Synchronicity (synchronicity, German: Synchronizität ) is a term coined by Swiss psychologist and thinker C. G. Jung in the article of the same name ^[1] . Jung contrasts synchronism with the fundamental physical principle of causality and describes synchronism as a creative principle constantly acting in nature that orders events in a “non-physical” (non-causal) way, only on the basis of their meaning.

Despite the fact that the term “synchronism”, at first glance, implies simultaneity, Jung uses it in a much broader sense, referring to any “non-physical” (non-obvious) relationship of events, regardless of their separation in time and space. Jung uses the introduction of synchronism in considering various controversial, from the point of view of modern academic science, phenomena and theories that explain these phenomena: telepathy , astrology , strange coincidences, clairvoyance , the effects of magical practices, the behavior of bees and even the experiences of patients in a state of clinical death . Jung discussed the fundamental points of his empirical concept with the famous physicist Pauli , their joint work exists ^[2] .

Background

Jung finds the philosophical prerequisites for his work in Schopenhauer 's treatise "On the obvious pattern in the fate of man" and in Leibniz 's ideas about the originally established harmony of all things. For example, according to Schopenhauer, events are not only in causal, but also in semantic connection, so that each event is a link in two mutually orthogonal chains. This is illustrated by a simple geographical analogy: causal connections are similar to meridians on the globe, and semantic ones are likened to parallels, which are a transverse connection between meridians. Further, Jung refers to studies by Daria, Richet, and Flammarion , where, in particular, an estimate was given of the probability of a random coincidence of 1: 4,000,000 for a telepathic foreboding of death, as well as statistics cited by Wilhelm von Stoltz about the strange return of lost or stolen items to their owners . Jung also mentions Kammerer, who argued that the “pack law” applies in nature, and criticizes him for the lack of a statistical assessment of the material collected. However, the most important for Jung's concept are the experiments of J. B. Rein in guessing the numbers of randomly drawn cards and dice. In recent experiments, in particular, it was statistically established that

• the probability of correct guessing is much higher than random,
• the effect does not depend on distance (that is, information is transmitted without energy transfer),
• the effect is independent of the time offset, so the card can be predicted before the deck is shuffled,
• by willpower, the subject can increase the likelihood of the desired realization,
• the effect depends on the presence of interest of the experimenter.

Hence, Jung hypothesizes that this is not really a matter of mere chance and that a universal creative principle operates in nature, ordering events, regardless of their remoteness in time and space.

Concept

Jung states that the explanation of these phenomena should begin with a criticism of our concepts of space , time , consciousness and the unconscious . Analyzing the facts known to him, Jung puts forward a concept according to which the semantic connections between events act as an addition to causal relationships. Modern physics does not prohibit this, because events in the quantum world (for example, radioactive decay ) can occur for no reason, and only their probabilities are strictly calculated. Thus, chance is fundamentally unavoidable from the modern picture of the world . Jung calls the semantic ordering of physically independent (random) events synchronism. Undoubtedly, this raises the main question of philosophy on the relationship of consciousness and matter. Space and time are presented as psychologically relative “postulates of a conscious mind,” and depending on the individual’s mental state, “they can be reduced to an almost invisible point.” In psychiatric practice, synchronicity is closely associated with archetypes on the one hand, and with the situation of “impossibility” on the other hand, when a person is faced with a physically insoluble problem.

Jung distinguishes two problems in the phenomenon of synchronism:

• for some reason, an unconscious image penetrates consciousness in the form of a dream, thought, premonition or symbol;
• the objective physical situation somehow coincides with this image.

As a result of the analysis, Jung comes to the conclusion that there are in nature self-existing objective meanings that are not a product of the psyche, but are present both within the psyche and in the external world. In particular, any subject is endowed with psychoid properties. This explains, according to Jung, the possibility of strange semantic coincidences. The concept of self-existing meaning is close to the concept of Tao in the philosophy of China, the idea of ​​the World Soul , as well as psychophysical parallelism and the originally established harmony of all things according to Leibniz. In the latter case, the nature of the connection between soul and body can be understood as purely synchronistic, but Jung doubts the possibility of such a large-scale interpretation.

Criticism

Jung's reduction of all causal relationships to physical ones is, at least, debatable. In the terminology used, synchronism is conceived as an unreasonable connection of events. However, the material presented does not allow an unambiguous conclusion whether rare coincidences and extrasensory effects should be explained by unreasonable connections, or whether they are nephysical (mystical) reasons. Therefore, in a purely scientific sense, Jung’s concept differs from Kammerer’s concept, which he criticizes, first of all, in that the analysis of the phenomenon under discussion is no longer thought out of touch with the apparatus of probability theory. Also, the term "randomness" is clearly used in different senses, leading to noticeable contradictions in the course of the text. Events without a physical connection cannot yet be called random. In fact, randomness is a mathematical (semantic) concept, so events that are not physically related can be simultaneously nonrandom in probability theory. It is the detection and analysis of such "strange" events that is the subject of Jung's work. In essence, we are talking about the discovery of semantic interaction, complementing the known physical interactions.

In orthodox psychiatry, the term “synchronicity” is most closely associated with correlation mania and apophenia .

Notes

Literature

• Kopeikin K. V. “Souls” of atoms and “atoms” of the soul // Christianity and Science / Comp. Yu. S. Vladimirov . - M .: RUDN University, 2008 .-- S. 12-47. - 400 p. - ISBN 978-5-209-03279-3 .
• Sterledev R.K., Sterledeva T.D. The problem of synchronism and possible solutions // Historical, philosophical, political and legal sciences, cultural studies and art history. Questions of theory and practice: journal. - Tambov: Diploma, 2016 .-- T. 2 , No. 3 (65) . - S. 166-169 . - ISSN 1997-292X .
• Jung, K. G. On Synchronicity // Consciousness and the Unconscious: Compilation = The Portable Jung . - SPb. : University Book, 1997. - S. 523-537. - 544 p. - (Classics of Psychology). - 10,000 copies. - ISBN 5-7914-0012-8 .
• Jung K. G. Synchronicity: an acausal unifying principle. / Sat C. G. Jung. Synchronicity. - M .: “Refl-book”, K .: “Wakler”, 1997.