The Undiscovered Self

The foreword to this edition is written by the editor of The Red Book and places this work in the context of Jung's thought. It is one of his most important essays and still well worth reading 50 years on. It discusses the plight of the individual in modern society, religion as a counterbalance to mass mindedness, self-knowledge and its meaning. The individual is a repository of consciousness and deeper understanding unavailable to the collective. This is especially important in such an extroverted society where we are distracted from distraction by distraction. Jung's interest is in the inner man, who has to be well organised in his individuality to withstand social and ideological pressures. Moreover, it is crucial to understand the hidden dimensions of the psyche in terms of the shadow and the feminine. The individual human being 'is that infinitesimal unit on whom the world depends, and in whom, if we read the meaning of the Christian message aright, even God seeks his goal.'