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Revisiting Jung’s “A Psychological Approach to the Dogma of the Trinity”: Some Implications for Psychoanalysis and Religion

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Abstract

This article explores one of C. G. Jung’s generally neglected essays, his psychological interpretation of the Trinity, and links up key theoretical notions with several more mainstream psychoanalytic concepts. It further uses the notions of oneness, otherness, thirdness, and the fourth to consider the recent points of convergence between psychoanalysis and religion.

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Notes

  1. Jung’s theory of the archetypes evolved over the course of his thinking and writing. At one point in this essay, he defines the term archetype with the ecclesial rhetoric (or, “church speak”) traditionally used to define catholic (universal): “The archetype is ‘that which is believed always, everywhere, and by everybody” (p. 117).

  2. Analyzing the structure of this essay rhetorically, for example, it is clear that more of the content is devoted to exploring and developing the notion of the fourth and related symbols of the quaternity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. 5030 Henry Hudson Pkwy East, Bronx, NY, 10471, USA

    Amy Bentley Lamborn

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  1. Amy Bentley Lamborn
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Correspondence to Amy Bentley Lamborn.

Additional information

This article is based on a keynote presentation at the Washington Square Institute’s 34th Annual Scientific Conference, New York City, April 18, 2010.

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Lamborn, A.B. Revisiting Jung’s “A Psychological Approach to the Dogma of the Trinity”: Some Implications for Psychoanalysis and Religion. J Relig Health 50, 108–119 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-010-9417-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-010-9417-9

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