Jung on the devil

C.G. Jung
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“Only an infantile person can pretend that evil is not at work everywhere, and the more unconscious he is, the more the devil drives him.” 

  • Source: The quote is found in Collected Works Vol. 9ii: Aion: Researches into the Phenomenology of the Self, paragraph 255.
  • Context: Jung argues that people who do not acknowledge their own capacity for evil (the shadow) are “driven” by it unconsciously, leading to actions they might otherwise avoid.
  • Meaning: When you are unaware of your own dark side, it governs your life from behind the scenes, and you are far more likely to project this inner evil onto others, creating “devils” in the outside world. 

Related Jung Quotes on Unconsciousness

  • “The psychological rule says that when an inner situation is not made conscious, it happens outside, as fate.” (Often paraphrased as: “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”)
  • “Much of the evil in this world is due to the fact that man, in general, is hopelessly unconscious.” (Modern Man in Search of a Soul)
  • “The devil… describes the grotesque and sinister side of the unconscious; for we have never really come to grips with it and consequently it has remained in its original savage state.” 

Significance

For Jung, the goal is to make the unconscious conscious to avoid being possessed by it. Acknowledging one’s own “inner devil” is, according to Jung, a necessary step toward individuation and becoming a whole person. 

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