This book examines the Jungian imperative that the Third must become the Fourth through the lens of Carl Jung’s complex reception of Plato. While in psychoanalytic discourse the Third is typically viewed as an agent that brings about healing, the author highlights that in the case of Jung, an early emphasis on the Third as the “transcendent function” gave way to an increasing insistence on the importance of the Fourth. And yet, he asks, why must “the Third become the Fourth”? The book begins with a survey of work on Jung’s relation to Plato, before turning to Jung’s reading of the Timaeus, which invites an interpretation of the text in terms of Pythagorean numerology. After considering Jung’s reference to Plato’s career as a political thinker, it returns to the and Jung’s reading of its cosmology. Subsequently, it investigates the link made by Jung between the opening question of the and the Cabiri scene in , and concludes by considering examples of number symbolism in the overlooked by Jung. Finally, this study considers Jung’s use of Plato in his , his lectures on Nietzsche’s , and his writings on alchemy. This book will appeal to practitioners and to scholars working in the history of ideas, psychoanalysis, philosophy, and psychoanalytic theory. weiterlesen