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4 - Psychic imaging

a bridge between subject and object

from Part 1 - Jung's ideas and their context

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 May 2006

By
Paul Kugler
Edited by
Polly Young-Eisendrath  and
Terence Dawson
Polly Young-Eisendrath
Affiliation:
University of Vermont
Terence Dawson
Affiliation:
National University of Singapore
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Summary

The psyche consists essentially of images.

(Jung, 1926, CW 8, p. 325)

A psychic entity can be a conscious content, that is it can be represented, only if it has the quality of an image.

(Jung, 1926, CW 8, p. 322)

Originary principles

Central to all the basic functions of the personality is the process of mental imaging. Without imaging, self-consciousness, speaking, writing, remembering, dreaming, art, culture - essentially what we call the human condition - would be impossible. Depth psychology developed out of the struggle to understand the process of imaging (e.g. dreams, associations, memories, and fantasies) and the role it plays in personality formation and the development of psychopathology. In attempting to account for the structuring of mental images and their effect on the personality, both Freud and Jung opted for some form of “universal.” Freud posited the existence of phylogenetic “schemata,” the Oedipus complex and its world of desire, whereas Jung opted for “archetypes.” While both subscribe to universals, the difference between the two theories resides in the particular originary principle each adopted.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to Jung , pp. 71 - 86
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1997

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