Summary of Edward F. Edinger's Ego and Archetype

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The Self is the ordering and unifying center of the total psyche, just as the ego is the center of the conscious personality. The Self is the supreme psychic authority and subordinates the ego to it.

#2 The first half of life is about ego development and progressive separation between ego and Self. The second half of life is about ego surrender or at least relativization. The current working formula is that first half of life: ego-Self separation; second half of life: ego-Self reunion.

#3 The diagrams represent progressive stages of ego-Self separation appearing in the course of psychological development. The shaded areas designate the residual ego-Self identity. The line connecting the ego-center with the Self-center represents the ego-Self axis, which is the vital connecting link between the two.

#4 The process by which these developmental stages unfold is an alternating cycle that is represented in the diagram (Figure 5, p. 41). As this cycle repeats itself throughout psychic development, it brings about a progressive differentiation of the ego and the Self.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: May 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822504981

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Insights on Edward F. Edinger's Ego and Archetype

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The Self is the ordering and unifying center of the total psyche, just as the ego is the center of the conscious personality. The Self is the supreme psychic authority and subordinates the ego to it.

#2

The first half of life is about ego development and progressive separation between ego and Self. The second half of life is about ego surrender or at least relativization. The current working formula is that first half of life: ego-Self separation; second half of life: ego-Self reunion.

#3

The diagrams represent progressive stages of ego-Self separation appearing in the course of psychological development. The shaded areas designate the residual ego-Self identity. The line connecting the ego-center with the Self-center represents the ego-Self axis, which is the vital connecting link between the two.

#4

The process by which these developmental stages unfold is an alternating cycle that is represented in the diagram (Figure 5, p. 41). As this cycle repeats itself throughout psychic development, it brings about a progressive differentiation of the ego and the Self.

#5

Inflation is the attitude and state of the ego that is in complete identification with the Self. The Self is the center and totality of being, and the ego totally identified with the Self experiences itself as a deity.

#6

The original round man is a parallel to the myth of the original round earth. The human psyche was originally whole, complete, and in a state of oneness and self-sufficiency, which is equivalent to deity itself.

#7

The child’s ego is closely connected with divinity, and this is a state of inflation. The child is innocent but also unresponsible. The adult how to achieve the union with nature and the gods that the child starts, without bringing about the inflation of identification.

#8

The same question applies to the problems of child-rearing. How can we successfully remove the child from his inflated state and give him a realistic and responsible notion of his relation to the world, while at the same time maintaining that living link with the archetypal psyche which is needed in order to make his personality strong and resilient.

#9

The state of mind that generates the idea that the world is one’s oyster is also the state of mind that generates the idea that one is the center of the universe. The ego is completely identified with the Self.

#10

The psychotherapist often sees cases of this type. Such a person considers himself a most promising individual, but he is unable to commit to any one thing in particular. He is full of talents and potentialities, but he can’t decide on one thing in particular.

#11

All of us, deep down, have a residue of inflation that is manifested as an illusion of immortality. This is commonly seen in