Number and Time: Reflections Leading toward a Unification of Depth Psychology and Physics PDF
Preview Number and Time: Reflections Leading toward a Unification of Depth Psychology and Physics
Number and Time Reflections Leading toward a Unification of Depth Psychology and Physics Marie-Louise von Franz Translated by Andrea Dykes Northwestern University Press Evanston 1974 Studies in Jungian Thought JAMES HıLıman, General Editor COPYRIGHT (C) 1974 BY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY PRESS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER 73-84647 ISBN 0—8101—0429—6 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Number and Time originally appeared in German under the title Zahl und Zeit: Psychologische Überlegungen zu einer Annäherung von Tiefenpsychologie und Physik, © Ernst Klett Verlag, Stuttgart 1970. Grateful acknowledgment is made to Princeton University Press, and to Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd, for the use of quoted material and illustrations from The Collected Works of C. G. Jung, edited by G. Adler, M. Fordham, and H. Read, and translated by R. F. C. Hull, as follows: Vol. VIII, The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche, copyright © 1960 and 1969 by the Bollingen Foundation; Vol. IX (1), The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, copyright (Ὁ 1959 and 1969 by the Bollingen Foundation; Vol. X, Civilization in Transition, copyright (© 1964 by the Bollingen Foundation; Vol. XI, Psychology and Religion, copyright © 1958 and 1969 by the Bollingen Foundation; Vol. XII, Psychology and Alchemy, copyright 1953 and © 1968 by the Bollingen Foundation; Vol. XII, Alchemical Studies, copyright (©) 1967 by the Bollingen Foundation; Vol. XIV, Mysterium Coniunctionis, copyright (Ὁ 1963 by the Bol- lingen Foundation. Reprinted by permission of Princeton University Press and Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd. Publication was assisted by a grant from the late Mr. Fowler McCormick. Marie-Louise von Franz is a lecturer at the C. G. Jung Institute, Zurich. CONTENTS Preface 1X Part I: NUMBER AS THE COMMON ORDERING FACTOR OF PsycHE AND MATTER CHAPTER ONE The Problem of the Unity of Psyche and Matter CHAPTER TWO Images and Mathematical Structures in Relation to the Unus Mundus 15 CHAPTER THREE Number as the Basic Manifestation of the Mind and as the Unalterable Quality of Matter 35 Part II: THE STRUCTURE OF THE FIRST Four INTEGERS- CHAPTER FOUR Number as a Time-bound Quality of the One-Continuum 59 CHAPTER FIVE The Number Two as the One-Contin- uum’s Rhythm by Which Symmetries and Observables Are Engendered 87 CHAPTER SIX The Number Three as a Rhythmic Con- figuration of Progressive Actualizations in Human Consciousness and the Material Realm 101 Vi NUMBER AND TIME CHAPTER SEVEN The Number Four as the One-Contin- uum’s Model of Wholeness in All Rela- tively Closed Structures of Human Con- sciousness and in the Body 113 Part III: THe FIELD oF THE COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUS AND Its INNER DYNAMISM CHAPTER EIGHT Archetypes and Numbers as “Fields” of Unfolding Rhythmical Sequences 6tI CHAPTER NINE Numbers as Isomorphic Configurations of Motion in Psychic and Physical Energy 155 Panr IV: HisroRICAL AND MATHEMATICAL MODELS or THE Unus Mundus CHAPTER TEN Historical Mandala Models as Inner Psy- chic Equivalents of the Unus Mundus 171 CHAPTER ELEVEN Divinatory, Mnemotechnical, and Cyber- netic Mandalas 195 CHAPTER TWELVE The Archetype of the Number-Game as the Basis of Probability Theory and Number Oracles 213 Part V: NuMBER AND THE PARAPSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF THE PRINCIPLE or SYNCHRONICITY CHAPTER THIRTEEN Number, Time, and Synchronicity 235 vii Contents CHAPTER FOURTEEN The Unus Mundus as the World of the Spirit and “Spirits” 265 CHAPTER FIFTEEN Synchronicity and the Coniunctio 285 301 SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK Bibliography 305 Index 321 PREFACE Δ... C. G. June had completed his work on syn- chronicity in “Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Prin- ciple,” he hazarded the conjecture, already briefly suggested in his paper, that it might be possible to take a further step into the realization of the unity of psyche and matter through research into the archetypes of the natural numbers. He even began to note down some of the mathematical characteristics of the first five integers on a slip of paper. But, about two years before his death, he handed this slip over to me with the words: “I am too old to be able to write this now, so 1 hand it over to you.” For a long time I was uncertain whether I ought to undertake this task, or simply keep the idea in mind, in order to pass it to someone more competent than I. But after Jung’s death the problem allowed me no rest, and I have to thank my friend Barbara Hannah for having urged me to venture on the undertaking. This work has thus come into being over a period of more than six years; it represents no more than a first attempt to clarify a few questions on this difficult subject. The book is not mathematical in the strict sense of the word, nor is it intended to be a study of number symbolism; rather it is in principle an attempt to observe the phenome- non of number from a new angle, one based on a considera- tion of the unconscious. Although I had to venture into the field of mathematics, I remain fully aware that I lack the 1X X NUMBER AND TIME equipment to hazard far-reaching expositions in this area. For similar reasons, I have not gone into the relation of number to the logic of language and to the theory of music, although a rich mine of related material lies there for the uncovering. As well as to Barbara Hannah, 1 also wish to express my gratitude to the late Dr. Franz Riklin for his support of this work, and also to Arnold and Nora Mindell who, as en- thusiastic listeners, helped to clarify my thoughts. I am especially deeply indebted to Nora Mindell for her enor- mous contribution to the translation. I would also like to thank Professor Konrad Voss of the Eidgenössische Tech- nische Hochschule, who placed himself at my disposal in his capacity as mathematician in order to discuss the basic problems, and helped me to improve on certain amateurish formulations. I must, however, take responsibility for the ideas put forward in this work. My warmest thanks are also due to William Byers Brown, professor of mathematical chemistry at the University of Manchester, for correcting some of my statements and making several valuable sug- gestions. In addition, my thanks are due to Dr. Mokusen Miyuki for information on number theories in the work of Fa-tzang. I cannot resist telling the interesting synchronistic phe- nomenon that occurred in this connection. When I thought I had finished the book I had the following dream: I was at an exhibition of antique Indian art. In a showcase I saw some figurines of demons, approximately thirty centimeters high, which were crying. I knew this related to a story from the life of Buddha, in which he was killed by demons, who, when they saw what they had done, wept and were con- verted to a more human attitude. A few figurines were miss- ing because a young scholar had taken them in order to give a lecture. I looked into the lecture hall, but it was pitch black. The young savant (unknown to me) then emerged from the room. At this moment, Jung approached him and they began an animated scientific discussion. Jung signaled to me that I should listen in too.
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