Jungian bridge to native philosophy

Abstract

The gap between Western and Native world views is much more profound than the West has imagined. I support this claim from a variety of angles and offer insight into it from the work of Swiss psychologist C. G. Jung (1875-1861). Too narrowly logocentric, the mainstream Western view provides no way to recognize, let alone appreciate, the more well-rounded outlook of others. A means to counteract this blinding cultural impoverishment is illustrated from both Jungian and Native material. It involves a radically different way of being, which has roots in Native and (to a lesser extent) Western traditions. Since there are a number of fundamental values common to both Native and Jungian perspectives, I propose in this thesis that the West could appreciably bridge the gap between views by taking Jung’s ideas seriously and expanding its conception of personal excellence to include much more than the conscious facility to be “reasonable”.