Prof. Stephen Palmquist, D.Phil. (Oxon)

Department of Religion and Philosophy

Hong Kong Baptist University

(stevepq@hkbu.edu.hk)

 

Synchronicity andIntellectual Intuition in Kant, Swedenborg, and Jung, by Paul Bishop.Lewiston, NY: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2000. xvi + 465pp. $129.95 (cloth). ISBN0-7734-7593-1.

 

ÒTheKant-Jung BookÓ (or KJB) is a project I have had in mind for some twodecades, ever since I began reading Jung as a hobby to complement my scholarlyresearch on Kant. In his autobiography, Jung openly confesses the significantinfluence Kant had on his intellectual development. For example, he expresseshis frustration at how busy he was during his Òclinical semestersÓby recalling: ÒI was able to study Kant only on SundaysÓ (Memories,Dreams, Reflections,p.122)! As Paul Bishop notes, tantalizing references to Kant and/or variousKantian concepts Òpepper JungÕs psychological writingsÓ(p.297). Not being or claiming to be a philosopher, Jung leaves thesereferences undeveloped, claiming no more than to be developing depth psychologywithin essentially Kantian parameters.

Theprojected goal of KJB is to explore how far JungÕs analytical psychologyand KantÕs critical philosophy can function as complementary intellectualsystems, like yin and yang manifestations of one Tao: entirely different(indeed, opposing)forces that nevertheless work together toward the same unified goal, originallyexpressed by the inscription over the entrance to the temple at Delphi as knowthyself.Whereas Kant developed a transcendental philosophy grounded in a logicallystructured set of 12 a priori categories of consciousness that give form to themanifold aggregate of human knowledge, Jung developed an empirical psychologygrounded in a haphazard collection of ÒarchetypesÓ (categories ofthe unconscious)whose flowering produces a fixed set of psychological types that exhibits a logicalpattern virtually identical to that of KantÕs categories: JungÕsfour functions (sensation, intuition, thought, and feeling) correspond directlyto KantÕs four main categories (quantity, quality, relation, andmodality), while JungÕs three ways of experiencing each function(introvert, extravert, and their combination in the integrated personality)correspond directly to KantÕs three manifestations of each category(e.g., the three moments of quantity: unity, plurality, and totality). Likewise,KantÕs doctrine of the unknowability of the thing in itself resonatesdeeply with JungÕs doctrine of the Self as the mysterious totality of thehuman psyche, knowable only in the differentiated form of archetypal images andideas. These examples merely touch the tip of the iceberg of connections thatexist between KantÕs philosophy and JungÕs psychology, asexpressions of two sides of one and the same worldview Ð a worldview Ihave elsewhere dubbed ÒCritical MysticismÓ (see KantÕsCritical Religion[Ashgate, 2000], Part Four).

When I firstlearned of Paul BishopÕs book on Kant and Jung, focusing on themes asobviously ÒmysticalÓ as JungÕs ÒsynchronicityÓ,KantÕs Òintellectual intuitionÓ, and Swedenborg (the Swedishmystic who fascinated both Kant and Jung), I thought this could be one of thoserare opportunities when, rather than fanning the flames of urgency, readinganother authorÕs book satisfies oneÕs scholarly ÒcallingÓ tocontribute to that particular area. ÒPerhaps this is it;Ó I musedmaybe I wonÕt have to write KJB after all!Ó Inthis hope, however, I could hardly have been more mistaken.

