The Strange Collaboration of Wolfgang Pauli and Carl Jung:
When Physics Met Psychology
Text by Arthur I. MillerHow could a seemingly austere scientist – Wolfgang Pauli - dare to explore the dark and mysterious land of dreams while searching for a common language to communicate effectively with a psychologist - Carl Jung?
At a key time in his scientific development, Pauli was undergoing analysis by Jung. What can we learn about Pauli and his scientific discoveries from Jung’s analysis of his dreams?
Jung’s method of dream analysis involved comparison of a patient’s dream images with images from alchemy. As a result of Jung's psychoanalysis, Pauli came to realise the source of his creative powers as well as a way to alleviate his neurosis.
The strange friendship that resulted between Pauli and Jung is a wonderful example of how a collaboration across disciplines can work out, ultimately unlocking creative ideas.
For this project I have created a series of illustrations of Pauli's dreams and visions as interpreted by Jung based on Arthur I. Miller's recently published book Deciphering the Cosmic Number: The Strange Friendship of Wolfgang Pauli and Carl Jung.