Jung's Four and Some Philosophers

Thomas M. King

Description

Thomas M. King, S.J. uses Jungian/Myers-Briggs typology to understand the different starting points of twelve philosophers, then uses Jungian patterns of “integration” to show similarities in their development.

Jung’s Four and Some Philosophers provides a context in which to understand the widely differing claims of philosophers. The “four” in the title refers to the four faculties that Jung sees occurring in pairs in every psyche: thinking and its opposite, feeling; sensation and its opposite, intuition. One of these four will dominate (among philosophers it will characterize what they find self-evident), while the dominant’s opposite is repressed into the mysterious unconscious. Thus, a thinker will repress one’s feelings. To achieve wholeness, the philosopher must pass beyond what is known to seek the missing faculty and integrate it with the faculties of consciousness. King demonstrates this with highly documented studies of twelve philosophers: Plato, Locke, Sartre, Augustine, Descartes, Spinoza, Rousseau, Kant, Kierkegaard, Whitehead, Hume, and Teilhard, and a final reflection that considers the philosophic and religious quest.

Sujets

• Philosophie
• Philosophie moderne
• Philosophie moderne
• Surveys
• Modern
• PHILOSOPHY
• Philosophie et théologie
• Modern history
• General officer
• General
• History
• Obermodern-Zutzendorf

Informations

• Publié par: University of Notre Dame Press
• Date de parution: 01 août 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780268083519
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 15 Mo

