What is Jung’s concept of Individuation?
(Draft book chapter. Some quotations still TBC).
Individuation is the natural, teleological tendency of human beings to move, throughout the course of life, towards their full potential. It involves both causal necessity and conscious choice and, for Jung, it is the most important of the archetypal processes. Individuation goes deep. It is not a mere, superficial development of the ego and, whilst the development of a strong, functioning ego is a necessary component of individuation, it is only one part of a much bigger whole. Individuation is the work of the Self rather than the ego, it encompasses the entire psyche, both conscious and unconscious, and its machinations are felt deep down at the level of the soul. According to Jung, the state of full human potential, towards which individuation is directed, comprises 3 elements; namely those of wholeness, individuality and meaning. As one individuates and, in so doing, moves closer and closer to one’s full potential this means that one begins to experience the qualities of wholeness, individuality and meaning at deeper levels and in different ways.
As well as being the primary task for the individual, Jung also believed individuation to be vital for society at large. Claiming that ‘the principal and indeed the only thing that is wrong with the world is man’ (CW10: 441), he believed that the cure for the world’s problems, as well as the progress of culture, begins with individuals. In other words, if we can mature and grow wiser as individuals, then this can be taken into our sphere of influence such that we become a better member of society; a better parent, a better teacher, leader, politician, therapist and so forth. Individuation, therefore, as some incorrectly assume, is not a selfish or a self-centred task and, even if one’s initial motivation is the healing and improvement of oneself, the natural course for the individuating person means that, at some point, he or she becomes beneficial to others as well.
Unlike other approaches, Jung stressed that individuation is to be understood as an ongoing process rather than a goal or a fixed state which is to be achieved at some point in the future. Jung said ‘The goal is important only as an idea: the essential thing is the opus (the work on oneself) which leads to the goal: that is the goal of a lifetime’ (CW16: 400-tbc). As such, for the person who is individuating, this includes an awareness of being in a state of flux rather than constancy, impermanence rather than permanence, in which one experiences both highs and lows, periods of regression as well as progression and times of pain as well as joy. ‘The right way to wholeness’ as Jung said ‘is made up, unfortunately, of fateful detours and wrong turnings …’ (CW12: tbc). It might be more helpful, therefore, to imagine individuation, rather than a linear process with a definite end point, as an upward pointing spiral, in which the individuating person encounters the same points again and again but at higher levels. ‘The spiral in psychology’ says Jung ‘means that when you make a spiral you always come over the same point where you have been before …’ (Dream Analysis. Parts II and III).
SPIRAL DIAGRAM
To summarise, individuation, rather than an arrival at a final and perfect destination, is the journey itself; a journey towards one’s full potential in which one’s authentic individuality is allowed to unfold; a journey that, overall, is progressive, uplifting and meaningful but also, at times, necessarily regressive, painful and confusing and a journey along which a growing sense of wholeness is the state of being that is able to accept this. The important questions of what Jung really means by wholeness, along with individuality and meaning, the component parts of full potential and the goal of individuation, are ones which I will now address.
Wholeness
‘In the self good and evil are indeed closer than identical twins!’ (Jung. CW12: 24-tbc).
As I have already suggested, Jung’s theory of individuation offers some unique perspectives on human growth, and his notion of wholeness, I believe, is one of the most important differentiating characteristics from the approaches of other schools in a way that can have a profound effect for those who are pursuing some sort of deeper meaning or purpose in life. This is because, unlike the journeys expounded in other traditions, be they psychological, philosophical or spiritual, secular or non-secular, which favour ‘goodness’ or ‘perfection’ as the eventual goal of human actualisation, Jung preferred to utilise the concept of wholeness. A state of wholeness, for Jung, includes not only what is good or positive in human psychic experience but also that which may be deemed or experienced as bad or negative.
