Transcending the Body–Culture Dichotomy in Jungian Thinking? More Questions Than Answers
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Transcending the Body–Culture Dichotomy
Institution
Transcending The Body–Culture Dichotomy
What Is This Book Really About?
However, while Jones’s introduction sets up the book in a context of discussing
developments in Jungian thinking, it is not always clear that all of the contributors
necessarily consider this an objective. For instance, Sherwood’s chapter (mentioned above),
w...
Transcending the Body–Culture Dichotomy in
Jungian Thinking? More Questions Than
Answers
A review of
Body, Mind, and Healing After Jung: A Space of Questions
by Raya A. Jones (Ed.)
New York, NY: Routledge, 2011. 273 pp. ISBN 978-0-415-48306-3
(hardcover); ISBN 978-0-415-48307-0 (paperback). $99.00, hardcover;
$36.95, paperback
Reviewed by
Simon Boag
Carl Jung’s psychology occupies a curious position in modern psychology. Whereas Jung’s
dissent from Freudian psychoanalysis represents a major alternative within the depth
psychology traditions, Jung’s approach is at times considered more an esoteric art rather than
a serious science. Concepts such as the collective unconscious, archetypes, and
synchronicity, claim critics, are immune to empirical research. The present collection edited
by Raya A. Jones titled Body, Mind and Healing After Jung: A Space of Questions, promises
a critical reexamination of Jungian and post-Jungian developments in the context of
appreciating the embodied mind and culture within the therapeutic context.
, The Book’s Scope
The collection bills itself as “essential reading for all Jungians” stating that “it is difficult to
point to an aspect of Jungian psychology that does not touch on the mind, body and healing
in some way” (inner sleeve). The book begins with a broad introduction to Jungian theory in
the context of developments in psychodynamic, neuroscientific, and philosophical thinking.
Jones provides a frank assessment of Jung’s theory in the light of modern-day
perspectives and sets the stage with respect to providing a critical and yet constructive
rethinking of Jung’s ideas, writing that “critical reflection . . . may allow us to revitalize and
recontextualize Jung’s ideas in today’s world” (p. 11). It seems reasonable, then, to expect
this volume to provide critical reflection of Jung’s theory in the context of contemporary
research.
The ensuing chapters all make contributions to a variety of areas in psychotherapeutic
practice relevant to the mind–body relationship and culture. The chapters straddle a variety
of disciplines, drawing from psychology and philosophy, and the book’s scope is broad.
Jones’s own chapter contributes what could be described as a social-constructionist
approach, revising Jung’s ideas in terms of the perspectives of Harré and Ricoeur (among
others), while Dyane Sherwood’s chapter on the “embodied psyche” discusses both mirror
neurons and Allan Shore’s affect regulation research. Alternatively, Amanda Dowd
discusses the topic of the significance of place and personhood, primarily in the context of
migrants to Australia, while Rosa Farah provides a thoughtful discussion of Jungian
thinking, the body, and sexuality in the context of cyberspace.
What Is This Book Really About?
However, while Jones’s introduction sets up the book in a context of discussing
developments in Jungian thinking, it is not always clear that all of the contributors
necessarily consider this an objective. For instance, Sherwood’s chapter (mentioned above),
while making an interesting contribution with respect to psychodynamics and contemporary
neuroscience, appears to be only tangentially related to Jungian approaches.
Similarly, Robert Romanyshyn’s chapter, although demonstrating how Merleau-
Ponty’s philosophy can complement psychodynamic thinking on mind and body, makes
scant reference to Jung, and the broader relevance for Jungians appears unclear. In the same
way, Shoji Muramoto’s chapter, discussing the concept of mind and body in varieties of
Buddhism, provides a very interesting contribution but again only lightly touches upon
Jung’s theory rather than engaging with it.
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