Paul Bishopmakes his bias clear at the outset: he starts the Acknowledgements byexplaining how this book extends his doctoral research on Jung, which placedJung firmly within Òthe specific contextÓ of ÒGermanRomanticismÓ (p.xiii). That Bishop will treat ÒRomanticismÓand ÒRomanticÓ as dirty words had already been hinted in theForeword, where the ÒGermanistÓ, Raymond Furness, says (p. xi) thisÒbook is, basically, a history of an error [i.e., JungÕs error, in RomanticizingKant], and É a salutary (and daunting) reminder of how frequently reasonmay be transformed into unreason.Ó Accordingly, Bishop pays no attentioneven to the possibility that there may be meaningful connections between Kant andJung, that the two scholars may have been constructing two sides of the sameintellectual Way. From the point of view of Kant-scholarship, the bookÕsmost interesting discussions center around the popular nineteenth centuryspiritualist scholar, Carl du Prel (1839-1899), who portrayed Kant as a closetmystic, heavily influenced by Swedenborg. BishopÕs thesis is that Jungwas duped by du Prel, and by his allegedly ÒRomanticÓ tendencies,to misinterpret Kant.

Unfortunately,Bishop never defends his anti-Romantic bias with anything like a reasonedargument. Rather, he merely assumes anyone who exhibits goals similar to thoseof nineteenth-century Romantics is not worthy of serious consideration. And hisKant-scholarship is no more impressive: he merely assumes that Kant, thephilosopher who marked the transition-point between theEnlightenment and German Romanticism, had affinities only with the formermovement. BishopÕs underlying argument seems to run like this: (1)Romanticism and all motifs typically associated with it are obviouslyirrational and untenable; (2) JungÕs works exhibit numerous motifstypically associated with Romanticism; therefore (3) JungÕs works areobviously irrational and untenable. A corollary to this argument, it seems, isthat Kant, being a pre-Romantic philosopher, was eminently rational, and therefore shouldnot be associated with the likes of Jung. In this context, the main theme ofBishopÕs book is to show that JungÕs Òconcept ofsynchronicity only makes sense in terms ofÓ KantÕs theory ofintellectual intuition, even though Jung himself never employed KantÕsterm (p.2).Correspondingly, the main theme of this review is to argue that Bishop isthoroughly mistaken.

            BishopÕsgreatest strength is probably also the greatest danger of his approach: heexhibits erudite scholarship on virtually every page. For example, the text providesboth German and English for most of its numerous, often lengthy, quotationsÐ a tedious practice that adds significantly to the bookÕs length.Having done an impressive breadth of research, the author refers to a widespectrum of books on numerous relevant topics. To begin, the Introductionprovides a brief overview of the references Jung makes to Kant and of allÒeight articlesÓ and Òfive booksÓ (p.6) that addressthe Kant-Jung relationship. Yet the reader is left with no idea of whatJungÕs interest in Kant was all about Ð except that it hadsomething to do with Swedenborg. The Introduction also makes an initial attemptto argue that ÒsynchronicityÓ meant for Jung whatÒintellectual intuitionÓ meant for Kant, and that JungÕsacceptance of a concept Kant so resolutely rejected proves that Jung was not aKantian, but a Òpost-KantianÓ Ð i.e., aÒRomanticÓ (p.20), with all the nastiness Bishop believes thatentails. Here, as elsewhere, Bishop reveals he is not a Kant scholar.

            Chapter1 examines JungÕs theory of synchronicity more closely. After discussingpossible connections Jung saw between synchronicity and modern physics, Bishopcites Òfour definitionsÓ (pp.33-34) Jung gives the term in hisbook, Synchronicity. What escapes BishopÕs notice is that these fourcorrespond to KantÕs four categories: as regards quantity, synchronicity appearsas Òmeaningful parallelsÓ between a Òpsychic stateÓ andÒexternal eventsÓ; its quality appears as Òthe simultaneousoccurrence of two different psychic statesÓ; its relation is a personÕsawareness of a connection between Ò[a]n unconscious imageÓ andÒ[a]n objective situationÓ; and its modality (its definition proper) is a uniquecombination of possibility, actuality, and necessity that Jung callsÒmeaningful coincidenceÓ (p.34). Bishop dutifully quotesJungÕs claim that synchronicity must be understood from a strictlyÒhypotheticalÓ perspective (p.34), yet shows no awareness of whatthis meansin a Kantian context: it is a heuristic fiction used to regulate our inquiries, ratherthan a concrete (categorial) claim to have discovered something that constitutes human knowledge.Intellectual intuition, for Kant, is always and only the latter. SoBishopÕs attempt to identify Jungian synchronicity with this Kantiannotion only highlights his limited understanding of Kant. Instead of beinggrounded in KantÕs philosophy, BishopÕs section entitledÒPhilosophical Implications of SynchronicityÓ (pp.36-51) describeshow a wide variety of other scholars used the relevant terms, ranging fromAvicenna and Albertus Magnus to Geulincx, Leibniz, and Schopenhauer. Jung, bycontrast, hadstudied Kant Ð even if (for a time) Òonly on SundaysÓ Ðso he had good reason for steering clear of any attempt to connect synchronicitywith intellectual intuition. In short, BishopÕs argument here is grosslyunfair to both Kant and Jung.