Extrait

JUNG'S FOUR
AND SOME
PHILOSOPHERS Jung's Four
and
Some Philosophers
A Paradigm for Philosophy
THOMAS M. KING, S.J.
University of Notre Dame Press
Notre Dame, Indiana Copyright 1999 by
University of Notre Dame Press
Notre Dame, IN 46556
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
King, Thomas Mulvihill,
1929Jung's four and some philosophers a paradigm for philosophy /
Thomas M. King.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-268-03252-1 (alk. paper). - ISBN 0- 268-03251-3
(pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Philosophers-Psychology. 2. Typology (Psychology) 3. Jun­
gian psychology. I. Title.
Bl04.K56 1999
190-dc21 98-53803
CIP
This e-Book was converted from the original source file by a third-party
vendor. Readers who notice any formatting, textual, or readability
issues are encouraged to contact the publisher at [e-mail]
Introduction vii
Part I
Three with a Perceiving Faculty as Dominant
Plato: Socrates Welcomes a Stranger 1.
The Dominant Gives Way to the Self 3
2. Locke: A Late Encounter with the "Bottom"
The Dominant Finally Looks to the Unconscious 35
J. Sartre: Jean sans Terre Tries to Descend
The Repressed Takes Over;
Then a Move to Integration 57
Part II
Six with a Judging Faculty as Dominant
4. Augustine: A Long and Troubled Conversion
The Search for the Repressed and Integration 91
Descartes: Thought and Extension Divided
~Philosophical Troubles Pass and the Dominant Rules 115
Spinoza: Thought and Extension United 6.
The Dominant Quietly Allows the Repressed 127
7. Rousseau: The Heart's Uncertain Reasons
The Dominant and Suggestions of Integration 143
Kant: Pure Reason Falters and Regains Control 8.
The Dominant Allows Auxiliaries,
Then the Repressed, and Then Reconsiders 163
9. Kierkegaard: Sacrificium lntellectus
The Dominant Surrenders to a Troubled Conjunction 195 CONTENTS
Part III
Three with a Perceiving Faculty as Dominant
10. Whitehead: Process Leads to Peace
Weaving Together the
Dominant and the Repressed 223
11 . Hume: A Philosopher Turns to History
The Dominant Cedes to Nature 249
12. Teilhard: Quaternity in Omega
The Process of Transformation 267
Epilogue 297
Index 317
VI Introduction
The argument of the present book can be stated in two
sentences: First, the four personality types of Jung offer a significant
way of understanding the differences among philosophers. Second,
Jung's account of "individuation" provides a pattern to understand
the development of a philosopher's ideas. I have come to the first
claim only after recognizing that philosophers of genius disagree.
They have understood one another's arguments and even worked
together for years (e.g.: Plato and Aristotle, Whitehead and Russell),
yet continue to be at odds. This suggests that many philosophic dif­
ferences have a basis apart from philosophy. So I propose elements
from the psychology of Jung to gain a perspective on the philoso­
phers, their message, and their development.
The writings of C. G. Jung (1875-1961) are collected in twenty
volumes, but the elements relevant to the present study can be
stated briefly: There are four personality types, identified as Think­
ing, Feeling, Intuition, and Sensation. These occur in pairs: Thinking
and Feeling are the two faculties of Judging, while Intuition and
Sensation are the two faculties of Perception. Jung would see every­
one having all four "Functions," but usually one of the four domi­
nates while its opposite is repressed, for example, Thinking is
favored and Feeling is repressed. In the alternate pair (Intuition and
VII JUNG'S FOUR AND SOME PHILOSOPHERS
Sensation), one of the two is favored over its opposite and is called
the Auxiliary; but here the contrast between the two is less extreme.
For example: a person can have a dominant Thinking and repress
one's Feeling, that is, relegate it to the Unconscious, or one might
do the reverse and favor Feeling. The same person would have either
Intuition or Sensation as auxiliary. The integrated personality would
have all fur Functions in balance. This might be symbolized in
dreams or images by four units balanced to frm a cross, a square, a
swastika, etc.-often included in a circle.
When a young person sets out in the world, generally one identi­
fies with the strongest Function; that is, the Ego associates with the
Dominant Function. But the time comes-frequently in the mid­
thirties-when the individual feels life is empty; something is miss­
ing. The original sense of purpose is gone and one is dispirited and
confused. At this point the individual feels called upon to make a
dificult search for the rejected Function-only to find this Func­
tion underdeveloped, childish and primitive. This Function can ap­
pear suddenly, and the Ego finds its appearance both fascinating
and threatening. The repressed Function seems to dwell in a land of
wonder and mystery (the Unconscious).
Under the attraction of this entrancing and threatening Func­
tion, the Ego becomes confused and uncertain about its approach
to life. For a while it might alternate back and frth between the
Dominant and the Repressed-Jung calls this Enantiodromia (after
Heraclitus). During this troubled time some people fluctuate be­
tween Thinking and Feeling, while others fluctuate between Intuition
and Sensation, depending on which Function originally was Domi­
nant. The resolution of confusion might restore the Dominant to
control and the repression is more or less continued. Or the Ego
might do the opposite: identify with the repressed Function and ne­
glect the Dominant. But the resolution Jung preferred (Individua­
tion) involved a synthesis of the opposing Functions. Jung generally
called this synthesis the Self (also the Transcendent Function, the
Image of God, the Symbol, Wholeness); it is a wondrous reconcilia­
tion of the opposites that ends the confusion. The Self contains all
four Functions in balance, but fequently the balance is seen to in­
volve only two, the Dominant and Repressed. Since Individuation
takes one into a world beyond the familiar, the process is often a
reVIII INTRODUCTION
ligious awakening. Jung claimed that to be truly healed a person
must develop a religious outlook on life.
This is the basic pattern that the present study will show in twelve
philosophers. But first, an ordinary example might clarify the pat­
tern. Take the person said to identify with Thinking, while Intuition
was the auxiliary and Feeling was repressed. This works for a while,
but maybe in the early thirties the person is overcome by a great
outpouring of emotion. The person is amazed and afterwards might
protest: "I was not myself" - human feelings have appeared. After
several such occasions the person might question the rationalism
(Thinking) by which one has lived; one loses the certainty one had
known and is disoriented. The Feelings have appeared unexpect­
edly, and they act at random apart from control of the Ego; they are
primitive, childish, and lack nuance. At this point the person can
further repress the Feelings, or, instead, identify with the Feelings
and renounce the rationalism (Thinking) that had been dominant.
But instead of either alternative, one can undertake the painful task
of working through the confusion to unite Thinking and Feeling in
a "higher" synthesis, a synthesis that seems to come as a gift. This is
Individuation, and it is what Jung tried to achieve in his patients.
This process will be shown in the writings of philosophers.
Individuation is symbolized in a person's dreams and sponta­
neous imagery. The repressed Function is often seen as being under
the sea (Jung regarded the sea as the primary symbol of the uncon­
scious), or buried in the ground, or lost in a dark forest. The Ego,
identifying with the dominant Function, sets out on a difficult and
unfamiliar journey (a sea voyage, a night venture into the forest) to
locate the missing Function. Perhaps on the way one meets a dark
figure, the Shadow (elements of one's character one does not want
to recognize), or the Animal Animus ( an entrancing figure of the op­
posite sex)- figures of central importance to Jung, but only of mini­
mal importance in the present text. The individual might become
bewildered or overpowered, but, if all goes well, there will be a
reconciliation of the Functions. This integration is often symbolized
as a circle (Mandala) or a circle containing a Quaternity (the four
Functions in balance). This expresses wholeness, the goal to be at­
tained. An abundance of circles and squares is found in the draw­
ings and doodles of people under tension; they frequently occur in
the drawings and dreams of children; they are found in religious
IX JUNG'S FOUR AND SOME PHILOSOPHERS
symbols. But often only three conscious Functions appear, perhaps
with a place left for the Fourth (the Repressed Function that is miss­
ing or separate); healing would involve the Three becoming Four.
Three with a missing Fourth, or Three becoming Four, or a hesitation
between Three and Four, etc., are basic Jungian symbols; Three-to­
Fours are often found in dreams-and in the writings of philosophers.
The four Functions in balance can be seen in many crosses, em­
blems, corporate logos, the compass rose, etc. There are also many
examples of four centered elements with one of them different.
Some familiar examples of Quaternity (the Four), Mandala, and
Three-becoming-Four can be seen in the Bible: Genesis speaks of
the four rivers of Paradise (Gen. 2:10); Ezekiel sees a bright cloud
and "from the midst of it came the likeness of four living
creatures .... each had four faces"; later Ezekiel sees "four wheels
beside the cherubim .... the four had the same likeness, as if a wheel
were in a wheel. ... they went in any of their four directions .... and
every one had four faces" (Ezek. 1:5, 6; 10:9-11). The b