Jung and the Question of Science

Jung and the Question of Science brings to the foreground a controversial issue at the heart of contemporary Jungian studies. The perennial debate echoes Jung’s own ambivalence. While Jung defined his analytical psychology as a science, he was aware that it did not conform to the conventional criteria for a scientific study in general psychology. This ambivalence is carried into twenty-first century analytical psychology, as well as affecting perceptions of Jung in the academia. Here, eight scholars and practitioners have pooled their expertise to examine both the history and present-day ramifications of the ‘science’ issue in the Jungian context. Behind the question of whether it is scientific or not there lie deeper issues: the credibility of Jung’s theory, personal identity as a ‘Jungian’, and conceptions of science, wisdom, and truth.The book comprises a collection of erudite essays (Part I) and linked dialogues in which the authors discuss each other’s ideas (Part II). The authors of Jung and the Question of Science share the conviction that the question of science is important, but differ in their understanding of its applicability. Drawing upon their different backgrounds, the authors integrate Jung's insights with bodies of knowledge as diverse as neuroscience, literary theory, theology, and political science. Clinical practitioners, psychoanalysts, psychologists, scholars and students interested in the Jungian perspective and the philosophy of science will find this book to be insightful and valuable.

"Raya Jones brings together an exceptional group of writers to examine and debate not only Jung’s relationship to science, but also the nature of the scientific enterprise in light of Jung’s theories. The authors represent a rich mix of perspectives on the deep structure of Jung's wide-ranging investigations, from the nature of myth to the fundamental features of reality. Marshaling both historical reconstruction and contemporary theory to illuminate the debate over Jung’s place in the context of modern scientific discourse and practice, this book will be essential reading for anyone delving deeper into Jung’s worldview." - George B. Hogenson, Jungian analyst in private practice in Chicago, past president of the C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago from 2007- 2009. "This book records an informed and spirited exchange between eight smart people accustomed to arguing with each other about analytical psychology. The content is challenging, and the inherent interest of this symposium encourages repeated encounters with its many lively parts. Throughout, Jung and the Question of Science succeeds in letting its reader see how good a place a Jungian conversation can be to hang out in when it is made to address the relation of Jung’s theory to other approaches to knowledge." - John Beebe, past president of the C. G. Jung Institute of San Francisco, and author of Integrity in Depth.

Raya A. Jones is a senior lecturer in the Cardiff School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University, UK. Previous books include Jung, Psychology, Postmodernity (Routledge, 2007), Mind and Healing after Jung (Routledge, 2010), Cultures and Identities in Transition (Routledge, 2010) and Education and Imagination (Routledge, 2008). She has served on the Executive Committee of the International Association for Jungian Studies.