ABSTRACT

Central to Jungian theory is a holistic view of the psyche. This means the internal world is a vibrant system of interconnectedness, extending multi-dimensionally rather than through linear causal chains, into a living pattern of emergent self-organising structures. The physicist Capra compares the different conceptual approaches of Freud and Jung to that between classical and modern physics, between the mechanistic and the holistic paradigm. The Jungian, holistic paradigm is also characteristic of other theoretical systems. The holographic paradigm structures a similar world view. Zinkin describes how Jung uses modern physics as an analogy for psychic processes. A Freudian template cannot easily be superimposed on Jungian theory for comparative purposes, nor vice versa, since different conceptions imply different perceptions. Jung criticises Freud's conception of sexuality as 'uncommonly wide', since it includes not only 'normal sexuality but all the perversions, and extends far into the sphere of psychosexual derivates'.