Satan and psyche: The ego's encounter with evil. An historical and psychoanalytic study

A Jungian Analyst selectively describes historical material from Biblical times to the present which reveal the development of the images of evil, especially of Satan, the Devil, Lucifer. Attention is given to the manner in which humans have perceived and responded to that which experienced as evil. Following several chapters of historical description and analysis, attention shifts to psychoanalytic, especially Jungian, theory and clinical practice. Selective case material provides demonstrative parallels between historical evidence and contemporary clinical evidence in regard to human responses to the encounter with perceived evil.;The fundamental thesis is proposed that the responses of ego consciousness to the encounter with evil fall into two main categories, the "alienative" and the "dialogical". Alienative responses are characterized by (1) flight or withdrawal; (2) passivity, paralysis, or identification with the aggressor; (3) the impulse to fight, attack, destroy. Dialogical ego responses are characterized by (1) the willingness and capacity to recognize or see; (2) the capacity to initiate; (3) the capacity to explore and investigate; (4) the impulse and desire to reconcile and re-integrate. Ample historical and clinical examples illustrate each of these characteristic ego responses. Both intra-psychic and interpersonal dimensions of these responses are discussed in some detail, drawing from dream and fantasy experience as well as interpersonal conflict and transference-countertransference reactions.;Chapter One is an introduction including key concepts. Chapter Two describes the imagery of evil; names, forms, and characteristics. Chapter three explores the Biblical foundations for the Western perceptions of evil. Chapter Four selectively describes the historical development of the imagery of evil and human responses. Chapter Five presents Jungian views of energy and form, conscience and guilt. Chapter Six discusses psychic influence, projection, and transference. Chapter Seven offers theoretical conclusions concerning the ego's responses to evil.