Abstracts of the Collected Works of C. G. Jung
Volume I: Psychiatric Studies
000001 On the psychology and pathology of so-called
occult phenomena: 1. Introduction. In: Jung, C., Collected Works of C. G. Jung,
Vol. 1. 2nd ea., Princeton University Press, 1970. 260 p. (p. 3-17).
Certain conditions of psychopathic inferiority and
altered states of consciousness, previously thought to be occult phenomena, are
discussed to classify them and to resolve previous disagreement about them
among scientific authorities. These include narcolepsy, lethargy, ambulatory
automatism, periodic amnesia, somnambulism, and pathological lying, which are
sometimes attributed to epilepsy, hysteria, or neurasthenia and sometimes
described as diseases in themselves. The exceptional difficulty in defining
these states is outlined and a case of somnambulism is presented to illustrate
the problems of classification. A 40-year-old unmarried female, an accountant
and bookkeeper in a large firm, had been in a highly nervous state for some
time and took a vacation. While walking in a cemetery, she began to tear up
flowers and scratch at the graves, remembering nothing of this later. In an
asylum in Zürich she reported that she saw dead people in her room and her bed
and heard voices calling from the cemetery. The conclusion was that the patient
suffered from a psychopathic inferiority with a tendency to hysteria. In her
state of nervous exhaustion, she had spells of epileptoid stupor. As a result
of an unusually large dose of alcohol, the attacks developed into somnambulism
with hallucinations, which attached themselves to fortuitous external perceptions
in the same way as dreams. When she recovered from her nervous state, the
hysteriform symptoms disappeared. Other cases of somnambulism and the findings
of other researchers are briefly discussed. l 7 references.
000002 On the psychology and pathology of so-called
occult phenomena: 2. A case of somnambulism in a girl with poor inheritance
(spiritualistic medium). Anamnesis. Somnambulistic states. Records of seances.
In: Jung, C., Collected Works of C. G. Jung, Vol. l. 2nd. ea., Princeton
University Press, 1970. 260 p. (p. 17-30).
Detailed records of a case of somnambulism in a
15-year-old girl, with powers of a spiritualistic medium, are presented, whose
family had exhibited symptoms of eccentricity and personality disorders. Records
of family members reveal waking hallucinations, eccentric and bizarre behavior,
personality aberrations, extended trance states, and varying degrees of
neurotic and psychopathic behavior. Her own behavior was reserved, though she
was susceptible to sudden mood changes. Intellectually she was undistinguished,
and poorly educated. Her mother was a tyrannical and inconsistent
disciplinarian, and her father had died during S's early adolescence. Her
proficiency as a spiritualistic medium emerged where she attempted table
turning for amusement. It improved rapidly and dramatically, until she could
communicate with deceased relatives and acquaintances and mimic people whom she
knew only by hearsay. Gradually, gestures accompanied words, until she acted
out whole dramatic scenes, depicting a full range of emotions and using
standard literary German fluently -- though she spoke only the rural dialect in
a waking state. At first. trances occurred spontaneously, beginning as
somnambulistic attacks she was able to predict; then later she could induce
them at will. In the gradual awakening, an ecstasy state was usually followed
by catalepsy with flexibilitas cerea. S exhibited two different personalities
side by side or in succession, each striving for mastery. Highlights from the
recorded dialogs in the seances are presented, in which a variety of psychic
and occult phenomena occurred (automatism, clairvoyance, premonitions,
forebodings, and descriptions of visions). Some became manifest through
psychographics, and some through the voices of many different persons, mostly
S's deceased relatives -- her grandfather in particular. 1 reference.
000003 On the psychology and pathology of so-called
occult phenomena: 2. A case of somnambulism in a girl with poor inheritance
(spiritualistic medium). Development of the somnambulistic personalities. The
romances. Mystic science. In: Jung, C., Collected Works of C. G. Jung, Vol. 1. 2nd.
ea., Princeton University Press, 1970. 260 p. (p. 30-43).
