Jung demonstrates his thesis by an investigation of the Christian fish symbol, and of Gnostic and alchemical symbolism. Looked at rationally and from outside, that is exactly what he is, and from this point of view it seems positively absurd to go on talking about the value or meaning of the individual. While walking into work last week i stumbled upon a box of books in the trash and The Undiscovered Self just so happened to be in the mix, so I read it. In the next chapters, Jung begins to explain how men might posses knowledge of their surroundings, but their minds are a mystery. If we don’t reach this realization – that mass movements are robbing us of ourselves – we’ll always live a delusional reality.

Philosopher Walter Kaufmann has criticized the arrangement of the Collected Works as unsystematic, and R.Jung believes that, in the past, when religion was more integral to our society, these two parts of ourselves were in greater harmony; but in modern times there has arisen a split, leading to a sort of general neuroticism.

G. Jung Carl Gustav Jung Christian Church conflict consciousness creeds crowd psychology danger decision depends dictator dissociation doctor doctrine effect evil existence extramundane fact factors faith fantasies fear feel freedom goal hand happen human psyche hydrogen bomb ideal ideas individual human individual’s influence inner experience insight instinct intellectual Iron Curtain John Peck judgment Jung’s knowledge Küsnacht lack large numbers Liber Novus man’s mankind mass matter means merely metaphysical modern myth nature neurotic object one’s parapsychology patient person political possible principle psyche psychic infection psychosis question R. These include not yet realised or tried abilities, hidden feelings, concealed traumas, conditioned behaviours from childhood, unrealised fears or aversions, and information buried in your subconscious.

Among his most influential works, “The Undiscovered Self” is a plea for his generation—and those to come—to continue the individual work of self-discovery and not abandon needed psychological reflection for the easy ephemera of mass culture. This self-knowledge, as presented in the book, is foundational for cleansing the dogmatic oppressors and elevating the fate of the individual human being.