists and their views, like Jean Arp: “Art is about a secret, primal meaning slumbering beneath the world of appearances" and more. This is the chapter of the "profusely illustrated" book that I wish was in color. A very suitable final chapter from Jolande Jacobi applies this to dream interpretation (I prefer the approach as a personal lexicon to Freud's universal symbology) of a specific case from start of analysis to conclusion.

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