Carl Jung, the Mechanization of Society, Societal Discontents

[dwyanewadeog]

I came across this quote of Carl Jung's (swiss psychologist, think Sigmund Freud) and am curious what you all have to say.
Many of you express unhappiness with the drone-like nature of your jobs. You express unhappiness with the structure of our world. You express unhappiness with the direction that our world is taking. 

Take a minute to read the short exchange between Carl Jung and John Freeman of the BBC and tell me what you think.

Keep in mind this dialogue occurred in 1959...

BBC: And this leads me to the last question that I want to ask you. As the world becomes more technically efficient it seems increasingly necessary for people to behave communally and collectively. Now do you think it possible that the highest development of man may be to submerge his own individuality in a kind of collective consciousness?

Jung: That's hardly possible. I think there will be a reaction. A reaction will set in against this communal dissociation. You know, man doesn't stand for ever his nullification. Once there will be a reaction, and I see it setting in. You know, when I think of my patients, they all seek their own existence and to assure their existence against that complete atomization into nothingness, or into meaninglessness. Man cannot stand a meaningless life.

 

[teamjordan79]

shoulda posted some kim k pics to get people to view this thread....

but yea, Carl J. is that dude, i pretty much have always agreed with his theories more than Freud's. Dude is getting at the essence of human nature and that conundrum that even though we are a gregarious species....we all must go down our own paths towards individuation and self discovery. If society forces as into a bee-hive paradigm, then every individual will be unhappy because they are not pursuing their own inner voice, but rather working as a collective for the benefit of something or someone else. This is why he refers to this as communal dissociation.

OP u got the rest of this interview?

 

[odog24]

Originally Posted by TeamJordan79


OP u got the rest of this interview?

or a link
i also like sigmund freud. very intelligent and gets me thinking

thanks for posting

 

[jking0821]

Good post.  I would like to read the whole interview too if you have a link OP.
I agree with what he said and I struggle with the concept every day.  I have days where I am excited to go to work and sit at my desk all day.  I also have days where I want to up and quit, empty my savings account, and travel around the world for a year.  The monotony of everyday life can beat you down.  It is hard some times to find a balance of really truly making your life happy, and fulfilling your "calling" and just doing what you need to do to get by. (ie make money to pay bills and live)  

 

[el unico]

Exactly!  It's too bad the majority of us are rolling down this path anything.  I always liked Jung more than Freud.  Freud with his dream analysis was a big no-no (related everything to sex). Other than that we must all be at peace within ourselves to achieve satisfaction internally and externally!

 

[ryair max 1]

association > assimilation

i think?

 

[hankmoody]

I dont agree at all with the assumption in the question. Is technology truly forcing man to behave more collectively and communally? Really? I see filter bubbles, residential clusters, and facilitated isolation and don't agree. In fact, technology might be allowing the individual to express himself more now than ever before. Where is the subjugation? The immersion? What is the collective consciousness?

 

[dwyanewadeog]

The interview is called Face to Face with Carl Jung.

Here is the link to the first part of his interview, you can find the rest on youtube.




There is also a transcript of the interview on Scribd which I would suggest reading because the video is 35/40 minutes long and you can read the whole thing in 10.


Hank. What do you think about the blending and flattening of culture? I feel like the Westernization of global culture is an example of us becoming more collective and communal. I do agree that technology allows an individual to express themselves but I feel it is because technology allows anonymity.

The majority of people conceal their true beliefs and thoughts as to not seem too different.