Victor White (Dominican)
Encyclopedia
Victor Francis White was a Dominican
priest who corresponded and collaborated with Carl Gustav Jung. He was initially impressed with Jung's "Antwort auf Hiob", but later became disillusioned with the work. His works include "Soul and Psyche" and "God and the Unconscious". Jung and White enjoyed a series of correspondence, and Jung was so impressed with some of White's ideas that he invited White to his retreat house at Bollingen, where only Jung's very close friends were allowed. The correspondence between Jung and White has been published by Lammers and Cunningham (2007). While White was a great admirer of Jung, he was at times very critical of Jung. For example, he criticised Jung's essay "On the Self", and accused Jung of being too bound to a Manichean dualism
. He was also somewhat critical of Jung's Kantianism
. At the same time, Jung was quite critical of White, for example, over his commitment to the doctrine of "privatio boni
" as means of understanding the problem of evil
. Some scholars suggested the feuding between Jung and White may have contributed to White's death at the age of fifty-eight; on Jung's part, poor health prevented a conciliatory meeting in 1960.
, and again when it was published in English, White's fellow Roman Catholics reacted and what was once a ripple became a tidal wave. The Book of Job, a Wisdom Book
of The Bible, explores the problem of evil
. White's correspondence with Jung made Jung refer to him as "my white raven", in as much as he was the only theologian who really understood something of the problem of psychology in the present world. He invited him to his retreat in Bollingen.
White followed the Classical philosophy and Thomistic
Theology that defined evil as the absence of good: Privatio boni. God being the ever-existing being and with Him good, whereas bad did not exist until it took origin in the devil and man.
Jung's thought was that evil is not the absence of anything, but the active and dramatically impressive presence of something, personified and named the Devil. Evil ought to be considered a real force, not written-off as an opposite. For Jung a dogma could not be valid unless backed by empirical evidence, showing that it is prime, anything else had to be a dodge.
According to some, Jung's greatest letters were written to White.
Jung could see no evidence of "privatio boni", but plenty of evil – devils, demons and other evil characters. The two, good and evil, are locked in an eternal duel for supremacy. Thus if one believes in just one God, it has to have the two within Him.
White could not accept this and just stated the tenets of faith: God is light; in Him there is no darkness.(1John1:5–7).
The conflict produced the "Answer to Job
", which some say is Jung's best work ever.
White published a review of Answer to Job in the journal "Black Friars", in March 1955. It was clear from this review that by this stage, White's feelings on the book were ambivalent, and he even seems to have had mixed feelings about his publication of the review, wondering how Jung would take the review.
Jung, who trained as a psychiatrist at Zurich (First University), shows in his letters the reserved professional at work, yet often give way to the poet and preacher.
He was clear, though, that it would be beyond the competence of scientific empiricism to talk about the divine entity. He said that he does not preach, he attempts to establish psychological facts. He can confirm and prove inter-relationship of the God image with other parts of the psyche, but he cannot go further without committing the error of a metaphysical assertion which is far beyond his scope. He is not a theologian and he has nothing to say about the nature of God.
In one of the letters Jung wrote that of all faiths, Christianity lends itself to the healing of the human psyche.
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
priest who corresponded and collaborated with Carl Gustav Jung. He was initially impressed with Jung's "Antwort auf Hiob", but later became disillusioned with the work. His works include "Soul and Psyche" and "God and the Unconscious". Jung and White enjoyed a series of correspondence, and Jung was so impressed with some of White's ideas that he invited White to his retreat house at Bollingen, where only Jung's very close friends were allowed. The correspondence between Jung and White has been published by Lammers and Cunningham (2007). While White was a great admirer of Jung, he was at times very critical of Jung. For example, he criticised Jung's essay "On the Self", and accused Jung of being too bound to a Manichean dualism
Dualism
Dualism denotes a state of two parts. The term 'dualism' was originally coined to denote co-eternal binary opposition, a meaning that is preserved in metaphysical and philosophical duality discourse but has been diluted in general or common usages. Dualism can refer to moral dualism, Dualism (from...
