A Comparison of Keywords in the Dynamic Psychology of Jung, Swedenborg and Freud

Abstract

This article provides some comparative data on the frequency of occurrence of key words that can be found in the complete set of collected works of Gustav Jung (1875-1961), Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772), and Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). These three historically important writers have each made significant contributions to the formulation and development of dynamic and analytic psychology. These data provide a comparison of the intensity in topical focus in the works of these three writers. There is visible overlap between all three writers in the intensity of focus on certain key concepts. The overlap is greater between Jung and Swedenborg than between Freud and the other two. An interpretation of this finding is presented in terms of the attitude of each author regarding the existence of a psychic "world" that is distinct from the physical world. Freud's individual unconscious is contrasted with Jung's collective unconscious and Swedenborg's collective conscious.