Jung critique - Part 1

[GOD]

This critique is based on a site and its writings CG Jung Page - Introduction to Jung's Psychology which you are encouraged to visit. The text observed is shown in italics and the normal font typeset is that of this site and is subject to change given I'm working on intuition and not any prescriptive training!!

In speaking of mind and mental activity Jung has chosen the terms, psyche and psychic, rather than mind and mental, since the latter are associated primarily with consciousness, whereas psyche and psychic consciousness and the unconscious. So-called unconscious phenomena are usually unrecognized by the one affected by them and have no connection with the ego. If they do obtrude into consciousness -- say, for instance, in the form of an emotional outburst that is out of proportion to its apparent cause -- they are largely inexplicable to anyone who is unaware of the nature of unconscious motivation. 'I don't know what came over me', we say. Unconscious manifestations are not limited to the pathological, for normal people are continually acting from motives of which they are utterly unaware.

People who have not examined the concept of introspection and observation of their underlying subconcious are likely to act on the autosuggestive responses raised by the subconcious without observation and/or modification to socially acceptable norms.

The unconscious aspect of the psyche is different from, but compensatory to the conscious. In Jung's view, the conscious mind 'grows out of an unconscious psyche which is older than it, and which goes on functioning together with it or even in spite of it'. Furthermore, in contrast to those who look on mind as secondary manifestation, an epiphenomenon, 'a ghost in the machine', Jung insists on the reality of the psyche -- it is no less real than the physical, has its own structure and is subject to its own laws.

Completely disagree with this notion. I believe there are 2 underlying states that exist in the non conscious mind. 1) The initial framework of the mind (How it’s genetically constructed its pathways and so forth) and 2) The information embedded into it by the conscious. The conscious and subconscious do have a feedback loop and either can dominate depending on the circumstance and the ability of the conscious mind to moderate and channel the subconscious.

I believe that it is the disconnection or poor connection between the conscious and subconscious that can lead to various psych states, just as Sleep is simply surrender to the sub consciousness and the dreams/nightmares that reside there.

It is plausible that the framework I suggest in 1) could be similar to Jung’s “own structure and subject to its own laws” however I believe that this absolute base level of the human being has a muted effect when the subconscious and conscious have adequate control and interchange.

All that I experience is psychic. Even physical pain is a psychic image which I experience; my sense-impressions -- for all that they force upon me a world of impenetrable objects occupying space -- are psychic images, and these alone constitute my immediate experience, for they alone are the immediate objects of my consciousness. My own psyche even transforms and falsifies reality, and it does this to such a degree that I must resort to artificial means to determine what things are like apart from myself.

A lie can be construed of as a truth. Reality is just verification to some normalized expectation of what it constitutes. The individual mind is capable of various states and complete submission to the subconscious could invoke dream like “realities”.

Then I discover that a sound is a vibration of air of such and such a frequency, or that a color is a wave of light of such and such a length. We are in truth so wrapped about by psychic images that we cannot penetrate at all to the essence of things external to ourselves. All our knowledge consists of the stuff of the psyche which, because it alone is immediate, is superlatively real. Here, then, is a reality to which the psychologist can appeal -- namely, psychic reality.

To this one may add that psychic reality forces itself upon us in many ways; there are even psychically produced illnesses which have all the appearance of being a ‘purely physical', and yet can be proved to have no organic cause, from the dramatic hysterical paralysis and blindness to headaches, stomach troubles, and a host of other minor ailments.

Completely agree. It is my hypothesis that just as smells can invoke emotions, emotions due to loss can invoke the sense of particular smells. A common observation made by bereaved people.

Furthermore, everything made by man had its beginnings in the psyche, was something he just thought of, or perhaps saw in a dream or as a vision.

Disagree with this. As discussed in previous responses there is in my opinion two processes of thought occurring at any one time, the subconscious and the conscious. The conscious continually lays down information into the subconscious which is progressively churned and assimilated into structured patterns; the flash of “just thought of” “vision” “dream” is the piece of information that forms the key to forming a unique pattern of observation. The Eureka. The flash from the subconscious repository back up into the conscious.

Our own hopes and fears may be grounded in 'realities' that are recognizable to others, or they may be 'purely imaginary', but the joy or anxiety they bring is the same in either case -- what we experience is real to us, if not to other people, and has its own validity, equal to, though different from, the ‘reality' that is acknowledged.

This attitude towards the reality of the psyche contrasts strikingly with that to which Jung often refers as 'a nothing but attitude'. Those who hold this point of view continually belittle psychic manifestations, especially experiences that cannot easily be connected with outside events, and refer to them disparagingly as 'nothing but imagination', merely 'subjective'. Jung, on the other hand, gives the inner or psychic process a value equal to the outer or environmental one.

[GOD]

The unconscious aspect of the psyche is different from, but compensatory to the conscious. In Jung's view, the conscious mind 'grows out of an unconscious psyche which is older than it, and which goes on functioning together with it or even in spite of it'.3 Furthermore, in contrast to those who look on mind as secondary manifestation, an epiphenomenon, 'a ghost in the machine', Jung insists on the reality of the psyche -- it is no less real than the physical, has its own structure and is subject to its own laws.

