Jane Weldon
Author of Platonic Jung And the Nature of Self
How does Jung model his psychology on Plato’s philosophy? The Platonic Jung gives us a clear look at the remarkable similarities between the two, particularly in the structure of the cosmos and psyche, and in the nature of the self. The individual self is identified as soul in each system, and it is placed in what both Jung and Plato call the “third,” a level of being located in-between the divine Self or One, and the ego complex or sense based self. Practicing the work of individuation in Jung or philosophy in Plato, which are also shown to be similar paths of development, a person is able to unite the opposites in the lower self. Thus, by healing the conflicts inherent in psychological injury, consciousness is developed in soul and its subtle body. The transcendent function is the cornerstone of individuation in Jung, and we learn here that he included an energetic aspect of transformation in the function, which is actually responsible for the movement of consciousness from ego-complex into soul in the third.
