Psychology & The Cross

In this episode, I speak with Martin Liebscher from the Philemon Foundation. Martin is a Research Fellow in the German Department and an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the Centre for the History of Psychological Disciplines at University College London. We discuss the recently published book by Philemon, "Jung on Ignatius of Loyola's Spiritual Exercises," which includes lectures that Jung delivered at ETH in Zurich between June 1939 and November 1940.

Martin begins by contextualizing these lectures in Jung's life and theory-building and gives an overview of Jung's activities in the 1930s. We discuss why Jung turned towards Western and European spirituality during this time and then dive into the vision of Saint Loyola, along with Jung's interpretation of it. We also discuss the work of Jesuit priest, philosopher, and theologian Erich Przywara, whose writings on the exercises served as a foundation for much of Jung's lectures.

Additionally, we delve into two of the most important visions of Jung: the first being from Christmas Day of 1913, where Jung identified with being Christ on the Cross, and the second is a vision of Christ on the Cross that he had while writing on the spiritual exercises of Saint Loyola in the late 1930s.