Beyond Jung – Gaia, Psyche and Deep Ecology

Synergies between Jungian psychology, systems dynamics, Gaia theory, dual-aspect monism and deep ecology can prepare and guide us to counter the existential threat of the Anthropocene. Moreover, Jung’s Stages of Life “cradle-to-grave” developmental theory can be scaled up to show that our entire civilisation is in mid-life crisis, and responding to it with a toxic mix of inertia, nostalgia and hubris. Instead, the essential transition from development to individuation at this point in our personal psychology translates into an urgently needed metanoia away from our collective ecocidal behaviour. The consilience that I establish lays the foundations of a radically different worldview—a fundamental shift from anthropocentric inflation to biocentric holism—with which to address global heating, the sixth mass extinction, and other unprecedented challenges of our time. 

Andrew Fellows is a Training Analyst and former Program Director at ISAP Zurich, independent researcher and author, and deep ecologist. He holds a Doctorate in Applied Physics (Dunelm), and has been a Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society (UK). He enjoyed two decades of international engagement with renewable—especially wind—energy, sustainable development and environmental policy before moving to train as a Jungian Analyst in Zürich in 2001. His passion draws on his expertise from these two very different careers, extending Jungian Psychology to address global social and environmental problems. His first book, Gaia, Psyche and Deep Ecology: Navigating Climate Change in the Anthropocene (Routledge, 2019) was joint winner of the Scientific & Medical Network 2019 Book Prize. He has lectured around this topic to audiences in Europe (including the Pari Center), Asia and the United States. Andrew lives over three thousand feet above sea level in rural Switzerland.