CARL JUNGS PHILOSOPHY OF MEMORY

The psychologist and philosopher Carl Jung saw memorization as an active process
that he divided into five distinct levels (Memories, Dreams, Reflections, 1!"#$ The
farther you go along his continuum, the easier it is to learn$
%&R'T ()*)(+ '),'-R. / This is the most 0asic of the five levels, encompassing
what you see and hear$ &f you wal1 into a classroom, sit down, spend the class
daydreaming, or staring out the window, and then leave, you will pro0a0ly have a
tough time remem0ering$ 2ut if you engage your senses, use your eyes and ears, and
get involved with the lecture and discussion, you have mastered this step$
')C-,D ()*)(+ M)M-R&34T&-, / Repetition$ &t5s how we learn our new phone
num0er or zip code$ &t5s how most of us learned material in grade school, 6unior high
and high school$ 7hile you5ll still use this s1ill in college, you may find that it plays a
smaller role in overall learning$
T8&RD ()*)(+ 4,4(.'&' / This is the level where real learning 0egins$ .ou are
starting to integrate new material with what you have learned previously$ This is
active learning, not passive memorization$
%-9RT8 ()*)(+ J9D:M),T / .our opinion is the 1ey here$ -nce you form an
opinion on something you tend to learn it 0etter and remem0er it longer$ To form an
opinion, you need to 0e an active learner (see (evel Three#, and you need to 0e
willing to as1 ;uestions and 0e receptive to the ideas of others$
%&%T8 ()*)(+ &,T9&T&-, / This is the ultimate level, where learning 0ecomes
connected to your e<perience$ This is the stage where you 0egin to ma1e
connections 0etween things you learn in one class, and things you learn in another$
.ou 0egin to see that everything connects, in some way$ .ou 0egin to see the way
=the 0ig picture> loo1s? .ou have to wor1 toward this level, 0ut the reward is a
lifelong appreciation of the very process of see1ing 1nowledge$
Created by S. Crawford ~ CAE/Newly Enrolled Undergraduate Students