Jung said ‘There is no light without shadow, and no psychic wholeness without imperfection …’ (Psychology and alchemy: tbc). Jung was just as interested in human darkness, which he called the shadow, as he was in human light. He believed that other traditions, particularly the religious, were wrong to split off the bad from the good and that perfection, as a goal of life, is not merely unrealistic but, from the standpoint of Jungian theory, is psychologically impossible. Jung believed the existence of opposing forces in the psyche to be a scientific law and he also believed paradox to be an existential truth. Happiness, for example, as a psychological state cannot exist without the presence of sadness, peace cannot exist without conflict, equanimity without anger and so forth. Wholeness encompasses the entirety of the psyche, both conscious and unconscious, and necessitates an inclusion of those aspects of oneself that feel both good and bad, right and wrong, desired and undesired. Jung’s theory argues that the psyche contains innumerable opposing forces such as good and evil, love and hate, masculine and feminine, birth and death, black and white, spiritual and instinctual. In the index to his collected works he lists over 120 opposites and in his book Psychological Types (ref) there are many more and, whilst they are experienced as opposing and antithetical, on the one hand, they are also potentially compensatory and complementary, on the other. In fact, Jung thought that these opposing psychic forces are necessary for growth to take place, in the same way that the law of thermodynamics requires two opposing forces in order to generate energy and, therefore, acknowledging and coming to terms with them is key to the forward momentum of individuation. I explore this later, in Jung’s theory of the opposites and the transcendent function but, in practical terms, for the individuating person this involves a deepening awareness, acceptance and integration of those parts of oneself that have been neglected, forgotten or repressed (material in the personal unconscious), parts that are unwanted and even morally reprehensible (shadow material) and also those hitherto unknown aspects that, as the individuation process unfolds, emerge from the even deeper layers of the unconscious (instinctual and archetypal).
As I have suggested, for those who are relatively new to individuation, wholeness is often experienced as profoundly liberating. Those who have hitherto been led to believe by society that they are required to be good or perfect, the realisation that, from the Jungian perspective, their so called badness and imperfections are also fully acceptable can be intensely transformative. Wholeness means that it is perfectly human and normal, for example, to experience sadness as well as happiness, inner conflict as well as inner peace, and anger as well as equanimity. Working towards wholeness necessitates a journey of congruence and radical self acceptance in which we are required to acknowledge and come to terms with those aspects of the psyche that might feel, or be deemed as, wrong or unacceptable. There will be times for example, when we feel mean rather than kind, irritated rather than patient, judgemental rather than accepting, weak rather than strong and so forth, and our self honesty must go even deeper in acknowledging those aspects of our self which might be viewed as abhorrent and felt as shameful (hatred, disgust, greed, laziness, rage, violence, jealousy, hubris, lust to name just a few).
In the Jungian approach these so-called darker aspects are seen, not only as normal to the human psyche, but also as a source of deep wisdom and potential. In other words, they are archetypal (the shadow archetype) and individuation necessitates that they are acknowledged, accepted and integrated as part of one’s wholeness. In the Jungian approach, this process is referred to as shadow work and is seen as being a vital part of individuation. The more we are able to integrate our shadow, the less we feel its unconscious negative effects and the less we project it onto others. Moreover, as I inferred earlier, shadow work leads to a growing sense of freedom which, in turn, means that we also begin to feel relief from guilt. Jung said that ‘modern man has heard enough about guilt and sin. He is sorely enough beset by his own bad conscience, and wants rather to know how he is to reconcile himself with his own nature – how he is to love the enemy in his own heart and call the wolf his brother’ (CW11: 523).
Wholeness, then, represents the person’s task to become increasingly conscious of as much psychic reality as possible and it is a state in which the natural ambivalence of the psyche and the tension of its opposing forces can be held with an increasing sense of acceptance.
Individuality
Jung said ‘To the extent that a man is untrue to the law of his own being and does not rise to personality, he has failed to realise his life’s meaning’ (CW17:314). Elsewhere, he said ‘It is the individual’s task to differentiate himself from all the others and stand on his Own feet’ (MDR: tbc). Individuality, according to Jung, is the realisation of one’s own authentic personality along with differentiation from collective forces. The realisation of one’s authentic personality requires the living of one’s own inner truth and personal meaning. Collective forces, as well as the collective pressures of the outer world, such as the norms and expectations of society, also includes the inner forces of the collective unconscious, both instinctual and archetypal.
