Science of the Soul 

                                                                                           FilmNarrated and Produced By

                                                                                Edward F. Edinger, M.D., Jungian Analyst                                                                                                                                    Saturday, April 6, 2019                                                                                                          

           On Saturday,  April 6, 2019 the film, Science of the Soul was presented by our organization.  This three part video series is narrated

           by Dr. Edward F. Edinger, and produced in his careful and thorough style also used in his books.  His admiration for C.G. Jung and

           his works that he sees as an epochal man whose life symbolized a new advance in consciousness.  His chosen clips of Jung as an old    

           man adds considerably to this film and sets the stage for Dr. Edinger’s message, “Man observes Jung, has always lived in myth.   It is

           a disease to think that there is no history.”   This  is the basic theme that Dr. Edinger develops and clarifies in the Science of the Soul. 

           He works  his way  through several Jungian ideas, while presenting a  remarkable concise overview of his own psychology and

           worldview.  

           Part 1 -  The Collective Unconscious . . . .

           In part one of this film,  Dr. Edward Edinger discusses the nature of consciousness and the unconscious and sketches the evolution

           of consciousness since the advent of Yahweh up through the Renaissance to the present day.  He notes that whereas  consciousness

           involves self-reflective awareness and the ego’s perception of itself as an object, the unconscious itself contains objects of diffuse

           consciousness that can potentially enter conscious awareness and also  the unconscious.  With regards to the evolution of          

           consciousness, Dr. Edinger relates that with the advent of the Old Testament Yahweh there was an increased awareness of the          

           sovereignty of the ego which, with the Renaissance, became inflated and separated from the transcendent dimension.  The twentieth

           century discovery of depth psychology, particularly that of C.G. Jung’s, has opened the way to the possibility of in-depth self-scrutiny

           and a science of the soul.

           Part 2 - The Structure of the Psyche .......

          In part two, Dr. Edward Edinger discusses the structure of the psyche and the essential nature of individuation and the evolution

           process, while preparing the ground for a discussion on the social implications of individuation in part three.  He begins by describing

           the nature and role of the ego, the shadow, the anima/animus, and the Self as well as the autonomy, power, and structural reality of the

           archetype.  Finally, Dr. Edinger discusses the nature of the individuation process which defines the ego becoming aware of its         

           relationship to the Self through the process of self-collection and withdrawing projections.  

          Part 3 - Social Implications . . . .

         Part three has a particular appeal since Jungian literature does not often deal with the social implications of individuation.  Dr.

          Edinger  notes that having a reliable ego and adapted persona are basic prerequisites for constructive social interaction.  He further

          notes that being conscious of one’s shadow and shadow projections are essential for healthy participation in the social process.  The

          importance of integrating animus/anima projections, he observes, is based on the fact that they are the two most fundamental aspects

          of the whole social fabric, starting with the family, the way children are raised and so on.  Regarding the Self, Dr. Edinger warns, a

          strong tendency for it to be projected, especially in times of disorder, which is psychologically dangerous and can lead to totalitarianism.

          In contrast, he asserts that the more one assimilates qualities of the Self, the more one becomes a true individual and  an instrument for

          a higher cause.

         Bio:  Edward F. Edinger, M.D., Jungian Analyst, b. 3 December 1922 - d. 17 July 1998 . . . .      

​​​​          
 

​     Edward F. Edinger, M.D. was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, earning his B.A. in chemistry  at Indiana University and his M.D.  in 1946

     at Yale University  He was a military doctor in the U.S. Navy in Panama.  In New York,  in 1951, he began his analysis  with Dr. Mary

      Ester Harding, Jungian analyst who had been associated with  C. G. Jung.  Dr. Edinger was a psychiatrist supervisor at Rockford State  

      Hospital in Orangeburg, NY, and later founder of the C. G. Jung Foundation in Manhattan and the C. G. Jung  Institute in New York. 

      He as president of the institute from 1968 until 1979, when he moved to Los Angeles, CA.  There he continued his practice for 19 years

     becoming senior analyst at the C.G. Jung Institute of Los Angeles.  In Los Angeles, he continued to analyze, lecture, and write most of

     his more than twenty  books and many journal  articles.  Dr. Edinger  wrote on clinical, cultural, and alchemical issues, Jung’s myth

      for  modern man and the psychological ​redemption of traditional religion.  A  unifying theme runs through them all, namely, the ego’s

      relationship and encounter with the Self.    He died on July 17, 1998 in Los Angeles at age 75.    Dr. Edinger was at the forefront of

​      those carrying out the work begun by  C. G. Jung.