            WhereJung mentions Kant in Synchronicity, he agrees with KantÕs theorythat the a priori conditions of knowledge, space and time, are products ofthe mind(p.42). From this, Jung infers that the unconscious mind is capable of puttingasidethese conscious forms and viewing the world differently, in a manner that isnot subject to normal categorial restrictions, such as causality. Bishop thinksJung is perverting Kant at this point; but he forgets that Kant wasconstructing a philosophy of conscious knowledge, whereas Jung wasexplicitly constructing a psychology of unconscious ideas. Much of BishopÕsscholarly footwork in this initial chapter is of immense value to the perceptivereader; disappointingly, Bishop himself seems unaware of that value, believinginstead he has proved JungÕs theory to be anti-Kantian (p.49). His maincomplaint is that Jung tends to refer to synchronicity as a way of obtainingÒabsolute knowledgeÓ; yet he fails to recognize that Jung wasreferring here only to a hypothetical apprehension of something that always remains amystery to the conscious mind, and therefore has no relation whatsoeverto Kantian intellectual intuition (which entails knowing or even creating the absolute as anempirical object,merely by thinking it). That the products of our unconscious are not incompatiblewith the Critical restriction of conscious knowledge to space and time is shownnowhere more profoundly than in KantÕs own Dreams of a Spirit-Seer, where he assessesSwedenborgÕs mystical visions from a philosophical perspective. (SeeChapter II of KantÕs Critical Religion for a thorough argumentalong these lines.) Here, if anywhere, Kant showed he was capable of the samealleged Òconceptual recklessnessÓ Bishop attributes to Jung (p.54).

            Insteadof moving directly to an examination of KantÕs approach to Swedenborg,Bishop devotes the next three chapters to three stages in JungÕsdevelopment: his early interest in philosophy; the use of Kant in his earlywritings; and the use of Kant in his writings after 1921. The upshot of Chapter2 is that (p.77) ÒJungÕs attitude towards Kant was a highlypersonal one.Ó Although there are no great surprises in this chapter,BishopÕs survey benefits greatly, here and throughout the book, by thefact that he had access to JungÕs personal library and carefullyinspected all the (relevant) books Jung possessed. In this regard, Appendix A(ÒEditions of Kant in C.G. JungÕs LibraryÓ) provides avaluable resource for anyone interested in the Jung-Kant relationship, andBishopÕs endnotes make ample (often instructive) references toJungÕs marginal markings and comments. Again, Bishop has done hishomework on this point, and done it well.

