Summary
Highlights
Carl Jung's lecture to clergy in Switzerland discusses the challenges doctors face in accepting patients' confessions, especially when they reveal the 'worst in him.' Jung emphasizes that true acceptance comes from unprejudiced objectivity, not intellectual abstraction, but a deep respect for the suffering individual and the enigma of their life. This attitude is akin to a truly religious person who senses the divine will in all things.
Jung asserts that we cannot change anything unless we accept it; condemnation oppresses rather than liberates. For a doctor to truly help, they must accept the patient as they are, which is only possible if the doctor has already accepted themselves. He challenges conventional virtues, suggesting that the 'least amongst us,' even the 'fiend,' might reside within ourselves, requiring our own kindness and love.
Jung critiques the reversal of Christian truths when confronting our inner 'enemy,' where we condemn and rage against ourselves instead of showing love and longsuffering. He argues that healing is a religious problem, requiring the same forgiveness and love for enemies inwardly as outwardly. Modern man, burdened by guilt, seeks to reconcile with his nature and love the 'enemy in his own heart,' desiring to live his own individual life rather than imitate Christ.
Jung addresses egoism, a tangible evil in neurosis, but cautions against condemning it. He labels egoism as a 'true will of God' and advises helping patients prevail in it, even if it leads to isolation. This isolation, though wretched, allows individuals to know themselves and appreciate the 'invaluable treasure' of human connection. He concludes that what seems evil can turn to good, and egoism, the 'arch demon,' can lead to profound religious experience and the reunion of warring halves of the personality through 'enantiodromia' or conversion into the opposite.