“Eros is an interweaving; Logos is differentiating knowledge, clarifying light. Eros is relatedness, Logos is discrimination and detachment.”[1]
“… the whole essence of consciousness is discrimination, distinguishing ego from non-ego, subject from object, positive from negative, and so forth. The separation into pairs of opposites is entirely due to conscious differentiation; only consciousness can recognize the suitable and distinguish it from the unsuitable and worthless.”[2]
“The emphatic differentiation of opposites is synonymous with sharper discrimination, and that is the sine qua non for any broadening or heightening of consciousness. The progressive differentiation of consciousness is the most important task of human biology and accordingly meets with the highest rewards – vastly increased chances of survival ….”[3]
The quotes above make clear how Jung valued our human ability to differentiate this from that, to distinguish truth from falsehood and make viable choices in life based on this ability. At no time in our history has our ability to discern been more important than it is now, as our civic norms become debased and our political leaders normalize lying.[4] In this essay I will begin by defining terms, and then discuss why it is so important now for us to hone our ability to discern. Then I consider ways we might do so, from the more general tasks involved in the process of individuating to some of the specific tools we can employ to evaluate media, situations and actions.
Definitions
Differentiation is “the process of perceiving differences among things, to make distinctions between one thing and another; to become differentiated or specialized” (in biology or geology). Discernment is “keenness in perceiving and understanding; good judgment; shrewdness; the act of discerning.” Discrimination is “the act of making or recognizing differences and distinctions; the ability to make fine distinctions; a making a difference in favor of or against.” Distinguishis “to tell apart; see or show the difference in; to make different, be a special quality or feature of; to separate into different groups.”[5]
The dictionary defines “individuation” as “the act of giving distinctive character to; individualize; to form into a distinct entity; to assume an individual character; the process of leading to individual existence, as distinct from that of the species.”[6] Jung had a lot to say about it, as he made clear that
“The concept of individuation plays a large role in our psychology. In general it is the process by which individual beings are formed and differentiated; in particular, it is the development of the psychological individual as a being distinct from the general, collective psychology. Individuation, therefore, is a process of differentiation, having for its goal the development of the individual personality.”[7]
Jung regarded individuation as “a natural necessity” in order to avoid “a leveling down to collective standards.”[8] Such leveling Jung felt was “injurious to the vital activity of the individual”[9] with all the features of his or her “unique psychology.”[10]
To avoid this “injury” would require, according to Jung, “a conscious process of differentiation or individuation … to bring the individuality to consciousness.” By this Jung meant the person would no longer identify with the collective or larger group.[11] In Jung’s view, a true individual marches to his/her own drummer, goes his/her own way, and lives according to values and styles consciously chosen–no “following the masses” or “trying to fit into the crowd.”
Why is discernment especially important now?
While the shift from the naiveté of childhood to the savvy of the adult has always been part of growing up, this process is more important than ever because of the fact that we are living in the time of the Second Fish of Pisces,[12] i.e. the age of Satan with all the contagion of the 7 deadly sins that this implies. The news is filled with evidence of this every day, e.g. Trump calling himself a “king”[13] (the sin of pride); the billionaires getting tax cuts while the poor lose their health care and food stamps[14] (the sin of greed); “fashionistas” copying each other[15] (the sin of envy); the ICE teams manhandling people as they round up supposed illegal immigrants[16] (the sin of wrath); multiple men in public life abusing women[17] (the sin of lust); lack of conscientious attention to safety in public transportation, e.g. Boeing’s poor maintenance of its planes[18] (the sin of sloth); and the widespread addictions to social media and/or food[19] (the sin of gluttony).
These sins have for centuries been regarded as “deadly” because they are contagious and damage our souls.[20] It was no coincidence that the covid virus arose and spread during Trump’s first term: Nature was alerting us to the viruses–physical and psychic–that were in our midst, and these are still present.[21] While our advances in science produced a vaccine for covid, we have no form of inoculation for the psychic viruses that are circulating now in our society. That the majority of Americans are completely unaware of this fact makes the situation even more serious.
As Daniel Patrick Moynihan discerned 50 years ago, we are “defining deviancy downward,”[22] so immorality is becoming more and more prevalent, e.g. theft becoming so common that retail stores must lock their wares in cages.[23]
Another reason why we must be discerning now is the sad fact that, from the very top, our political system now is replete with immoral and deluded figures which the naïve or undiscerning may regard as models. Every day Trump spews more lies,[24] violates longstanding political and societal norms,[25] and engages in unethical behavior,[26] all the while surrounding himself with sycophants and incompetents chosen for their personal loyalty to him rather than for their expertise and competence in their respective roles.[27] In their incompetence and delusions they are endangering the health and safety of the American people.[28]
There is a marked predominance of the ESTJ type–Extraverts number about 75% of Americans,[29] and this is another reason we must be discerning: the temptation to fit in, to conform, to go along with the crowd is stronger among those who type as Extraverts than it is for Introverts,[30] and the widespread anxiety and fear caused by the deplorable policies coming out of Washington encourages ideas like “safety in numbers,” making independent thinking and acting according to one’s own values even harder.
