THE RECEPTION OF C.G. JUNG IN US DEATH AND DYING STUDIES
Phanês Journal For Jung History November 19, 2018 Jelena Martinovic 1 citation
C.G. Jung's ideas significantly shaped how death and dying were understood and treated in the United States between 1960 and 1980. This article examines how psy practitioners in thanatology, palliative care, suicide studies, and near-death studies adopted Jung's concepts. After tracing Jung's 'Americanisation' in the 1950s and the reception of his commentaries on death alongside The Tibetan Book of the Dead, the author analyzes four examples: a psychiatric comparison of Jung's near-death experience account with William James' mystical states; LSD therapies provoking symbolic dying processes; studies of suicide survivors; and parapsychological investigations of near-death experiences. Jung's work proved pivotal, linking psychology to terminal illness approaches and positive or transpersonal psychology, and must be understood alongside the broader reception of James' psychology of religion.