About this ebook
Jung attempted to explore and understand the underlying psychic content that surfaces during psychotic episodes. He was keenly interested in the images, symbols, and narratives that emerged during these periods. Jung posited that the manifestations of psychosis were not merely random or nonsensical, but they had roots in the individual's personal experiences and the deeper collective unconscious. Even though the term "collective unconscious" and its detailed exploration would come later in Jung's career, the foundational ideas can be traced back to works like this. Jung observed recurrent motifs and symbols in the psychotic content of different individuals, suggesting a shared or collective psychic substrate. Building on his complex theory, where he begins to diverge from Freudian Orthodoxy, Jung explored how certain complexes might play a role in the development or manifestation of psychotic episodes.
This edition is a new 2024 translation from the original German manuscript with an Afterword by the Translator, a philosophic index of Jung's terminology and a timeline of his life and works.