The dialectic of the Other in the psychology of C. G. Jung : a metatheoretical investigation

Papadopoulos, Renos Klitou

The dialectic of the Other in the psychology of C. G. Jung : a metatheoretical investigation

Doctoral Thesis

1980

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

Department of Psychology

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Abstract

The present thesis is an attempt at developing a new understanding of the psychology of C.G. Jung by means of an original metatheoretical approach which reveals a central problematic in the Jungian opus: the problematic of the Other, the essence of which is the pivotal phenomenon of the composition and dissociability of the psyche. Initially, the problematic of the Other is set in its broad cultural and psychological perspectives before an historiographical account of its treatment is attempted. In this, the Heraclitean, Platonic, and Hegelian theories are investigated and their respective positions on the Other are developed and distilled in an original discussion which particularly focuses on their fundamental dialectical approach. Jung's life and work are examined in depth as a coherent whole in their developmental evolution. The present approach reveals the progressive reformulations of Jung's problematic of the Other in the chronological periods which mark his theoretical development. This investigation enables an original understanding of (among other issues) the Freud-Jung controversy, the epistemological meaning of Jung's obscure period between the years 1912-1917, and the gradual construction of his unique epistemological system. The Self is finally accepted as the dialectical synthesis of all opposing Others. A series of original diagrams is designed to illustrate the complete development of Jung's reformulations of his problematic and demonstrates their dialectical texture. The first three theorists are subsequently revisited and their views are compared to Jung's formulations in an analysis highlighting the implications of the attempted approach. Finally, a tentative formulation of the dialectic of the Other in terms of language is advanced and explored. This thesis constitutes a metatheoretical investigation in that it approaches the Jungian thought from a position outside the framework of his theories, in order to seek the meaning not only of his theoretical formulations themselves, but also of their metatheoretical significance within the framework of his life and work. Thus, a number of Jung's usually neglected texts are here re-examined and located within their broad historical, epistemological and developmental perspective in an attempt to illuminate his central dialectic of the Other.

Keywords

Psychology

Reference:

Collections

PhD / Doctoral

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