Encountering Jung on Mythology by Robert Segal

As a Reader in the Department of Religious studies at the University of Lancaster in the United Kingdom, Robert Segal has written a number of books on topics such as Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell, myth, and Gnosticism. In this work Segal seeks to introduce students of prevailing psychologies to Carl Jung and his archetypal work with mythology.

We start our journey by learning that at "least three major questions can be asked of myth: what is its subject matter, what is its origin, and what is its function (Segal, ed., 1998, p. 3)?" By working through these questions using both Jung's original works and writing by contemporary Jungian psychologists, Segal finds that while Jungian analysis is still a vital part of today's psychology, we can see how the ego becomes but on more archetype whose "myth serves to open up to the souls own depths. The payoff [becomes] as Hectic rather than moral: one gains a sense of wonder and contemplation, not a guide to living (Segal, ed., 1998, p. 45)."

This book is an awesome for the student of psychology, religion, or artistic fields such as literature or creative writing. This book is written by a professor for students and is a wonderful guide to Carl Jung and the collective unconscious of mythology. I could not have pulled these texts together myself and if I did I would have been left with no further guidance by my curiosity. Robert Segal's introduction and footnotes drew all the threads together and provided "exposure to both Jung's reflections on myth and their developments in the hands of leading Jungian theorists (As quoted in Segal, ed., 1998, back cover)."

References:

Segal, R., ed. (1998). Encountering Jung on mythology. Princeton: Princeton University Press