Summary of Edward F. Edinger's Ego and Archetype

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The Self is the ordering and unifying center of the total psyche, just as the ego is the center of the conscious personality. The Self is the supreme psychic authority and subordinates the ego to it. #2 The first half of life is about ego development and progressive separation between ego and Self. The second half of life is about ego surrender or at least relativization. The current working formula is that first half of life: ego-Self separation; second half of life: ego-Self reunion. #3 The diagrams represent progressive stages of ego-Self separation appearing in the course of psychological development. The shaded areas designate the residual ego-Self identity. The line connecting the ego-center with the Self-center represents the ego-Self axis, which is the vital connecting link between the two. #4 The process by which these developmental stages unfold is an alternating cycle that is represented in the diagram (Figure 5, p. 41). As this cycle repeats itself throughout psychic development, it brings about a progressive differentiation of the ego and the Self.