The phenomenon of social media is another component of our current reality that makes discernment necessary. Considered by some observers to be a “threat multiplier”[31] to the integrity of our civic life, social media reflect our society’s debased values and consciously use algorithms designed to get people addicted to their cell phones[32]–all so the billionaire owners of these companies can make more money[33] (the sin of greed).
Amid all these pernicious features of our contemporary reality, it is essential that we become better at discerning, able to spot and distinguish what’s positive from the dross of our fallen moral standards.
How we can hone our ability to discern
Individuate. The simplest and most succinct way would be for each of us as individuals to individuate,[34] most succinct because the work involved in individuating includes all the other components of discernment: becoming more conscious, reflecting on personal values, being aware of and using your personal “mind map,” using media with critical thinking and awareness, and developing independence of mind, refusing to go along with “group think.” Let’s take each of these in turn:
Becoming more conscious. Most people are unconscious: unaware of their shadow, their cast of inner characters, their motivations and how the deadly sins are impacting them.[35] To rectify this dangerous situation, our logical minds can gather information (see the bibliography below), spend time reflecting on what we learn and how to apply it to our individual lives so as to be safer and more insulated from the temptations and dangers. But far more powerful than logic and reason (left-brain abilities) is our drawing on the power of our right brain (more intuitive)[36] and especially turning to the wisdom of our psyche, as it shows up every night in our dreams. Jungian analyst Thomas Moore recognized that dreams reveal how our soul is working out its destiny,[37] and it is the best protector we could have in terms of protecting us from dangers, be they tangible or intangible. So, in our methods course, we teach people how to access the wisdom in their right brains,[38] and how to work with dreams to glean the psyche’s perspective on things.[39] In these ways our naiveté and susceptibility to “group think” can be lessened.
Reflect about our personal values. Just as few people are familiar with their “inner city”[40] and its life, so it is the rare person who can rattle off the list of his/her values. Jung knew that values are related to the Feeling function,[41] and most Americans type as Thinkers, not Feelers. In our methods course we offer ways for people to wise up to what they really value in life. A regular dreamwork practice can give us clues, but there are other exercises and activities that can give us insights about what values we hold. Getting a clear picture of what we value puts some distance between ourselves and our mainstream culture,[42] making our individuating easier.
Become aware of and use our personal “mind map.” Very few people are conscious of the myriad influences we experience every day, and the use of the “mind map” developed by Richmond Shreve[43] provides a graphic image of these features of daily life that impact how and what we think, feel and value. In our methods class we discuss this “map” of daily life in detail, including the circles of people we live among and interact with, the forms of exposure we have to the outer world, and how we can sharpen our critical thinking when we handle any form of media, electronic or print-based.
Conclusion
The result of the above four ways to hone our discernment–if undertaken diligently–is the achievement of mental independence which Jung felt was a key requirement for individuation.[44] In his image of the true individual, Jung’s individuated person could recognize “group think” and refuse to go along with it. In our day, this will include being aware of the Satanic nature of our time,[45] and the temptations this implies, along with the strength of character to resist pressures from the group or mainstream society, to hold to a personal set of values reflecting ethical probity and a commitment to living with concern for the welfare of the whole, and to stand against the corrupting influences all around us.[46]
Bibliography
Brill, Steven (2015), “Trump U.,” Time, v. 186, no. 20 (November 16, 2015), 42-49.
Fisher, Max (2022), The Chaos Machine. Boston: Little Brown & Co.
Friedman, Lisa & Maxine Joselow (2025), “E.P.A. Says It Will Eliminate Its Scientific Research Arm,” The New York Times (July 20, 2025), 21.
Gazzaniga, Michael (1976), “The Biology of Memory,” Neural Mechanisms of Learning and Memory, eds. M. Rosenzweig & E. Bennett. Cambridge: MIP Press.
________ and Joseph LeDoux (1978), The Integrated Mind. New York: Plenum Press.
Keirsey, David & Marilyn Bates (1984), Please Understand Me. Del Mar CA: Prometheus Nemesis Books.
Kessler, Glenn (2021), “Trump’s false or misleading claims,” Washington Post (January 21, 2021); https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/01/24/trumps-false-or-misleading-claims-total-30573s-over-four-years
Jung. C.G. (1971), “Psychological Types,” Collected Works, 6. Princeton: Princeton
University Press.
________ (1966), “Two Essays on Analytical Psychology,” CW 7. Princeton: Princeton:
University Press.
________ (1959), ”The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious,” CW 9i. Princeton:
University Press.
________ (1970), “Civilization in Transition,” CW 10. Princeton: Princeton University
Press.
________ (1969), “Psychology and Religion: West and East,” CW 11. Princeton:
Princeton University Press.
________ (1967), “Alchemical Studies,” CW 13. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
________ (1954), “The Development of Personality,” CW 17. Princeton: Princeton
University Press.
________ (1976), ”The Symbolic Life,” CW 18. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
________ (1975), Letters, ed. Gerhard Adler & Aniela Jaffé. 2 vols. Princeton: Princeton
University Press.
