The first English translation of correspondence tracing the
development of Jung's theory of psychological types
In 1915, C. G. Jung and his psychiatrist colleague, Hans Schmid-Guisan,
began a correspondence through which they hoped to codify fundamental
individual differences of attention and consciousness. Their ambitious
dialogue, focused on the opposition of extraversion and introversion,
demonstrated the difficulty of reaching a shared awareness of
differences even as it introduced concepts that would eventually enable
Jung to create his landmark 1921 statement of the theory of
psychological types. That theory, the basis of the widely used
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and similar personality assessment tools,
continues to inform not only personality psychology but also such
diverse fields as marriage and career counseling and human resource
management.
This correspondence reveals Jung fielding keen theoretical challenges
from one of his most sensitive and perceptive colleagues, and provides a
useful historical grounding for all those who work with, or are
interested in, Jungian psychology and psychological typology.