Public Semester Program
Autumn 2024

It was on a Sunday, January 16, 1916 when C.G. Jung had the strange feeling that his house was filled with ghostly entities; it was as if it had begun to be haunted. The night before three of his children had had similar experiences. In the afternoon the whole house was crammed full of spirits of the dead. Then the dead suddenly cried out: “We have come back from Jerusalem where we found not what we sought.” This is the beginning of the Septem Sermones ad Mortuos which Jung wrote in a few nights after the experience of haunting in his house. It is a text full of wisdom and beauty.

In the so-far untranslated alchemical text from the 16th century treatise “Tractatus aureus” Mercurius appears as a poisonous dragon who never sleeps and resides in a fiery mountain. The dragon must be healed by a remedy consisting of various ingredients. If the healing succeeds, the alchemist can enter the mountain on the top of which he will find the precious stone. This lecture offers a psychological interpretation of the parable as an introduction to C.G. Jung’s approach to alchemy.

The archetype of worldwide redemption—restoration to wholeness—has been envisaged throughout history. Jung refers to it in many of his writings as ‘apocatastasis’. The hopes and the difficulties associated with this compelling image of global health will be examined. Attention will be paid to spiritual, material, romantic and pragmatic elements of the symbol of relational integrity as they pertain to the planet as well as to the Self. Which attitudes and behaviors obstruct and which further collective individuation, the evolution of the human species?

We shall be looking at the development of the inner core of the psyche as it unfolds in Jung’s Red Book from the viewpoint of psychiatry, in particular the transformation of the ego and other inner figures. Jung’s insights into these processes offer a key for healing resonance of soul, love and life, which is greatly needed in today’s world.

Suggested Reading: The Shadow and the Problem of Evil: Five Examinations, Murray Stein (ed.), Chiron Publications, 2023.

Jung attempted to understand the nature of the psyche by comparing his clients’ unconscious material with symbolic images from alchemical treatises. In this presentation we will proceed in Jung’s footsteps as he studies various alchemical treatises. By following his twists and turns we hope to glimpse the unfolding of his understanding of the connections between psyche and alchemy.

The importance of Jung’s trips to and experiences in Africa for his work and life.

After his heart attack and near-death experience, Jung returned to three of his life’s major passions: Gnostic, alchemical and Christian symbols of the Self. In Aion he traces the development of the European psyche throughout the Christian era, addresses the problem of evil and the Antichrist, and finds an explanation for the Utopian mass psychoses which still trouble us today.

Panelists and their topics:

Kathrin Schaeppi, MS, MFA
“Psychology and the Art of Poetry”

Brigitte Egger, Dr. sc. nat. ETH
“Psychology and the Art of the Ecological Turnaround”

Luis Moris, MA
“Psychology and the Art of Film”

Paul Brutsche, Dr. phil.
“Psychology and the Art of Painting”

Murray Stein, PhD (moderator)

Stanley Kubrick, like C.G. Jung, was profoundly aware of the problem of evil. Using clips from his movies, this lecture first aims to experience evil as Kubrick wants us to see it, then to reflect about it using Jungian psychology.

These five songs recreate a descent into the Underworld and resurfacing from the Unconscious: Ode to Anima, Tyger, Hymn to Sophia, Nightbirds, and Paper Airplane. I will tell you where they came from and we will perform them.

This lecture will start with the exploration of the understanding of psychic suffering and illness in antiquity. In a further step, we will compare Freud’s and Jung’s understanding of neurosis. How does the Jungian understanding of neurosis effect the analytical work?

We will look at the unfolding emotional needs, tasks, and achievements of the young child and explore the relevance of holding, containment, attachment, impingements, intersubjectivity, life stages, and archetypal steps. We will examine how deficits in early childhood show up in everyday life and in analysis with adults.

Contrary to what many think, Jung had a definite notion of object relations; he formulated perhaps the first thorough description of the ego’s relation to internal objects. Kernberg’s descriptions of object relations bear similarities to aspects of Jung’s. The question is then whether they treated object relations similarly or differently. This lecture will explore the similarities and differences.

In spring of 2024 Sarah Blum donated a sequence of 43 oil-based crayon paintings—her late husband David Blum’s psychological legacy—to ISAPZURICH. This illuminating series is this autodidactic painter’s self- explorative journey, his individuation process, as he grapples with cancer. Through his dreams he meets his inner guide, a Wise Old Dog, his own inner wisdom, that supports and comforts him on his ultimate transformative journey.
This course is comprised of six short lectures:

Deborah Egger, MSW
What the Blum Collection means to ISAP

Murray Stein, PhD
“My Appointment with David Blum”

Sarah Blum (video)
The Soul of David Blum

Peter Ammann, Dr. phil.
A Bond of Music - My Friendship with David and Sarah Blum

Lucienne Marguerat, lic. phil. &
Penelope Yungblut, MA
The Healing Power of Images: “A Miracle has Taken Place”

Kathrin Schaeppi, MS, MFA
Why Do We Collect Pictures?