The basic infrastructure of the mind takes care of the underlying basic core functions. In this respect it is likely to be part of the brain that reaches into our evolutionary past the most (The most rudamentary parts). However, I believe that this core infrastructure can have a similar and complementary subconcious that can be programmed from the effects of the concious, perhaps even it is a permanent feature if these impressions are developed before the brain materially "fuses" up to the age of c7?

In evolutionary biology terms it's my theory that women’s group menstruation alignment is possibly due to this most basic part of the brain in action. In essence this is due to the evolutionary past of amphibian forebears aligning their egg laying on shores (or reefs etc) together and at high tide when the full moon etc signals its presence. This accounts for both lunar correlation and group convergence (Safety of the herd).

Also, given that brain injury patients can utilize complementary parts of their brain to patch over the injury's effects, just possibly a whole range of conditions (reality of the psyche) in people could evolve from using different pathways of the brain to perceive and think.

All that I experience is psychic. Even physical pain is a psychic image which I experience; my sense-impressions -- for all that they force upon me a world of impenetrable objects occupying space -- are psychic images, and these alone constitute my immediate experience, for they alone are the immediate objects of my consciousness. My own psyche even transforms and falsifies reality, and it does this to such a degree that I must resort to artificial means to determine what things are like apart from myself. Then I discover that a sound is a vibration of air of such and such a frequency, or that a color is a wave of light of such and such a length. We are in truth so wrapped about by psychic images that we cannot penetrate at all to the essence of things external to ourselves. All our knowledge consists of the stuff of the psyche which, because it alone is immediate, is superlatively real. Here, then, is a reality to which the psychologist can appeal -- namely, psychic reality.

I believe all that is experienced is actually psyche (More on this later).

Psychic reality is relatively homogeneous within the population due to reproduction (Sharing of genetic material/traits/senses). In effect we have a “collective consciousness” from a third eye perspective, its just that on an individual scale we experience somewhere along the bell shaped curve for any particular experience.

[GOD]

Jung's conception of the psyche is of a system which is dynamic, in constant movement, and at the same time self-regulating; he calls the general psychic energy, libido. The concept of libido must not be thought of as implying a force as such, any more than does the concept of energy in physics; it is simply a convenient way of describing the observed phenomena.
The libido flows between two opposing poles -- an analogy might be drawn here with the diastole and systole of the heart, or a comparison made between the positive and negative poles of an electric circuit. Jung usually refers to the opposing poles as 'the opposites'. The greater the tension between the pairs of opposites the greater the energy; without opposition there is no manifest energy. Many opposites at varying levels can be enumerated; for instance, progression, the forward movement of energy, and regression, the backward, consciousness and unconsciousness, extroversion and introversion, thinking and feeling, &c. The opposites have a regulating function (as Heraclitus discovered many hundred years ago), and when one extreme is reached libido passes over into its opposite. A simple example of this is to be found in the way that an attitude carried to one extreme will gradually change into something quite different: violent rage is succeeded by calm, and hatred not infrequently turns in the end to liking. To Jung the regulatory function of the opposites is inherent in human nature and essential to an understanding of psychic functioning.

Libido in this context appears more related to the three types of psychic functioning; namely a) The pure functional framework of the subconsciousness b) The embedded subconsciousness and c) The consciousness.

The “steady state” of Libido would be somewhere between the 2 states of subconsciousness (as a collective state) and the consciousness. The actual equilibrium state would be determined on the respective strengths and weakness of the states. It would be likely that where the embedded subconscious is in harmony with the consciousness then the individual would be in equilibrium.

The natural movement of the libido is forwards and backwards -- one could almost think of it as the movement of the tides. Jung calls the forward movement which satisfies the demands of the conscious, progression, the backward movement, satisfying the demands of the unconscious, regression. Progression is concerned with the active adaptation to one's environment, and regression with the adaptation to one's inner needs. Regression therefore (contrary to some points of view) is just as normal a counterpole to progression as sleeping is to waking, so long as the libido is functioning in an unhindered manner, i.e. according to the law of enantiodromia, when it must eventually turn over into a progressive movement.

Perhaps there is a bit too much emphasis on polar opposites. Effectively this assumes that everything is in 2 dimensions. Consciousness itself may be due to more of a 3 dimensional state, which includes the polar opposite 2 dimensions but additionally with the notion of feedback which ties in with the 3 consciousness states alluded to earlier. Effectively the equilibrium (baseline) state is not fixed although contained with some parameter governed by the pure functional subconsciousness framework.

There is a very close association between sexuality and the tilling of the earth among primitive people, while many other great undertakings, such as hunting, fishing, making war, &c., are prepared for with dances and magical ceremonies which clearly have the aim of leading the libido over into the necessary activity. The detail with which such ceremonies are carried out shows how much is needed to divert the natural energy from its course. This transmutation of libido through symbols, says Jung, has been going on since the dawn of civilization, and is due to something very deeply rooted in human nature. In the course of time we have succeeded in detaching a certain proportion of energy from instinct and have also developed the will, but it is less powerful than we like to believe, and we still have need of the transmuting power of the symbol. Jung sometimes calls this the 'transcendent function'.

