Description
Erich Neumann (1905-1960) was a student, close collaborator, and life-long friend of C. G. Jung’s. He moved from Berlin to Palestine in 1934 where he endured WW11 with much distress. This provoked intense and depthful research into topics such as evil, consciousness, and creativity that would occupy his attention for the rest of his life— as well as challenge his friend’s (Jung) thinking in many ways. His writings are still valuable and ever so pertinent for our understanding of human nature and the changing developments that have resulted in “the eruption of the shadow and psychic chaos in today’s world.” (Jerome Bernstein)
Eternal Echoes, Volume 10 of the Zürich Lecture Series, offers the reader an overview of Neumann’s opus, which is large and multifaceted. Beginning with an introduction of Erich Neumann including a series of his active imagination watercolors, we see an intimate view into his internal process. The Jung-Neumann Correspondence examines evil as witnessed during WW11. The work Neumann focused on during this period resulted in his exploration of his own Roots of Jewish Consciousness, both Revelation and Apocalypse, and Hasidism.
From there we move into an exploration of his exceptional and iconic books, The Origins and History of Consciousness, and The Great Mother, and two papers “Mass Man and the Phenomena of Recollectivation” and “Narcissism”. Neumann continued his study of mythology and archetypes in Amor and Psyche: The Development of the Feminine.
Later in Neumann’s life, he wrote a number of books on creativity exploring its nature and source which began with his important early paper on “Mystical Man”: Creative Man, Art and the Creative Unconscious, The Place of Creation.
Neumann’s works lead us back to our ground of being, where we live with opposites that are fiercely alive, impacting our lives and cultures. His writings are comprehensive, clear and steeped in deeply felt experiences that help to place us on firm ground. Since many of his themes and concepts are universal—beginning with archetypes, myths, and images—this book is not only pertinent to Jungian psychotherapists but anyone interested in understanding the profundity of human nature and its development.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1: Introduction: Who is Erich Neumann
A. Active Imagination and Paintings
B. Erich Neumann’s Watercolor Paintings
C. Concluding Thoughts
Chapter 2: Analysis of The Jung-Neumann Correspondence
A. Essential conflict
B. Jewish Psychology
C. After the War
D. Conflict in Zurich and Discussions of Evil
E. What is Consciousness?
F. Conclusion
Chapter 3: Analysis of The Roots of Jewish Consciousness, Volume One: Revelation & Apocalypse
A. Introduction
B. Neumann’s Introduction to Roots
C. On The YHWH-Earth Relation and Prophecy
D. On The Apocalypse: Heightening the YHWH-Earth Tension
E. On The Dangerous Ending of the YHWH-Earth Tension
F. On The Author’s Appendices
1. On Methodology
2. On The Foundation Stone and the Waters of the Deep
3. On The Composition of the Pentateuch
4. On Earth and the Symbols of the Elements
a. On Wind Symbolism
b. On The Body-Soul and Blood
c. On The Earth and Bull
d. On Circumcision and Passover
e. On Lilith
Chapter 4: Analysis of The Roots of Jewish Consciousness, Volume Two: Hasidism and its Psychological Meaning for Judaism
A. Introduction to Volume Two
B. On The Structure of the World of Inwardness
C. On The Transformation of Souls
D. On Life in the World
E. On The Human Being and the New God Image of God
F. On Hasidism and the Birth of the Modern Jew
G. Conclusion
Chapter 5: Analysis of The Origins and History of Consciousness and its Precursors
A. On Neumann’s Introduction
B. On The First Stage: The Matriarchal Uroboros
C. The Terrible Mother
D. On The Twin Brothers—The Strugglers
E. My Dream Related to The Hero
F. On Centroversion
G. On The Motif in The Myth of Osiris and Transformation
H. My Dream of Evil
I. The Ego
J. Neumann’s Terminology
Chapter 6: On Neumann’s Paper, “Mass Man and the Phenomena of Recollectivization”
A. The Second Coming
B. Conclusion 1
Chapter 7: On Neumann’s Paper, “Narcissism”
Chapter 8: Analysis of The Great Mother and Amor and Psyche: The Psychic Development of the Feminine
A. Introduction
B. An Overview of the Archetype of The Great Mother
C. The Feminine Mysteries
D. On Neumann’s Diagrams
a. Schema l: Map of the Archetypal World
b. Schema ll: Amplification of the Feminine and Masculine
c. Schema lll: Archetypal Feminine
D. On The Myth of Amor and Psyche
E. On The Interpretation/Amplification of the Myth
F. Conclusion
Chapter 9: Analysis of The Nature and Source of Creativity: Creative Man, Art and the Creative Unconscious, The Place of Creation, Six image examples
A. Dylan’s Self-portrait
B. Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa
C. Van Gogh
D. Mark Rothko
E. Henry Moore, Three Sculptures
F. Andy Warhol Self-portrait
Chapter 10: On the Paper “Mystical Man”
Chapter 11: Conclusion—Final Thoughts
Appendix: List of Erich Neumann’s lectures at Eranos in Switzerland
References
Index
