Red Book (Jung)
Encyclopedia
The Red Book, also known as Liber Novus (Latin for New Book), is a 205-page manuscript written and illustrated by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung
between approximately 1914 and 1930, prepared for publication by The Philemon Foundation
and published by W.W. Norton & Co. on October 7, 2009. Until 2001, his heirs denied scholars access to the book, which he began after a falling-out with Sigmund Freud
in 1913. Jung originally titled the manuscript Liber Novus (literally meaning A New Book in Latin), but it was informally known and published as The Red Book. The book is written in calligraphic text and contains many illuminations
.
, reflecting on Jung's own judgment that he was "menaced by a psychosis
" during this time, concluded that the period represented a psychotic episode.
Jung referred to the episode as a kind of experiment, a voluntary confrontation with the unconscious. Biographer Barbara Hannah
, who was close to Jung later in his life, compared Jung's experiences to the encounter of Menelaus
with Proteus
in the Odyssey
. Jung, she said, "made it a rule never to let a figure or figures that he encountered leave until they had told him why they had appeared to him."
About the Red Book, Jung said:
, and it is said to contain some of his most personal material. During the sixteen years he worked on the book, Jung developed his theories of archetype
s, collective unconscious
, and individuation
.
The Red Book was a product of a technique developed by Jung which he termed active imagination
. As Jung described it, he was visited by two figures, an old man and a young woman, who identified themselves as Elijah and Salome
. They were accompanied by a large black snake
. In time, the Elijah figure developed into a guiding spirit that Jung called Philemon (, as originally written with Greek letters). Salome was identified by Jung as an anima figure. The figures, according to Jung, "brought home to me the crucial insight that there are things in the psyche
which I do not produce, but which produce themselves and have their own life."
The Philemon figure represented superior insight and communicated through mythic imagery
. The images did not appear to come from Jung's own experience and Jung interpreted them as products of the collective unconscious
.
, an employee of the Jung heirs and their advisor in the handling of unpublished Jung material, and Stephen Martin, a Jungian analyst, created the Philemon Foundation
in order to facilitate publication of Jung's works.
Ulrich Hoerni, Jung's grandson and manager of the Jung archives, decided to publish it after three years of persuasion by Shamdasani. W. W. Norton & Company was preparing an edition of the Red Book in its original German, with English translation and extensive footnoting. In 2007, DigitalFusion scanned it, one-tenth of a millimeter at a time, with a 10,200-pixel scanner. It was published on 7 October 2009.
The Rubin Museum of Art
in New York City
displayed the original book and Jung's original small journals from 7 October 2009 to 25 January 2010.
The Red Book exhibit was also at the Hammer Museum
in Los Angeles from April 11 – June 6, 2010. A series of Red Book Dialogues with celebrities and psychologists such as James Hillman, Helen Hunt, Leonard Nimoy, Sonu Shamdasani and others was also hosted at the Hammer. The Red Book was on display at the Library of Congress
from June 17 – September 25, 2010.
Carl Jung
Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and the founder of Analytical Psychology. Jung is considered the first modern psychiatrist to view the human psyche as "by nature religious" and make it the focus of exploration. Jung is one of the best known researchers in the field of dream analysis and...
between approximately 1914 and 1930, prepared for publication by The Philemon Foundation
Philemon Foundation
The Philemon Foundation is a non-profit organization that exists to prepare for publication the Complete Works of Carl Gustav Jung, beginning with the previously unpublished manuscripts, seminars and correspondences...
and published by W.W. Norton & Co. on October 7, 2009. Until 2001, his heirs denied scholars access to the book, which he began after a falling-out with Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
in 1913. Jung originally titled the manuscript Liber Novus (literally meaning A New Book in Latin), but it was informally known and published as The Red Book. The book is written in calligraphic text and contains many illuminations
Illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...
.