By contrast,one wishes BishopÕs reading of contemporary Kant-scholarship had extendedbeyond the few works included in his otherwise massive Bibliography; he baseshis entire view of KantÕs philosophy of science, for example, solely onRobert ButtsÕ 1986 book. As a result, Bishop chides Jung for beingÒhighly unKantianÓ (p.81) merely because Jung observed what manyKant scholars recognize Kant himself observed, that Òthere might be eventswhich overstepped the limited categories of space, time and causalityÓ (Memories,Dreams, Reflections,p.120). For Kant (as Jung and many Kant scholars have recognized), suchÒoversteppingÓ is possible, but cannot produce knowledge for us human beings,simply because we do not have access to intellectual intuition. Contrary to theimpression Bishop wants his readers to take from his book, Jung nevercontradicted this basic tenet of Kantian philosophy, but understood and agreedwith it far more accurately than Bishop does. Most of BishopÕs othercriticisms of JungÕs views on Kant in Chapter 2 are similarly half-baked,as when he claims Jung went through a period of viewing KantÒnegativelyÓ, when the negativity Bishop describes was focusedprimarily on RitschlÕs interpretation of Kant (pp.92-93).

            Thelongest, and possibly most interesting, section of BishopÕs book comes atthe end of Chapter 2: ÒExcursus: FreudÕs Interest in theOccultÓ (pp.102-129). Here Bishop provides an excellent contextualizationfor anyone who wishes to understand JungÕs interest in the occult, for hedemonstrates that Freud was fascinated by many of the same issues Jung was, yethe was unable to integrate them as consistently into his psychoanalytic theory.As Bishop puts it (p.106): ÒRead against FreudÕs remarks about hisintellectual development, JungÕs seems far less eccentric than it usuallydoes.Ó BishopÕs conclusion, however, is typically biased (p.127):FreudÕs approach to the occult was superior to JungÕs because atleast ÒFreud was keen to reject any method that involved [that devilishscourge of the Romantic era!] intuition

            Chapters3 and 4 are the shortest, most straightforward, and least objectionable of thebookÕs six main chapters. The former begins with a helpful summary of howJung employed KantÕs distinction between analysis and synthesis in hisearly work on word-association, leading eventually to the split with Freud,which Jung himself expressed in terms of a need to complement Freudian analysis with psychic synthesis (p.145). (Unhappily,Jung abandoned his initial idea of calling his new approachÒpsychosynthesisÓ, and replaced it with the less distinctive name,Òanalytic psychologyÓ.) The next section argues that JungÕswork on symbols, as a path beyond faith to knowledge, betraysÒJungÕs divergence from KantÓ (p.147), since the Preface toKantÕs first Critique denied knowledge in order to make room for faith. But hereBishop allows a semantic similarity to becloud the deep and intentional difference instandpoint Jung adopted in his effort to complement KantÕsphilosophy. KantÕs goal was to deny objective knowledge of God (etc.) in orderto make room for rational (practical) faith, grounded in our moralnature. JungÕs goal was to deny blind faith in God in order to make roomfor psychological knowledge, grounded in the realities of our religiousexperience. These goals are not in conflict, as Bishop claims.

The thirdand fourth sections of Chapter 3 examine JungÕs Psychological Types. In the former, Bishopdraws some clear correlations between JungÕs view ofÒphantasyÓ and KantÕs theory of ÒimaginationÓ.Here is one of the few places where Bishop suggests a potential area of genuinecompatibility,though he does so in a manner that furthers his main agenda (namely, to portrayJung negatively), by emphasizing JungÕs failure to relate phantasy toKantÕs third Critique. (Interestingly, Bishop himself had earliercommitted the same error by referring to KantÕs Òtwo CritiquesÓ [p.87], callingthem, along with Prolegomena, Òthe key texts of the criticalphilosophyÓ [p.82]. And later, Bishop complains about JungÕsÒapparent ignorance of the third CritiqueÓ [p.173], eventhough Appendix A clearly states [p.412] that JungÕs own copy of thatbook did containmarginal markings!) The chapter ends with a section assessing (negatively, ofcourse) JungÕs attempt to relate his theory of ÒarchetypesÓto KantÕs distinction between ÒideaÓ and ÒimageÓ;once again, the apparent conflicts Bishop finds are due more to his ownsuperficial understanding of Kant than to any real incompatibility.

