Chae Young Kim
Sogang University, Seoul
Paper Title: "Granville Stanley
Hall and Carl Gustav Jung on Religious Experience"
Abstract
In this
paper I would like to examine a possible connection between Granville
Stanley Hall (1844-1924) and Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961). As to be
known, Hall is the first American experimental or genetic psychologist and
Jung, the founder of analytical psychology. Commonly they both looked at
religious experience and its expressions as belonging to the inner deep
psychic dimension of the human subject. Though Hall and Jung did not
know about each other’s work, their understanding of religious experience would
be compellingly similar. However, as far as I know, the similarity
that exists between them has not yet been examined. I will attempt to
confine myself to an articulation of a number of parallel points so that this
can become a source of information on what can be said about a common
interest between them. In order
to point out the significance of Hall’s earlier discussion prior to what Jung
said about religious experience, I will first discuss what Jung has to say
and then try to show that, in Hall’s thought, one finds the same things said.
Through this comparison, I will try to argue Hall can be
regarded as the first precursor of analytical psychology. What he
say favorably compares to the essential points that Jung makes given
Hall’s earlier discussion about religious experience as this relates to
his understanding of psychology. "
Chae Young Kim is the Professor and Chair
of Religious Studies in Sogang University and
the President of Korean Academy of Religion. He has published Books;
Introduction to the Philosopy of Religion, Religious Education, Korean
Christianity and translations; William James, The
Varieties of Religious Experience into Korean and Ernest
Becker, The Denial of Death into
Korean.