The Psychology of Meaning in Modern Society: A Comparative Analysis of Jungian Individuation and Contemporary Psychological Models of Well-Being

Abstract

Questions of meaning, identity, purpose, and psychological wholeness have become increasingly prominent within contemporary psychology. Long before the development of positive psychology and empirical models of eudaimonic well-being, Carl Gustav Jung proposed individuation as a developmental process through which individuals differentiate themselves from collective expectations while integrating previously unconscious dimensions of personality into a more comprehensive psychological whole. This paper examines whether Jung’s concept can contribute meaningfully to contemporary scientific models of meaning and well-being. A comparative theoretical review considers analytical psychology, psychological well-being theory, self-determination theory, self-concordance, narrative identity, and modern meaning-in-life research. Considerable conceptual overlap is identified in areas involving personal growth, autonomy, self-acceptance, coherent identity, internally endorsed goals, purpose, and integration of contradictory experiences. Contemporary research distinguishes coherence, purpose, and significance as major dimensions of meaning in life, constructs that correspond in several respects with Jung’s emphasis on integration and orientation toward the Self. Important differences remain because Jung’s framework includes archetypal, symbolic, unconscious, and potentially transpersonal assumptions that are substantially more difficult to operationalize empirically. The paper argues against either dismissing Jung as scientifically obsolete or treating analytical psychology as empirically equivalent to contemporary positive psychology. Individuation is better understood as a theoretically rich developmental framework whose components can generate testable hypotheses about self-integration, narrative coherence, purpose, and eudaimonic functioning.