According to Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), our psyche is a ‘psychic apparatus‘ whose overwhelming unconscious part we are at the mercy of. Everyone is familiar with the popular scientific image of this psyche as a giant iceberg, whose 5% above the surface symbolizes our conscious mind (ego), while the 95% below the surface represents the unconscious part of our personality (id, superego), which can be controlled from outside because we are unaware of it.
Carl G. Jung (1875-1961) sees the psyche as a complex living system based on empirical observation, which regulates and maintains itself, is multi-part, communicative, and cooperative, and which, due to its complementary structure, seeks homeostasis, or balance. As the totality of all psychological processes, it is not subject to any determinable mechanics, but acts creatively because it serves solely the development of human consciousness, both on an individual and a collective level. Jung also called this complex system the ‘inner man‘.
His approach goes far beyond Freud’s structural model. Although it has never been refuted, it remains almost completely ignored to this day.
The lecture challenges traditional ways of thinking about our relationship with the structure of the psyche. In an accessible manner, it illustrates which scientific and therapeutic findings corroborate Jung’s model and how this can bolster individuals‘ psychological resilience.
Further lecture topics on request.