Jung thought that healthy differentiation from societal norms was crucial to individuality. ‘The more a man’s life is shaped by the collective norm,’ Jung says ‘the greater is his individual immorality’ (CW6: 757-762 tbc). The man who is individuating, on the other hand, and, in so doing, is shaping his life according to his inner truth rather than the outer truth presented by society, will inevitably begin to challenge and oppose social norms. According to Jung, ultimately, it is only individuation that is able to provide relief, freedom and protection from the powerful forces of the collective, saying ‘Resistance to the organised mass can be effected only by the man who is as well organised in his individuality as the mass itself’ (CW: the undiscovered self .tbc).
Quite naturally, therefore, as he begins to find individuality and moves closer to himself he will find that he will simultaneously start to move further away from society. Therefore, as well as providing a welcome sense of freedom and relief from collective forces, individuation, in the early days, is also inevitably somewhat isolating. Jung says that individuation ‘is at once a charisma and a curse, because its first fruit is the conscious and unavoidable segregation of the single individual from the undifferentiated and unconscious herd. This means isolation, and there is no more comforting word for it. Neither family nor society nor position can save him from this fate, nor yet the most successful adaptation to his environment, however smoothly he fits in. The development of personality is a favour that must be paid for dearly’ (CW17: 294).
Individuation is not, however, a form of self-centred individualism whereby one individuates in isolation, cut off from the collective. Whilst isolation may arise initially as old and increasingly redundant connections with the collective start to fall away, new and more authentic ways of connecting with society will eventually result in the individuating person’s reintegration. Put another way, initial withdrawal from society merely represents the death of the conformist and the birth of the authentic individual. This is a natural consequence of authenticity in which this person can no longer function in society in the same way and must re-enter on his or her own terms.
As well as an act of authenticity, Jung considered the cultivation of individuality to be an altruistic process, whereby one takes what one has learned back into wider society in a way that benefits others as well as oneself. As such, it is altruism which acts as one of the main mechanisms by which the individual re-engages with society. Individuation brings about an appreciation of those universal traits that are shared with all human beings, an empathy with the suffering of humankind and a wish to contribute. As I mentioned earlier, individuation means we become a better member of society, somebody who has the knowledge, experience and skills to help others grow and to heal society in general.
Jung also thought that it is a moral requirement of the individuating person to give back to society. As we have seen, a natural consequence of moving away from collective expectations and the pressure to conform is relief, an increasing sense of freedom and a reduction in guilt which, Jung argues, demands to be repaid to society. He says ‘Individuation cuts one off from personal conformity and hence from collectivity. That is the guilt which the individuant leaves behind him for the world, that is the guilt he must endeavour to redeem. He must offer a ransom in place of himself, that is, he must bring forth values which are an equivalent substitute for his absence in the collective personal sphere. Without this production of values, final individuation is immoral …’ (CW:18 1095).
A further, crucial aspect to Jung’s theory is that individuality also requires a movement away from, not only those negative collective forces that are external to the person, but also the potentially harmful forces from within the person’s psyche. As well as complexes and developmental wounds, these also include the negative aspects of the archetypes and the instincts. In other words, simultaneous with becoming closer to the collective unconscious, the individuating person also needs to maintain a healthy separation from those primordial images and instincts which have the capacity to overwhelm. Individuation requires a critical dialogue with the unconscious versus a capitulation to those forces which are antithetical to the development of individuality and, without differentiation, leave the individual prone to mental health problems and, in more extreme cases, breakdown.
