Graduate Research Library: A Library Guide to Jung's Collected Works: Ego

Reference publications: Ego

"Ego" In A critical dictionary of Jungian analysis by Samuels, A., Shorter, B., & Plaut, F.
Call Number: BF173.J85 S275 1986
Publication Date: 1986
Ego: "On his map of the Psyche, Jung was at pains to distinguish the place of the ego from that assigned to it by Freud. He perceived it to be the centre of Consciousness but he also stressed the limitations and incompleteness of ego as being something less than the whole personality. Though the ego is concerned with such matters as personal identity, maintenance of the personality, continuity over time, mediation between conscious and unconscious realms, cognition and reality testing, it also has to be seen as responsive to the demands of something superior. This is the Self, the ordering principle of the entire personality. The relation of the self to the ego is compared to that of 'the mover to the moved" (p. 50) [Read more]
"Ego" In Jung lexicon: A primer of terms & concepts by Sharp, D. (Ed.).
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Call Number: BF109.J8S53 1991
Publication Date: 1991
Available as a free download from the publisher
Ego. "In the process of individuation, one of the initial tasks is to differentiate the ego from the complexes in the personal unconscious, particularly the persona, the shadow and anima/animus. A strong ego can relate objectively to these and other contents of the unconscious without identifying with them." (Sharp, 1991) [Read more]
"Ego" In Encyclopedia of psychology and religion (3rd ed.) by Beit-Hallahmi, B. (Leeming, D., Madden, K., & Marlan, S. (Eds.)
Publication Date: 2020
Ego: "The ego is the central and the executive part of the personality. It is the only part which is in contact with reality, and one of its major tasks is reality testing. Moreover, it has to balance internal demands, coming from the id and the superego, with the demands of the outside world. The ego is the locus for our subjective consciousness and its operations. It thinks, speaks, sees, makes decisions, and controls our body. Through the ego, the personality deals with reality. But there is another level of unconscious processing, which really determines observable behavior on the part of the person. At the unconscious level, the ego copes with unconscious anxiety coming from within and caused by the id and the superego. " (p. 274) [Read more]
"Ego" in A Guided Tour of the Collected Works of C. G. Jung by Robert H. Hopcke
Call Number: REF BF173 .J85 H66
ISBN: 9781570624056
Publication Date: 1999
"Before looking at particular archetypes, one is obligated to mention Jung's concept of the ego complex, sometimes referred to by Jung as the self (with lowercase s), ego consciousness, or simply ego. Since the Freudian usage of the term has become the most common, denoting a psychic structure that mediates societal demands (the superego) and instinctual drives (the id), one might assume, incorrectly, that Jung's usage of the concept is the same or similar. For Jung, the ego is a complex, a feeling-toned group of representations of oneself that has both conscious and unconscious aspects and is at the same time personal and collective. Simply put, too simply perhaps, the ego is how one sees oneself, along with the conscious and unconscious feelings that accompany that view." [Read more]
"Ego" in C. G. Jung's Collected Works: The basics by Ann Yeoman and Kevin Lu
ISBN: 9781317213093
Publication Date: 2024
"‘Ego’ is the Latin word for ‘I.’ It is ... only when infants are usually in their second year (12– 18 months) that a coherent sense of ‘I,’ ‘Me,’ and ‘Mine’ develops. This stage of development marks the emergence, at the centre of awareness, of what we can call ego . From this point onwards, rather than a cry indicating a need, we hear “I want …,” “ I am hungry.”" (p. 82) [Read more]

Jung on the Ego

Jung's essays on the Ego from the Collected Works:

Child development and education (pp. 47-62)

Jung, C. G. (1954). Jung, C. G. (1954). Child development and education (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.). In H. Read et al. (Eds.), The collected works of C. G. Jung: Vol. 17. Development of personality (pp. 47-62). Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1928) https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400850839-005
The relations between the ego and the unconscious (pp. 121–241)
Jung, C. G. (1966). The relations between the ego and the unconscious (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.). In H. Read et al. (Eds.), The collected works of C. G. Jung: Vol. 7. Two essays on analytical psychology (2nd ed., pp. 121–241). Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1928) https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400850891.121
The Ego (pp. 3-7)
Jung, C. G. (1968). The ego. Definitions: Ego (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.). In H. Read et al. (Eds.), The collected works of C. G. Jung: Vol. 9ii. Aion (Vol. 09ii, 2nd ed., pp. 3-7). Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1921)
Definitions: Ego
Jung, C. G. (1971). Definitions: Ego (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.). In H. Read et al. (Eds.), The collected works of C. G. Jung: Vol. 6. Psychological Types (p. 425). Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1921)

Suggested readings adapted from Hopcke's (1999) A guided tour of the collected works of C. G. Jung, pp. 79-82.

Available from Ebook Central.

