Carl Jung and The Most Important Rule of Life

Marie-Louise von Franz was a Swiss psychologist who closely collaborated with Carl Jung from 1933 until his death in 1961. One of von Franz’s primary topics of interest was fairy tales. For like myths, fairy tales contains timeless wisdom that teaches us about the human condition. Jung believed that so much wisdom was contained in the fairy tale that he once told von Franz that “when you study fairy tales you can study the anatomy of man.” (Marie-Louise Von Franz, Shadow and Evil in Fairy Tales)

After years of interpreting fairy tales from cultures spanning the globe and throughout all periods of history, von Franz came to an important conclusion concerning the lessons they teach. No matter the message contained in a fairy tale, you can almost always find a contradicting message in another fairy tale. von Franz called this the rule of contradiction. Or as she explains:

“I can tell you stories which say that if you meet evil you must fight it, but there are just as many which say that you must run away and not try to fight it. Some say to suffer without hitting back; others say don’t be a fool, hit back! There are stories which say that if you are confronted with evil, the only thing to do is lie your way out of it; others say no, be honest, even towards the Devil, and don’t become involved with lying. For all these I could give you examples, but it is always a yes and a no. There are just as many stories which say the one as the other.”

Marie-Louise Von Franz, Shadow and Evil in Fairy Tales

Upon discovering the rule of contradiction von Franz was disappointed as she hoped to find lessons that were timeless and indisputable. But after further reflection she came to realize that the rule of contradiction makes sense. The challenges and predicaments of life are countless, there is no one path that is right for everyone, and when faced with an ethical dilemma it is in choosing between contradictory ways of dealing with it that we become an individual. Or as von Franz explains:

“. . . if collective material [found in fairy tales] is completely contradictory, if our basic ethical disposition is completely contradictory, only then is it possible for us to have an individual, responsible, free conscious superstructure over the basic opposites. Then we can say that in human nature it would be right to do this or that, but I am going to do this, the third thing, which is my individuality. There would be no individuality if the basic material were not contradictory. That was my comfort after having discovered the terrible truth of the contradictory structure!”

Marie-Louise Von Franz, Shadow and Evil in Fairy Tales

There is, however, one exception to the rule of contradiction, one lesson that no fairy tale ever went against and as von Franz tells us this exception is “. . .that one must never hurt the helpful animal in fairy tales.” (Marie-Louise Von Franz, Shadow and Evil in Fairy Tales)

In this video we look at what this rule means in practical terms, why Jung believed it is so important to live in accordance with this rule and how most people break it and suffer as a result.

According to von Franz unpacking the meaning of this rule is simple. The helpful animal in a fairy tale represents the intuitive inner voice that helps us distinguish between right and wrong, good and evil, and which pushes us toward certain paths in life and away from others.

“. . .obedience to one’s most basic inner being, one’s instinctual inner being, is the one thing which is more essential than anything else. In all nations and all fairy tale material I have never found a different statement.”

Marie-Louise Von Franz, Shadow and Evil in Fairy Tales

The helpful animal in fairy tales, in other words, represents man’s conscience and as Jung writes:

“The etymology of the word “conscience” tells us that it is a special form of “knowledge” or “consciousness.” The peculiarity of “conscience” is that it is a knowledge of, or certainty about, the emotional value of the ideas we have concerning the motives of our actions.”

Carl Jung, A Psychological View of Conscience

When faced with a moral dilemma, or significant life decision, our conscience often manifests as strong emotions and gut feelings impelling us toward certain actions and away from others. Sometimes these emotions will be of a negative sort, warning us not to do something, at other times they will be positive and encourage us to take a certain action. In his essay A Psychological View of Conscience, Jung notes that many cultures consider conscience to be an expression of god’s will, which reveals the power of this human faculty.

“Conscience – no matter on what it is based – commands the individual to obey his inner voice even at the risk of going astray. We can refuse to obey this command by an appeal to the moral code and the moral views on which it is founded, though with an uncomfortable feeling of having been disloyal.”

Carl Jung, A Psychological View of Conscience

Most people have an innate terror of going against the social grain and when faced with the dilemma of obeying their conscience or conforming, they take the latter path. But when we deny the call of our conscience we are often left with a nagging feeling that we are living a lie, or as Jung explains:

“. . . the observance of customs and laws can very easily be a cloak for a lie so subtle that our fellow human beings are unable to detect it. It may help us to escape all criticism, we may even be able to deceive ourselves in the belief of our obvious righteousness. But deep down. . .he hears a voice whispering, “There is something not right,” no matter how much his rightness is supported by public opinion or by the moral code.”

