The Paradoxical Meeting of Depth Psychology and Physics: Reflections on the Unification of Psyche and Matter

Description

This book unites the worlds of physics and depth psychology through analysis of carefully selected existing and new dream materials. Their interpretation by Matthews provides fertile ground for the unifying of the extreme opposites of psyche and matter and forms a continuation of the deep dialogue between acclaimed psychologist Carl Jung and Nobel physicist Wolfgang Pauli. What emerges is an individuation process where inner and outer worlds are intertwined through a succession of dream images, culminating with that of the ring i, the mathematical function at the heart of quantum physics. This mysterious function unites wave and particle and symbolically carries the quality of paradox. The occurrence of the ring i in Pauli’s and the author’s dreams suggests paradox is a necessary psychological state to experience a living union between psyche and matter. Analysis of accompanying materials further indicates the arising of a new world view where inner and outer, mind and matter, may again be seen as a unified whole. This book is an engaging read for academics and researchers in the field of Jungian psychology and will appeal to those interested in the novel application of quantum physics to philosophy, psychology and spirituality. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents List of Figures Preface Acknowledgements 1 The Ordering Role of Mathematics When Priests Were Mathematicians End of the Correspondence Principle Return of the Correspondence Principle 2 The Creative Source of the Inner and Outer Worlds The Inner World The Outer World A Concluding Dream 3 Mathematics of the Ring i The Unbounded Three The Bounded Four 4 Complementarity and Paradox in Quantum Physics The Quantum Quaternio The Copenhagen Interpretation 5 Complementarity and Paradox in Analytical Psychology The Just View of Paradox Pauli’s Paradoxical Attitude 6 Pauli and the Ring i You Know What Rotation Is! The H-Atom and the Four Eggs That Are One Seeking the Unity of Inner and Outer 7 Pauli’s Fantasy of Die Klavierstunde The Ring i as a Symbol of Wholeness The Unus Mundus as Third Stage of the Coniunctio 8 The Ring i as Rotating Mandala The Paradoxical Mandalic Attitude Blue Tongued Lizard 9 Dance of the Three and the Four Dance of the Diagonals The Three and the Four Remain a Problem 10 In Conclusion—Resolving the Split World View Unus Mundus Is the Mirror The Impossible Centre of the Ring i Index