jungscript: Jung's Typology as a Closed System

Layer 0 of the Jung Compression Project (JCP): the formal backbone, for tech+psy readers. The human-facing layer lives in the companion post Jung for Humans: The Translation Layer. The public ancestor of both is Deciphering Jung's Typology.

The public post proved the instinct: Jung's Psychological Types compresses into rules. But its notation drifted. = carried six different meanings, -> carried five, and Python fought JavaScript across the code blocks. jungscript v0.1 is the do-over as a language instead of a habit: a closed system with six primitives, four axioms, thirteen operator forms with exactly one meaning each, and a rule that no term may appear before it is defined. The closure report at the end audits the whole thing, including its own leaks.

1. Closure rules

What "closed system" means here, as enforceable rules:

C1, ground: exactly six primitive terms. Primitives get glosses, not definitions: they are the undefined ground, like point and line in Euclid.
C2, define before use: every non-primitive term is defined before its first use, using only primitives and previously defined terms. Definitions form a DAG; this document reads in topological order.
C3, one symbol, one meaning: only whitelisted operators appear, and every symbol has exactly one meaning (and every meaning one symbol).
C4, marks are part of the name: termᴶ and termᴮ keep their marks at every occurrence. A bare feeling does not exist in this system; only feelingᴶ does.
C5, explicit boundary: terms the system touches but does not define are declared @extern, once, in the closure report. Closed means no silent leaks, not no doors.
C6, provenance: every definition carries a source or a status flag. Jung's voice and ours never blend silently.

2. Notation

2.1 Term marks

Form	Meaning	ASCII form
`snake_case`	Jung's term; the everyday meaning survives contact	same
`termᴶ`	Jung's term, false friend: the everyday meaning actively misleads. Discard it; only the jungscript definition applies	`term^J`
`termᴮ`	Coined in jungscript for coherence; not Jung's vocabulary	`term^B`

The J-rule: when you meet termᴶ, the word you know is not the word you are reading.

The test for the ᴶ mark: would a smart reader with no Jung, applying the everyday meaning, get the sentence importantly wrong? If yes, mark it. Merely narrower-than-everyday does not earn the mark. Two verdicts that show the test discriminates: intuition passes unmarked (the everyday hunch is close enough), and projection passes unmarked (pop psychology inherited roughly the right meaning). feelingᴶ fails the test hardest: in Jung it is not emotion at all, but a rational judgment of worth.

Marks apply to terms of the theory, never to notation. Operators and builtins are ours by construction and carry no marks.

2.2 Quotes and annotations

'single quotes': a compressed, near-verbatim Jung definition.
@source(CW6: Entry): cites the Definitions chapter of Psychological Types (CW6) by entry name, not paragraph number, so it is checkable in any edition. CW8 is cited by essay. v0.1 cites coarsely; v1 tightens.
@status(jung | inferred | contested): jung = his claim, inferred = our reading beyond his text, contested = tradition disagrees (usually MBTI vs Jung).
@aka(name): alias. @example('...'): grounding case. @extern: declared but undefined here (C5).

3. Operators

The complete whitelist. Thirteen forms, one meaning each.

Form	Reads as	Meaning
`x := 'gloss'`	is defined as	definition
`x = a`	is, equals	structural equation
`a + b`	together with	composition: parts forming a whole
`a \| b`	or (exactly one)	exclusive alternatives
`a × b`	paired with	pairing of orthogonal choices
`f(x)`		operation or accessor
`libidoᴶ ~> x`	streams toward	energy flow (the only energy arrow)
`a -> b`	becomes, lands on	content process: move or transform
`a -> s↑ , a -> s↓`	raises, lowers	modulation of a scalar
`a ≈ b`	is merged with	undifferentiated sameness; `partial(a ≈ b)` for partial merger
`[a, b, c]`		ordered list
`when c: e`	when, then	dynamic rule
`a != b`	is not	exclusion constraint

Builtins (notation, not theory): center(), opposite(), flip(), counterpole(), axis(), max_by(), habit(), query(), adjust(), link(), intake(), trigger(), matches(), hold().

4. Statement kinds

Everything below is one of eleven statement kinds. Nothing else occurs.

