Differences between Freud and Jung

By Lee Nan-hee

Some years ago when I read about Carl Jung, the preeminent analysis psychologist from Switzerland, I was quite startled by his family background. During Jung's childhood, he experienced anxiety, mental confusion and depression because parents did not get along. His father was a pastor respected by the people, but was furious at home.

In other words, Jung must have witnessed this contradiction. To make matters worse, his mother was not staying with the family owing to her own mental disease. It is known that his mother had to be hospitalized for a time in a mental hospital. Jung had to go through loneliness and depression. Additionally, he even was pushed to the ground and lost consciousness during a certain incident in a gymnasium, and this used to happen to Jung from time to time. Jung liked to be alone, being absorbed in thoughts and imagination.

Jung had a good relationship with Sigmund Freud. They seemed to be congenial companions and encouraged each other's research. But they grew apart, differing in their understanding of pivotal themes of psychoanalysis. This happens among scholars and researchers. The deeper they study, the more likely they are to find differences in details. This may be the reason why they could not be on the same side and collaborate.

Learning about Jung's childhood and family background, one can see that so many renowned figures including scholars are made through ― and despite ― the harsh conditions as well as various trials and tribulations. This might look ironic and paradoxical.

Jung's theory is quite different from that of Freud, though once they were close companions and Freud even trusted and supported Jung. For instance, Jung regarded the unconscious as not just oppressed, a negative aspect of sexual impulsion (libido), but something positive and a source of creativity. I was quite impressed by Jung's attitude towards contradictory aspects of human mentality. In other words, he fully recognizes the existence of bipolar or contradicting aspects of mentality, but he further argues that humans must integrate those contrasting aspects, rather than oppress the negative ones. When humans succeed in integrating them, it is dubbed self-realization or individuation. The process of individuation means nothing more than that of the ego encountering the unconscious and shadow.

This almost blew my mind, as I was kind of absorbed in removing or repressing negative aspects and shadows of my personality. He also asserted that there are male as well as female aspects in human beings, and that people should integrate those two (anima, animus). I think that this has many implications for today's changing understanding of sexual identity. Another big difference between Jung and Freud is the fact that Jung addressed the collective unconscious, which has a positive meaning rather than repressed sexuality. What a grand, attractive difference it is. Today I learn again that accepting and respecting differences and diversity among people is really needed particularly in Korea. We Koreans are infamous for not being tolerant of differences in some senses.

Lee Nan-hee studied English in college and theology at Hanshin University.