Levitsky, Steven & Daniel Ziblatt (2018), How Democracies Die. New York: Crown.
Moore, Thomas (1996), The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life. New York: HarperCollins.
Pehrson, John & Susan Mehrtens (1997), Intuitive Imagery: A Resource at Work. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Shepherd, Alex (2025), “Trump’s Proudly Incompetent Cabinet,” The New Republic, March 25, 2025.
Sperry, R.W. (1964), “The great cerebral commissure,” The Biological Bases of Behavior ed. J. McCaugh et al. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman
________ (1968), “Hemispheric deconnection and unity in conscious awareness,” American Psychologist 23 (10):723-733.
Twenge, Jean (2017), iGen. New York: Atria/Simon & Schuster.
Walter, Barbara (2022), How Civil Wars Star and How to Stop Them. New York: Crown.
Wynn-Williams, Sarah (2025), Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed and Lost Idealism. New York: Flatiron Press.
[1] Collected Works, 13, ¶60. Hereafter Collected Works will be abbreviated CW.
[2] CW 6 ¶179.
[3] CW 13 ¶291.
[4] I am using “discernment” in place of “discrimination” because the latter term has often become associated with racism. Both words share the Latin root discernere, “to distinguish, separate,” and are considered synonyms. World Book Encyclopedia Dictionary, I, 565.
[5] Ibid., I, 555, 565, 568 & 578 respectively.
[6] Ibid, I, 1003.
[7] CW 6 ¶757.
[8] Ibid., ¶758.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Ibid., ¶755.
[11] Ibid., ¶s755-756.
[12] CW11 ¶257 & note 22.
[13] The New York Times, Feb. 23, 2025.
[14] https://cnbc.com>2025/05/23
[15] https://fashionista.com
[16] Yale Law students document abuse at Louisiana immigration detention facilities; https://law.yale.edu>yls-today>news
[17] The “meToo” movement brought into the open the numerous women who were assaulted by men, Donald Trump being the most prominent of these, both in being legally convicted and also in becoming the first American President who is a convicted felon.
[18] npr.org/2024/03/20/12391327903/boening-timeline-737-max-…
[19] Twenge (2017), 291.
[20] In a Jungian context these would be considered archetypes, and therefore have autonomy, i.e. they are beyond our conscious control, which is why they are often experienced as insatiable; https://www.history.com
[21] As of July 2025, covid was infecting multiple Vermonters and closing some group homes in New Hampshire; personal communication with Sara Waskuch and Susan Ackerman.
[22] https://www.washingtonpost.com>archive>1992/12/28
[23] E.g. Walmart locking up some of its various stocks of retail goods. CNN reported this on January 29, 2024.
[24] Trump made false or misleading claims 30,573 times during his first term in office; Kessler (2021). Trump has not changed in his second term: he lies daily.
[25] Levitsky & Ziblatt enumerate Trump’s disdain for longstanding political norms in How Democracies Die, 176-203.
[26] Brill (2015), 42-49.
[27] Shepherd (2025).
[28]Friedman & Joselow (2025), 21.
[29] Keirsey & Bates (1986), 25.
[30] Ibid., 102.
[31] The term “threat multiplier” is used by the military, but climate scientists are increasingly using it to refer to climate change, for the growing number of disasters it causes; for how social media is threatening our democracy, see Walter (2022), 102-128.
[32] Twenge (2017), 291.
[33] For a detailed expose of how greed drives social media companies, cf. Fisher (20 ) and Wynn-Williams (2025).
[34] Jung provides an example of what individuating would entail in CW 9i ¶s525-621.
[35] CW 13 ¶54; cf. Jung’s letter to the American journalist, Dorothy Thompson, 23 September 1949; Letters, I, 537.
[36] Cf. the brain hemispheric studies by Sperry (1964), Sperry (1968), Gazzaniga (1976); and Gazzaniga & LeDoux (1978) for the different functions of the hemispheres.
[37] Moore (1996), 236.
[38] This entails techniques that make the dominant left-brain “blind,” unaware of the questions we pose, so as to allow the right-brain a chance to come forth, which it usually does via images, feelings or intuitions. For a detailed description of this “intuitive imagery” process, see Pehrson & Mehrtens (1997).
[39] Jung relied on the psyche’s perspective when he came upon a crux point and could not provide any suggestion to his patient as to how they might proceed; CW 7 ¶209.
[40] This is the name of the Jung-related publishing house founded by Daryl Sharp; it is a variant on Jung’s concept of the “inner world” that lives within each of us, some of the figures in which we come to know through dream work and other forms of introspection.
[41] CW 18 ¶23.
[42] For a detailed description of how Jung’s values differed from our modern American values, see the essay “Jung on Values, Part I,” archived on the Jungian Center website.
[43] For a graphic illustrating the components of the “mindmap,” see Shreve & Mehrtens (2019), 95-96 and the endpaper.
[44] CW 17 ¶173.
[45] CW 10 ¶879.
[46] Ibid. ¶s881-884.