Context
Jung was associated with Freud for a period of approximately five years, beginning in 1907. Their relationship became increasingly acrimonious. When the final break came in 1913, Jung retreated from many of his professional activities for a time to further develop his own theories. Biographers disagree as to whether this period represented a psychological breakdown. Anthony StorrAnthony Storr
Anthony Storr was an English psychiatrist and author. Born in London, he was a child who was to endure the typical trauma of early 20th century boarding schools. He was educated at Winchester College, Christ's College , and Westminster Hospital. He qualified as a doctor in 1944, and subsequently...
, reflecting on Jung's own judgment that he was "menaced by a psychosis
Psychosis
Psychosis means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality"...
" during this time, concluded that the period represented a psychotic episode.
Jung referred to the episode as a kind of experiment, a voluntary confrontation with the unconscious. Biographer Barbara Hannah
Barbara Hannah
Barbara Hannah was born in England. She is most well known for her association with Carl Gustav Jung whom she joined in 1929 in Zurich and remained so till end. She wrote a biographical memoir of Jung entitled "Jung: his life and work". She also practised as psychotherapist and served as lecturer...
, who was close to Jung later in his life, compared Jung's experiences to the encounter of Menelaus
Menelaus
Menelaus may refer to;*Menelaus, one of the two most known Atrides, a king of Sparta and son of Atreus and Aerope*Menelaus on the Moon, named after Menelaus of Alexandria.*Menelaus , brother of Ptolemy I Soter...
with Proteus
Proteus
In Greek mythology, Proteus is an early sea-god, one of several deities whom Homer calls the "Old Man of the Sea", whose name suggests the "first" , as protogonos is the "primordial" or the "firstborn". He became the son of Poseidon in the Olympian theogony In Greek mythology, Proteus (Πρωτεύς)...
in the Odyssey
Odyssey
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
. Jung, she said, "made it a rule never to let a figure or figures that he encountered leave until they had told him why they had appeared to him."
About the Red Book, Jung said:
Content
The work is inscribed by Jung with the title Liber Novus (The New Book). The folio size manuscript, 11.57 inches (29.4 cm) by 15.35 inches (39 cm), was bound in red leather, and was commonly referred to as the "Red Book" by Jung. Inside are 205 pages of text and illustrations, all from his hand: 53 are full images, 71 contain both text and artwork and 81 are pure calligraphic text. He began work on it in 1913, first in small black journals, during a difficult period of "creative illness", or confrontation with the unconsciousUnconscious mind
The unconscious mind is a term coined by the 18th century German romantic philosopher Friedrich Schelling and later introduced into English by the poet and essayist Samuel Taylor Coleridge...
, and it is said to contain some of his most personal material. During the sixteen years he worked on the book, Jung developed his theories of archetype
Archetype
An archetype is a universally understood symbol or term or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated...
s, collective unconscious
Collective unconscious
Collective unconscious is a term of analytical psychology, coined by Carl Jung. It is proposed to be a part of the unconscious mind, expressed in humanity and all life forms with nervous systems, and describes how the structure of the psyche autonomously organizes experience...
, and individuation
Individuation
Individuation is a concept which appears in numerous fields and may be encountered in work by Arthur Schopenhauer, Carl Jung, Gilbert Simondon, Bernard Stiegler, Gilles Deleuze, Henri Bergson, David Bohm, and Manuel De Landa...
.
The Red Book was a product of a technique developed by Jung which he termed active imagination
Active Imagination
Active Imagination is a concept developed by Carl Jung between 1913 and 1916. It is a meditation technique wherein the contents of one's unconscious are translated into images, narrative or personified as separate entities. It can serve as a bridge between the conscious 'ego' and the unconscious...
. As Jung described it, he was visited by two figures, an old man and a young woman, who identified themselves as Elijah and Salome
Salome
Salome , the Daughter of Herodias , is known from the New Testament...
