Grounded in the natural philosophy of the Middle Ages, alchemy formed a bridge: on the one hand into the past, to Gnosticism, and on the other into the future, to the modern psychology of the unconscious.
Carl JungRead
Whether you call the principle of existence "God," "matter," "energy," or anything else you like, you have created nothing; you have merely changed a symbol. Eastern and Western Thinking, 1938
Interpretation
What this quote means
The essence of existence remains unchanged despite the different labels we use for it.
This quote by Carl Jung emphasizes the idea that regardless of the terms or symbols we use to describe the fundamental principles of existence—be it 'God,' 'matter,' or 'energy'—we have not created or altered the essence itself, but rather simply transformed the way we represent it. It invites reflection on how our perspectives and interpretations influence our understanding of reality without changing its inherent nature.
Themes
ExistenceSymbolsPerceptionPhilosophyReality
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about spirituality, this quote can illustrate how different religions may be expressing the same fundamental truth.
More from Carl Jung
All quotes →The majority of my patients consisted not of believers but of those who had lost their faith.
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Complexes are psychic contents which are outside the control of the conscious mind. They have been split off from consciousness and lead a separate existence in the unconscious, being at all times ready to hinder or to reinforce the conscious intentions.
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We are in a far better position to observe instincts in animals or in primitives than in ourselves. This is due to the fact that we have grown accustomed to scrutinizing our own actions and to seeking rational explanations for them.
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From the viewpoint of analytic psychology, the theatre, aside from any aesthetic value, may be considered as an institution for the treatment of the mass complex.
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I have treated many hundreds of patients. Among those in the second half of life - that is to say, over 35 - there has not been one whose problem in the last resort was not that of finding a religious outlook on life.
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