I have been recently in touch with a Jungian interpreter that answered my email with a me-me-me and me response asking me to read his books, watch his videos and study his articles. This is not the first time that this has happened to me. In fact, this is a regular occurrence when one interacts with Jungian interpreters. This observation made me think about the superiority complex of many of those interpreters in the field of Jungian psychology.
In his book The Flight Into the Unconscious, Wolfgang Giegerich writes:
The interesting thing for us is to realize that it was, besides other aspects, precisely the foreignness of alchemy that made it so precious for Jung. In contrast to probably all other psychologists, he was not satisfied with clinical observation (with studying what was going on inside people) as the ground upon which psychology was to be based. Jung obviously needed to go away from . (P. 372)
This is a flagrant misunderstanding of Jung's interest in alchemy. The know-it-all Giegerich missed the most important fact about Jungian psychology: Jung found in alchemy and Gnosticism the symbols of conjunction of opposites that appear in mystical experiences. From the start, Jung thought that mystical experiences were signposts of a consciously performed individuation process because he had two of them. The first one in December 1913 and titled as Mysterium in The Red Book and the second one in 1917 which appears in the illustration on page 125 in the same book. See Jung's Second Mystical Experience
In this short quote, Giegerich has shown his incapacity to logically decipher Jung's writings and yet, he has the nerve to put himself over Jung. This behavior is not only Giegerich's, it is shared by all the interpreters who dare to go beyond their competence in the therapeutic process. They do not understand Jung but they act as if they do. This is exactly what a superiority complex is: an exaggerated opinion of one’s own accomplishments and abilities.
As we know, the superiority complex comes from Alfred Adler’s psychology. This theory is based on the idea that people seek a feeling of belonging and completeness throughout their lives. They consciously try to create their own lifestyles and reach their highest potential and goals in order to overcome feelings of inferiority.
The signs that a person may have a superiority complex include:
- boastful claims that they cannot support
- an overly high opinion of themselves
- vanity or extra attention to their appearance
- high valuations of their self-worth
- an unwillingness to listen to others
- a self-image of authority or supremacy
- an incapacity to accept opinions different from theirs
Someone with a superiority complex is more of a “fake it till you make it” type, whose only real investment into knowledge is that of manipulation and intimidation tactics to convince others that they know more / are stronger / etc. than any potential opponent.
Know-it-alls think they know everything. They feel superior, are dismissive of others’ opinions, are unwilling to listen to others. This is exactly what happened when I reached to the Jungian interpreter mentioned above. He has shown no interest in my opinion and responded with a me, myself and I response.
When Giegerich says that Jung needed to go away from immediate psychological experience, turn his back on psychology in order to find something really other that could not possibly be seen as psychology or psychologically relevant, he is making such a bold affirmation that one has immediate doubts about his intellectual capacity. What is the logic in the fact that Jung as a psychologist and a physician who has consecrated his life to the study of the human psyche would one day dive into a new topic that seems to have no links to psychology? Would not it be more logic that Jung found in alchemy something that was important to his psychology? Of course. Giegerich seemed to have faked it till you maked it in his reading of Jung's interest in alchemy. He probably said to himself, nobody understands alchemy so no one will contradict me. This is, as we have seen, a sign of a superiority complex.
Jungians almost always think of themselves as the knowers of something that normal people do not know. They possess a secret, Jung's secret, a special power that posit them above the plebeians. But do they really possess this secret? The answer is no.
One may ask why I am so certain of my affirmation. The answer is easy and logical. After his medical problems of 1944, Jung decided to publish all the content of his research in his four last important books Aion, Answer to Job, The psychology of Transference and Mysterium Conjunctionis. In her book Conversations with C. G. Jung, Margaret Ostrowski-Sachs recalled what Jung said to her about AION:
Before my illness [in 1944] I had often asked myself if I were permitted to publish or even speak of my secret knowledge. I later set it all down in Aion. I realized it was my duty to communicate these thoughts, yet I doubted whether I was allowed to give expression to them. During my illness I received confirmation and I now knew that everything had meaning and that everything was perfect.
Now, tell me who, among the important Jungian interpreters, understand Jung's four last books where he published his secret knowledge?
Aion: no one
Answer to Job: no one
The Psychology of Transference: no one
Mysterium Conjunctionis: no one
To those who would dare to say Edward Edinger, I suggest them to read my papers below.
The conclusion is that Jungian interpreters do not understand the four most important books by Jung and they continue to write about individuation and the Self, the very subject of those books. Some of those interpreters have not even read those books because they are too difficult to read. And they, as Giegerich did, even sometimes permit themselves to evaluate Jung's work without a clear comprehension of those four books. Unfortunately, those are the same people who peer-review new articles and books on Analytical psychology thus leading their field directly to a dead-end. As such, it is probably the only case of a scientific field, where the tenors and interpreters are not even able to comprehend and explain the theory of their most important contributor.
Therefore, I rest my case.
You may also read
Carl_Jungs_AION_decoded_2024a_
Carl_Jungs_Answer_to_Job_the_Birth_of_the_Self_in_Transcendent_Experiences_2024e_
Carl_Jungs_Alchemical_Secret_the_Process_to_Reach_Mystical_Experiences_2024d_