The existence of ego consciousness has meaning only if it is free
Carl Jung Depth Psychology Facebook Group
The Self, is an a priori, existent out of which the ego evolves. It is, so to speak, an unconscious prefiguration of the ego […] [But] if man were merely a creature that came into being as a result of something already existing unconsciously, he would have no freedom and there would be no point in consciousness.
Psychology must reckon with the fact that despite the causal nexus man does enjoy a feeling of freedom, which is identical with autonomy of consciousness […].
An absolutely preformed consciousness and a totally dependent ego would be a pointless farce, since everything would proceed just as well or even better unconsciously.
The existence of ego consciousness has meaning only if it is free and autonomous.
By stating these facts we have, it is true, established an antinomy, but we have at the same time given a picture of things as they are. There are temporal, local, and individual differences in the degree of dependence and freedom. In reality both are always present: the supremacy of the self and the hybris of consciousness. ~Carl Jung, CW 11, Para 49
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