A discussion of a case of a l 5-year-old girl details
phenomena that occurred during somnambulistic episodes. At the request of
spiritualists attending S's seances, the names of well-known dead persons and
sometimes unknown names appeared. The control spirit was S's grandfather, who
produced Biblical maxims, edifying observations, and song book verses he had
presumably composed himself, which was not in accord with the character of the
real grandfather. A subsequent personality, who spoke with a different accent,
was frivolous and superficial. When he began to dominate the seances, the
serious character of the meetings could not be sustained, and the sittings were
suspended for periods. All of these personalities had access to the whole of
the medium's memory, including the unconscious. In these trances, S's
consciousness displayed an extraordinarily rich fantasy. She was almost totally
amnesic about the automatic phenomena during ecstasy, but had a clear memory of
other ego connected phenomena such as glossolalia. After each ecstatic trance
she suffered amnesia, which was replaced gradually by fragmentary memories. In
later seances, S described some of her experiences in the spirit world, where
she had a special name, Ivenes. As such, she understood and spoke the language
of the spirits. She talked of star dwellers and the M Martian canal system, and
the beings that live on Mars. Ivenes, who spoke as a serious, mature person, in
contrast to some of the other personalities, directly controlled S's
semi-somnambulistic state. She had embodied herself numerous times over the centuries,
and described some of her states and romantic adventures. Later still, S
developed a complete mystic system of the cosmos, received from the spirits,
which was explained in a diagram. The interesting and significant seances then
ended. After Jung ceased to attend them, S was caught cheating at a seance. She
subsequently ceased to take part in seances, and became employed in a business
where she was apparently successful. Her character also improved and she became
quieter, steadier, and more agreeable, with no further abnormalities. 2
references.
000004 On the psychology and pathology of so-called
occult phenomena: 3. Discussion of the case. The waking state.
Semi-somnambulism. Automatisms In: Jung, C., Collected Works of C. G. Jung,
Vol. 1. 2nd. ea., Princeton University Press, 1970. 260 p. (p. 44-61).
Various aspects of somnambulism are discussed in
studying the case of a l 5-year-old girl. She was absentminded, displayed a
variety of moods, was reasonably intelligent but narrow-minded. Her memory was
good, but impaired by distractibility Her frequent misreading demonstrated
hysterical distractibility, and she exhibited a pathological dream state; its
genesis was spontaneous, and usually regarded as hysterical In her case, the
misreading, psychologically typical of the mechanism of somnambulistic dreams,
was a prodromal symptom of later events. For some time before and after
somnambulistic attacks she was in a preoccupied state. In this
semisomnambulistic state, she was grave and dignified, in contrast to her usual
personality. She gave the impression of acting, with considerable dramatic
talent, the role of a mature woman. Her conversation was about equally divided
between answers to real questions and to hallucinatory ones. The phenomena of
automatic movements of the table, psychography, and other automatisms were
observed. The table turning occurred in its most pronounced form in the waking
state, which then usually developed into semi-somnambulism, with the onset
announced by hallucinations. In psychography, another phenomenon that occurs
under partial hypnosis, a primary suggestion is directed to the conscious mind
when sensibility is retained, and to the unconscious when it is extinct. In the
second seance, the coincidence of the descent of darkness and the deceased
grandfather's brusque interruption seems to have caused a rapid deepening of
hypnosis, which favored the hallucinations. An entirely new personality (Jung's
grandfather) appeared. This was probably a dissociation from the already existing
personality, which seized the nearest available material for its expression. 32
references.
000005 On the psychology and pathology of so-called
occult phenomena: 3. Discussion of the case. The change in character. Nature of
the somnambulistic attacks. Origin of the unconscious personalities. In: Jung,
C., Collected Works of C. G. Jung, Vol. 1. 2nd. ea., Princeton University
Press, 1970 260 p (p. 61-78).
