23 Jul / The Transcendent Function: Building a Symbolic Bridge

In the wake of his confrontation with the unconscious (1913-1916), C.G. Jung wrote a short essay titled “The Transcendent Function;” and although the essay was not published until 1957, it is in my opinion one of his most important works. Jung (1916/1957) indicated that the essay was written as a partial answer to the following question: “How does one come to terms in practice with the unconscious?” (CW8, p. 68). In the same vein, Jung (1916/1957) also suggested that active imagination—a method he devised to approach, amplify, and integrate psychic “contents of the unconscious which lie, as it were, immediately below the threshold of consciousness and, when intensified, are the most likely to irrupt spontaneously into the conscious mind” (CW8, p. 68)—could bring about the conditions necessary to unite unconscious contents with consciousness into a symbolic synthesis that transcends both the former and the latter. According to Jung, the transcendent function is the psychological process that mediates conflicting attitudes, conscious and unconscious, within the personality. In Psychological Types his first major publication after his so-called fallow period, Jung (1921/1971) officially defined the transcendent function as follows:
Jung borrowed the term from the mathematical concept of a transcendent number, which is a function of a real or imaginary number that is not algebraic (e.g., π, e).
Because the contents of the unconscious and the attitude of everyday waking life are frequently at odds with one could characterize their relationship as asymmetric. The unconscious content may not conform to the prevailing conscious attitude of the ego—the continuous center of consciousness. Only contents that have reached a certain threshold intensity reach consciousness whereas others are relegated to the darksome confines of the unconscious until they can attain a certain threshold intensity. Thus, one could compare the relationship between the unconscious and consciousness to the invisible eddies and vortices that can occupy a body of water (Fig. 1). Their requisite energy can stir up the water’s contents and in some cases raise them to the surface. Furthermore, fantasy-images drift within the unconscious until they are raised to the surface of consciousness by a certain stimulus or event which releases energy into the psyche. In this way, one cannot overemphasize the dynamic nature of the psyche, which gives rise to a picture of a self-regulating energetic system.
“Thus he kills the monster, which then drifts to land, where the hero, new-born through the transcendent function (the “night sea journey,” as Frobenius calls it), steps forth, sometimes in the company of all those whom the monster has previously devoured.” (Jung, 1928, para. 160)
Culture and civilization require that that we constantly direct our consciousness into an activity and what follows is dissociation in other parts of our personality that are too vying for expression. In this vein, Jung (1916/1957) suggested that “The unconscious contents want first of all to be seen clearly, which can only be done by giving them shape, and to be judged only when everything they have to say is tangibly present” (CW8, para. 179). The whole of the psyche wants to bask in the light of consciousness, but one-sidedness is a necessary consequence of directed consciousness or psychic functioning. In other words, selecting one direction or position precludes the all other directions. A counter-position or counter-direction then is gradually built up in the unconscious. Where analysis, dream work, active imagination and others methods come in handy, is addressing the artificial ramparts built up between consciousness and the unconscious.
Jung further suggested that “we need the unconscious contents to supplement the conscious attitude. Jung further suggested that “The tendencies of the conscious and the unconscious are the two factors that together make up the transcendent function. It is called “transcendent” because it makes the transition from one attitude to another organically possible” (CW8, para. 145). In this way, the transcendent function serves as a quasi-figurative bridge that can bind unconscious contents to the conscious mind. If the conscious attitude were only to a slight degree “directed,” the unconscious could flow in quite of its own accord” (CW8, para. 158). It is important to point out that Jung’s student Jolande Jacobi did not like the term transcendent because there really is nothing “transcendent” about what Jung was suggesting with the term (1957/1959, p. 99, n. 54). If the transcendent function was truly transcendent, one would not be able to use it as a psychological concept. Viewed philosophically, the word transcendent implies a metaphysical quality which would be beyond the scope of empirical psychology. In this way, she preferred word’s gerund, “transcending,” because it better described a dynamic process rather than a metaphysical quality or mathematical quantity.
The personality is able to attain a new psychological attitude by synthesizing a symbol that transcends (“rises above”) old conscious attitude. The energy value from the tension of opposites contributes to the formation of a new symbols that can Figure 2. The transcendent function promotes individuation.
Key Points
- Jung’s method of active imagination helped Jung arrive at understanding of how the psyche spontaneously creates symbols.
- The Transcendent function facilitates symbol formation, which can lead to a new conscious attitutude.
- The transcendent function is analogous to a bridge that spans the unconscious and consciousness.
- The transcendent function helps promotes wholeness.
- The transcendent function facilitates the individuation process by creating symbols.
References
Jacobi, J. (1959). Complex archetype symbol in the psychology of C.G. Jung. R. Manheim
(Trans.). New York, NY: Bollingen Foundation, Inc. (Original work published 1957)
Jung, C. G. (1928). Two essays on analytical psychology. In H. Read, M. Fordham, G. Adler & W. McGuire (Eds.), The collected works of C.G. Jung (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.) (2nd ed., Vol. 7). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Jung, C. G. (1957). The transcendent function. In R.F.C Hull (Trans.),The collected works of C.G. Jung. (Vol. 8). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1916)
Jung, C. G. (1971). Psychological types. In H. Read, M. Fordham, G. Adler & W. McGuire (Eds.), The collected works of C.G. Jung (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.) (2nd ed., Vol. 6). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1921)
The transcendent function is a topic that has always fascinated me, but admittedly one that I always had a hard time relating to. I mean I get the gist of it, opposites, tension, energy, symbol, new attitude, etc. I just rarely see how it effects me. I mean, things just happen in life. I don’t just one day have some type of experience and a symbol emerges and suddenly, Nirvana! Anyhow, I liked the blog, just never really got the whole TF thing. – Sherry
Sherry, thank you for the note. The transcendent function is just a natural process. It often happens even when we are not paying attention. the a new symbol crops up from the unconscious that can unify two previously incompatible contents of the unconscious, which subsequently merge with consciousness. This leads to a new attitude and a more multivalent perspective, at least potentially. A number of these ideas are hard to really grasp unless one directly experiences them, so I completely understand. Thank you.
你好,我是明。对不起,很久没有看你的博客。我一直在翻译从英语到中国,我想我现在明白更好。非常有趣的想法。
Sorry, I don’t speak Chinese. Thank you for the comment anyhow.
Transcendent function or transcending function? Either way, I got it. Sounds interesting, however, on this one I would agree with Sherry. It’s not like every day I have a moment of insight and say, “I just experienced what Jung called the transcendent function,” either way, it was interesting. I found some more information about it at the following website: http://www.nyaap.org/jung-lexicon/
Jackson, I’d defer you to my response to Sherry, and thank you for the link. I frequently use Daryl Sharp’s lexicon, it’s a great tool.