Psychology As Ethics: Reading Jung With Kant, Nietzsche And Aristotle (philosophy And Psychoanalysis)

Through his clinical work and extensive engagement with major figures of the philosophical tradition, Jung developed an original and pluralistic psycho-ethical model based on the cooperation of consciousness with the unconscious mind. By drawing on direct quotations from Jung’s collected works, __The Red Book__, and his interviews and seminars – as well as from seminal texts by Kant, Nietzsche, Aristotle and Augustine – Giovanni Colacicchi provides a philosophically grounded analysis of the ethical relevance of Jung’s analytical psychology and of the concept of individuation which is at its core. The author argues that Jung transforms Kant’s consciousness of duty into the duty to be conscious while also endorsing Nietzsche’s project of an individual ethics beyond collective morality. Colacicchi shows that Jung is concerned, like Aristotle, with the human need to acquire a balance between reason and emotions; and that Jung puts forward, with his understanding of the shadow, a moral psychology of the Christian notion of evil. Jung’s psycho-ethical paradigm is thus capable of integrating ethical theories which are often read as mutually exclusive. __Psychology as Ethics__ will be of interest to researchers in the history of ideas and the philosophy of the unconscious, as well as to therapists and counsellors who wish to place their psychodynamic work in its philosophical context. It will also be a key reference for undergraduate and postgraduate courses and seminars in Jungian and Post-Jungian studies, philosophy, psychoanalytic studies, psychology, religious studies and the social sciences. "Through his clinical work and extensive engagement with major figures of the philosophical tradition, Jung developed an original and pluralistic psycho-ethical model based on the cooperation of consciousness with the unconscious mind. By drawing on direct quotes from all of Jung's collected works, The Red Book, and his interviews and seminars - as well as from seminal texts by Kant, Nietzsche, Aristotle and Augustine - Giovanni Colacicchi provides a philosophically-grounded analysis of the ethical relevance of Jung's analytical psychology and of the concept of individuation which is at its core. The author argues that in Jung's depth-psychological thinking Kantian deontology, Nietzschean perspectivism, Aristotelian virtue ethics and Christian morality all take part in shaping a moral and ethical character. Psychology as Ethics will be essential reading for researchers with an interest in the history of ideas and the philosophy of the unconscious, as well as for therapists and counsellors who wish to ground their psychodynamic work in its philosophical context. It will also be a key reference for undergraduate and postgraduate courses and seminars in Jungian and post-Jungian studies, philosophy, psychoanalytic studies, psychology, religious studies and the social sciences"-- Provided by publisher Cover Half Title Series Title Copyright Contents Acknowledgements Note on text references Introduction 1 Morality, freedom and the ego: the Kantian legacy 2 Ethics, health and the Self: the Nietzschean legacy 3 Character, virtue and psycho-ethical types: Aristotle and Jung 4 Humility, evil and the shadow: the Christian legacy 5 Post-Jungians on Jung’s ethics Conclusion Reference list Index