Every advance in culture is, psychologically, an extension of consciousness,
Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche
Every advance in culture is, psychologically, an extension of consciousness, a coming to consciousness that can take place only through discrimination.
Therefore an advance always begins with individuation, that is to say with the individual, conscious of his isolation, cutting a new path through hitherto untrodden territory.
To do this he must first return to the fundamental facts of his own being, irrespective of all authority and tradition, and allow himself to become conscious of his distinctiveness.
“Reflection” should be understood not simply as an act of thought, but rather as an attitude.
It is a privilege born of human freedom in contradistinction to the compulsion of natural law.
As the word itself testifies (“reflection” means literally “bending back”), reflection is a spiritual act that runs counter to the natural process; an act whereby we stop, call something to mind, form a picture, and take up a relation to and come to terms with what we have seen.
It should, therefore, be understood as an act of becoming conscious. ~Carl Jung, CW 8, Para 111
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