Archetypes & Strange Attractors: The Chaotic World of Symbols (Studies in Jungian Psychology by Jungian Analysts, 75)

Book by Van Eenwyk, John R. -- Title #75 in the series Studies in Jungian Psychology by Jungian Analysts.
-- Examines the correspondence between the theories of C. G. Jung and chaos research in physics and mathematics.

How can we deal with the chaos that inevitably infects our lives? Shouldn't we strive to eliminate it? Isn't chaos a sign that things have gone terribly wrong? Maybe not. Carl Jung believed that our psychological development proceeds according to the influence of symbols in our lives. In stripping away the old points of view so that growth can occur, symbols invariably feel chaotic. That is Jung's theory. Now, with the advent of chaos theory, there is new support for his perspective. Therefore we must revise our basic notions about mental health.

Jung's theory of symbolic influence has, since the advent of Chaos Theory, been given new credence. A graduate of Zurich's C.G. Jung Institute, John R. Van Eenwyk, discusses here how the new science has affected Jungian Psychology, thereby exploring the link between the dynamics of symbols in the psyche and of chaos in the world of matter.