In summary, as one becomes more individual, one experiences an increasing sense of freedom from the constraining and sometimes harmful forces of both one’s outer and one’s inner worlds. ‘The purpose of individuation’, Jung says, ‘is nothing other than freeing the self from the false shell of the Persona on the one hand and the suggestive force of unconscious images on the other’ (CW7: 269). Moreover, individuation, including individuality, is a process in which the individuating person, as well as developing a healthy separation from society, also becomes an important part of it. In other words, the more one is able to establish an authentic connection with one’s inner world, the more one also establishes an authentic connection to the outer world. Individuation, according to Jung, ‘… generates a psychological individual, which means a separate, indivisible, and whole individual’ (CW9.1: 490).
Meaning
‘What is it, in the end, that induces a man to go his own way and to rise out of unconscious identity with the mass as out of a swathing mist? Not necessity, for necessity comes to many, and they all take refuge in convention. Not moral decision, for nine times out of ten we decide for convention likewise. What is it, then, that inexorably tips the scales in favour of the extra-ordinary? It is what is commonly called vocation: an irrational factor that destines a man to emancipate himself from the herd and from its well-worn paths. True personality is always a vocation and puts its trust in it as in God’ (CW17: 299-300)
Jung thought that, ultimately, individuation was the Self in search of meaning and purpose in life or, as he refers to it in the quotation above, the search for vocation. He believed this to be, not only the decisive underlying driving force of individuation, as he says above, but also that the main reason we suffer is due to lack of meaning. ‘Psychoneurosis’ he said ‘must be understood, ultimately, as the suffering of a soul which has not discovered its meaning’ (CW11: 497).
For Jung, the most important aspects of meaning, or vocation, are, firstly, that it comes from within, secondly, that it is experiential and, thirdly, that it is individual. To explore how Jung came to this conclusion it is necessary to do so through the lens of his writings on religion. I discuss this more fully later, in chapter 6 entitled meaning, religion and spirituality, but the first important point to grasp is that Jung’s views on religion are not to be understood in the same way as conventional views on religion. As we are already discovering, Jung mined a vast array of sources in his efforts to understand the human psyche and, as well as psychology, philosophy, myth, alchemy, biology, anthropology and so forth, this included religion. Jung’s main interest in life was the search for meaning and he was interested in religion because, historically, this had been humankind’s primary expression of meaning. He says ‘… man has, everywhere and always, spontaneously developed religious forms of expression, and … the human psyche from time immemorial has been shot through with religious feelings and ideas. Whoever cannot see this aspect of the human psyche is blind, and whoever chooses to explain it away, or to “enlighten” it away, has no sense of reality’ (Modern Man in Search of a Soul. tbc). Unlike conventional religious views, however, which place religion and religious phenomena, such as God, Jesus, Satan, the Holy Spirit and so on externally, Jung locates religion internally within the human psyche. Hence, if we are to read Jung accurately and particularly if we wish to consider his ideas from a secular point of view these religious terms must be understood as pertaining to inner, psychological phenomena. God, for example, in psychological terms can be thought of as the Collective Unconscious, Jesus as the Self, Satan as the Shadow, Holy Spirit as the Transcendent Function and so forth. In the same vein, Jung considered a religious experience to simply be an inner experience of profound meaning and, in doing so, he is again arguing that an inner experience of meaning, a religious experience, is not the result of external phenomena but, instead, is coming from within.
In other words, for Jung, meaning is archetypal and it is in the depths of the unconscious where real meaning is to be found rather than anything outside of the human psyche. Jung often referred to this archetype as the religious function or the religious attitude which, in non religious language, is simply the natural human instinct or propensity for meaning which, according to Jung, is at least as strong as the human instinct for sex or food. Whilst, for some, the religious instinct might manifest as an experience attached to some sort of religious faith, for others a deeply meaningful experience might have nothing to do with conventional religious contexts. For Jung, they are the same thing in that both are manifestations of the religious function, the only difference being the external form in which they manifest. For the modern person who, having lost connection with traditional religions, the religious function might manifest in the form of art, literature, poetry, music, dance, philosophy, psychotherapy, politics, film, theatre, sport, nature, travel, exploration, family, friendship, partnership, dreams, fantasy, imagination and so forth. The list is endless and, for Jung, the external form, whether secular, non secular or both, matters less than the internal experience.
