The forest of Hindu thought supplied Jung with concepts against which he could define some of his own fundamental ideas, not least ego and Self. The profundity of Indian thinking about psyche and world made it necessary for Jung to stake his claim as a psychologist to the same territory all the more firmly—not least because Hindu thought offers a different understanding of the central concern of Jung’s psychology, the creation of consciousness. This seminar introduces concepts from Hindu thought, and then turns to a consideration of how Jung grappled with them. We end by considering whether Jung’s views of ‘eastern’ versus ‘western’ mentalities remain of value.

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Mark Williams qualified as a Jungian analyst with IGAP in 2024. He has a small practice in Oxford, where he also works as academic, teaching Medieval English and Celtic Literatures. He is a specialist in mythology and its reception, and his books include Ireland's Immortals: A History of the Gods of Irish Myth (Princeton UP, 2016) and The Celtic Myths that Shape the Way We Think (Thames & Hudson, 2021).

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The account of Jung’s 1937-8 visit to India in:

Jung, C.G. & Jaffé, A. (ed.), Memories, Dreams, Reflections, London: Collins and Rout ledge & Kegan Paul (1964): 256ff (Chapter 9: ‘Travels’, section IV if you have a different edn.)

Doniger, W., Hindu Myths: A Sourcebook, Harmondsworth & Baltimore: Penguin (1975)

Calasso, R., Ka, Harmondsworth: Penguin (2019)

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