Advertisement

Nobody Has Put Salt on Jung's Tail But Father and Freud, Says Murray

The following article, defending the scientific Integrity of Dr. C. G. Jung, was submitted by Dr. Henry A. Murray, Jr. '15, assistant professor of Abnormal and Dynamic Psychology, in reply to the statement printed in the "Crimson" last Wednesday. Dr. Jung will receive an Honorary Degree next September, and will take part in the Tercentenary Symposium on "Factors Determining Human Behavior".

--

The statement printed in the CRIMSON, that "psychologists believe Jung under Nazi thumb" is evidently a sly dig at a serious and respectable group of scientists. As well say, "Psychologists believe adult mountain lion tamed by boy scout." Nothing less true could be thought of Dr. Jung. He slipped form under his father's thumb and later from under Freud's, and since then no one has even been able to put salt on his tall.

The excerpt, printed by the Crimson, from the editorial by Dr. Jung certainly enters to Nazi sentiment and in juxtaposition with such trash as flowed from Professor Goring's pen is enough to suggest that the scientific conscience of the great Zurich psychologist is not inflexible. Anyhow, those who are on the alert for Nordic bullies or who, for one reason or another, wish to discredit Dr. Jung, have seized upon this solitary leaf from this published works in order to prove that he is unworthy of Harvard honors. As far as I know there are no other examples of this kind either before or during the three years since the publication of the above mentioned passage. I am told, furthermore, that Dr. Jung has several times informally expressed his disapproval of Nazi policies.

Re Editorial in Question

Advertisement

But to return to the editorial in question, it may be said that, because patients came to him from many quarters of the globe, the question of racial differences was forcefully brought to Dr. Jung's attention. He cannot be blamed if years ago experience led him to the tenable opinion that such differences do exist. And so, now when he speaks of differences between the Germanic and Semitic psychologies he is merely voicing a conclusion which he reached when Hitler was still among the unemployed. It would have been fairer if the CRIMSON had extended the quotation from Jung to include what followed: "Therefore, as I should like to state clearly, there shall be no inferiority of the Semitic psychology implied, any more than such is implied of the Chinese, when the psychology peculiar to that Oriental people is under discussion." Here Jung definitely assorts that he does not subscribe to the Nazi race theories.

Aloof From Politics

Dr. Jung is a thorough-going Swiss--bluff, independent, wise and utterly aloof from political entanglements. To a mind of such university the Nazi racket is a phenomenon to be impersonally studied, and perhaps judged from an emotional distance. That he should be persuaded to pay lip service to the present German regime cannot be supposed by anyone who knows him. And finally, and this is the point, there is no indication that any sentiments that he may entertain on this subject have affected his scientific work

Advertisement