Over the past century, psychology has become one of the most respected and widely-studied scientific disciplines. In recent years, psychologists have made groundbreaking strides in our understanding of human behavior, cognition, and emotion. While the field of psychology has come a long way, there is still much to learn. For example, psychologists are just beginning … Read more
Thomas Hobbes, author of the notorious Leviathan, had a strange definition for “free will” He presumed that anything, whether animate or inanimate, is considered free if nothing stands in its way. If there are no obstacles, then there is freedom. If a rock is rolling down a hill without anything it in its path, then … Read more
Charles Bukowski, today known as a celebrated author, found success in his fifties. In his twenties, he wrote hundreds of short stories. Two of these were published, both of which barely sold any copies. This was during a time when Bukowski traveled across the U.S, and worked several blue-collar jobs. Years later, he nearly died … Read more
The busiest people harbor the greatest weariness, their restlessness is weakness – they no longer have the capacity for waiting and idleness.” Nietzsche With Nietzsche, as with any great contrarian, we find quotes that point us towards a truth that is at once counter-intuitive and provocative. Of course, when asked to imagine what it would … Read more
King, Warrior, Magician, Lover is a book about masculine archetypes. A problem that Jung identified many years ago, was that absent an appropriate rite of passage from boyhood to manhood, many men will stay stuck with their boy psychology. This is often due to a lack of father figure, or a lack of examples of … Read more
The Discovery of the Unconscious is a book that explores the history of the dynamic psychiatry. It starts with an introduction to Mesmer (responsible for Hypnotism), and then transitions to Janet, who’s main contribution was explaining neuroses and hysteria by deviations in mental energy. Then we are introduced to Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic revolution – his … Read more
Carl Gustav Jung, like Adler, broke off his relationship with Freud. But he was also like Freud in that his philosophical ideas are influenced by Romanticism. Jung proclaimed that he discovered an objective truth about human nature that is between science and religion, and this is the most distinguishing feature of his perspective. His family … Read more
The 19th century gave birth to a new dynamic psychiatry. At the time, Europe was a society that was dominated by men. It was a world for men by men, and women had no say in politics and were not admitted into universities. Male values were celebrated. Among the aristocracy, women and men who had … Read more
The Shadow True, whoever looks into the mirror of the water will see first of all his own face. Whoever goes to himself risks a confrontation with himself. The mirror does not flatter, it faithfully shows whatever looks into it; namely, the face we never show to the world because we cover it with the … Read more
The Undiscovered Self is a book that is written in a time of apocalyptic, dystopic visions, the iron curtain and the great division of the East and the West. Jung opens with a question. “What does the future bring?” What stops the world from disintegrating into chaos is a stable minority of individuals. The masses … Read more