The Principle of Individuation suggests new approaches, on both
personal and communal levels, for gaining freedom from the compulsion to
repeat endlessly the dysfunctional patterns that have conditioned us. In
this concise and contemporary account of the process of individuation,
Murray Stein sets out its two basic movements and then examines the
central role of numinous experience, the critical importance of
initiation, and the unique psychic space required for its unfolding.
Using psychological insights from Carl Jung's writings, from myths and
fairytales, and from years of clinical experience, he offers a vivid
description of this lifelong and dynamic process that will be useful to
clinicians and the general public alike.
Stein suggests new approaches--on both personal and communal levels--for
gaining freedom from the compulsion to repeat endlessly the
dysfunctional patterns that have conditioned us. In this concise and
contemporary account of the process of individuation, he sets out its
two basic movements and then examines the central role of numinous
experience, the critical importance of initiation, and the unique
psychic space required for its unfolding. Using psychological insights
from C. G. Jung's writings, from myths and fairytales, and from years of
clinical experience, Stein offers a vivid description of this lifelong
and dynamic process that will be useful to clinicians and the general
public alike.
As a movement toward the further development of human consciousness in
individuals, in cultural traditions, and in international arenas where
the relations among diverse cultures have become such a pressing issue
today, understanding the principle of individuation has relevance for
students and workers in many fields. The principium individuation is a
phrase with a long and distinguished history in philosophy, extending
from the Middle Ages to Leibniz, Locke, and Schopenhauer. In Jungian
psychology, it is brought into the contemporary world as a psychological
principle that speaks of the innate human tendency to become distinct
and integrated-to become conscious of our purpose, who and what we are,
and where we are going.
Murray Stein, Ph.D. is a supervising training analyst and former
president of The International School of Analytical Psychology in
Zurich, Switzerland (ISAP Zurich). His most recent books include
Outside Inside and All Around, Minding the Self and The Principle of
Individuation. From 2001 to 2004 he was president of the International
Association for Analytical Psychology. He lectures internationally on
topics related to Analytical Psychology and its applications in the
contemporary world. He is publisher emeritus of Chiron Publications and
is the focus of many Asheville Jung Center online seminars.d.
