Depth Psychology
How to Contact the Unconscious
A Summary of “The Transcendent Function” by Carl Jung (1916)
“The Transcendent Function” is a deeply illuminative essay written by Carl Jung in 1916, which documents Jung’s early solution to the problem of how to deal with the unconscious.
Three years earlier, Jung had experienced a mental breakdown of sorts, and the method contained in this document results from his own experimental treatment of himself.
This treatment involves a method termed “active imagination”, as a means of accessing unconscious contents that persist just below the threshold of consciousness. Jung discusses the risks associated with such a method, and his also provides ways to safely manage and integrate the unconscious material.
We proceed now with a simplified abridgement of the text.
By the way, I’m now publishing all of my book summaries under the publication Paraphilosophy. I’d really appreciate it if you could follow — it’s free. 😁
One-Sidedness
The term “transcendent function” refers to a psychological function that combines conscious and unconscious…
