Depth Psychology and a New Ethic Discussion Group

Third Sunday of the Month from 10 AM to 12 PM via Zoom

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82082611967?pwd=U3BLTEIwejZTV25FcUlTZzc4SStGQT09 In this discussion group, we'll explore the shadow, the problem of evil, and what a genuine morality asks of us through Erich Neumann's "Depth Psychology and a New Ethic."

Written in the aftermath of the Second World War — and with a foreword by C.G. Jung — Depth Psychology and a New Ethic confronts a hard question: if the capacity for darkness lives within each of us, what does an honest morality look like? Neumann argues that the "old ethic," built on suppressing and disowning the shadow, only drives our darkness underground, where it returns as projection, scapegoating, and collective violence. In its place he proposes a "new ethic," one that asks each person to recognize, accept, and take responsibility for their own shadow rather than casting it onto others. The result is a bracing case for wholeness over perfection — and for the moral work of becoming conscious of what we would rather not see.

Erich Neumann (1905–1960) was among C.G. Jung's most gifted and original students, a psychologist whose work extended Jungian ideas into the study of consciousness, ethics, and the feminine. He is best known for The Origins and History of Consciousness and The Great Mother, and Depth Psychology and a New Ethic remains one of his most provocative and enduring contributions.

Jeffrey Pinnette is the facilitator for this discussion group. He is a long-term Jung Center member and currently serves as chair of the Center's Program Committee. He lives in Topsham.

The group will meet monthly to discuss Depth Psychology and a New Ethic. It is not necessary to have completed the reading to attend. During each session, we will read passages from the reading assignment together and discuss.

Third Sunday of the Month from 10 AM to 12 PM via Zoom

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82082611967?pwd=U3BLTEIwejZTV25FcUlTZzc4SStGQT09 In this discussion group, we’ll explore the perennial philosophy through Dana Sawyer’s “The Perennial Philosophy Reloaded”.

Dana unpacks the philosophy-spirituality of Huxley, Watts, and Ram Dass as well as contemporaries, including Mirabai Starr and Richard Rohr, revealing why this mystical understanding of our world is called “perennial.” During the 1960s and 70s, the “Perennial Philosophy” was the most popular theory regarding what the world’s mystical traditions held in common, and it was touted as the best platform for understanding the nature of human consciousness, including how to expand it therapeutically with meditation, yoga, and psychedelic drugs. The Perennial Philosophy Reloaded corrects several common errors in understanding the perennial philosophy while providing a short, up-to-date overview of the general perspective. The result is a demonstration of how the perennial philosophy applies to all who are interested in self-realization.

Dana Sawyer is professor emeritus of philosophy and world religions at the Maine College of Art and author of biographies of both Aldous Huxley and Huston Smith. His primary expertise is in Hinduism and Buddhism and for more than twenty years, his work has focused on comparative mysticism, theories of the “perennial philosophy,” and the value of psychedelic experiences in the study of mysticism.

Jeffrey Pinnette is the facilitator for this discussion group. He is a long-time Jung Center member and current serves on the Center’s Program Committee. He lives in Topsham.

The group will meet three times to discuss The Perennial Philosophy Reloaded and there is a reading assignment for each session as summarized below. However, it is not necessary to have completed the reading to attend. During each session, we will read passages from the reading assignment together and discuss.