The Origins and History of Consciousness

Bollingen Series

By: Erich Neumann, R. F. C. Hull - translator, Carl Jung - foreword

Narrated by: William Roberts

This audiobook, narrated by William Roberts, explores the evolution of consciousness through the archetypes and myths that are universal to all humanity.

The Origins and History of Consciousness draws on a full range of world mythology to show how individual consciousness undergoes the same archetypal stages of development as human consciousness as a whole. Erich Neumann was one of C. G. Jung's most creative students and a renowned practitioner of analytical psychology in his own right. In this influential book, Neumann shows how the stages begin and end with the symbol of the Uroboros, the tail-eating serpent. The intermediate stages are projected in the universal myths of the World Creation, Great Mother, Separation of the World Parents, Birth of the Hero, Slaying of the Dragon, Rescue of the Captive, and Transformation and Deification of the Hero. Throughout the sequence, the Hero is the evolving ego consciousness.

Featuring a foreword by Jung, this Princeton Classics edition introduces a new generation of listeners to this eloquent and enduring work.

©2020 Erich Neumann (P)2020 Princeton University Press

Critic reviews

"No better exposition has come to us of the two Jungian themes: the evolution of consciousness in the history of mankind and the development of personality in the individual." (The Personalist)

"A welcome source of information for all those who are touched by the relationship between man and his myths." (The New York Times)

"There can be no doubt that [Neumann] has brought to his task a remarkable...knowledge of classical mythology, some considerable acquaintance with the comparative study of religion, and a deep understanding of those psychological views and theories evolved by C. G. Jung." (The Times Literary Supplement)

Remarkable

Information that is timeless and valid, great performance of a classic and important work of cultural achievement.

Great Find for Classic Psychology Fans!

A must if you like the great works of psychology that are also superb literature. The narrator emphasizes every page but does it well. It's kind of like having Freud or Jung read to you by Vince McMahon or Mean Gene Okerlund. I recommend it to anyone who likes those guys. Freud or Jung that is, not McMahon or Okerlund.

Depth psychology

I have been an enthusiastic student of Depth Psychology over the years and enjoyed listening and thinking about the concepts in this presentation.

I can't say i understood what he was explaining

Maybe my level of psychological understanding is to low for this book...because as I heard it my brain felt groggy...but by the end of the chapter I sort of got the feeling that it made complete sense...

Brilliant ideas from a brilliant mind!

Look, there’s a lot (and I mean it, a lot) to think about even after about 70 years from the first publication. Must read for ones who are not indifferent to the topic of conciseness and of keeping up with it through both group- or individual-related journeys.

Deep stuff

Once I got into his lingo really enjoyed it, stimulating thinking, and personally applicable. Great read

I will be listening to this again.

I need to spend more time in this field of study. This just makes me itch to learn more!

So good

If you like 12 rules for life or the hero of a 1000 faces, you’ll like this as well

funny mispronounced words

the guy reading kept pronouncing puberty as pooberty... just a little bit distracting but otherwise good read.

Great book, need a better narrator

I had to buy this book in print to avoid listening to the narrator. The concept is amazing and interesting, but honestly, please get a new narration. The issue is this: the narrator has this 1950s professorial tone with an interesting but condescending tone throughout. Tragically, if he were British it would work, but the American accent (and I’m American) just doesn’t work.