Jung’s insistence on the primacy of experience, then, demands that the true test of meaning is that it must be deeply experiential for it to be real. He frequently refers to this as an experience of the numinosum which, he says, is something that ‘seizes and controls the human subject who is always rather its victim than its creator. The numinosum – whatever its cause may be – is an experience of the subject independent of his will … [it] is either a quality belonging to a visible object or the influence of an invisible presence that causes a peculiar alteration of consciousness’ (CW11: 6). Meaning then is not something that can be consciously willed or created, or brought about solely through belief or faith in something external to the psyche and neither is it mere pleasure or a superficial experience of the ego. Meaning emanates from the Self, rather than the ego, and its machinations, both positive and negative, are deeply felt.
Jung also argues that meaning must be individual. In his interiorisation of meaning, Jung is not only distancing himself from the externalism of the collective, he is also placing increased emphasis on the responsibility of the individual to find his or her own meaning in life. For example, organised religion, Jung argues, has the effect of unconsciously manipulating and infantilising its followers, whereas individuation, as we are discovering, promises more freedom and choice. This is important because, if meaning is to be deeply experiential, it needs also to be individual to the person in order for it to be real and authentic. Whilst meaning might be found by the individual in something that is collective, such as religious or political groups, its meaning must still be authentic to the person.
Two final important points worth noting are; firstly, whilst Jung thought meaning to be vital to life, he also believed in the existence of meaninglessness, its opposite. ‘Without the reflecting consciousness of man’ he says ‘the world is a gigantic, meaningless machine, for as far as we know man is the only creature that can discover ‘’meaning’’’ (Letter, 1957-tbc). Elsewhere he says, ‘Meaninglessness inhibits fullness of life and is therefore equivalent to illness. Meaning makes a great many things endurable – perhaps everything’ (MDR:340). The task of individuation, therefore, and an act of wholeness, is to accept and work with both the meaning and the meaninglessness of one’s situation.
Secondly, Jung also believed that, if approached unconsciously, man’s search for meaning can take him down some delusional and destructive paths. In particular, he believed politics (Communism, Fascism, Capitalism and so forth) to also be a manifestation of the religious function and because the religious function, like all archetypes, is bipolar it can manifest in negative, as well as positive, ways. Jung argued that this was the cause of political extremism and that the same is, of course, true for religious and other forms of extremism. ‘Greater than all physical dangers’ Jung said ‘are the tremendous effects of delusional ideas’ (CW8: 747-tbc).
Jung on happiness
As has already been mentioned, most paths of human development and growth, as do most human beings, aim for happiness. For Jung, however, the state of perfect or permanent happiness does not exist and, whilst the pursuit of happiness is an understandable human urge, it is ultimately a self defeating one. The pursuit of happiness is fruitless because, as we are discovering, happiness cannot exist without its opposite; unhappiness or sadness. Instead, Jung believed that happiness is experienced as a bi product of individuation and that if we pursue wholeness, individuality and meaning, we are creating the inner conditions for happiness to ensue, also arguing that happiness is temporary, whilst individuation is continuous.
Jung said, ‘Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word “happy” would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. Of course it is understandable that we seek happiness and avoid unlucky and disagreeable chances, … the more you deliberately seek happiness the more sure you are not to find it. It is therefore far better to take things as they come along, with patience and equanimity’ ((1977), C.G. Jung Speaking: Interviews and Encounters, ed. William McGuire & R.F.C. Hull. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Page 452).
In a seminar he delivered on Dream Analysis, Jung articulated his thoughts on happiness, arguing that it is to be found in ‘the inner experience of individuation [or] what the mystics called ‘’the experience of God.’” He went on to say ‘Power, glory, wealth, mean nothing in comparison. These things are external and therefore futile. The really important things are within. It is more important to me that I am happy than that I have the external reason for happiness. Rich people should be happy, but often they are not, they are bored to death; therefore it is ever so much better for a man to work to produce an inner condition that gives him an inner happiness. Experience shows that there are certain psychological conditions in which man gets eternal results. They have something of the quality of eternity, of timelessness, they have the quality of reaching beyond man. They have a divine quality and yield all that satisfaction which man-made things do not.” (1984: Seminar on Dream Analysis. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Page 289).