            Chapter4 begins by assessing JungÕs portrayal of the archetypes asÒcategories of the imaginationÓ (p.176) in his later writings. HereBishop continues his effort to persuade the reader that JungÕs real intention is to claim knowledge of the sort Kantregarded as impossible, due to human beingsÕ lack of intellectualintuition. He offers the legitimate criticisms that Jung seems to useÒcategoryÓ in an imprecise way, and that some attention to thethird Critiquewould have been helpful [pp.187,192]. However, he fails to provide anythingmore than a ÒhintÓ that JungÕs terminology sometimesÒclosely resembles that of intellectual intuitionÓ (p.178); indeed,Bishop seems unaware of the obvious Kantian implications of numerous texts hehimself quotes,where Jung warns (for example) that the archetype Òis in itselfirrepresentableÓ (quoted on p.179) or that Ò[t]he archetype as suchis a hypothetical and irrepresentable modelÓ (quoted on p.180), so thatall we can know(scientifically) about it must be based on the ideas and images we observe (e.g., in our dreams).This is vintage Kant; yet Bishop misconstrues it as an implicit acceptance ofintellectual intuition. Moreover, Bishop claims that because ÒKant sawhis task as completeÓ (p.184), he would never have approved of JungÕsattempt to complement it. Yet KantÕs bold claim refers only to his establishment ofa transcendental foundation for all further scientific and metaphysicalinquiry; he fully recognized that the task of building on that foundation anenduring system of metaphysical principles and/or scientific knowledge was atask that would have to be fulfilled by future generations. And Kant was keenlyaware of his own generationÕs limited accomplishments in areas such aspsychology.

            Chapter4 ends with a section entitled ÒWhy did Jung think he was aKantian?Ó Bishop states at the outset that his aim here is to explainJungÕs Òconfused use of KantÓ. He cites several examples ofsuch usage from JungÕs later writings and claims Jung believedKantÕs philosophy gave him ÒlicenseÓ to make Òclaimsabout a transcendent realmÓ [p.189]. This section, unfortunately, ismostly made up of quotations and is virtually devoid of any real argument. The conclusion, thatJungÕs Òphilosophical imprecisionÓ enabled thisÒself-styled empiricistÓ to Òentangl[e] himself in preciselythose transcendent notions of mysticism that Kant himself unequivocallycondemnedÓ (p.192) really just restates BishopÕs presupposition. IfKantÕs philosophical system was meant as a foundation for a newway of interpretingmystical experiences such as those of Swedenborg, then the single pillar thatholds up the whole edifice of BishopÕs argument collapses in a heap.

            Assuch, the Òmake or breakÓ argument of this book comes in Chapter 5,where Bishop examines KantÕs view of Swedenborg, and of all thingsmystical. The chapter begins by detailing the eighteenth-centuryÕsrejection of ÒenthusiasmÓ as Òan epistemologicaldiseaseÓ (p.201), then outlines KantÕs own position on the subject.What Bishop neglects here is that, especially in the highly negativecontext of the Enlightenment, KantÕs view of enthusiasm was not asentirely dismissive as it is often portrayed to be, because the enthusiast andthe philosopher share a common personality type, and that this accounts (at least in part) forthe tendency philosophers have to let their minds run wild in the realm ofspeculation. (An excellent elaboration of this point is given in GregoryJohnsonÕs contribution to KantÕs Philosophy of ReligionReconsideredÑAgain [Indiana University Press, forthcoming].) In other words,KantÕs concern about enthusiasm was so great not because it was somethingfar awayfrom the truth, but because it was so close to the truth, yetmisrepresents it. This is precisely the reason Kant became interested inSwedenborg, to whom Bishop devotes the remainder of Chapter 5.