The development of alternate personalities in
somnambulism is discussed in studying the case of a young girl. A review of
several cases in the literature indicates that the second state is usually
separated from the first by an amnesic split, with a break in the continuity of
consciousness and a change in character. In S's case there was no amnesic
disturbance. The transition was gradual, and the continuity of consciousness
was preserved. Considering S's age, 15, the supposition is that there was a
connection between the disturbances and the physiological changes of character
at puberty, which becomes clearer on examination of her second personality,
Ivenes. Ivenes was the continuation of S's ego, and composed its whole
conscious content. Ivenes' calm composure, her modesty and reserve, her more
uniform intelligence and confidence were an improvement on S's character. But
Ivenes gives the impression of being an artificial product, suggesting the
protype of the Clairvoyante of Prevorst. Ivenes was what S wished to be in 20
years, an assured, influential, wise gracious, pious lady. S differed from
other pathological dreamers discussed in that it could not be proved that her
reveries had been the objects of her daily interests. Her ''romances"
showed the subjective roots of her dreams There were open and secret love
affairs, with illegitimate births and other sexual innuendos. S's reincarnation
theory' in which she was the ancestral mother of thousands, was a fantasy that
is characteristic of puberty. The main cause of this clinical picture was the
patient's budding sexuality, a dream of sexual wish fulfillment. In the second
seance, S had a fainting fit from which she awoke with memory of some
hallucinations. but she said she had not lost consciousness. Etiologically, two
elements should be considered: the influence of hypnosis and psychic
excitation. The characteristic feature of hysterical splits of consciousness is
that they are surface disturbances, none of them going so deep as to attack the
firmly knit basis of the ego complex. Somewhere, often extremely well
concealed, is the bridge. The various personalities were grouped around S's
grandfather and Ulrich von Gerbenstein. 44 references.
000006 On the psychology and pathology of so-called
occult phenomena: 3. Discussion of the case. Course of the disorder. Heightened
unconscious performance. Conclusion. In: Jung, C., Collected Works of C. G.
Jung, Vol. 1. 2nd. ea., Princeton University Press, 1970. 260 p. (p. 78-88).
In the presentation of a case of somnambulism in a
young girl, the exceptional course of the disorder is discussed. The entire
case began and reached its climax within 4 to 8 weeks; then a decline was
noticed. The characters manifest during her somnambulistic attacks, who had
been well differentiated, became mixed. The attacks decreased in frequency and
intensity and a change from somnambulism to lying emerged. Following the
episodes, S's character became pleasanter and more stable, reminiscent of other
cases in which the patient's second character replaced the first. Somnambulistic
symptoms are particularly common in puberty, and many well-known cases
occurring at this age are cited. Heightened unconscious performance is defined
as that automatic process whose results are not available for the conscious
psychic activity of the individual. Thought reading by means of table movement
and cryptomnesia (the coming into consciousness of a memory image that is not
recognized as memory) are included. The cryptomnesic image can be brought into
consciousness in three ways: a) without the mediation of the senses, as a
sudden idea whose origin is hidden; b) by mediation of the senses, as in
hallucinations; or c) by motor automatism. In this case, the mystical system
that S devised can be regarded as an example of heightened unconscious
performance that transcended her normal intelligence. 17 references.
000007 On hysterical misreading. In: Jung, C.,
Collected Works of C. G. Jung, Vol. 1. 2nd. ea., Princeton University Press,
1970. 260 p. (p. 89-92).
