Chapter 4 Jung: Analytical Psychology 127Development of Personality
Jung believed that personality develops through a series of stages that culminate in
individuation, or self-realization. In contrast to Freud, he emphasized the second half
of life, the period after age 35 or 40, when a person has the opportunity to bring
together the various aspects of personality and to attain self-realization. However,
the opportunity for degeneration or rigid reactions is also present at that time. The
psychological health of middle-aged people is related to their ability in achieving
balance between the poles of the various opposing processes. This ability is propor-
tional to the success achieved in journeying through the previous stages of life.
Stages of Development
Jung grouped the stages of life into four general periods—childhood, youth, middle
life, and old age. He compared the trip through life to the journey of the sun through
the sky, with the brightness of the sun representing consciousness. The early morn-
ing sun is childhood, full of potential, but still lacking in brilliance (consciousness);
the morning sun is youth, climbing toward the zenith, but unaware of the impend-
ing decline; the early afternoon sun is middle life, brilliant like the late morning
sun, but obviously headed for the sunset; the evening sun is old age, its once bright
consciousness now markedly dimmed (see Figure 4.4). Jung (1931/1960a) argued
that values, ideals, and modes of behavior suitable for the morning of life are inap-
propriate for the second half, and that people must learn to find new meaning in
their declining years of life.
Childhood
Jung divided childhood into three substages: (1) the anarchic, (2) the monarchic,
and (3) the dualistic. The anarchic phase is characterized by chaotic and sporadic
consciousness. “Islands of consciousness” may exist, but there is little or no con-
nection among these islands. Experiences of the anarchic phase sometimes enter
consciousness as primitive images, incapable of being accurately verbalized.
The monarchic phase of childhood is characterized by the development of the
ego and by the beginning of logical and verbal thinking. During this time children see
ChildhoodYouth Middle lifeOld ageFIGURE 4.4 Jung Compares the Stages of Life to the Sun’s Journey through the
Sky, with the Brilliance of the Sun Representing Consciousness.