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analytic psychology

the system of psychoanalysis proposed by Carl Jung, in which the psyche is interpreted primarily in terms of philosophical values, primordial images and symbols, and a drive for self-fulfillment. Jung’s basic concepts are (a) the ego, which maintains a balance between conscious and unconscious activities and gradually develops a unique self through individuation; (b) the personal unconscious, made up of memories, thoughts, and feelings based on personal experience; (c) the collective unconscious, made up of ancestral images, or archetypes, that constitute the inherited foundation of an individual’s intellectual life and personality; and (d) dynamic polarities, or tension systems, which derive their psychic energy from the libido and influence the development and expression of the ego: conscious versus unconscious values, introversion versus extraversion, sublimation versus repression, rational versus irrational. The object of Jungian therapy, is to achieve a creative balance among all these forces. Also called analytical psychology.

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Psychology term of the day

October 10th 2024