June 3, 2026
I have finished Chapter 1 of Part 1. The name of the chapter is "The Inflated Ego", the part name is the much grander "Individuation and the Stages of Development". The goal of my writing, and for subsequent ones is to simply summarize what I have retained from what I've read, with some leafing back through the chapter as necessary.
Edinger outlines two components in Jung's model of the psyche, the ego and the self. The ego can be understood as who we are aware we are, while the self is at once the container for all of the psyche including the ego, and a separate component from the ego in certain stages of development. It is a conundrum of the model. In both of its positions the self is, in Edinger's words "the inner empirical deity". It is Edinger's belief that for the human to develop fully, the ego emerges from the self along the ego self axis. He believes this happens several times during life, but happens first when consciousness first emerges. A study is cited where children drew drawings as they got older. All children drew something resembling circles (a reference he believes to the wholeness of the self) the children drew pictures more resembling humans as their consciousness emerged, beginning with drawing simply circles with appendages and shaping into beings with torsos and limbs etc.
The ego emerges again, though I missed where and why it descends into the self after its' first emergence. Allusions are made to Prometheus, the garden of eden, Icarus and other myths where an "inflated ego" is cause for a transgression, which is perceived as a crime and can be one, but ultimately is step towards a greater consciousness along the path of individuation. This transgression is not always perfectly conceived and can fail (Phaeton's crash of Helios' chariot and Icarus' melted wings illustrate). If there is a specific guidance about how to discern what approach will end in tragedy, I missed it.
I have finished Chapter 1 of Part 1. The name of the chapter is "The Inflated Ego", the part name is the much grander "Individuation and the Stages of Development". The goal of my writing, and for subsequent ones is to simply summarize what I have retained from what I've read, with some leafing back through the chapter as necessary. Edinger outlines two components in Jung's model of the psyche, the ego and the self. The ego can be understood as who we are aware we are, while the self is at once the container for all of the psyche including the ego, and a separate component from the ego in certain stages of development. It is a conundrum of the model. In both of its positions the self is, in Edinger's words "the inner empirical deity". It is Edinger's belief that for the human to develop fully, the ego emerges from the self along the ego self axis. He believes this happens several times during life, but happens first when consciousness first emerges. A study is cited where children drew drawings as they got older. All children drew something resembling circles (a reference he believes to the wholeness of the self) the children drew pictures more resembling humans as their consciousness emerged, beginning with drawing simply circles with appendages and shaping into beings with torsos and limbs etc. The ego emerges again, though I missed where and why it descends into the self after its' first emergence. Allusions are made to Prometheus, the garden of eden, Icarus and other myths where an "inflated ego" is cause for a transgression, which is perceived as a crime and can be one, but ultimately is step towards a greater consciousness along the path of individuation. This transgression is not always perfectly conceived and can fail (Phaeton's crash of Helios' chariot and Icarus' melted wings illustrate). If there is a specific guidance about how to discern what approach will end in tragedy, I missed it.