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In this interesting lecture, given to the German Society of Analytical Psychology in March 1975, M. Jacoby discusses the relevance of the age-old concept of paradise for our time and relates it to Jungian analysis.
He gives first a historical survey of the paradise myth in Genesis, Hesiod, Iranian and Sumerian texts. Genesis and Christianity attribute the loss of paradise to man's guilt. Kant and Schiller saw the fall as a most fortunate event which enables man to reach adulthood and moral responsibility. Jacoby then shows how Kleinian concepts, linking scientific empiricism with the mythology of the breast and Neumann's concept of the uroboric pre-ego state, help him in the analysis of narcissistic patients who are driven by a longing for bliss.
A great deal of psychic energy has been deployed through the ages in the pursuit of a conflict-free paradisiac state. It is the concern of many religions. Jung created a philosophy of religion which locates religious experience in the psychic world. He sees the image of paradise not only as a regressive manifestation, but also as a symbol of the self which appears in the beginning and at the end of the individuation process. After a humorous description of people who come for a ‘Jungian trip,’ the ‘sport of psychic deep-sea diving’, Jacoby emphasises that analysis does not lead to a state of bliss. It offers the possibility of integrating conflicting tendencies and experiencing the ego-self axis. This can lead to carrying the burdens of life with more strength and to finding more meaning in life.