Carl Jung (1875–1961) was born in Kesswil, switzerland, the son of a lutheran pastor. despite his vocation, Jung’s father seemed more intellectual than spiritual, and his detached attitude led Jung,...

Carl Jung (1875–1961) was born in Kesswil, switzerland, the son of a lutheran pastor. despite his vocation, Jung’s father seemed more intellectual than spiritual, and his detached attitude led Jung, as a child, to feel isolated by his own spiritual interests. the feelings he experienced were later to infl uence his ideas about psychological growth. Jung was educated in Basel, and received his medical degree from the university of Basel in 1900; he then did a psychiatric internship at the Burgholzli in Zurich under eugen Bleuler (who coined the term ‘schizophrenia’). By 1905, he was lecturing in psychiatry at the university of Zurich and conducting a psychiatric practice. at this time, he contacted Freud to express interest in his work, and the two men developed a quick rapport; when they met in vienna for the fi rst time, they talked together for 13 hours! they had regular contacts after that, and Freud came to consider Jung as his protégé and successor (for example, when Freud was invited to speak in the usa in 1909, Jung was prominent among those who accompanied him). however, by 1912 they had clashed on a number of issues, and Jung left Freud’s circle to develop his own theory and techniques. in later years, he continued to live in Zurich, where he conducted a private practice and wrote. Faced with heart problems that underlined to him the frailty of human life, he remained interested in the issues of individuation and growth until his death at the age of 86.