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==Key terms==

===Archetype===

Jung is best known for his term "[[archetype]]" which connotes a structural view of psychological life. The term archetype can be understood as quite similar to - and was probably directly influenced by - [[Immanuel Kant|Kant]]'s term "a priori." Jung often seemed to view the archetypes as sorts of psychological organs, directly analogous to our physical, bodily organs: both being morphological givens for the species; both arising at least partially through evolutionary processes. Current Jungian-influenced thinking has explored nearly diametrically opposing paths from Jung's structural thinking. Some have pursued deeply structural views, along the lines of [[systemics|complexity theory]] in mathematics, and some have tried to work with Jung's ideas in a seeming [[post-structuralism|post-structuralist]] way (most obviously, [[James Hillman]]). Jung's work with mythology and archetypes was one of the most significant influences on mythologist [[Joseph Campbell]].

===The Self===

Perhaps the most important archetype to Jung would be what he termed the "Self." It could be described as the ultimate pattern of psychological life; he characterized it as both the totality of the personality, conscious and unconscious, and the process of becoming of the whole [[personality]]. It could be described as both the goal of one's psychological life and that which pulls one toward it teleologically. One important point to note here about Jung's thinking is that he did not hold to be absolute the four-dimensional [[space-time continuum]] that we conventionally conceptualize (see [[synchronicity]]).

===The complex===

Early in Jung's career he coined the term and described the concept of the "[[complex (psychology)|complex]]". Jung claims to have discovered the concept during his [[free association]] and [[galvanic skin response]] experiments. Freud obviously took up this concept in his [[Oedipus complex]] amongst others. Jung seemed to see complexes as quite autonomous parts of psychological life. It is almost as if Jung were describing separate personalities within what is considered a single individual. But to equate Jung's use of complexes with something along the lines of [[multiple personality disorder]] would be to stretch the point beyond breaking.

==Clinical theories==

Jung's writings have been of much interest to people of many backgrounds and interests, including theologians, people from the humanities, and mythologists. Jung often seemed to seek to make contributions to various fields, but he was mostly a practicing psychiatrist, involved during his whole career in treating patients. A description of Jung's clinical relevance is to address the core of his work.