In reply to the review of an earlier paper, accepted
views on hysterical misreading are reiterated, and the theories are supported
by interpretations from a clinical case. A patient misread frequently at
school, always substituting a Swiss dialect word for the word in the text. Since
the words were synonymous, proving that the meaning was understood, there was
no reason for a healthy person to reproduce the word incorrectly. This kind of
misreading was considered an indicator of hysteria. S read mechanically, so the
psychic processes set in motion were feeble. In S's case, as in all hysterical
misreading, the formal connection broke down but the sense was preserved. This
is explained by the hypothesis of a split consciousness: in addition to the ego
complex, which follows its own thoughts, another conscious complex is
functioning. S's ego complex was displaced from the act of reading by other
ideas, but the act continued automatically and formed a little conscious
complex of its own, which also understood correctly but reproduced in a
modified form. Hysterical misreading is significant in that it demonstrates the
splitting off of psychic functions from the ego complex, which is
characteristic of hysteria; it also demon strafes the strong tendency of the
psychic elements towards autonomy.
000008 Cryptomnesia. In: Jung, C., Collected Works of
C. G. Jung, Vol. 1. 2nd. ea., Princeton University Press, 1970. 260 p. (p.
95-106).
A theoretical discussion is presented on cryptomnesia
(hidden memory) and the distinction between direct and indirect memory, which
have the common quality of being individually known, though it is possible to
recognize an association as a remembered image. The combined images lack the
quality of being known. The word ''combined" is used because originality
lies only in the combination of psychic elements and not in the material. This
association can occur with no assistance from the conscious. Drastic examples
of this are provided by hysteria, which is a caricature of normal psychological
mechanisms. In hysterics, a feeling toned memory complex, though not present in
consciousness at the moment, motivates certain actions from its seat in the
unconscious just as if it were present in the conscious. The unconscious can
perceive and associate autonomously. All new ideas and combinations of ideas
are premeditated by the unconscious. When the conscious approaches the
unconscious with a wish, it was the unconscious that gave it this wish. Cryptomnesia,
a technical term from French scientific literature, is defined as the psychic
process in which an automatic creative force causes lost memories to reappear
in sizeable fragments and with absolute clarity. The reappearance of long
forgotten impressions can be explained by the physiology of the brain, which
never forgets any impression, no matter how slight. Under special conditions,
old memory traces reemerge with photographic fidelity. The work of genius
consists of building these traces into new and meaningful structures. A state
of mental abnormality to some degree is considered by many a necessary adjunct
to genius, as is illustrated by a passage from Nietzsche's Zarathustra. 5
references.
000009 On manic mood disorder. In: Jung, C., Collected
Works of C. G. Jung, Vol. 1. 2nd. ea., Princeton University Press, 1970. 260 p.
(p. 109-134).
Several cases of chronic hypomanic behavior are
described under the term "manic mood disorders" in an attempt to
derive a proper definition and classification of the disorder. Occasional
elation, exaggerated self-confidence, mental productivity, and conflicts with
the law are not sufficient to warrant a diagnosis of chronic mania, the cardinal
symptoms of which are: emotional lability with predominantly elated mood,
flight of ideas, distractability, overactivity, restlessness, and -- dependent
on these symptoms -- exaggerated self-importance, megalomanic ideas,
alcoholism, and other moral defects. The term "chronic mania" seems
too strong, for these are cases of a hypomanic state that cannot be regarded as
psychotic. The relatively mild manic symptoms are not partial manifestations of
a periodic mania and are seldom found in isolation, but are frequently mixed
with other psychopathic symptoms. In the relationship between the intellect and
the will, the role played by the intellect is mostly a subsidiary one, since it
imparts to the already existing characterological motive the appearance of a
logically compelling sequence of ideas, and often allows the individual to
construct intellectual motivations after the act. The prime motivation for any
abnormal action should be sought in the realm of the affect. In the literature
on morally defective persons, emotional excitability and lability are frequent
entries. It is concluded that manic mood disorder is a clinical condition
belonging to the field of psychopathic inferiority characterized by a stable,
hypomanic complex of symptoms generally dating back to youth; that
exacerbations of uncertain periodicity can be observed; and that alcoholism,
criminality, moral insanity, and social instability or incapacity are, in these
cases, symptoms dependent on the hypomanic state. 11 references.
