Key Takeaways
1. Projection as a Common Human Misjudgment
In these imaginary relationships the other person becomes an object or a carrier of symbols.
Everyday Misinterpretations. Projection is a pervasive psychological phenomenon where we attribute our own qualities, both positive and negative, to others. This often leads to misjudgments in our relationships and interactions, as we perceive others through the lens of our own internal landscape.
Examples of Projection:
- A child with a negative parental experience projecting that image onto authority figures.
- An antiauthoritarian person perceiving tyranny in someone displaying even slight self-assertiveness.
- Overvaluing or idealizing someone based on projecting positive qualities onto them.
Correcting Errors. Unlike simple errors that can be easily corrected with better information, projections are deeply ingrained and resistant to change. This is because they are fueled by psychic energy and emotional investment, making it difficult to detach from the projected image.
2. The Sociological and Existentialist Views on Projection
Under the impression that each person’s inner image of reality represents for him, in an absolute sense, the actual state of affairs, certain existentially oriented therapists try to deny altogether the evidence for projection.
Societal Influence. Some sociological and existentialist perspectives argue that each individual is trapped within their own subjective reality, making objective judgment of projection impossible. They suggest that distinctions between normal and abnormal are culturally dependent and inaccessible to universal assessment.
Counterarguments:
- Clear cases of mental illness are recognized as pathological across cultures, though interpretations may vary.
- Normality involves adapting to life situations appropriately.
- Pathological symptoms include ego-alienation and behavior that defies traditional contexts.
Unconscious Correction. These views often overlook the role of the unconscious in correcting projections. The unconscious, from which projections originate, also strives to rectify them during inner development, challenging the notion of individuals being hopelessly confined to their subjective realities.
3. Stages of Projection Withdrawal: From Mystic Identity to Integration
The process of gaining insight into a projection takes place in several stages.
Progressive Awareness. Gaining insight into a projection is a multi-stage process, moving from a state of archaic identity to eventual integration. This involves differentiating between inner and outer realities and recognizing the subjective nature of projected qualities.
Stages of Withdrawal:
- Archaic Identity: No differentiation between self and object.
- Partial Differentiation: Recognizing the object as separate but still imbued with mythical qualities.
- Moral Evaluation: Judging the object as good or evil.
- Rationalization: Denying the existence of spirits and attributing experiences to natural causes.
- Integration: Acknowledging the psychic reality of the projection and integrating it into one's own psychology.
Chinese Ghost Story. The story of the soldier and the ghost illustrates integration. The soldier's participation and self-sacrifice transformed the destructive rope into a badge of honor, integrating the destructive tendencies into his own being.
4. Projectiles and the Symbolism of Harmful Words
One sees everywhere that it is precisely the antiauthoritarian way.
Symbolic Representation. Projection is often symbolized by projectiles, such as magic arrows or shots, that affect their target for good or ill. This ancient belief reflects the idea that harmful words and negative energy can be directed at others, causing illness or misfortune.
Harmful Words:
- Harmful words are described as deadly bows and arrows.
- Negative energy directed against others is symbolized by projectiles.
- Hatred is experienced almost physically as a projectile.
Divine Arrows. The dispatch of arrows bringing sickness or death is frequently ascribed to divine figures. In ancient Vedic literature, the god Rudra sends death and illness with his arrows, highlighting the dual nature of divine power.
5. Soul Loss and Spirit Possession as Psychological Phenomena
Both “loss of soul” and an “invading spirit” can also be observed today as psychological phenomena in the everyday lives of the human beings around us.
Two Opposing Concepts. Two diametrically opposed concepts, "loss of soul" and "invading spirit," are widespread. "Loss of soul" manifests as apathy and listlessness, while "invading spirit" appears as sudden psychic alterations in personality.
Loss of Soul:
- Sudden onset of apathy and listlessness.
- Loss of joy and initiative.
- Feeling empty and pointless.
Invading Spirit:
- Sudden psychic alterations in personality.
- Autonomous complex breaking through from the unconscious.
- Often preceded by a process of constellation observed in dreams and fantasies.
Interconnectedness. Both concepts are closely tied to projection. Transferring a piece of one's personality to an outer object results in a loss of soul. Conversely, sudden projections can feel like being pierced by an arrow or struck by lightning.
6. Religious Hermeneutics: Interpreting Myths and Images
Today the opposition between theologians and representatives of depth psychology is still in full effect, as, for example, in the discussion between theologians and representatives of depth psychology.
Historical Context. The withdrawal of projections is a recurring theme throughout the history of spiritual development. In ancient Greece, the mythical-religious world picture gradually shifted towards rationalism, with pre-Socratic philosophers reinterpreting or denying the existence of traditional gods.
Allegorical Interpretation:
- Theagenes of Rhegion attempted to rescue the "old truth" by conceiving it as allegorical.
- Stoics interpreted Greek gods as physical facts or psychological powers.
- Philo of Alexandria interpreted mythological motifs of the Old Testament as typoi (prefigurations).
Christianity's Impact. Christianity introduced the doctrine of the historically real Christ-figure, concentrating the primordial mythical world into one man. This new myth dominated the spiritual world for nearly two thousand years.
7. The Evolution of Scientific Hypotheses from Archetypal Images
Just as we tend to assume that the world is as we see it, we naively suppose that people are as we imagine them to be.
