Robert S. Matthews, Ph.D. is a Jungian analyst and theoretical physicist in Adelaide, Australia.
He holds a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from The Flinders University of South Australia where he worked in research for many years. He later went on to earn a graduate diploma in education from the University of Adelaide, and since 2003 has worked as a senior lecturer in their School of Education.
In 2007, he received a Diploma of Counselling & Communications from Kranz International College and began training as a Jungian analyst, later earning a Diploma in Analytical Psychology from the Research & Training Centre for Depth Psychology According to C.G. Jung & Marie-Louise von Franz in Zürich.
Dr. Matthews worked as a physics and mathematics teacher and curriculum writer for the Australian Science & Mathematics School, and has lectured on Jung and religion at the University of South Australia and on neuroscience and education at the University of Canberra.
Since 2015, he has served as president of the C.G. Jung Society of South Australia. Recently, he presented “Unifying Depth Psychology & Physics” for the Pacifica Graduate Institute in California and “Union of the Imaginary & the Real” at the Psychology Club in Zürich.
His book chapters include “Teaching Out of the Unconscious: The Role of Shadow & Archetype” in The Seeker: Papers in Honour of John P. Keeves; “A Depth Psychology Account of the Creative Imagination: Applying the Psychology of Carl Jung” in Imagination in Educational Theory & Practice; and on Freud and Jung in Steven Stolz’s new book, The Body, Embodiment, & Education. (links below)
Dr. Matthews is the author of The Paradoxical Meeting of Depth Psychology & Physics: Reflections on the Unification of Psyche & Matter, published by Routledge in 2022 as part of the Research in Analytical Psychology & Jungian Studies book series under Professor Andrew Samuels. Other titles in the series include Jung’s Reception of Picasso & Abstract Art; Jung, Dante, & the Making of the Red Book; and Alchemy, Jung, & Remedios Varo.
My interest in Dr. Matthews’ work began when I read these words in the preface to his book: he writes, “My first fascination was with the cosmos above, but fate had other ideas. It led me to a Ph.D. not in astrophysics, but in solid state physics. It was much later after reading alchemy that I realized the two are one, that the starry firmament above is mirrored in the earth below. But no physics laboratories talk of such things anymore.”
This video interview was recorded on Wednesday, February 7, 2024. It’s 01:24:36 long and 84.2 MB. You can listen to it right here in your browser (click the play button in the bar below) or watch the video edition on YouTube.
*Please note: Laura’s studio microphone was not properly connected. Please excuse her poor sound quality.
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SHOW NOTES
Psychology Club Zürich Library Laura’s photo of The Red Book in the library
amor triumphat Jung’s painting on page 127 of The Red Book
The Red Book: Liber Novus by C.G. Jung (23% off)
The Ring i Page 147 of Dr. Matthews’ book
The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell
The Australian & New Zealand Society of Jungian Analysts
The Society of Analytical Psychology London, England
Frith Luton Official website (Frith was our guest in Episode 3 on her book, Bees, Honey, & the Hive: Circumambulating the Center–A Jungian Explanation of the Symbolism & Psychology; and in Episode 106 on Vol. 6 of the Collected Works of Marie-Louise von Franz: Niklaus vön Flüe & Saint Perpetua: A Psychological Interpretation of Their Visions.)
Research & Training Centre for Depth Psychology According to C.G. Jung & Marie-Louise von Franz Zürich, Switzerland
C.G. Jung Institute Zürich Küsnacht, Switzerland
International School of Analytical Psychology (ISAP) Zürich, Switzerland
International Association for Analytical Psychology (IAAP)
enantiodromia: “Literally, ‘running counter to,’ referring to the emergence of the unconscious opposite in the course of time.” ~Daryl Sharp, C.G. Jung Lexicon: A Primer of Terms & Concepts
Memories, Dreams, Reflections by C.G. Jung and Aniela Jaffé (includes Jung’s Liverpool dream)
Number & Time: Reflections Leading Toward a Unification of Depth Psychology & Physics by Marie-Louise von Franz
Reading Plato through Jung: Why Must the Third Become the Fourth? by Paul Bishop (Professor Bishop was our guest in Episode 131)
The Dark Side of God Full 2+ hour lecture by Ep. 29 guest Jungian analyst Richard Sweeney, Ph.D.
Answer to Job by C.G. Jung
Wolfgang Pauli The Nobel Prize Facts
Richard P. Feynman Amazon Author Page
Otto Stern The Nobel Prize Facts
Atom & Archetype: The Pauli/Jung Letters Edited by C.A. Meier
Flying Saucers: A Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Sky by C.G. Jung
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ADDITIONAL LINKS
Dr. Robert S. Matthews University of Adelaide
C.G. Jung Society of South Australia
The Research in Analytical Psychology and Jungian Studies Book Series Routledge & CRC Press
The Innermost Kernel: Depth Psychology & Quantum Physics, Wolfgang Pauli’s Dialogue with C.G. Jung by Suzanne Gieser (Springer, 2004)
BOOK CHAPTERS
“Freud, Jung, embodiment, and education,” in Stolz, S. (Ed.) The Body, Embodiment, & Education: An Interdisciplinary Approach (Routledge, 2021)
“Inspiring and Transforming the Pre-service Teacher Through Authentic Classroom Preparation,” in White, M. & McCallum, F. (Eds.) Critical Perspectives on Teaching, Learning, & Leadership: Enhancing Educational Outcomes (Springer, 2020)
“A Depth Psychology Account of the Creative Imagination: Applying the Psychology of Carl Jung,” in Nielson, T. & Fitzgerald, R. (Eds.) Imagination in Educational Theory & Practice: A Many-Sided Vision (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2010)
“Reflections on a Pre-service Teacher Education Approach through the Lens of the Troika,” in Toomey, R., Lovat, T. & Clement, N. (Eds.) Teacher Education & Values Pedagogy: A Student Wellbeing Approach (David Barlow Publishing, 2010)
“Education and Imagination: A Synthesis of Jung and Vygotsky”, Jones, R., Clarkson, A., Congram, S. & Stratton, N. (Eds.) in Education & Imagination: Post-Jungian Perspectives (Routledge, 2008)
“Teaching Out of the Unconscious: The Role of Shadow & Archetype” Alagumalai, S., Thompson, M., Gibbons, M. & Dutney, A. (Eds.) in The Seeker: Papers in Honour of John P Keeves (full text) (Adelaide: FUIIE / Shannon Press, 2004)