. He was also somewhat critical of Jung's Kantianism
Kantianism
Kantianism is the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher born in Königsberg, Prussia . The term Kantianism or Kantian is sometimes also used to describe contemporary positions in philosophy of mind, epistemology, and ethics.-Ethics:Kantian ethics are deontological, revolving entirely...
. At the same time, Jung was quite critical of White, for example, over his commitment to the doctrine of "privatio boni
Privatio boni
Privatio Boni is a Latin phrase which can be translated as "privation of good." It is a theological doctrine that evil, unlike good, is insubstantial, so that thinking of it as an entity is misleading. Instead, evil is rather the absence or lack of good....
" as means of understanding the problem of evil
Problem of evil
In the philosophy of religion, the problem of evil is the question of how to explain evil if there exists a deity that is omnibenevolent, omnipotent, and omniscient . Some philosophers have claimed that the existences of such a god and of evil are logically incompatible or unlikely...
. Some scholars suggested the feuding between Jung and White may have contributed to White's death at the age of fifty-eight; on Jung's part, poor health prevented a conciliatory meeting in 1960.
Letters
When Jung published Answer to JobAnswer to Job
Answer to Job is a 1952 book by Carl Gustav Jung addressing the moral, mythological and psychological implications of the Book of Job...
, and again when it was published in English, White's fellow Roman Catholics reacted and what was once a ripple became a tidal wave. The Book of Job, a Wisdom Book
Wisdom literature
Wisdom literature is the genre of literature common in the Ancient Near East. This genre is characterized by sayings of wisdom intended to teach about divinity and about virtue...
of The Bible, explores the problem of evil
Problem of evil
In the philosophy of religion, the problem of evil is the question of how to explain evil if there exists a deity that is omnibenevolent, omnipotent, and omniscient . Some philosophers have claimed that the existences of such a god and of evil are logically incompatible or unlikely...
. White's correspondence with Jung made Jung refer to him as "my white raven", in as much as he was the only theologian who really understood something of the problem of psychology in the present world. He invited him to his retreat in Bollingen.
White followed the Classical philosophy and Thomistic
Thomism
Thomism is the philosophical school that arose as a legacy of the work and thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, philosopher, theologian, and Doctor of the Church. In philosophy, his commentaries on Aristotle are his most lasting contribution...
Theology that defined evil as the absence of good: Privatio boni. God being the ever-existing being and with Him good, whereas bad did not exist until it took origin in the devil and man.
Jung's thought was that evil is not the absence of anything, but the active and dramatically impressive presence of something, personified and named the Devil. Evil ought to be considered a real force, not written-off as an opposite. For Jung a dogma could not be valid unless backed by empirical evidence, showing that it is prime, anything else had to be a dodge.
According to some, Jung's greatest letters were written to White.
Jung could see no evidence of "privatio boni", but plenty of evil – devils, demons and other evil characters. The two, good and evil, are locked in an eternal duel for supremacy. Thus if one believes in just one God, it has to have the two within Him.
White could not accept this and just stated the tenets of faith: God is light; in Him there is no darkness.(1John1:5–7).
The conflict produced the "Answer to Job
Answer to Job
Answer to Job is a 1952 book by Carl Gustav Jung addressing the moral, mythological and psychological implications of the Book of Job...
", which some say is Jung's best work ever.
White published a review of Answer to Job in the journal "Black Friars", in March 1955. It was clear from this review that by this stage, White's feelings on the book were ambivalent, and he even seems to have had mixed feelings about his publication of the review, wondering how Jung would take the review.
Jung, who trained as a psychiatrist at Zurich (First University), shows in his letters the reserved professional at work, yet often give way to the poet and preacher.
He was clear, though, that it would be beyond the competence of scientific empiricism to talk about the divine entity. He said that he does not preach, he attempts to establish psychological facts. He can confirm and prove inter-relationship of the God image with other parts of the psyche, but he cannot go further without committing the error of a metaphysical assertion which is far beyond his scope. He is not a theologian and he has nothing to say about the nature of God.
In one of the letters Jung wrote that of all faiths, Christianity lends itself to the healing of the human psyche.
External links
- Father Victor White Information
- God And The Unconscious (1953), by Victor White, foreword by Jung, on the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...