Thank God, I’m Jung, and not a Jungian.
Jung: His Life And Work, A Biographical Memoir
[“Thank God, I’m Jung, and not a Jungian.” is a popular quotation of Dr. Jung’s but is often not used within the context in which it was stated as provided below.]
There was indeed plenty of theory with which to diagnose and label the patients, but terms and theory never appealed to Jung except as a temporary aid.
Speaking of the terms he himself gave to various aspects of the human psyche, he wrote, in his last long book, Mysterium Coniunctionis:
If such concepts provisionally serve to put the empirical material in order, they will have fulfilled their purpose. [~Carl Jung, CW 14, Footnote 66, Page 108.]
He used to deplore the tendency of too many of his pupils to make dogma of such concepts and once in exasperation remarked:
“Thank God, I’m Jung, and not a Jungian.” ~Carl Jung, Jung: A Biography [Hannah], Page 78.
