Jung and the Shadow

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how the idea of the shadow in Jungian terminology--those aspects of our selves that we fail to see, hidden aspects that are both positive and negative and aspects of ourselves that are not shown to the world via the persona--is certainly one of the most well-known among the concepts created by Carl Gustav Jung. It attempts to understand the nature of the shadow-what it is, where it comes from and how it is composed in order to understand its basic aspects and the means by which it is such a powerful force in the psyche.

From the Paper:

"While still working with Freud, Jung developed another idea that links back to the concept of the shadow, that of imago. This term is based on Jung's idea that "children's images of their parents do not simply reflect their actual parents" (Humbert, 1983/1996, 4). The designation of imago reflects "the schema that is most properly the child's and that is least reflective of the child's actual parents" (p. 4). During this time period he also wrote extensively on complexes. Jung's word association tests during his nine years at the Burholzli starting in 1900 led him to formulate his ideas surrounding complexes. "

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