Conference Presentations by Christian McMillan
This international, interdisciplinary conference will explore the possibilities and problems to w... more This international, interdisciplinary conference will explore the possibilities and problems to which the concept of holism gives rise, both academically and in practice. Across many areas of contemporary culture we hear the concept of holism being invoked, as in holistic science, holistic spirituality, holistic healthcare, and holistic education. While there are different varieties of holism, each case implies a perspective in which the whole of a system is considered to be more important than the sum of its parts. Advocates of holism associate it with desirable qualities such as inclusion, integration, balance, and wider vision and champion it as a remedy for the fragmentation that is considered to beset the modern world. Critics argue that holism is vague, erases differences, and, by subordinating individual elements to a superior whole, ultimately leads to totalitarianism.
Conferences organised by Christian McMillan
This international, interdisciplinary conference will explore the possibilities and problems to w... more This international, interdisciplinary conference will explore the possibilities and problems to which the concept of holism gives rise, both academically and in practice. Across many areas of contemporary culture we hear the concept of holism being invoked, as in holistic science, holistic spirituality, holistic healthcare, and holistic education. While there are different varieties of holism, each case implies a perspective in which the whole of a system is considered to be more important than the sum of its parts. Advocates of holism associate it with desirable qualities such as inclusion, integration, balance, and wider vision and champion it as a remedy for the fragmentation that is considered to beset the modern world. Critics argue that holism is vague, erases differences, and, by subordinating individual elements to a superior whole, ultimately leads to totalitarianism.
Books by Christian McMillan
Holism: Possibilities and Problems, 2019
Holism: Possibilities and Problems brings together leading contributors in a ground-breaking disc... more Holism: Possibilities and Problems brings together leading contributors in a ground-breaking discussion of holism. The terms ‘holism’ and ‘holistic’ arouse strong emotional responses in contemporary culture, whether this be negative or positive, and the essays in this interdisciplinary collection probe, each in its own way, the possibilities and problems inherent in thinking holistically.
Christian McMillan, Roderick Main and David Henderson bring together established academics and emerging scholars across subject areas and disciplinary approaches to reveal the multiplicity and complexity of issues involved in holism. Divided into four parts, the chapters determine key strands of thinking explicitly or implicitly underpinning contemporary holistic thought, including what ethical conclusions might most reasonably be drawn from such thought. Accessible and diverse, this extensive volume contains chapters from the perspective of history, ecology, psychotherapy, poetry, mythology, and an especially strong representation of continental philosophy and Jungian depth psychology. Due to its multi-disciplinary nature, the book represents an unparalleled discussion of the meanings and implications of holism.
Written by an innovative and international calibre of contributors, this pioneering collection will be essential reading for practitioners in depth psychology and scholars of Jungian studies, as well as academics and students of philosophy, religious studies, spirituality, history and the history of ideas. The book is a rich resource for the enhancement of critical reflection among all those with an interest in holism.
Papers by Christian McMillan
Jung and Philosophy, 2019
Routledge eBooks, Aug 3, 2022
Jung and Philosophy, 2019
Holism: Possibilities and Problems, 2019
Holism: Possibilities and Problems brings together leading contributors in a ground-breaking disc... more Holism: Possibilities and Problems brings together leading contributors in a ground-breaking discussion of holism. The terms ‘holism’ and ‘holistic’ arouse strong emotional responses in contemporary culture, whether this be negative or positive, and the essays in this interdisciplinary collection probe, each in its own way, the possibilities and problems inherent in thinking holistically. Christian McMillan, Roderick Main and David Henderson bring together established academics and emerging scholars across subject areas and disciplinary approaches to reveal the multiplicity and complexity of issues involved in holism. Divided into four parts, the chapters determine key strands of thinking explicitly or implicitly underpinning contemporary holistic thought, including what ethical conclusions might most reasonably be drawn from such thought. Accessible and diverse, this extensive volume contains chapters from the perspective of history, ecology, psychotherapy, poetry, mythology, and a...
Jung and Philosophy, 2019
Jung, Deleuze, and the problematic whole David Henderson, Christian McMillan, and Roderick Main P... more Jung, Deleuze, and the problematic whole David Henderson, Christian McMillan, and Roderick Main Proposed panel (1.5 hours = 3 x 20-minute papers + 30 minutes discussion) for presentation at ‘The Spectre of the “Other” in Jungian Psychology’, 2017 Multidisciplinary Conference of Jungian Psychology, Cape Town, South Africa, 27-30 July 2017 This panel is based on work undertaken by members of ‘“One world”: logical and ethical implications of holism’, a research project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (UK) ( https://oneworldprojectholism.wordpress.com ; http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/projects?ref=AH/N003853/1). The project aims to determine key strands of thinking underpinning contemporary holism, especially within the field of psychotherapy, and what ethical implications might most reasonably be drawn from such thinking. It focuses on the influential but contrasting concepts of the whole in the works of the depth psychologist C. G. Jung and the post-structuralist philosophe...