Carl Jung, Collected Works Volume 17

By spurring the voice of conscience, we break the one universal rule that von Franz discovered in her study of fairy tales. The Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky went as far as to suggest that it is our conscience that makes us truly human and if we disobey it for too long, we suffer immensely. Guilt, regret, shame, and a feeling of being an imposter eats us from within, and a sickness of self overtakes our being. Or as Joseph Frank explains in Dostoevsky: The Seeds of Revolt:

“This image of conscience as a natural and instinctive regulator of the human psyche, whose distortion or perversion leads to a literal “sickness” of the self, was to become one of the major themes of the great works of Dostoevsky.”

Joseph Frank, Dostoevsky: The Seeds of Revolt

For those who allow their conscience to guide them in the development of their individuality, Jung offers some words of caution. Along with a ‘right’ or ‘true’ conscience, which prompts us to take actions that better our life and which helps us properly solve moral dilemmas, there is a ‘wrong’ or ‘false’ conscience “which exaggerates, perverts, and twists evil into good and good into evil. . .and it does so with the same compulsiveness and with the same emotional consequences as the “right” kind of conscience.” (Carl Jung, A Psychological View of Conscience) Our demons, in other words, can mask themselves as the helpful animal of our true conscience and lead us down meaningless and destructive paths, or as Jung writes:

“Close beside these, beside the positive, “right” conscience, there stands the negative, “false” conscience called the devil, seducer, tempter, evil, spirit etc.”

Carl Jung, A Psychological View of Conscience

To avoid being seduced by our false conscience Jung recommends that when faced with a particularly difficult moral dilemma, we slow down and not rush into action. Compulsive urges, and a desire to act in haste, are a sign that we are being guided by our false conscience, or as a favourite quote of Jung’s put it: “All haste is of the Devil.” And as von Franz writes:

“Jung has observed that if one stews long enough in the agonies of such a conflict, then somehow an inner line, an inner development, becomes clear, which gives the individual enough certainty to continue on his way, even at the risk of committing an error.”

Marie-Louise Von Franz, Shadow and Evil in Fairy Tales

By slowing down, not acting in haste, and giving our unconscious mind enough time to stew on a moral dilemma, we are more likely to connect to the signals of our true conscience. But when making a choice as to how to deal with a tough moral dilemma, we can never be certain beforehand that we are doing the right thing. To move forward in life we must take a leap of faith and hope that it is our true conscience that is guiding us. Or as Jung explains:

“In practice it is very difficult to indicate the exact point at which the “right” conscience stops and the “false” one begins, and what the criterion is that divides one from the other. . . But if the voice of conscience is the voice of God, this voice must possess an incomparably higher authority than traditional morality. Anyone, therefore, who allows conscience this status should, for better or worse, put his trust in divine guidance and follow his conscience rather than give heed to conventional morality.”

Carl Jung, A Psychological View of Conscience

But even if we are successful in detecting the signals of our true conscience some may wonder if it is always worth heeding its council? Don’t we risk alienating other people and in some cases being shunned or ostracized by our social group? The South African writer Laurens van der Post, who was heavily influenced by Jung, provides a powerful passage in his novel A Far Off Place that suggests that any costs of following our conscience pale in comparison to the costs that come to those too cowardly to follow it.

“. . .you see every human being has his own inborn sense of contract with life. He has, it is true, also an important sense of contract with the community into which he has been born . . .But above that is his own special contract with life itself. This contract is entirely between him and life and nothing, not even the community, can be allowed to suppress it, if it should drive him into conflict with it. This contract is in the keeping of its own voice—a voice we call conscience and no man can refuse to disobey this voice and ever know any peace again. Believe me, this unease, this disquiet and enmity of neighbours that has come into our lives, because they found us guilty of having broken our contract with society, is a peace that passes all understanding in comparison with what would happen to us if we broke the special sense of contract that you and I have with life itself.”

Laurens van der Post, A Far Off Place

EDITORS NOTE: This Academy of Ideas column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

The post Carl Jung and The Most Important Rule of Life appeared first on Dr. Rich Swier.