An Analysis of Jung’s Individuation

【Abstract】“Individuation” is a core concept of Carl Gustav Jungs theory of the individual personality formation. This essay attempts to make a brief analysis on Jungs individuation. The analysis of the process of individuation in humans psyche is so necessary， which can help a person become a well-balanced individual. It also can help us understand the characters personality in novels.

【Key Words】 individuation; the conscious; the unconscious; collective conscious

【作者簡介】浦妤，昭通学院。

1. Introduction

Individuation is put up with by Carl Gustav Jung. It is a major contribution to the psychology and the literary criticism. As the core of his theory， the understanding of the individuation is useful and helpful for us to know more about the psychological structure of human beings. To the process of the individuation， some scholars used Jungs individuation to analyze the characters growth process in novel. Lu Qingmei and Li Ping analyzed the characters in novels and thought the characters personality bears a strong resemblance to the process of Jungs individuation. Its very important to give a clear analysis of Jungs individuation.

2. The Conscious， the Unconscious and the Collective Unconscious

In order to explore the process of individuation， the understanding of these concepts including the conscious， the unconscious， the collective unconscious is necessary， especially the autonomy of the unconscious.

The foundation of Freuds contribution to the modern psychology is his emphasis on the unconscious aspects of the human psyche （Guerin， 1999： 127）. Carl Gustav Jung is influenced by the ideas of Sigmund Freud. Jung agreed with Freuds ideas about the existence of the conscious mind， but Jung regarded Freuds unconscious as “personal unconscious”. He found another important content in humans psyche， which is the collective unconscious and pointed that “the contents of the collective unconscious have never been in consciousness” （Jung， 1968： 42）. The collective unconscious represents the mans psychic heritage as well as future possibilities. It is shared by the people who lived in the same society and culture， which is inherited from our ancestors， such as the mind of our unknown ancestors， their way of thinking and feeling， and the way of experiencing life and the world.

3. The individuation

According to Jung， Jung insisted that “I use the term ‘individuation to denote the process by which a person becomes a psychological ‘individual， that is， a separate， indivisible unity or ‘whole” （Jung， 1968： 275）. The whole of the human psyche necessarily include not only consciousness but the illimitable field of unconscious occurrences as well.

Individuation is a process or course of development arising out of the conflict between the conscious and the unconscious. Jung felt absolutely certain of the autonomy of the unconscious. Under certain conditions， the unconscious can take over the conscious. They two can make up the process of the individuation. If one is injured by the other， they cannot exist so harmoniously and do not make a whole. If the unconscious has the same and equal rights with the conscious at the same time， they could fight each other then make a balance in humans psyche.

The harmonious state of the conscious and the unconscious is not an irrational life-process. The psychologists or the psychoanalyst cannot direct or treated by the form of recipe. The individuation process or this harmonious state between the conscious and the unconscious would be the ultimate goal of the psychologists or the psychoanalyst in modern society.

4.Conclusion

In this essay， the concepts of the conscious， the unconscious and the collective unconscious are presented， which helps us understand the individuation. The roles of the conscious and the unconscious are indispensable in the process of the individuation. A balanced state between them can play a very important role in the development of the individuals personality.

References：

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