Early in Jung's career he was the admirer and protege of Sigmund Freud, the adopted 'Son' to Freud's 'Father'; then, after their famous quarrel, he became his rival and bitter enemy. Controversial for his right-wing views, his alleged anti-Semitism, and his sexual promiscuity, Jung nonetheless seemed to many a more acceptable icon than Freud, not least because he opposed Freud's atheism and stressed the necessary and overwhelming role of religion in the life of the individual.

With the discovery of the universal symbols of the collective unconscious; his explorations of the role of dreams in the journey toward psychic wholeness, his speculations about the true nature of God; his passionate and profound interest in myth and in oriental religion, in alchemy and astrology; his theory of synchronicity, he has begun to emerge as this era's favorite philosopher, the hero and guru of the New Age.

His theories on alternative modes of thought have already fascinated generations and continue to appeal to new audiences.