The Undiscovered Self

Review

Lately I’ve been interested in pursuing more research regarding Carl Jung’s influence on literary criticism and his theories regarding the collective unconscious. Not sure how much belief I hold in some of his more metaphysical conjectures, but they still contribute significantly to a broader understanding of how the human mind may or may not operate. I haven’t read much of Jung since high school, so I traded in some old books for a copy of The Undiscovered Self since it was one I had yet to study. What attracted me to this particular work was the timelessness of its message – though written in 1957, much of what Jung has to say can still be applied to today’s sociological state of affairs.

The Undiscovered Self opens with logical assertations that “it is chiefly in times of physical, political, economic and spiritual distress that men’s eyes turn with anxious hope to the future” (11). The only way to combat these stresses and worries is for humanity to embrace its potential on both a conscious and unconscious level. Without a finely-tuned awareness of self, mankind is doomed to pass control of the individual self onto an external collective entity such as the government or, to a lesser extent, religion. While he doesn’t discount the necessity of either institution, much of the book warns against succumbing to the will of the collective without first consulting the needs of the individual. Humanity must open itself up to acknowledging its equal capacity for good and evil and acquiring a profound understanding of the mind’s machinations – be they conscious, subconscious, and unconscious.

Since my last exposure to Jung was about seven years ago, I’m still a little rusty on his theories. That was all I managed to carry away from The Undiscovered Self, but I nevertheless believe this is necessary reading. Regardless of your opinion of the collective unconscious, dream analysis, and Jungian psychology, few will dispute its message that individuals should strive towards knowing themselves in as much depth as possible. Complex self-awareness is necessary for a society to flourish and guard itself against exploitation and repression – if individuals cannot understand themselves, then they are unable to contribute effectively to the collective. That seems to be Jung’s core theme when the psychoanalytic elements are factored out. However, his musings on the role the unconscious mind plays ought to not go ignored, either. Since it remains cloaked and clouded in mystery to this day, any theory that explains how it possibly works should be explored and considered. If nothing else, much of Jung’s oeuvre has had an undeniable influence over literature and literary criticism alike, and therefore required reading for anyone working in either field.

Bibliographic Information

Jung, C. G. The Undiscovered Self. New York: Penguin, 1987.

Further Reading

Even though both books predate The Undiscovered Self, Yevgeny Zamyatin’s underrecognized We and George Orwell’s iconic 1984 stand as perfect examples of the societial structures Jung warns against. Granted, all dystopian literature set in a totalitarian future could fall into this category, but these two are probably the two best examples of the genre.

~Riot