000010 A case of hysterical stupor in a prisoner in
detention. In: Jung, C., Collected Works of C. G. Jung, Vol. 1. 2nd. ea.,
Princeton University Press, 1970. 260 p. (p. 137-156).
The clinical picture of a 48-year-old female offender
is presented to study the psychopathology of hysteria and prison psychosis. The
patient was arrested on a charge of theft and imprisoned. The next morning she
was found standing rigid by the cell door and became furious with the jailers,
demanding that they return the money they had stolen from her. By evening she
was totally disoriented, with an almost complete lack of memory, easily
provoked changes of mood, megalomanic ideas, stumbling speech, complete
insensibility to deep pinpricks, strong tremors of the hands and head, and
shaky and broken writing. She thought she was in a luxury hotel, and the
jailers were hotel guests. She was excitable, and at times shouted and screamed
gibberish. She was taken to an asylum for medical evaluation. Her alternating
state of consciousness, with defects of memory, along with other hysterical
symptoms, provided the diagnostic basis for hysterical twilight state. An
accompanying phenomenon of stuporous behavior was noted. In the loneliness of
her solitary confinement S became intensely preoccupied with her sudden
misfortune. She was worried about her daughter -- arrested with her -- who was
in the last stages of pregnancy, and about the charge of theft (which later
turned out to be false). Her "not knowing" the answers to questions
about her life is a primary phenomenon in the genesis of hysterical symptoms
which Breuer and Freud have called hysterical conversion. In this case, the
determining factor seems to have been the idea of forgetting. Her not knowing
is partly an unconscious and partly a half conscious not wanting to know. This
form of hysterical illness -- disregarding the prison complex of hallucinations
and delusions -- may be described as "prison psychosis" since, with
few exceptions, such cases have been observed only in prisoners. 13 references.
000011 On simulated insanity. In: Jung, C., Collected
Works of C. G. Jung, Vol. 1. 2nd. ea., Princeton University Press, 1970. 260 p.
(p. 159-187).
A discussion of the detection of simulated insanity in
diagnostic psychiatric interviews is presented. Successful simulation demands
shamming, self-control, and psychic toughness. This cannot be achieved by mere
lying, for the deception must be kept up with consistency and unshakeable
willpower for weeks and even months, which requires an extraordinary amount of
energy. Cases in which simulation changes into a real twilight state begin with
a feeling toned idea that develops through suggestibility into an automatism. A
large number of malingerers are hysterical and therefore provide favorable soil
for autosuggestion and disturbances of consciousness. A confession of
simulation at the end of a disturbance should be received with caution, for in
persons of a hysterical disposition, defects of memory that are unknown to the
subject himself can be discovered only by an accurate catamnesis. Several cases
are cited demonstrating shadings of simulation by patients-accused of crime. The
case of a 17-year-old girl who passed herself off as a saint, refusing food,
driving nails through her feet, etc.,can hardly be described as a simulation,
for the means employed bore no relation to the desired end (she wished to stay
with a relative, a priest) but were merely symptoms of a known mental disorder.
When a criminal simulates insanity, it is to get transferred to an asylum. But
when a hysterical girl tortures herself in order to appear interesting, both
means and end are the outcome of morbid mental activity. It is concluded that:
1) there are people in whom the aftereffect of violent emotion shows itself in
the form of a lasting confusion, which could be described as "emotional
stupidity"; 2) by acting specifically upon the attention, affects favor
the appearance of psychic automatisms in the widest sense: 3) some cases of
simulation are probably due to the aftereffect of violent emotions and their
automatization (or to autohypnosis) and must therefore be regarded as
pathological. 4) Ganser's complex in prisoners can probably be explained in the
same way and must be regarded as an automatized symptom closely related to
simulation. 32 references.
000012 A medical opinion on a case of simulated
insanity. In: Jung, C., Collected Works of C. G. Jung, Vol. 1. 2nd. ed.
