Carl Gustav Jung was a psychiatrist and a psychotherapist who was one of the early supporters of Freud as they shared  the same interest in the unconscious mind. He was also the founder of the analytical school of psychology and was a part of the Vienna Psychoanalytical Society. When the International Psychoanalytical society was formed, he became the first president on Freud’s recommendation. His work has been influential in psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, religious studies and philosophy. He was also a prolific writer.

The central concept of Jung’s school of psychology, is individuation. When Freud focussed mainly on the unconscious mind, its power and performance, Jung believed in combining the two and studying them together as one, but still maintaining their separate identities. In fact, he believed individuation to be the key to human development.

Jung’s contribution to psychology is vast. An ardent follower of Freud in the initial years, the duo had a fallout when Jung publicly criticized Freud’s Oedipus theory and its emphasis on infant sexuality.

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The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, a popular psychometric instrument was formed based on Jung’s theory of psychological types. He also inspired the creation of the concepts of socio nic. He is also the chief contributor to dream analyses and symbolization even in the contemporary world. He also believed that the human psyche was religious by nature and he made this religiousness the centre of many of his explorations and theories.

Jung’s works somewhere drew inspiration from his childhood too. He was the 4th child of his parents but their only surviving one and this made his mother very sad and depressed. Jung was also an introverted child who was quiet and liked to be left alone with his thoughts. There was this incident where Jung was pushed to the ground very hard by one of his classmates and he lost consciousness. After that every time he had to focus too hard, Jung began fainting. The doctors were convinced he had epilepsy. But his interest in academics increased greatly once again when he overheard his father expressing his concern about his only son not being able to work and support himself later in life. He tried everything to overcome this problem, and though he fainted many times in the process, he finally accomplished victory over his impediment and was able to return to school. This was his first encounter with neurosis. Jung later chose psychiatry because of his interest in spirituality and medicine.

Jung met Freud in Zurich and the two are believed to have spoken non-stop for 12 hours during their first encounter. But since Jung started developing his own theories and his interest in dreams and symbolism increased, his ties with Freud also started to dissolve. After this he spent 6 straight years devoted to his work. He explored his own subconscious and recorded his experiences in The Red Book which he continued to write and illustrate for the next 15 years. This book was finally published in 2009 giving the readers an unparalleled look into this genius’ mind.