Jung's lectures on consciousness and the unconscious--in English for
the first time
Between 1933 and 1941, C. G. Jung delivered a series of public lectures
at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich. Intended
for a general audience, these lectures addressed a broad range of
topics, from dream analysis and yoga to the history of psychology. They
are at the center of Jung's intellectual activity in this period and
provide the basis of his later work. Here for the first time in English
is Jung's introduction to his core psychological theories and methods,
delivered in the summer of 1934.
With candor and wit, Jung shares with his audience the path he himself
took to understanding the nature of consciousness and the unconscious.
He describes their respective characteristics using examples from his
clinical experience as well as from literature, his travels, and
everyday life. For Jung, consciousness is like a small island in the
ocean of the unconscious, while the unconscious is part of the
primordial condition of humankind. Jung explains various methods for
uncovering the contents of the unconscious, in particular talk therapy
and dream analysis.
Complete with explanations of Jungian concepts and terminology,
Consciousness and the Unconscious painstakingly reconstructs and
translates these talks from detailed shorthand notes by attendees,
making a critical part of Jung's work available to today's readers.