Archetypal Roots. Scientific hypotheses often stem from intuitive-visual pre-stages, with archetypal basic images persisting through various transformations. The opposition between spirit and matter resurfaces in contemporary physics as a discussion of the relation between consciousness and matter.
Early Philosophers:
- Greek natural philosophy sought to free mankind from a polytheistic-mythical picture of the world.
- The new dominant principle was thought of either as matter or as a mental principle.
- Psychic powers were thought to be located in an immaterial cosmic world-soul or in a specified part of the human body.
Wandering Projections. Because the forms, as they became outworn, were still not recognized as projections, these archetypal basic images have consistently conformed to the law of the wandering of unintegrated projections.
8. The Infinite Sphere: A Recurring Image in Science and Religion
Sphairos, the spherical, above the everywhere prevailing solitude, filled with happy pride.
Symbolic Significance. The image of a circle or sphere, with its center everywhere and circumference nowhere, has recurred throughout history as a visual representation of God, existence, the cosmos, space-time, and particles. This image has undergone numerous transformations, eventually being understood as an endopsychic reality within the human being.
Historical Manifestations:
- Zeus described as a "royal body in which everything here circulates."
- Parmenides described the One as a geometrical sphere.
- Empedocles described cosmic reality as an infinite sphere.
Modern Interpretations. In contemporary physics, the sphere-image persists in modified forms, closely joined to the idea of matter. Einstein's theory suggests matter is an excited state of a "dynamic geometry," with superspace containing "wormholes."
9. Energy, Fields, and the Roots of Scientific Concepts
To Rudra I bring thee songs, whose bow is firm and strong, ... with swiftly flying shafts ... armed with sharp-pointed weapons: may he hear our call.
Primitive Origins. The concept of energy in contemporary physics has roots in primitive ideas of magic potency, such as wakanda among the Dakota Indians and mulungu among the Yaos. These terms represent a diffuse substance or energy upon which all exceptional power or ability depends.
Heraclitus's World-Fire:
- Heraclitus's idea of world-fire is a conceptually developed form of this primordial idea.
- The Logos, identical with the godhead, is also the material primordial fire that circulates throughout all happening.
- The human soul is connected with this world-encompassing fiery Logos and participates in its meaningfulness.
Field of Force. The Stoic concept of pneuma forms the pre-stage of the idea of a field of force as it was developed in nineteenth-century physics. Even Newton believed he could explain gravitation through the action of "subtle spirits."
10. The Collective Unconscious: A Transsubjective Reality
The collective unconscious, as we understand it today, was never a matter of ‘psychology, for before the Christian Church existed there were the antique mysteries, and these reach back into the grey mists of neolithic prehistory.
Historical Roots. The idea of the collective unconscious is a modern formulation of the archetypal conception of a "world-spirit" or "world-soul" that animates the universe. Jung grounded this hypothesis in empirical research, demonstrating its presence in the dreams of modern individuals.
Empirical Research:
- Comparative mythology reveals the expression of objective psychic processes.
- Myths are created by the unconscious in free relation to sense perceptions.
- Dream-research allows observation of the effect of archetypes in individuals.
Structure of the Unconscious. The collective unconscious is structured in layers, from individual experiences to universal myths. This structure includes a unified center where multiple archetypes integrate into a single unit.
11. The Polar Nature of the Collective Unconscious: Instinct and Spirit
Archetype and instinct are “the most polar opposites imaginable.”
Spectrum of Psychic Functions. The psychic realm exists on a spectrum, with instincts and physiological processes at one end and archetypes at the other. Consciousness and free will prevail in the middle range, while the extremes are dominated by compulsion and inspiration.
Instinct vs. Spirit:
- Instincts are typical human ways of reacting, resembling animal behavior.
- Archetypes are spiritual insights or images that can overcome individual freedom.
- Emotions link instinctive impulses and creative spiritual experiences.
Unus Mundus. At the deepest level, matter and psyche become one in the unus mundus, where outer and inner are no longer separate. This unitary reality is expressed in a double manifestation: material events and symbolic images.
12. The Great Mediating Daimons: Anima, Animus, and the Self
The projections of our fellow beings onto ourselves are by no means harmless affairs that disturb nothing but the adaptation of the people from whom they issue; they also substantially affect the person onto whom the projection falls.
Anima and Animus. Plato mentioned great daimons like Eros and Psyche, which Jung identified as the anima and animus. These figures are the real projection-creating factors of the psyche, influencing love entanglements and marital conflicts.
Anima:
- Feminine aspect of a man's psyche, embodied in the mother-imago and rejuvenated in the beloved.
- Fate-spinning core of the unconscious, driving men to certain women and life-styles.
- Can bring awakening to the Self.
Animus:
- Masculine aspect of a woman's psyche, a rejuvenated form of the father-image.
- Traditional spirit expressing itself in sacred convictions.
- Creative spirit inspiring women to spiritual achievements.
Self as Mediator. The Self, as a supraordinate center, can mediate between the anima and animus, leading to individuation and wholeness. This process involves recognizing and integrating unconscious contents, rather than repressing them.
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Review Summary
Projection and Re-collection in Jungian Psychology receives high praise for its depth, complexity, and insights into Jungian concepts. Readers appreciate von Franz's scholarship, writing style, and connections to mythology, science, and philosophy. The book explores projection, archetypes, and the collective unconscious, offering practical applications for self-understanding. Some find it challenging but rewarding, while others note its relevance to modern psychology. A few readers express skepticism about certain Jungian ideas but still value the book's contributions to understanding human psychology and perception.
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