Understanding the self-ego relationship In clinical practice by Margaret Clark
ISBN: 9781849405096
Publication Date: 2006
Understanding the Self-Ego Relationship in Clinical Practice: Towards Individuation is a volume in the clinical practice monograph series from The Society of Analytical Psychology. This series is intended primarily for trainees on psychotherapy and psychodynamic counselling courses, and for those who are newly qualified. These compact editions will be invaluable to all who wish to learn the basics of major theories derived from the work of Freud and Jung, from an integrated viewpoint. The authors are Jungian analysts trained at the SAP, highly experienced in both theory and practice.Margaret Clark argues for the profound importance of trusting the unconscious psyche in therapeutic work with adults. She considers various analytical meanings of the term "the self", with reference to a wide range of theorists, and various ways of thinking about the development of the ego. She uses primarily a Jungian model of the psyche from a developmental perspective, based on the assumption that the ego evolves in infancy and childhood out of a primary psychosomatic self. The self remains always greater than the ego and has infinite resources on which the ego can draw. The ongoing process of including more of this self in consciousness is what Jung calls "individuation".
"Ego and shadow" in The inner journey by Barbara Hannah; Dean L. Frantz (Ed.)
Call Number: BF173.J85 H328 2000
ISBN: 9780919123892
Publication Date: 1999
Lecture delivered in March 1955.

"Although one might think the ego would be the easiest of all Jungian concepts to speak of, I always find it one of, if not the, most difficult. It belongs indeed in the conscious realm in contrast to other terms such as anima, animus or archetype but, for that very reason, one finds oneself in the position of Baron Munchhausen who had to pull himself out of the bog by his own plait! One must try to confine oneself to giving a formal description of the ego, for every other way of looking at it would have to allow for individuality, which is the main characteristic of every ego. Every ego is different, even unique, so that one can only sketch the main genera characteristics very roughly. Any insistence on specifics would do violence to its individual character. r to make a start, we will begin with a short summary of Jung's description of the ego in Aion. The ego, as a content of consciousness, is a complex of intric factors. On the one side, it is founded on physical sensations, which are yet perceived psychically from within, and, on the other, on the totality of unconscious psychic contents. These two fields are the foundation of the ego and the ego itself is their point of relation. The ego is presumably brought into existence by the collisions of the body with the environment, and once a subject is present goes on developing by collisions with the outer world and the inner world. It is individually unique and is the center of the field of consciousness. As such it is the subject of all our efforts at adaptation. On the other hand, it is not the center of our personality, although we are often under the illusion that it is." (Hannah, p. 70)" [Read more]

Edinger, E. F. (1960). The ego-self paradox. Journal of Analytical Psychology, 5 (1), 3. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1465-5922.1960.00003.x
Abstract: "Discusses the relationship between ego and self at different stages of development. Consideration on the two different aspects of human psychology; Impact of the process of psychotherapy and psychic development on the relationship; Discovery in the transformation of the positive aspects of the ego-self axis into negative aspects."

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Moore, N. (1975). The transcendent function and the forming ego. Journal of Analytical Psychology, 20(2), 164–182.
Abstract: "This paper presents some views of the forming ego, derived from the study of regression in adult patients, and considers the light thus thrown on the transcendent function as a process, and on how it is experienced. The content of that function is not considered here in detail. The transcendent function is familiarly met when fully developed, especially in the analyses of patients who have a relatively well-formed ego. However, this developed state of affairs does not occur ready-made, but comes into being gradually as the ego forms and becomes able to observe the experience of interaction with the unconscious. The transcendent function has its inception and growth like any other function (Gordon 8), and has its forerunners during the time when the ego is emerging from the unconscious, first in isolated islands, then with more and more continuity. Jung has pointed out that the transference is a fruitful source of the unconscious material needed for the emergence of the transcendent function (Jung 10). The early era when the ego is forming is particularly important in the transference, and in the dialectical mediation of archetypal images."

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Redfearn, J., W. T. (1983). Ego and self: Terminology. Journal of Analytical Psychology, 28(2), 91–106.
Abstract: "Discusses the various meanings of 'self' and 'ego' as they are used in analytical literature. The uses of these terms by A. and S. Freud, M. Klein, D. W. Winnicott, E. Erikson, E. Jacobson, H. Hartmann, M. Fordham, H. Kohut, C. G. Jung, and E. Neumann are reviewed. The word 'self,' following Hartmann and Kohut, has for many theorists come to mean what the early Freudians, the Kleinians, and the Jungians referred to somewhat loosely as the 'ego.' For some theorists, the ego emerges from the original self; for some it is the other way around. There is little disagreement, however, about what these terms refer to: Personal identity or its precursor arises out of an original undifferentiated or boundaryless integrate or sensorium. The popularity of the writings of Kohut and his followers and the value of their clinical work on narcissistic disorders have made it urgent for Jungians to clarify their use of the terms 'ego' and 'self.' "

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Stein, L. (1962). An entity named ego. Journal of Analytical Psychology, 7 (1), 41–54.
Abtract: "Examines the concept of ego in psychological perspectives. Psychologist Carl Gustav Jung's distinction between the ego and the self; Existence of a different ego revealed by the epistemological, linguistic and analytical methods of approach; Pointers to the essence of the true ego gained through an excursion into the realm of the primitve and infantile psyche."

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