Dances and magical ceremonies have it would appear differing purposes, Dances tending towards aspects of “hypnotic” states is the attempt to strip away any conscious (and societal) encumbrances and surrender to the more primitive (primate) subconsciousness. Magical ceremonies appeal directly to the consciousness and could be thought of more as at attempt to align the consciousness and innate subconsciousness towards greater parity (Rites of funerals et al).

Symbols itself appeal to the tribal notion and act as a unifying force and indication of allegiance. Symbols focus the mind towards these objects. Agreed that symbols can act as the conduit that allows the basic primitive subconsciousness to override the ordinary control of the consciousness.

[GOD]

Jung's view of the unconscious is more positive than that which merely sees it as the repository of everything objectionable, everything infantile -- even animal -- in ourselves, all that we want to forget. These things, it is true, have become unconscious, and much that emerges into consciousness is chaotic and unformed, but the unconscious is the matrix of consciousness, and in it are to be found the germs of new possibilities of life. The conscious aspect of the psyche might be compared to an island rising from the sea -- we only see the part above the water, but a much vaster unknown realm spreads below, and this could be likened to the unconscious.

Rather than the notion of the subconsciousness being the matrix of the consciousness, it is just as conceivable that consciousness is simply the observation of various elements of the subconsciousness matrix (framework).

Without consulting Neuro science journals it is intuitively likely that the senses pass through the most basic (primitive) parts of the brain first, it is the subconsciousness that acts on this sensory input to perform its rudimentary tasks. The consciousness then observers the inputs and can attach various levels of importance (this is the learning function) which can then define the subconsciousness landscape.

Hence, the subconsciousness can be the matrix of the consciousness where thought is applied; otherwise the subconsciousness is simply the reflection of sensory input.

Potentially the “embedded subconsciousness” could be the primitive consciousness that has been succeeded by the higher consciousness that we now take as meaning consciousness.

The island is the ego, the knowing, willing 'I', the centre of consciousness. But what belongs to consciousness, what I know about myself and the world and can direct and control, is not fully conscious all the time. I forget, or I repress what I do not like, or what is not socially acceptable. (Repression means a more or less deliberate and continuous withdrawal of attention, so that the thought, feeling or event which is to be repressed, is at last expelled from consciousness, and we are unable to recall it. Suppression -- which is sometimes confused with repression -- is the necessary withdrawal of attention from some things so that we can attend to others, but in this case they can be recalled at will.) I also have sense-perceptions of insufficient strength to reach consciousness, and I experience much that is only partly comprehended or of which I do not become fully aware. These subliminal perceptions, together with the repressed or forgotten memories, make a kind of shadow land stretching between the ego and the unconscious which could -- in fact should -- belong to the ego; or, to use our other metaphor, it is a land which has not always been covered by the sea, and can be reclaimed. Jung calls this shadow land the personal unconscious, to distinguish it from the collective unconscious, which is how he designates that aspect of the psyche which is unconscious in the fullest sense.

The shadow land is reasonably equivalent to the embedded subconsciousness alluded to previously, hence there is convergence on this to some degree. Using JungsIsland analogy the shadow land is the area between high and low tides.

In terms of the shadow land “should” belong to the ego. Isn’t correct in as much as the difference between high and low tide affects the fisherman on JungsIsland. The shadow land (embedded subconsciousness) is just the tuning/delegation and automation (learning) of the consciousnesses.


The personal unconscious belongs to the individual; it is formed from his repressed infantile impulses and wishes, subliminal perceptions, and countless forgotten experiences; it belongs to him alone.
The memories of the personal unconscious, though not entirely under the control of the will, can, when repression weakens (as for instance in sleep), be recalled; sometimes they return of their own accord; sometimes a chance association or shock will bring them to light; sometimes they appear somewhat disguised in dreams and fantasies; sometimes, especially if they are causing disturbances as in a neurosis, they need to be 'dug out'. Jung's method of arriving at these memories is analytic, and will be discussed later in some detail.
In the early stages of his work he also used what are known as 'association tests’ to reach these memories. The association tests revealed a peculiarity of the psychic structure, namely the tendency of ideas to become associated round certain basic nuclei; these associated ideas -- which are affectively toned -- Jung named complexes. The nucleus is a kind of psychological magnet; it has energetic value, and automatically attracts ideas to itself in proportion to its energy. The nucleus of a complex has two components, the dispositional and the environmental -- i.e. it is determined not only by experience, but also by the individual's way of reacting to that experience.

Because the unconsciousness framework throws up sensory information and the learning process between the embedded subconsciousness and consciousnesses is positive feedback loop, then the learning process prior to the consciousnesses maturity can focus and steer the individual down various channels which can be sufficiently strong to outweigh consciousnesses introspection.

Agreed to the complexes, the feedback loop can become fixated around the subconsciousness framework (providing sensory stimulus) and the embedded subconsciousness being stronger than the consciousnesses observational abilities and introspection analysis of the individual.

If the subconscious framework is permanent, the conscious is immediate then embedded subconsciousness is semi permanent.