Jung’s theory of the opposites and the transcendent function.
Jung, as I have already alluded to, believed that individuation is driven forward by the interplay of opposing energies in the psyche. ‘Life’ he said ‘is born only of the spark of opposites’ (1917/1926/1943, par. 78). As such, Jung’s concept of individuation is inextricably tied to his theory of the opposites, which also includes his concept of the transcendent function.
The theory of the opposites argues that the human psyche is made up of opposing forces which are perpetually in conflict and that this continual interplay between the opposites is essential because it is the creator of life force in all human beings. He said ‘The opposites are the ineradicable and indispensable preconditions of all psychic life’ (CW14: 206) and, believing that the dynamic forces of the psyche mirrors the law of thermodynamics in which the creation of energy requires two opposing forces, he argued that life ‘like any other energetic system is dependent on the tension of opposites’ (Jung, 1954, par. 483). The process of individuation, then, according to Jung, is dependent upon the energy and momentum created by the tension between the natural antithetical forces of the psyche. Importantly, though, Jung says that the psyche is also naturally self regulating and, as I have already discussed, individuation is a movement towards wholeness in which one is also able to bring the perpetual tensions of the opposites into a more balanced relationship and it is this perpetual, energetic dynamic of tension and balance that underpins individuation.
There are countless opposing forces within the psyche but, for Jung, the most important pair of opposites is the conscious and the unconscious which, as he says, constitute the ‘real psychic facts that determine … whole being’ (Jung, 1927, par. 491). Whilst, on the one hand, their natures are antithetical to one another in that one, the conscious, is more known and more rational whereas the other, the unconscious, is more unknown and more irrational, on the other hand they are also potentially compensatory and complementary. Indeed, because the psyche is self regulating, the conscious and the unconscious as opposites, are dependent upon each other for compensation, which is required for psychological growth, to take place. As Jung says, ‘The repressed content must be made conscious so as to produce a tension of opposites, without which no forward movement is possible. The conscious mind is on top, the shadow underneath, and just as high always longs for low and hot for cold, so all consciousness, perhaps without being aware of it, seeks its unconscious opposite, lacking which it is doomed to stagnation, congestion and ossification.’ (Jung, 1917/1926/1943, pars. 77–78)
The function that bridges the gap between unconscious and conscious attitudes, mediating this forward movement, Jung calls the transcendent function which, he argues, expresses itself by way of the symbols that appear in human experience, particularly in dreams. The transcendent function, according to Jung, is ‘a natural process, a manifestation of the energy that springs from the tension of opposites, and it consists in a series of fantasy-occurrences which appear spontaneously in dreams and visions’ (Jung, 1917/1926/1943, par. 121). The transcendent function, as the term suggests, possesses the ability to rise above the conflicting opposites, without adherence to one or the other, such that synthesis or a new way forward, by way of symbol, appears in the psyche. Jung often referred to this new, often completely unforeseen, resolution to the warring opposites as the transcendent third.
The transcendent function, therefore, compensates the one sided tendency of consciousness to adapt primarily to its immediate, external environment with the integration of deeper, more instinctual and archetypal material from the unconscious and, rising above the destructive inner conflict of the opposites, it is able to manifest compensatory and unifying symbols which stimulate new conscious attitudes, along with renewed energy, for growth to take place. Jung says that the transcendent function is ‘a process not of dissolution but of construction, in which thesis and antithesis both play their part. In this way it becomes a new content that governs the whole attitude, putting an end to the division and forcing the energy of the opposites in the whole self opposite into a common channel. The standstill is overcome and life can flow on with renewed power towards new goals’ (Jung, 1921, par. 827). Elsewhere, in more spiritual terms, Jung says of the transcendent function ‘In each of us there is another whom we do not know. He speaks to us in dreams and tells us how differently he sees us from the way we see ourselves. When, therefore, we find ourselves in a difficult situation to which there is no solution, he can sometimes kindle a light that radically alters our attitude – the very attitude that led us into the difficult situation’ (CW10: 325).
