In this program, we will discuss the writings of Swiss psychiatrist C.G. Jung and the Nobel-Prize-winning Irish poet W.B. Yeats on the Anima Mundi and other similarities between these two historical figures, including their respective towers in Switzerland and Ireland. We will note that the medieval alchemical worldview that greatly influenced Jung and the magical worldview that influenced Yeats are quite different from the scientific worldview that arose in the 17th century and is still very influential today.

This presentation will also focus on the importance of the Anima Mundi (world soul) in our time, with reference to Lionel Corbett and James Hillman, cultural historians Morris Berman and Richard Tarnas, scientist James Lovelock, ecopsychotherapist Mary-Jayne Rust, other writers, including Carolyn Merchant and Thomas Moore, and an indigenous perspective. We will also consider whether widespread loss of connection to the Anima Mundi is a major cause of global warming and climate change.

Hugh McGovern, Ph.D., is a chartered clinical psychologist with specialization in psychotherapy with The Psychological Society of Ireland. He has a diploma in psychoanalysis from the C.G. Jung Institute Zurich and degrees in psychology from Carleton University, the State University of West Georgia, and Pacifica Graduate Institute. He also earned a certificate in Neo-Jungian Studies and Contemporary Analytical Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, where he completed his doctoral studies in clinical psychology. He practiced as a clinical psychologist with the Irish health service for many years and is planning to return to online practice in Dublin. He has lived in both Ireland and Switzerland and now lives in Ottawa, Canada.