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Carl Gustav Jung (18751961), as well as being one of the pioneers of psychology, is one of the most controversial of thinkers: in spite of being largely responsible for the introduction of now-familiar psychological terms such as extrovert and introvert, Jung has often been sidelined, remaining on the fringes of academic discourse. In this new account Paul Bishop reclaims Jung as a major European thinker whose true significance, even now, is not fully appreciated. Taking into account the role of Jungs recently published Red Book in the progression of his thought, Paul Bishop reassesses this divisive personality, reading Jung not only in terms of his biography, but also in light of his extensive reading and output. Jung once remarked that the tragedies of Goethes Faust and Nietzsches Thus Spoke Zarathustra . . . mark the first glimmerings of a breakthrough of total experience in our Western hemisphere. In this critical biography Bishop takes up this suggestion and engages with Jungs scholarship in order to offer one of the fullest appreciations yet of his distinctive approach to culture. He finds in Jungs attempt to synthesize all the different parts of human life an enterprise that marks him out as one of the most important theorists of the twentieth century. Carl Jung provides a clear, compelling examination of the life and thought of a highly influential figure. Concise and accessible, the book is suitable for general readers as well as having much to say to scholars and students of Jung. Bishop provides a striking, fresh interpretation of this complex thinker and offers reasons why we should appreciate him too.
About the author
Paul Bishop holds the William Jacks Chair of Modern Languages at the University of Glasgow and is the author of
Reading Goethe at Midlife: Ancient Wisdom, German Classicism, and Jung and
Jung's "Answer to Job" A Commentary.
Summary
Carl Jung is a clear and compelling critical assessment of one of the controversial and highly influential pioneers of psychology.
