Summary
Edward Edinger: Anatomy of the Psyche
Dr. Edward F. Edinger (1922–1998) was a leading Jungian analyst whose numerous works deal largely with the interrelationship of symbols and psychology, interpreting Jung's concepts to a new generation of analysts. The book "Anatomy of the Psyche" is a continuation of Jung's study of alchemy, and in it the author tries to make visible certain experiential patterns or categories of the process of individualization, which appear in alchemical symbolism. Although the data used in the amplification comes from many different sources, they all serve to illustrate the patterns and regularities of the objective psyche, i.e. archetypal representations of transformation. What is presented is neither a theoretical creation nor a philosophical speculation, but a classification of psychological facts based on Jung's method. These facts further build the anatomy of the psyche, which is at the same time embryology, since it deals with developmental processes and transformation. The exceptional value of alchemical images is that they give us an objective basis from which we can further access dreams and other unconscious material. In the study of the psyche, more than in any other field of research, it is very difficult to distinguish between objective facts and personal prejudices. A practical knowledge of alchemical imagery can be of great help in promoting this much-needed objectivity.
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