Jung: A Very Short Introduction

Though he was a prolific writer and an original thinker of vast erudition, Jung lacked a gift for clear exposition and his ideas are less widely appreciated than they deserve. In this concise introduction, Anthony Stevens explains clearly the basic concepts of Jungian psychology: the collective unconscious, complex, archetype, shadow, persona, anima, animus, and the individuation of the Self. He examines Jung's views on such disparate subjects as myth, religion, alchemy, 'sychronicity', and the psychology of gender differences, and he devotes separate chapters to the stages of life, Jung's theory of psychological types, the interpretation of dreams, the practice of Jungian analysis, and to the unjust allegation that Jung was a Nazi sympathizer. Finally, he argues that Jung's visionary powers and profound spirituality have helped many to find an alternative set of values to the arid materialism prevailing in Western society.

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Anthony Stevens is a distinguished Jungian analyst, psychiatrist, and writer on Jungian themes. He is a graduate of Oxford University and in addition to his DM has two degrees in psychology. His other books include Archetype: A Natural History of the Self (1982), The Roots of War (1989), On Jung (1990), The Two-Million-Year-Old Self (1993), and Private Myths: Dreams and Dreaming (1995).

offers a concise introduction to Jungian psychology, covering everything from the collective unconscious and the archetype to the theories of synchronicity and individuation. Ken McGoogan, Calgary Herald