Table Of ContentJung and Kierkegaard
Jung and Kierkegaard identifies authenticity, suffering and self-deception
as the three key themes that connect the work of Carl Jung and Søren
Kierkegaard. There is, in the thinking of these pioneering psychologists of
the human condition, a fundamental belief in the healing potential of a reli-
gious outlook. This engaging and erudite text explores the significance of
the similarities of thinking between Kierkegaard and Jung, bridging the gap
between the former’s particular brand of existential Christian psychology
and the latter’s own unique philosophy.
Given the similarity of their work and experiences that were common to
both of their personal biographies, particularly the relationship that each
had with his father, one might expect Jung to have found in Kierkegaard
a kindred spirit. Yet this was not the case, and Jung viewed Kierkegaard
with great scorn. That there exists such a strong comparison and exten-
sive overlap in the life and thought of these towering figures of psychology
and philosophy leads us to question why it is that Jung so strongly rejected
Kierkegaard. Such hostility is particularly fascinating given the striking sim-
ilarity that Jung’s own analytical psychology bears to the Christian psychol-
ogy upheld by Kierkegaard.
Cook’s thought-provoking book fills a very real gap in Jungian scholar-
ship and is the first attempt to undertake a direct comparison between Jung
and Kierkegaard’s models of development. It is therefore essential reading
for academics and postgraduate students with an interest in Jungian and
Kierkegaard scholarship, as well as psychology, philosophy and religion
more generally.
Amy Cook graduated with a degree in History from the University of Aber-
deen in 2005. She then went on to study a Master’s Degree in Philosophy
and Psychoanalysis at Essex University before completing another masters
in Jungian and Post-Jungian Studies. After a brief spell teaching overseas,
Amy returned to the UK and began a PhD at Bangor University. She cur-
rently lives in North Wales, where she works with young carers to encour-
age and support them to reach their full potential.
Research in Analytical Psychology and Jungian Studies
Series Advisor:
Andrew Samuels,
Professor of Analytical Psychology, Essex University, UK.
The Research in Analytical Psychology and Jungian Studies series features
research-focused volumes involving qualitative and quantitative research,
historical/archival research, theoretical developments, heuristic research,
grounded theory, narrative approaches, collaborative research, practitioner-
led research, and self-study. The series also includes focused works by clini-
cal practitioners, and provides new research informed explorations of the
work of C. G. Jung that will appeal to researchers, academics, and scholars
alike.
Books in this series
Eros and Economy
Jung, Deleuze, Sexual Difference
Barbara Jenkins
Towards a Jungian Theory of the Ego
Karen Evers-Fahey
A Japanese Jungian Perspective on Mental
Health and Culture
Wandering Madness
Iwao Akita
Translated by Waka Shibata and Kittredge Stephenson
Jung and Kierkegaard
Researching a Kindred Spirit in the Shadows
Amy Cook
Jung and Kierkegaard
Researching a Kindred Spirit
in the Shadows
Amy Cook
First published 2018
by Routledge
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business
© 2018 Amy Cook
The right of Amy Cook to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted
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Contents
Acknowledgements ix
PART 1
Introduction 3
1 A holy kind of healing 7
2 Some striking similarities: personal and philosophical 12
3 Introducing Kierkegaard 21
4 Presenting Jung 34
5 The wounds of the father: a shared inheritance 43
PART 2
6 An unconventional Christianity 59
7 Jung and religion 63
8 The therapeutic value of faith 76
9 Grounding ethics in spirit: the medium of our
self-realisation 85
10 Suffering and the pain of personal growth: perrissem,
nisi perissem 94
11 Authenticity: the creation of one’s genuine self 107
viii Contents
PART 3
12 ‘That Religious Neurotic’: Kierkegaard on the couch 129
13 Keeping mum: a powerful silence 135
14 Søren’s spiritual castration: a father’s influence 143
15 To marry or to martyr 154
16 The final years of Søren Kierkegaard: a story of
archetypal compensation 167
PART 4
17 The nature of a Kierkegaardian neurosis: Jung’s
reception of Kierkegaard 177
18 Kierkegaard and Nietzsche: polar opposites in the
mind of Jung 192
19 Summary of discussion 206
20 Conclusion 219
Epilogue: Jung and Kierkegaard: a legacy considered 228
Bibliography 233
Index 242
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to Philoso-
pher, Jungian Scholar and Cincinnati Bengals Superfan, Dr Lucy Huskinson.
Dr Huskinson’s patience, guidance and generosity whilst supervising the
PhD thesis that this book grew from has been phenomenal. I suspect such
an endeavour was indeed the definition of a thankless task. I am extremely
grateful for our many useful discussions and her invaluable insights, sug-
gestions and friendship over the years. The better ideas in this book almost
certainly owe their existence to her.
To David Parker (University of Northampton) and Professor Eryl Davies
(Bangor University) – the designated examiners of my Doctoral thesis,
I should like to extend a warm thanks for their constructive comments and
encouragement to publish.
I am also extremely indebted to Thomas Fischer for cheerfully digging
into the Jung archives on my behalf. Thank you Thomas.
And finally to Richard, my thanks and apologies in equal measure are
due. I am not the easiest person to live with and I really do not know how
you put up with me. However, you are a perfect nuisance to me. So fair’s
fair.
In this book I have made particular reference to the Collected Works
of C.G. Jung and Soren Kierkegaard’s Journals and Papers (edited by
H.V. Hong & E.H. Hong), reproduced by the kind permission of Princeton
University Press and Indiana University Press. Extracts from Jung’s autobi-
ography Memories, Dreams and Reflections have been reprinted by permis-
sion of Harper Collins Publishers Ltd. (© 1963 (Jung)).