Jung considered the unconscious to be infinitely larger than consciousness saying; ‘Consciousness, no matter how extensive it may be, must always remain the smaller circle within the greater circle of the unconscious, an island surrounded by the sea; and, like the sea itself, the unconscious yields an endless and self-replenishing abundance of living creatures, a wealth beyond our fathoming’ (CW16: 366). Despite this, and despite the fact that the majority of Jung’s writings were focused on the unconscious rather than the conscious, it is important to understand that he did not prioritise one over the other in his overall model of the psyche. In his theory of individuation, for example, believing both to have equal roles and both to have the potential for one-sidedness or exaggeration he said, ‘Too much of the animal distorts the civilized man, too much civilization makes sick animals’ (Jung, 1917/1926/1943, par. 32). Hence, for Jung, individuation requires one to pay attention in equal measure to the forces of reason and consciousness, on the one hand, along with the instinctual and archetypal forces of the unconscious, on the other. Jung said that, ‘Man is not and never will be a creature of reason alone’ (CW7: para III) and, whilst an important aspect of individuation necessarily involves a deep exploration of the unconscious, in order to compensate the one-sided conscious attitude, one must also avoid remaining stuck there, for ‘The pathological person’, as Jung says, ‘has a fatal tie to the source and won’t let go’ (CW5. tbc).
Stages of life
Individuation, as an archetypal process, takes place over the course of a person’s entire lifetime and is, inevitably, also shaped by developmental, as well as cultural, factors. Jung argued that, as a natural aspect of individuation, there are certain stages in life each of which has typical sequences, crises and developmental tasks for the individual. In an essay entitled ‘The Stages of Life’ Jung uses the metaphor of the sun sweeping across the horizon to characterise the human lifespan. He writes;
‘In the morning it rises from the nocturnal sea of unconsciousness and looks upon the wide, bright world which lies before it in an expanse that steadily widens the higher it climbs in the firmament. In this extension of its field of action caused by its own rising, the sun will discover its significance; it will see the attainment of the greatest possible height, and the widest possible dissemination of its blessings, as its goal. In this conviction the sun pursues its course to the unforeseen zenith—unforeseen, because its career is unique and individual, and the culminating point could not be calculated in advance. At the stroke of noon the descent begins. And the descent means the reversal of all the ideals and values that were cherished in the morning. The sun falls into contradiction with itself. It is as though it should draw in its rays instead of emitting them. Light and warmth decline and are at last extinguished’ (CW8: 778).
STAGES OF LIFE DIAGRAM
The 180 degree arc of life is divisible into 4 parts, or quarters, as follows:
- Childhood
- Youth – first adulthood
- Middle age – second adulthood
- Old age
As we begin to explore stages of life, a fundamental aspect of Jungian psychology that must be acknowledged is that Jung was not a developmental psychologist in that his approach to healing centred around individuation and, as such, favoured the teleological over the pathological. Believing individuation to be a process primarily of maturation, the majority of Jung’s concepts, therefore, are concerned with adulthood, in particular from middle age onwards, rather than childhood. Jung, whilst fully understanding that childhood development plays an undeniably vital role in human growth, believed that identity is ultimately rooted in the Self, more so than childhood structures, and that it is the realisation of the Self that allows us to heal and outgrow the psychological injuries caused in childhood. Neither does Jung pay much attention to extreme old age. Believing that childhood (the first quarter) is the stage of life in which we emerge from the unconscious and that extreme old age (the fourth quarter) is one in which we sink back into it, he considers adulthood (the second and third quarters), during which we have the opportunity to fulfil our potential to become as fully conscious as possible, to be the most important stages of life as far as individuation is concerned.
