Arthur I. Miller on a meeting of minds between Carl Jung and the physicist Wolfgang Pauli

The Psychologist magazine – July 2010

More than 20 years ago I was intrigued to discover that the renowned physicist Wolfgang Pauli and the great psychologist Carl Jung had co-authored a book entitled The Interpretation of Nature and the Psyche (published by Bollingen, 1955). I tracked it down and read it with growing fascination. It is actually made up of two articles. Jung’s is on synchronicity and was about what I expected. But Pauli’s was an eye-opener. Its title stopped me in my tracks: ‘The influence of archetypal ideas on the scientific theories of Kepler’. Johannes Kepler was a German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer, and key figure in the 17th-century scientific revolution. Pauli’s is an authoritative and yet passionate exploration of his discoveries, emphasising the roots of his ideas in alchemy, mysticism and religion. It is written with great authority and bears the stamp of Jung’s analytic psychology.

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Creativity and intellect: when great minds meet

CERN Courier, 31 March 2010. Interview and book review by Beatrice Bressan

Writer and science historian Arthur I Miller talks about his interdisciplinary approach to the creative process, which underlies his recent book on Pauli and Jung. [...] Read full interview on line

Do you think there is a sense beyond numbers? Do they have any special meaning? Are there some more powerful than others? Many great men throughout the centuries have exercised their minds to find answers to these questions. In his latest book, the distinguished historian of science Arthur I Miller (p17) investigates one of the possible responses in the unique blend of two extraordinary lives, those of Carl Jung and Wolfgang Pauli. [...] Read full review on line

Listen to Arthur I. Miller on The Strand here.

Walking in My Mind

The Hayward Gallery in London has been transformed into to a giant brain this week for the opening of a ground breaking exhibition “Walking in my mind”. The idea behind it is to show that as well as neuroscientists and philosophers, visual artists also contribute to our understanding of human consciousness. Among the ten artists invited to show the inner workings of their mind are the acclaimed Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama with her
signature polka dots and British Turner Prize winner Keith Tyson.

Joining Mark Coles on the mental journey was click Professor Arthur I Miller, giving us a scientific take on the exhibits.

Listen to Arthur I. Miller on The Forum here.

Podcast available to download here.

View image gallery of Arthur I. Miller and Bridget Kendall recording the programme here.

THE FORUM, the ideas programme with BRIDGET KENDALL.

Indian environmentalist SUNITA NARAIN on our wasteful attitude to water.

American-British physicist and historian of science ARTHUR I MILLER on the link between scientific genius and the visual arts.

Italian physicist and writer PAOLO GIORDANO on using prime numbers to understand human nature.

In March 2009 the British Council convened a meeting in Dortmund, Germany, exploring creativity in art and science, directly inspired by my book Einstein, Picasso.

Read more here.