            Afterfour relatively short but helpful sections introducing Swedenborg, overviewinghis reception in Germany, recounting the famous stories of SwedenborgÕspowers that fascinated both Kant and Jung, and sketching the context inKantÕs life of his interest in Swedenborg, the core section of thischapter provides a detailed summary of KantÕs 1766 book, Dreams of aSpirit-Seer, Illustrated by Dreams of Metaphysics. (Kant wrote this afterbeing one of only four persons who purchased all eight volumes ofSwedenborgÕs Arcana coelestia (p.220) Ð another of the seeminglyendless string of trivial yet fascinating tidbits Bishop has dredged from hiscareful research.) The four introductory sections present a curious mix ofstatements depicting KantÕs philosophy as a Òcampaign againstmysticismÓ (p.224) and confessions that Kant neverthelessÒpersist[ed] in deploying a quasi-mystical vocabularyÓ (p.225) thatled avowed mystics to align themselves with Kant even within his own lifetime.Toward the end of his life, as Bishop fully admits, KantÕs writingscontained at one and the same time, more and more Òbiblical and theologicalmetaphors [that] ran the risk of bringing him closer to those who professedmysticismÓ and harsher andharsher warnings against the dangers ofmysticism (p.227-228). How could this be? The clue [see Chapter II of KantÕsCritical Religion] is that Kantcontinued interpreting mysticism through the lens of his early assessment of Swedenborg,which itself oddly exhibits this same twofold emphasis.

            KantÕsDreamsuses the problem of how to assess the validity of alleged experiences ofspirits (or of a hidden, spiritual world) as an analogy to guide philosophersin understanding the more general problem of how to assess the validity of allmetaphysical claims. Kant employs athoroughly Critical methodology by first adopting one perspective (defendingthe mysticÕs claims by explaining how such experiences are possible), then adopting the opposite perspective (showing howknowledge of any such experiencesis quite impossible), and finallyadopting a Òmiddle wayÓ Ð one that focuses on theÒpracticalÓ and emphasizes the need to honor the limits of humanknowledge. The perceptive reader of Dreams who is already familiar with KantÕs mature philosophy can seemany ÒseedsÓ of the latter in the former. BishopÕs 20-pagesummary of the book does fairly well in this regard. However, he falls prey tothe tendency many interpreters have had, to view the book primarily as a pieceof sarcastic skepticism, rather than as a serious attempt to prepare for agenuinely Critical solution to theproblem of mysticism. Bishop rightly concludes that for KantSwedenborgÕs work is the product of the wrong kind of intuitionÓÐ namely, Òfanatical intuitionÓ (p.244); what he fails tonote that (in keeping with the analogy in its title), just as Dreams prepares the way for Critical philosophy by making adistinction between right and wrong kinds of metaphysics (i.e., based on whether it restson a critique of the limits of human reason), so also there must be rightand wrong forms of mysticism. SinceKant believed his philosophy was the foundation for all future developments ofa correct metaphysics, he mustalso have regarded his philosophy as the foundation for all correctinterpretations of mystical experience. Bishop totally misses this crucial nuance of KantÕs earlyproject. Instead, he ends this section with an all-too-typical put-down ofJung: after claiming Jung Òentirely overlookedÓ the three mainaspects of Dreams (how itforeshadowed Critical philosophy, united mechanistic and teleologicalexplanations, and employed a nuanced style), Bishop surmises that ÒJungwas unable to follow [Kant], perhaps because he did not fully understand, thepath of the critical philosophyÓ (pp.250-251). Yet Jung did understand a fourth and crucial aspect of Dreams that Bishop misses: it forges a new path forexamining the nature of mystical experience, a Critical Mysticism that avoids the pitfalls ofSwedenborgÕs fanatical enthusiasm.

