The Origins and History of Consciousness

by Erich Neumann, R. F.C. Hull (Translator), Carl Jung (Foreword by)

Overview

The Origins and History of Consciousness draws on a full range of world mythology to show how individual consciousness undergoes the same archetypal stages of development as human consciousness as a whole. Erich Neumann was one of C. G. Jung's most creative students and a renowned practitioner of analytical psychology in his own right. In this influential book, Neumann shows how the stages begin and end with the symbol of the Uroboros, the tail-eating serpent. The intermediate stages are projected in the universal myths of the World Creation, Great Mother, Separation of the World Parents, Birth of the Hero, Slaying of the Dragon, Rescue of the Captive, and Transformation and Deification of the Hero. Throughout the sequence, the Hero is the evolving ego consciousness.

Featuring a foreword by Jung, this Princeton Classics edition introduces a new generation of readers to this eloquent and enduring work.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691163598
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	08/24/2014
Series:	Princeton Classics , #25
Edition description:	With a foreword by C. G. Jung| Translated by R.F.C. Hull
Pages:	552
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Erich Neumann (1905-1960), a psychologist and philosopher, was born in Berlin and lived in Tel Aviv from 1934 until his death. His books include The Fear of the Feminine, Amor and Psyche, and The Great Mother (all Princeton).

Table of Contents

Translator's Note vi

Note of Acknowledgement vi

List of Illustrations xi

Foreword by C.G. Jung xiii
Introduction xv

Part I: THE MYTHOLOGICAL STAGES IN THE EVOLUTION OF CONSCIOUSNESS

A: THE CREATION MYTH

I The Uroboros 5

II The Great Mother 39

III The Separation of the World Parents: The Principle of Opposites 102

B: THE HERO MYTH

I The Birth of the Hero 131

II The Slaying of the Mother 152

III The Slaying of the Fater 170

C: THE TRANSFORMATION MYTH

I The Captive and the Treasure 195

II Transformation, or Osiris 220

PART II: THE PYSCHOLOGICAL STAGES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF PERSONALITY

A: THE ORIGINAL UNITY

Controversion and Ego Formation 261

The Ego Germ in the Original Uroboric Situation 266

Development of the Ego out of the Uroboros 275

Centroversion in Organisms on the Uroboric Level 286

Centroversion, Ego, and Consciousness 293

Further Phases of Ego Development 306

B: THE SEPARATION OF THE SYSTEMS

Centroversion and Differentiation 315

The Fragmentation of Archetypes 320

Exhaustion of Emotional Components: Rationalization 321

Secondary Personalization 335

The Transformation of Pleasure-Pain Components 342

The Formation of Authorities within the Personality 349

The Synthetic Function of Ego 356

C: THE BALANCE AND CRISIS OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Compensation of the Separated Systems: Culture in Balance 363

The Schism of the Systems: Culture in Crisis 381

D: CENTROVERSION AND THE STAGES OF LIFE

Prolongation of Childhood and Differentiation of Consciousness 397

Activation of Collective Unconscious and Ego Changes in Puberty 407

Self-Realization of Centroversion in the Second Half of Life 409

APPENDICES

I The Group and the Great Individual 421

II Mass Man and the Phenomena of Recollectivization 436

Bibliography 445

Index 461

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“There can be no doubt that [Neumann] has brought to his task a remarkable . . . knowledge of classical mythology, some considerable acquaintance with the comparative study of religion, and a deep understanding of those psychological views and theories evolved by C. G. Jung.”—Times Literary Supplement

“A welcome source of information for all those who are touched by the relationship between man and his myths.”—New York Times

“No better exposition has come to us of the two Jungian themes: the evolution of consciousness in the history of mankind, and the development of personality in the individual.”—The Personalist

Editorial Reviews

"There can be no doubt that [Neumann] has brought to his task a remarkable . . . knowledge of classical mythology, some considerable acquaintance with the comparative study of religion, and a deep understanding of those psychological views and theories evolved by C. G. Jung."

The Times Literary Supplement

"No better exposition has come to us of the two Jungian themes: the evolution of consciousness in the history of mankind and the development of personality in the individual."

The Personalist

"A welcome source of information for all those who are touched by the relationship between man and his myths."

The New York Times

"There can be no doubt that [Neumann] has brought to his task a remarkable . . . knowledge of classical mythology, some considerable acquaintance with the comparative study of religion, and a deep understanding of those psychological views and theories evolved by C. G. Jung."--The Times Literary Supplement

"A welcome source of information for all those who are touched by the relationship between man and his myths."--The New York Times

"No better exposition has come to us of the two Jungian themes: the evolution of consciousness in the history of mankind and the development of personality in the individual."--The Personalist

From the Publisher

"A welcome source of information for all those who are touched by the relationship between man and his myths."

The New York Times