Simulation of insanity is presented and illustrated in
a detailed report of a prisoner who showed psychopathic inferiority with half
conscious simulation. S had led a vagrant existence, had been married twice,
and had committed a number--of thefts. Personality deviations that were
considered signs of degeneracy included: hypalgesia, Daltonism, reduced
attention, poor comprehension of things seen and heard, retardation, and lack
of accuracy, all of which more nearly resembled congenital degeneracy than any
known mental illness. His chief symptoms, instability of character and
forgetfulness, play a particularly prominent role in hysteria. An earlier
attempt at suicide was definitely hysterical in character. He had no clear idea
of what he wanted to gain by simulation. The prisoner acted the part of a
madman so well that some of his actions were difficult to explain as pure
simulation. A pathological factor in his background enabled him to play his
role successfully. His intention to simulate insanity became a powerful autosuggestion
that blurred his consciousness and influenced his actions regardless of his
conscious will. This development of simulation was accompanied by strong
affects. The psychological mechanism of his simulation suggests that the
initial psychic weakness was the final cause of the idea of simulation. In
answer to specific questions posed by legal authorities, the asylum decided
that the respondent was not at the moment mentally ill; the condition, which
had existed presumably since birth, did not preclude responsibility for theft,
but was assumed partially responsible for the simulation.
000013 A third and final opinion on two contradictory
psychiatric diagnoses. In: Jung, C., Collected Works of C. G. Jung, Vol. 1. 2nd.
ea., Princeton University Press, 1970. 260 p. (p. 209-218).
The inadequacy of expert opinion as to a defendant's
mental competence is illustrated in the case of a woman accused of fraud after
obtaining money to pay for a nonexistent winning ticket in the Hungarian
lottery. Interesting aspects of the case are that the opinions were based only
on reports about the defendant, rather than on personal interviews with her,
and that a principle concerning the relation of moral defect to hysteria is
involved. A final opinion was formed after an interview with the defendant, in
addition to a study of the documents. In the first opinion, the most important
finding was the presence of hysteria. The opinion held that lying and fraud
cannot be judged the same way in constitutionally hysterical persons as in
normal people but found the defendant partially responsible. The second opinion
also concluded that the defendant suffered from hysteria. Her unlawful
aberrations were regarded as symptoms of her hysterical aberration. She was,
therefore held totally irresponsible and was considered incurable. This second
opinion established that there was a total lack of moral feelings, but a
criticism of it contends that such a defect is not a hysterical symptom and
does not belong to the hysterical character. Moral defect and hysteria are
considered different conditions that occur independently. A final opinion,
which, in answer to the examining magistrate's questions, agrees with opinion A
in charging partial responsibility but considers the material adequate only in
opinion B, states that hysteria does not cause a moral defect, although it can
mask or exaggerate one. Neither of the opinions proved that the defendant was
acting under the compulsion of a pathological persuasion, a delusional idea, or
a pathological and irresistible instinct. The standpoint of opinion B means, in
practice, the abandonment of the scientific concept of moral defect, which
could exclude moral defectives from the legal concept of insanity and overfill
mental institutions with criminals.
000014 On the psychological diagnosis of facts. In:
Jung, C., Collected Works of C. G. Jung, Vol. I. 2nd. ea., Princeton University
Press, 1970. 260 p. (p. 219-221).
In an effort to set straight the record as to the
origin of the concept "psychological diagnosis of facts," a number of
articles in various journals are cited in which that subject was discussed. In
his and Riklin's work, "The Associations of Normal Subjects," the
concept of the feeling toned complex and its effects on the associations is
outlined. The psychological diagnosis may be applied to disclosing a complex of
ideas related to crime by presenting the subject with a series of word
associations. Jung assigns credit for the discovery of this method to Galton or
Wundt, but claims the origin of feeling toned complexes for himself and his
work at the clinic in
