Atom and Archetype: The Pauli / Jung Letters, 1932-1958

"This unlikely correspondence between two outstanding exponents of apparently incompatible disciplines traces the development of an alchemical relationship through which each transforms the other's view of the universe. From the dreams of the nuclear scientist and the quantum speculations of the depth psychologist there grows a new understanding of mind and matter as joint manifestations of a deeper archetypal reality, known to medieval philosophy as the unus mundus. In the course of this rich dialogue, Jung formulates his insights into the significance of acausal happenings and meaningful coincidences, while both men forge the outlines of a unified framework able to embrace the seemingly infinite complexities of quantum physics and human psychology. Publication of these written exchanges between two of the most inventive minds of the twentieth century is an act of historic importance, as welcome as it is overdue."--Anthony Stevens, author of On Jung and Ariadne's Clue

"Psychologist Jung and physicist Pauli together explore the extraordinary world of quantum mechanics and particle physics, in which the influence of the observer upon the observed cannot be eliminated and where mind and matter merge. The discussion is as apposite today as it was when these letters were exchanged. Enthralling reading."--Anthony Storr, author of Solitude and Feet of Clay

"These letters offer fascinating insight into the minds of two of the most influential thinkers of our time as they probe their own disciplines and each other's for affinities and correlatives between analytical psychology and quantum physics. The book fills a major need, coming as it does in an era when an understanding of psychology is increasingly important to those who seek connections between religion and science."--Deirdre Bair, winner of the National Book Award for Samuel Beckett and author of the forthcoming biography of C. G. Jung