In 1915, C. G. Jung and his psychiatrist colleague, Hans Schmid-Guisan, began a correspondence through which they hoped to understand and codify fundamental individual differences of attention and consciousness. Their ambitious dialogue, focused on the opposition of extraversion and introversion, demonstrated the difficulty of reaching a shared awareness of differences even as it introduced concepts that would eventually enable Jung to create his landmark 1921 statement of the theory of psychological types. That theory, the basis of the widely used Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and other similar personality assessment tools, continues to inform not only personality psychology but also such diverse fields as marriage and career counseling and human resource management. This correspondence, available in English for the first time, reveals Jung fielding keen theoretical challenges from one of his most sensitive and perceptive colleagues. The new introduction by Jungian analyst John Beebe and psychologist and historian Ernst Falzeder clarifies the evolution of crucial concepts, while helpful annotations shed light on the allusions and arguments in the letters. This volume will provide a useful historical grounding for all those who work with, or are interested in, Jungian psychology and psychological typology. John Beebe is the author of Integrity in Depth and of many articles on psychological types. Past president of the C. G. Jung Institute of San Francisco, he founded The San Francisco Jung Institute Library Journal (now called Jung Journal: Culture and Psyche). Ernst Falzeder is lecturer at the University of Innsbruck and senior editor at the Philemon Foundation. He is the editor of The Correspondence of Sigmund Freud and Karl Abraham and the English translator of Jung's seminar, Children's Dreams (Princeton), among other books. Review: "The English text is a pleasure to read, with plenty of clarifying notes. Readers will enjoy the informality of the exchange, its intellectual depth, and the humanity of Jung and Schmid-Guisan. This important addition to the history of modern psychology will engage and inform interested nonspecialists."--E. James Lieberman, Library Journal "The Question of Psychological Types is a welcome addition to anyone who would seek to understand the framework of psychological types better in its philosophical and historical context. The publishers have done a good job of putting the book into a good, clean format and have equipped the text with a generous, even lavish, amount of footnotes. Readers who will want to know more about the practical application of typology and the types will not find much to interest them here, but to readers who want to be acquainted with the historical process that spawned Psychological Types, this volume is quite simply a mandatory read."--Celebrity Types Reviews and Endorsements: "For nearly a century, analytical psychologists have been using Jung's typology without knowing precisely how it came into being. Reading this correspondence one finds oneself eavesdropping on the process of formulation. It is as if one can hear Jung thinking aloud as he develops seminal concepts--extraversion and introversion, the use of thinking and feeling, sensation and intuition--as superior and inferior, conscious and unconscious functions. In this beautifully edited publication, Beebe and Falzeder have made a valuable contribution to Jungian studies."--Anthony Stevens, author of Jung: A Very Short Introduction "This correspondence between Jung and Schmid-Guisan permits us a lively aperture into the birth and formation of a psychological theory which has enormous implications for understanding human conflict. Each man, seeking the truth of typology, argues from his own psychological bias, critiques the other, and still remains trapped within his subjective limits. Yet from their cordial but nearly fractious contretemps emerges a more evolved explanation of the epistemological frame through which we all construe our world."--James Hollis, vice president emeritus, Philemon Foundation "Jung's most important contribution to psychology is his typology based on the ideas of introversion and extraversion. These letters constitute a stunning look into the development of this major conceptual scheme in the history of psychology."--John Burnham, Ohio State University "This collection of letters is important precisely because they were preparatory to Jung's later work. The letters show his process of thinking and are informed, literate, and expressive. The book''s editors know their subject well and their scholarship is sound."--Geoffrey Cocks, Albion College Table of Contents: Acknowledgments vii
Illustration of First Page of 7 J, 4 September 1915 viii
Illustration of First Page of 12 S, 17/18 December 1915 ix Introduction 1
John Beebe and Ernst Falzeder Translator's Note 33 CORRESPONDENCE 1 J (4 June 1915) 39
2 S (24 June 1915) 48
3 J (undated) 55
4 S (6 July 1915) 63
5 J (undated) 74
6 S (29 August 1915) 87
7 J (4 September 1915) 100
8 S (28 September 1915) 115
9 J (6 November 1915) 131
10 S (1-7 December 1915) 143
11 S (11-14 December 1915) 148
12 S (17-18 December 1915) 152
13 S (6 January 1916) 155 APPENDIX Summary of Jung's First Three Letters 159
Jung's Obituary of Hans Schmid - Guisan 169 Bibliography 171
Index 179 | 