. They were accompanied by a large black snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
. In time, the Elijah figure developed into a guiding spirit that Jung called Philemon (, as originally written with Greek letters). Salome was identified by Jung as an anima figure. The figures, according to Jung, "brought home to me the crucial insight that there are things in the psyche
Psyche (psychology)
The word psyche has a long history of use in psychology and philosophy, dating back to ancient times, and has been one of the fundamental concepts for understanding human nature from a scientific point of view. The English word soul is sometimes used synonymously, especially in older...
which I do not produce, but which produce themselves and have their own life."
The Philemon figure represented superior insight and communicated through mythic imagery
Mental image
A mental image is an experience that, on most occasions, significantly resembles the experience of perceiving some object, event, or scene, but occurs when the relevant object, event, or scene is not actually present to the senses...
. The images did not appear to come from Jung's own experience and Jung interpreted them as products of the collective unconscious
Collective unconscious
Collective unconscious is a term of analytical psychology, coined by Carl Jung. It is proposed to be a part of the unconscious mind, expressed in humanity and all life forms with nervous systems, and describes how the structure of the psyche autonomously organizes experience...
.
Publication and display
Until 2001, Jung's heirs refused to permit publication of the book and did not allow scholars access to it. Until September 2009, only about two dozen people had seen it. Historian Sonu ShamdasaniSonu Shamdasani
Sonu Shamdasani is a London-based author, editor, and professor at the UCL Centre for the History of Medicine, University College London. His works are on the history of psychiatry and psychology from the mid-nineteenth century to current times....
, an employee of the Jung heirs and their advisor in the handling of unpublished Jung material, and Stephen Martin, a Jungian analyst, created the Philemon Foundation
Philemon Foundation
The Philemon Foundation is a non-profit organization that exists to prepare for publication the Complete Works of Carl Gustav Jung, beginning with the previously unpublished manuscripts, seminars and correspondences...
in order to facilitate publication of Jung's works.
Ulrich Hoerni, Jung's grandson and manager of the Jung archives, decided to publish it after three years of persuasion by Shamdasani. W. W. Norton & Company was preparing an edition of the Red Book in its original German, with English translation and extensive footnoting. In 2007, DigitalFusion scanned it, one-tenth of a millimeter at a time, with a 10,200-pixel scanner. It was published on 7 October 2009.
The Rubin Museum of Art
Rubin Museum of Art
__notoc__The Rubin Museum of Art is a museum dedicated to the collection, display, and preservation of the art of the Himalayas and surrounding regions, especially that of Tibet...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
displayed the original book and Jung's original small journals from 7 October 2009 to 25 January 2010.
The Red Book exhibit was also at the Hammer Museum
Hammer Museum
The Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Culture Center, or the Hammer Museum as it is more commonly known, is an art museum in the Westwood district of Los Angeles, California...
in Los Angeles from April 11 – June 6, 2010. A series of Red Book Dialogues with celebrities and psychologists such as James Hillman, Helen Hunt, Leonard Nimoy, Sonu Shamdasani and others was also hosted at the Hammer. The Red Book was on display at the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
from June 17 – September 25, 2010.
See also
- Septem Sermones ad Mortuos
- Analytical psychologyAnalytical psychologyAnalytical psychology is the school of psychology originating from the ideas of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. His theoretical orientation has been advanced by his students and other thinkers who followed in his tradition. Though they share similarities, analytical psychology is distinct from...
External links
- The Holy Grail of the Unconscious New York Times Magazine feature by Sara Corbett
- NPR interview about the book with writer Sara Corbett, author of NYT article and book on Jung's Red Book
- Preview pages from The Red Book (on scribd.com)
- Preview PDF
- Lecture about The Red Book by Dr. Stephan Hoeller on June 6, 2009 at the C.G. Jung Club of Orange County
- http://www.theworld.org/2009/11/23/world-books-review-reading-jungs-red-book/ Feature by Helen Epstein. See also http://www.theartsfuse.com