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The Origins and History of Consciousness

Bollingen Series

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The Origins and History of Consciousness

By: Erich Neumann, R. F. C. Hull - translator, Carl Jung - foreword
Narrated by: William Roberts
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About this listen

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 Consciousness & Thought Customs & Traditions Philosophy Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Social Sciences Tradition Consciousness Mythology Jungian Psychology

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)
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Most relevant  
Neumann takes the reader on a journey into the human condition as illustrated within a mythic frame. He shows that where there is a degradation of spiritual meaning or a lack of striving toward individuation then humanity risks being possessed by archetypal forces that have dire consequences for individuals and thus society as a whole. A movement away from cetraversion to polarisation in search of meaning. The void means the rise of the Great Mother who consumes all who fall within her sphere of influence. Could it be that what we see in the echo chambers of social media and the accompanying polarisation this tends to produce is a contemporary manifestation of her rise? This book while no easy read is well worthwhile persevering with IMHO. It has given me a new lens to frame the inner and outer dimensions of life through.

Recollectivisation a Live Issue Today

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Better if it didn’t sound like it was narrated by nice young men in their clean white coats coming to take people away!

Nice young Men in their clean white coats

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Life changing book.
Builds on Jungs pioneering work on the unconscious.
Beautifully narrated.
Neumann died too young. God rest his soul.

Wow

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I should first say this book is about the psychoanalytic origins of differentiation as an individual from the great wholeness, not about consciousness as we know it today as brain science. I enjoyed this very much. The narration has a certain grandiosity that suits the writing style. The second appendix was excellent and this part in particular I will have to go back and listen again. I liked his take on Freud’s Oedipus complex, which isn’t really about boning your mom after all, and he considers Freud to be wrong. It’s a very heady intellectualised book from the mid 1900’s but if you are so inclined then I would recommend it.

My first book on the topic

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The narrator did a stellar job, but I found the subject matter to be somewhat perplexing

A heavy read

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If this book ever gets released on audio with a bearable narrator I'd buy it and listen to it again. This version just sucks so much, which is a shame because the book, particularly part 2, is full of amazing insights and definitely a must read. It was for that reason I got through the entire audiobook.

"Worst. Narration.Ever." - excellent book though.

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