Another world Quote by Carl Jung
“The gigantic catastrophes that threaten us today are not elemental happenings of a physical or biological order, but psychic events. To a quite terrifying degree we are threatened by wars and revolutions which are nothing other than psychic epidemics. At any moment several million human beings may be smitten with a new madness, and then we shall have another world war or devastating revolution. Instead of being at the mercy of wild beasts, earthquakes, landslides, and inundations, modern man is battered by the elemental forces of his own psyche.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: Psychological Types, 1921
Jung argues that modern conflicts stem from collective psychic disturbances rather than natural disasters, framing wars as mental epidemics.
In simple terms: Wars are mental outbreaks, not just physical events.
Key Takeaway
Recognize and address collective psychological stress.
Themes
psychology
conflict
collective consciousness
history
human nature
Mood
anxious
reflective
Type
philosophical
critical
When to use this quote
- political leadership
- mental health policy
- education curricula
- media narratives
Key Concepts
psychoanalysis
mass hysteria
social contagion
Questions to Reflect On
- How can societies detect early signs of collective psychic distress?
- What role does individual responsibility play in preventing mass madness?
A Different Perspective
Psychic epidemics can be hard to measure and treat.
![“Hillary [Clinton] wins in a landslide, [Donald] Trump has no coattails, the Democrats are gonna win the Senate, they're close to winning the House back, they're gonna keep the White House for three terms. It's gonna be nirvana.” quote by Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/920/rush-limbaugh-28_clinton_hillary-clinton-wins-in-a-landslide-dona_1015291.jpg)
![“Lindsey [Buckingham] and I went up to Aspen and we went to somebody's incredible house and they had a piano and I had my guitar with me and I went in their living room, looking out over the incredible Aspen sky and I wrote 'Landslide.'” quote by Stevie Nicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/0a1/stevie-nicks-2817_aspens_lindsey-buckingham-and-i-went-up-to-aspe_908461.jpg)
![“The self is defined psychologically as the psychic totality of the individual. Anything that a [person] postulates as being a greater totality than [oneself] can become a symbol of the self. For this reason the symbol of the self is not always as total as the definition would require.” quote by Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/251/carl-jung-274_defined_the-self-is-defined-psychologically-as-t_7148.jpg)
![“[The Utopia of Rules] should offer a challenge to us all. Should we just accept this bureaucracy as inevitable? Or is there a way to get rid of all those hours spent listening to bad call-centre music? Do policemen, academics, teachers and doctors really need to spend half their time filling in…” quote by Gillian Tett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/223/gillian-tett-57286_accepting_the-utopia-of-rules-should-offer-a-chall_39418.jpg)
