Unit 01 frames Jung’s empirical approach to psychic phenomena as applicable to Christopher Hitchens’ decision-making mind-set.

It is important to first familiarise yourself with the content of the first 6 sections on the homepage before continuing.

CASE MATERIAL

The discussion between Richard Dawkins, Daniel C. Dennett, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens in The Four Horsemen offers a natural setting in which each of them has ample opportunity to present their individual views.  The four friends share a mutual point of view in their orientation to atheism.  The content of the discursive material is rich in terms of processes expressing individual views, decisions and decision-making.  Viewed from a purely psychological perspective, the scientific investigator depends on material like this that involves individual decision-making in a natural setting.  The content in The Four Horsemen is therefore ideal to demonstrate Carl Jung’s empirical discoveries and theory on decision-making. Note that our investigative interest is not in their subject matter but in the dynamic mental processes portrayed by the various individuals in this live debate.

MATERIAL OF SELF-REPRESENTATIONS

We explained Jung’s concept of self-representations in the essay “Carl Jung’s Argument for His Empirical Psychology”.  Expressed accordingly, and for the purpose of our analysis, we can say that Hitchens’ material of self-representations is comprised of everything he says in The Four Horsemen.  We refer in the same way to Richard Dawkins’ material of self-representations and to that of Daniel Dennett and Sam Harris. 

OBSERVATION

Jung studied decision-making processes in real life settings by investigating the material of self-representations.  In Jung’s research method the investigator observes, analyses and classifies the material of self-representations.  His primary interest and approach to psychic phenomena are purely psychological.  Behavioural observations are secondary and subordinated to his primary interest in the purely psychological investigation and factual discoveries concerning psychic phenomena.  Put simply, Jung starts with the psyche.  By applying Jung’s criteria for intuition and his method of qualitative measurement, we demonstrate empirically Christopher Hitchens’ intuitive decision-making mind-set.   

THE PRINCIPLE OF INTUITION

 In this section we demonstrate Jung’s principle of intuition and how it relates to decision-making empirically by showing how Christopher Hitchens approaches problems and makes decisions.  Although there are two additional psychological principles that relate to intuition and exert their influence directly on it, we demonstrate here only the basic principle of intuition. 

THINKING AS A POINT OF REFERENCE

Jung stresses the fact that “we always require an outside point to stand on, in order to apply the lever of criticism.” (Memories, Dreams, Reflections, 1995, p. 275)  We need therefore to set an outside Archimedean point from which to observe Christopher Hitchens’ self-representations.  We remind you of the content under the heading “Setting a point of reference” on the homepage.  Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett and Sam Harris serve this requirement well.  All three of them are oriented to the principle of thinking.  They all have a thinking mind-set.  However, indicating the finer differences between how Dawkins, Dennett and Harris each use their thinking is not our current focus and will require the application of the two additional principles mentioned earlier.