In this paper I discuss Henri Bergson’s (1859-1941) contribution to convergent evolution in his a... more In this paper I discuss Henri Bergson’s (1859-1941) contribution to convergent evolution in his account of vitalism (Creative Evolution; 1907). He developed an alternative conception of external finalism beyond conceptions of internal (teleological) finalism (Immanuel Kant; 1724-1804) and external (teleological) finalism (notably advanced by Gottfried Leibniz; 1646-1716) which contributed to debates in the emerging milieu of holistic biological thought in the early twentieth century as a reaction to the prevalence of reductive mechanism and linear spatio-temporal causality. Bergson’s conception of the élan vital and his temporal notion of duration (durée) not only influenced philosophical thought but also the science of Ilya Prigogine (1917-2003) who’s far from equilibrium thermodynamics emphasised the fundamentally irreversible nature of time and creativity within the emergence of organic and non-organic structures. Bergson’s account of evolution and temporality has a profound effe...
Jung, Deleuze, and the Problematic Whole
International Journal of Jungian Studies
This paper draws from resources in the work of Deleuze to critically examine the notion of organi... more This paper draws from resources in the work of Deleuze to critically examine the notion of organicism and holistic relations that appear in historical forerunners that Jung identifies in his work on synchronicity. I interpret evidence in Jung’s comments on synchronicity that resonate with Deleuze’s interpretation of repetition and time and which challenge any straightforward foundationalist critique of Jung’s thought. A contention of the paper is that Jung and Deleuze envisage enchanted openings onto relations which are not constrained by the presupposition of a bounded whole, whether at the level of the macrocosm or the microcosm. Openings to these relations entail the potential for experimental transformation beyond sedentary habits of thought which are blocked by a disenchanting ‘image of thought’ that stands in need of critique. Other examples of enchanted openings in Jung’s work are signposted in an effort to counter their marginalisation in some post-Jungian critiques and to s...
International Journal of Jungian Studies
This paper draws from resources in the work of Deleuze to critically examine the notion of organi... more This paper draws from resources in the work of Deleuze to critically examine the notion of organicism and holistic relations that appear in historical forerunners that Jung identifies in his work on synchronicity. I interpret evidence in Jung’s comments on synchronicity that resonate with Deleuze’s interpretation of repetition and time and which challenge any straightforward foundationalist critique of Jung’s thought. A contention of the paper is that Jung and Deleuze envisage enchanted openings onto relations which are not constrained by the presupposition of a bounded whole, whether at the level of the macrocosm or the microcosm. Openings to these relations entail the potential for experimental transformation beyond sedentary habits of thought which are blocked by a disenchanting ‘image of thought’ that stands in need of critique. Other examples of enchanted openings in Jung’s work are signposted in an effort to counter their marginalisation in some post-Jungian critiques and to s...
Uploads
Conference Presentations by Christian McMillan
Conferences organised by Christian McMillan
Books by Christian McMillan
Christian McMillan, Roderick Main and David Henderson bring together established academics and emerging scholars across subject areas and disciplinary approaches to reveal the multiplicity and complexity of issues involved in holism. Divided into four parts, the chapters determine key strands of thinking explicitly or implicitly underpinning contemporary holistic thought, including what ethical conclusions might most reasonably be drawn from such thought. Accessible and diverse, this extensive volume contains chapters from the perspective of history, ecology, psychotherapy, poetry, mythology, and an especially strong representation of continental philosophy and Jungian depth psychology. Due to its multi-disciplinary nature, the book represents an unparalleled discussion of the meanings and implications of holism.
Written by an innovative and international calibre of contributors, this pioneering collection will be essential reading for practitioners in depth psychology and scholars of Jungian studies, as well as academics and students of philosophy, religious studies, spirituality, history and the history of ideas. The book is a rich resource for the enhancement of critical reflection among all those with an interest in holism.
Papers by Christian McMillan
Christian McMillan, Roderick Main and David Henderson bring together established academics and emerging scholars across subject areas and disciplinary approaches to reveal the multiplicity and complexity of issues involved in holism. Divided into four parts, the chapters determine key strands of thinking explicitly or implicitly underpinning contemporary holistic thought, including what ethical conclusions might most reasonably be drawn from such thought. Accessible and diverse, this extensive volume contains chapters from the perspective of history, ecology, psychotherapy, poetry, mythology, and an especially strong representation of continental philosophy and Jungian depth psychology. Due to its multi-disciplinary nature, the book represents an unparalleled discussion of the meanings and implications of holism.
Written by an innovative and international calibre of contributors, this pioneering collection will be essential reading for practitioners in depth psychology and scholars of Jungian studies, as well as academics and students of philosophy, religious studies, spirituality, history and the history of ideas. The book is a rich resource for the enhancement of critical reflection among all those with an interest in holism.