            Chapter5 closes with a lengthy and very informative, four-part summary of KantÕsLectures on Psychology, as published in 1889 by the mystic, Carl du Prel. ThatKantÕs main purpose in Dreams was to provide the foundation for a CriticalMysticism, and that this aim is fully consistent with his mature Criticalphilosophy, is demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt in these Lectures, for here Kant dropsthe stylistic (and self-protective, given the bias of Enlightenment thinkersagainst mysticism) sarcasm of Dreams and explicitly honors Swedenborg as one whopresents the philosopher with experiences that call for explanation in aphilosophically responsible way (unlike SwedenborgÕs own, fanaticalexplanations). Being an honest scholar, Bishop does not hide KantÕspositive portrayal of Swedenborg; on the contrary, he openly explains howKantÕs theory of Òsymbolic knowledgeÓ attempted to accountfor such experiences (pp.257-259). He rightly stresses that for Kant suchknowledge is epistemologically ÒinferiorÓ to ordinary knowledge,since it is a type of conception, not intuition (p.260); but he doesnot draw from this the obvious conclusion, that for Kant a measured(ÒCriticalÓ) form of mysticism is acceptable, without requiring intellectualintuition.

            Havingbacktracked from his initial emphasis on Jung all the way to Kant andSwedenborg, Bishop devotes Chapter 6 to an examination of developments between Kant and Jung, withspecial emphasis given to the origins of scientific psychology (especially itsrelation to Neo-Kantianism in Germany) and the parallel development of interestin experimenting with the occult, both mystically and scientifically. Here, asthroughout this book whenever encyclopedic knowledge of a broad spectrum oftheories is required, Bishop is at his best, providing the reader withindispensable contextualization for understanding JungÕs intellectualdevelopment. Unfortunately, as elsewhere, this service to the reader is compromisedby BishopÕs uncharitable assumptions that anything mystical must beÒdiseased and unhealthyÓ (p.320), that anythingÒRomanticÓ is for that very reason untenable, and that Kant (unlikeJung) was never really interested in spiritual experience. That Jung himselfexplicitly rejected the label ÒRomanticÓ as a way of accounting forhis interest in the spiritual realm (p.331) carries no weight for Bishop;instead, failing to make any distinction between ÒspiritismÓ andÒmysticismÓ (see e.g., p.332), and overlooking JungÕs carefuluse of Kantian hypothetical (Òas ifÓ) language when describingspiritual experiences (e.g., p.341), Bishop never considers the possibilitythat Jung might have been constructing the psychological side of the same CriticalMysticismthat Kant had already developed philosophically.

            Thatthe ÒconclusionsÓ of Jungian psychology Ògo well beyondKantÓ (p.350) is only to be expected if, as Jung repeatedly claimed, hewas attempting to complement KantÕs worldview by applying it to theempirical field of depth psychology. The reason ÒJungÕs world isfull of mysteriesÓ is not that it stands in Òcontrast withKantÕs universeÓ (p.351) Ð at least, not in BishopÕssense of being incompatible with it Ð but that the two perspectivesexamine the same reality from two sides, each having the otherÕs seed atits core.

BishopÕsConclusion begins by recapitulating his conviction that Jung took over from duPrel an untenable interpretation of Kant as a mystic, then sketches howJungÕs analytical psychology relates to each of six major developments inphilosophy of science since KantÕs day. The final section traces theinfluence of JungÕs notion of synchronicity in recent (post-Jungian)literature, treating the reader to a veritable feast of some of the mostprofound and interesting books published over the past 35 years. Because Bishopadopts his usual posture of making fun of Jung throughout thissection, he must repeatedly confess the ÒsurprisingÓ (e.g., p.393)fact that most of these modern classics have regarded JungÕs ideas as supportingtheirown insights! Again, such overviews of the literature are where thisbookÕs true value rests. The reader looks in vain for the proverbialÒforestÓ that unites in one idea this myriad of interesting trees.Such a grand overview is necessary if one is to appreciate how it makes sense that Jung and Kantcould be such happy bedfellows; yet one will not find suchÒRomanceÓ in BishopÕs work. For better or worse, this is not the long-awaited Kant-JungBook.

 

Stephen R. Palmquist

AssociateProfessor, Dept. of Religion and Philosophy,

HongKong Baptist University,

Kowloon,Hong Kong

Stevepq@hkbu.edu.hk

 

 

This etext is based on a prepublication draft of the published version of this essay.

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