Feist−Feist: Theories of
Personality, Seventh
EditionII. Psychodynamic
Theories- Jung: Analytical
Psychology
(^120) © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2009
fear of the unconscious; prevent their persona from dominating their personality;
recognize the dark side of themselves (their shadow); and then muster even greater
courage to face their anima or animus.
On one occasion during his midlife crisis, Jung had a vision in which he con-
fronted a bearded old man who was living with a beautiful blind young girl and a
large black snake. The old man explained that he was Elijah and that the young girl
was Salome, both biblical figures. Elijah had a certain, sharp intelligence, although
Jung did not clearly understand him. Salome gave Jung a feeling of distinct suspi-
ciousness, while the serpent showed a remarkable fondness for Jung. At the time he
experienced this vision, Jung was unable to comprehend its meaning, but many years
later he came to see the three figures as archetypes. Elijah represented the wise old
man, seemingly intelligent, but not making a good deal of sense; the blind Salome
was an anima figure, beautiful and seductive, but unable to see the meaning of
things; and the snake was the counterpart of the hero, showing an affinity for Jung,
the hero of the vision. Jung (1961) believed that he had to identify these unconscious
images in order to maintain his own identity and not lose himself to the powerful
forces of the collective unconscious. He later wrote:
The essential thing is to differentiate oneself from these unconscious contents by
personifying them, and at the same time to bring them into relationship with
consciousness. That is the technique for stripping them of their power. It is not too
difficult to personify them, as they always possess a certain degree of autonomy, a
separate identity of their own. Their autonomy is a most uncomfortable thing to
reconcile oneself to, and yet the very fact that the unconscious presents itself in
that way gives us the best means of handling it. (p. 187)
Dynamics of Personality
In this section on the dynamics of personality, we look at Jung’s ideas on causality
and teleologyand on progressionand regression.
Causality and Teleology
Does motivation spring from past causes or from teleological goals? Jung insisted
that it comes from both. Causalityholds that present events have their origin in pre-
vious experiences. Freud relied heavily on a causal viewpoint in his explanations of
adult behavior in terms of early childhood experiences (see Chapter 2). Jung criti-
cized Freud for being one-sided in his emphasis on causality and insisted that a
causal view could not explain all motivation. Conversely, teleologyholds that pres-
ent events are motivated by goals and aspirations for the future that direct a person’s
destiny. Adler held this position, insisting that people are motivated by conscious and
unconscious perceptions of fictional final goals (see Chapter 3). Jung was less criti-
cal of Adler than of Freud, but he insisted that human behavior is shaped by both
causal and teleological forces and that causal explanations must be balanced with
teleological ones.
Jung’s insistence on balance is seen in his conception of dreams. He agreed
with Freud that many dreams spring from past events; that is, they are caused by ear-
114 Part II Psychodynamic Theories