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Title: The Discovery of the Unconscious by Henri Ellenberger ISBN: 0-465-01673-1 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: 01 August, 1981 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $68.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (4 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Incredible Book
Comment: I am a Jungian analyst in training in Zurich, Switzerland. I can't recommend this book highly enough. It is extraordinarily well-researched, organized and written. The book unfolds with a subtle drama as all the roots of contemporary psychotherapy are slowly revealed. Analysts are fond of the conceit, "Freud discovered this," or "Jung discovered that." This book beautifully discloses the truth that Freud and Jung actually "discovered" very little. Rather, they skillfully organized and packaged ideas about the unconscious that had been in the air for some time. This book takes nothing away from Freud and Jung's achievements; rather it puts them firmly within their historical context and shows the discovery of the unconscious as a gradual unfolding of awareness instead of a eureka discovery by a handful of men. Ellenberger deserves our great thanks for this lifetime, tour de force work of his.
Rating: 5
Summary: Astounding
Comment: Ellenberger's "The Discovery of the Unconscious" was a textbook for a graduate course I took in the philosophy of psychoanalysis. I remember admiring it while I read through it at the time and then setting it aside until the moment came to work my way through it again. The time having come, I worked through this massive book again, and it has aged quite well.
Ellenberger surveys the entire history of the movement we know of as "dynamic psychiatry." The strength of the text, however, is Ellenberger's engaging and thoughtful portraits of the movement's key players: Janet, Freud, Adler, and Jung.
I find myself drawn repeatedly to the portrait of Mesmer and his life and times. Mesmer remains one of the most fascinating figures in history to me, half a wizard and half an entertainer. In reviewing his life, it is almost impossible to separate fact from fiction. I know of no author who treats Mesmer as well as Ellenberger.
Ellenberger's outstanding essay on Jung serves as a primary source for those interested in the interplay of Jung's personality and his ideas. Ellenberger reportedly had a close relationship with Jung and was able to have him personally review some of the material that served as early drafts of this chapter.
The best part of Ellenberger's treatment of Jung is his reminder that Jung was a practical person and that Jungian therapy is often focused exclusively on the practical aspects of the patient's life and circumstances. All too often, there is a view of Jung as a mystic, allied with attempts to place his work in some New Age container. This inappropriate approach is contradicted by Jung's writing, teaching, and practice. In fact, only for some patients, mostly those in the second half of life who faced questions of meaning, would Jung begin with his synthetic-hermeneutic method. For patients dealing with commonplace neurotic symptoms, Jung often used an approach that Ellenberger describes as Adlerian: find out what life task the patient is trying to avoid and remove the obstacle.
Ellenberger's reminder of Jung's essential groundedness is useful, as many of us either forget or ignore this aspect of Jung's theory and therapy. Another thread I found interesting is Ellenberger's treatment of the reasons that Jung rejected experimental psychology, in spite of having spent years working with the association test.
Ellenberger does an excellent job of exploring how the personalities and preferences of each psychologist affected his work and theories. In Ellenberger's treatment of Adler, I found myself fascinated by how much we do not know of his life and of how many holes remain to be filled in. Perhaps because of my own predilections, I did not find the discussions of Janet and Freud all that interesting.
This is a massive book. At first glance it seems intimidating. However, anyone with an interest in the exporers of the land known as the unconscious will find it an engaging read.
Rating: 5
Summary: Monumental history of psychoanalysis
Comment: This book is the type of history that students rarely get to see. Textbooks tend to repeat the same old stories, many of which are only loosely based on the facts. This book goes into great depth, and even shows that many famous "cures" were nothing of the sort. This should be required reading for psychotherapists, and more importantly, for their clients.
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Title: The Mythological Unconscious by Michael Vannoy Adams ISBN: 1892746964 Publisher: Karnac Books Pub. Date: 01 August, 2001 List Price(USD): $30.00 |
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Title: Jung and the Post-Jungians by Andrew Samuels ISBN: 0415059046 Publisher: Routledge Pub. Date: 01 June, 1986 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
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Title: Ego and Archetype by EDWARD EDINGER ISBN: 087773576X Publisher: Shambhala Pub. Date: 25 August, 1992 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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Title: The Epic Cosmos (Studies in Genre) by James Larry Allums, Larry Allums, Louise Cowan ISBN: 0911005226 Publisher: Dallas Inst Humanities & Culture Pub. Date: January, 2000 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: The Essential Jung by C. G. Jung, Anthony Storr ISBN: 0691029350 Publisher: Princeton University Press Pub. Date: 14 December, 1999 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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