Childhood. Like the morning sun rising up from the nocturnal sea of unconsciousness, children are born from the unconsciousness of the mother’s womb. Jung thought that for the first few years of its life, even as its consciousness starts to grow, the child also retains a connection with its unconscious beginnings which, Jung argues, is evident in the archetypal dream material of young children. In addition, the child’s unconsciousness also exists in the deep, natural bond it shares with its mother, a state of undifferentiated psychological and emotional connection which Jung described as a participation mystique (a term borrowed from the French anthropologist Lévy-Bruhl). Jung, again, argues that this can be observed in the dreams of both mother and child. The end of this stage takes place when the child’s consciousness starts to become fully differentiated from that of the parents during adolescence with the eruption of sexuality.
Youth – first adulthood. Following adolescence, and lasting until middle age, the next stage of life in Jung’s model is that of youth or first adulthood. Jung says that ‘if the individual is sufficiently well prepared, the transition to a profession or career can take place smoothly’ (p. 392-tbc). However, according to Jung’s model, the transition from adolescence to early adulthood also marks the first major developmental task and, as such, can be fraught with issues. The main problem, Jung argues, is the unconscious desire to cling to the safety and pleasures of childhood. He says ‘Something in us wishes to remain a child, to be unconscious or, at most, conscious only of the ego, to reject everything strange, or else subject it to our will, to do nothing, or else indulge our own craving for pleasure or power’ (p. 393-tbc). This first developmental task, the transition from adolescence to first adulthood, is the subject of the following chapter – the Problem of the Puer Aeternus (the eternal child).
Middle age – second adulthood. According to Jung’s model, it is the stroke of noon, when the sun reaches the high point of its arc across the sky, that marks the transition into what Jung called the second half of life. Jung argues that the, mainly ego driven, pursuits of the first half of life, which were necessary for establishing a place in the world, become redundant. Instead, they are replaced by the thus far neglected and compensatory needs of the unconscious for a life which is more authentic and meaningful. Jung says, ‘But we cannot live the afternoon of life according to the programme of life’s morning; for what was great in the morning will be little at evening, and what in the morning was true will at evening have become a lie’ (Ref tbc). The period of transition from the first to the second half of life is a passage from a stage of life in which we were required to adjust and adapt to the demands of the outer world to one in which the demands of the inner world become more important. A passage that, if navigated well, allows us to let go of much of the person we were required to be for first-half adaptation(the false persona), as we become closer to the authentic person we are required to be (the Self) in the second half of life. In Jungian circles this transition is referred to as the middle passage or midlife. It is the second major task of individuation and is the subject matter of chapter four.
Old age. For Jung, human development is a lifelong process and, even as the sun sinks back down to the horizon, individuation must go on. The task to find authenticity and meaning at midlife, therefore, is a vital task for the entirety of the second half of life, including old age as well as middle age. ‘A human being’ Jung said ‘would certainly not grow to be seventy or eighty years old if this longevity had no meaning for the species. The afternoon of human life must also have a significance of its own and cannot be merely a pitiful appendage to life’s morning’ (CW8: p. 399). As I mentioned earlier, Jung thought that it was only in extreme old age, when consciousness begins to wane, when individuation becomes less relevant.
To summarise, the first half of life is a process of physical maturation and social adaptation whilst the second half of life is more concerned with finding meaning and authenticity. The two major tasks are, firstly, the transition from childhood to early adulthood in the first half of life and, secondly, the transition from first to second half of life. Put another way, the first task is the initial growing up, launching into adulthood and establishing a place in the world, whilst the second task is concerned more with finding meaning and leading a more authentic life. The question of ‘how to grow up and find meaning in life,’ therefore, addresses what Jung thought to be the two main tasks of individuation and both of these important tasks are explored separately and more deeply in the subsequent chapters. The task of growing up, in the first half of life, is looked at through the lens of the Puer Aeternus and the task of finding meaning, in the second half, through the Jungian concept of the middle passage.