Toward a Phenomenology of Participation Mystique
Reformulation of Jungian Philosophical Anthropology Webinar
presented by John R. White PhD
On Wednesday, the 14th of January, 2015 at 5 PM Pacific time, Fisher King Press will be hosting an online webinar with presenter John R. White PhD, contributing author to Shared Realities: Participation Mystique and Beyond. Join as Dr. White outlines Jung’s notion of participation mystique and considers it from a philosophical standpoint.
Throughout his professional life, Carl Jung insisted that his theories were scientifically and empirically founded, based more or less exclusively on clinical observation and experience. While this claim rings largely true, we should not think of Jung as solely an inductive scientist of the psyche. For Jung offers many statements not only about what the psyche does – i.e. clinical observations – but also about what the psyche is, claims which therefore amount to speculative philosophical claims rather than empirical, scientific claims. That Jung made such claims is consistent with his research program, which included his efforts to establish analytical psychology’s superior understanding of the psyche over the views of Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler. But it is also this element of Jung’s thought which invites philosophical reflection on his theories and opens many of his claims to philosophical scrutiny and critique.
Webinar participation is free – you just need to register with the Fisher King Press online bookstore, add the free webinar to your shopping cart, and complete the check out process to complete your registration. Once registered, a private link will be sent to you via email a few days before the webinar so that you can sign in online and attend.
John R. White
John R. White, PhD has taught philosophy for the past twenty years at a number of colleges and universities. He is also a psychotherapist at the Pittsburgh Pastoral Institute and an analyst-in-training in the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts. His published research includes work in medieval philosophy, Continental European philosophy, philosophy of history, environmental ethics, and philosophy of psychoanalysis. He is currently completing a book manuscript on St. Bonaventure’s theory of knowledge as well as some article-length studies on the work of psychoanalyst Robert Langs. He lives and works in Pittsburgh PA and trains at the C.G. Jung Analytic Training Program there.
