Digesting Jung: Food for the Journey - Inner City Books

90 Self-Knowledge and Statistics
. . . The distinctive thing about real facts, however, is their individuality.
Not to put too fine a point on it, one could say that the real
picture consists of nothing but exceptions to the rule . . . .
These considerations must be borne in mind whenever there is
talk of a theory serving as a guide to self-knowledge. There is and
can be no self-knowledge based on theoretical assumptions, for the
object of this knowledge is . . . a relative exception and an irregular
phenomenon. 81
Similarly, in the treatment of psychic suffering, Jung stressed
that the scientific knowledge of humankind in general must take
second place; the important thing is the particular person. On the
one hand the analyst is equipped with statistical truths, and on the
other is faced with someone who requires individual understanding.
One need not deny the validity of statistics, but the more schematic
the treatment, the more resistances it calls up in the patient. The
analyst therefore needs to have a kind of two-way thinking: doing
one thing while not losing sight of the other.
The recognition that there is an unconscious side of ourselves
has fundamentally altered the pursuit of self-knowledge. It is apparent
now that we are twofold beings: we have a conscious side we
more or less know, and an unconscious side of which we know little
but which is generally no secret to others. When we lack knowledge
of our other side, we can do the most terrible things without
calling ourselves to account and without ever suspecting what
we’re doing. Thus we may be baffled by how others react to us.
The increased self-knowledge that comes about through depth psychology
allows us both to remedy our mistakes and to become more
understanding and tolerant of others.
Self-knowledge can have a healing effect on ourselves and our
environment, but this seldom happens without a prolonged period
of professional analysis. Self-analysis works to the extent that we
are alert to the effects of our behavior and willing to learn from
them; however, it is limited by our blind-spots—our complexes—
81 Ibid., pars. 493ff.