Carl Jung’s Transcendent Function

Carl Jung’s Transcendent Function The Transcendent Function is a psychological function that Carl Jung discusses in his work The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche. The transcendent function, according to Carl Jung, is the union of the conscious and unconscious contents, and the corresponding experience that comes through such a union. The transcendent function is a kind of ’higher order’ function or process that is made up of psychological ’base elements’ and processes, such as the unconscious and conscious. Carl Jung sought to ’induce’ the transcendent function in his patients to help them gain an insight (psycho-dynamic term) that would in turn deliver a new attitude to the patient. There is nothing ’mystical’ about the transcendent function, rather, it is a process that allows a shift from one attitude to another, allowing for personality transformations to take place. However, Carl Jung reveals that the aim of the alchemist was to bring about the transcendent func