Kind	Shape	Example
definition	`x := 'gloss'`	`feelingᴶ := 'judgment by worth'`
taxonomy	`x = a \| b`	`attitudeᴶ = introversion \| extraversion`
equation	`x = a + b`	`psyche = conscious + unconscious`
pairing	`a × b`	`Fi = introversion × feelingᴶ`
flow	`libidoᴶ ~> x`	`introversion: libidoᴶ ~> subject`
process	`a -> b`	`abstraction: imageᴶ -> concept`
modulation	`a -> s↑`	`affectᴶ -> differentiation↓`
merger	`a ≈ b`	`identityᴶ: subject ≈ object`
rule	`when c: e`	`when tension_dropped: enantiodromia`
query	`query(f) = '...'`	`query(Ti) = 'what is true in my own logic?'`
annotation	`@key(...)`	`@status(contested)`

5. Ground: the six primitives

subject         := 'the experiencing standpoint'                       @status(jung)
object          := 'what is met as other than the subject'             @status(jung)
content         := 'any element of the psyche'                         @status(jung)
libidoᴶ         := 'psychic energy as such'                            @source(CW6: Libido)
consciousness   := 'the lit field: what is present to awareness'       @status(inferred)
differentiation := 'how separated, refined and steerable
                    a content or function is'                          @source(CW6: Differentiation)

One honest liberty, flagged per C6: Jung defines consciousness through the ego and the ego through consciousness. His pair is circular. A closed system must choose a ground, so jungscript takes consciousness as primitive and derives ego from it below. libidoᴶ wears the mark because the everyday (and Freudian) reading, sexual drive, misleads: in Jung it is the general currency of the psyche. consciousness and differentiation are graded scalars; v0.1 simplifies consciousness to a two-region field.

6. Axioms

Four root principles. Everything after this section is these four, applied.

A1, polarity: the load-bearing constructs come in opposing pairs, and tension between poles is what carries energy. Conscious and unconscious, introversion and extraversion, each function and its counterpole. @status(jung)
A2, conservation: libidoᴶ withdrawn from a position does not vanish; it accumulates at the counter-position, out of sight. when libidoᴶ leaves position p: libidoᴶ ~> opposite(p). @source(CW8: On Psychic Energy)
A3, differentiation: development raises differentiation; strong emotion collapses it; the archaic is the undifferentiated. @status(jung)
A4, mediation: the subject never touches the object directly. All traffic passes through an imageᴶ. Most of Jung's difficult vocabulary is traffic control for images. @status(jung)

7. The system

7.1 Structure and will

unconscious := 'contents standing in no perceived relation to the field'   @status(jung)
conscious(x), unconscious(x)              # region predicates over contents
psyche = conscious + unconscious          @status(jung)
ego := 'the reference point all conscious contents relate to'
ego = center(consciousness)               @status(jung)   # circle broken at ground, see §5

willᴶ := 'the sum of libidoᴶ at the disposal of consciousness'   @source(CW6: Will)
volition := 'the energic process released by conscious motivation'   @status(jung)
when motivation is conscious:   process = willᴶ
when motivation is unconscious: process != willᴶ    # drive moves you; willᴶ is spent by you

willᴶ is marked: everyday "will" means wanting or willpower; here it is a budget, the energy consciousness can actually spend on command.

7.2 Attitude

attitudeᴶ := 'a standing readiness of the psyche to act in one direction'   @source(CW6: Attitude)
attitudeᴶ = introversion | extraversion
introversion: libidoᴶ ~> subject      # interest streams to the inner pole
extraversion: libidoᴶ ~> object       # interest streams to the outer pole

Marked because everyday "attitude" means mood or opinion. Here it is a direction of energy, and the first application of A1: one pair, two poles.

7.3 The four functions

function := 'a form of psychic activity that stays the same
             across changing contents'                       @source(CW6: Function)
function = thinkingᴶ | feelingᴶ | sensationᴶ | intuition

rationalᴶ   := 'operating by judgment'             # not: sensible
irrationalᴶ := 'operating prior to judgment'       # not: crazy; pure perception
axis(thinkingᴶ)  = axis(feelingᴶ)  = rationalᴶ
axis(sensationᴶ) = axis(intuition) = irrationalᴶ
processing = judgment(perception(x))               # intake first, verdict second

thinkingᴶ  := 'judgment by concept: what is true'          # not: any mental activity
feelingᴶ   := 'judgment by worth: what is this worth'      # NOT emotion: a rational function
sensationᴶ := 'perception through the senses of what is'   # not: a vague feel
intuition  := 'perception via the unconscious of what could be'   # unmarked: survives

query(thinkingᴶ)  = 'what follows from this?'
query(feelingᴶ)   = 'what is this worth?'
query(sensationᴶ) = 'what is concretely here?'
query(intuition)  = 'what could emerge?'

feelingᴶ is the flagship false friend of the whole system: a calm, rational verdict of worth. The emotion word arrives later, as affectᴶ (§7.7). English merges what Jung splits; the marks keep them split.

7.4 Attitude-functions and the stack

attitude_functionᴮ = attitudeᴶ × function        # the eight instruments
Ti = introversion × thinkingᴶ      Te = extraversion × thinkingᴶ
Fi = introversion × feelingᴶ       Fe = extraversion × feelingᴶ
Si = introversion × sensationᴶ     Se = extraversion × sensationᴶ
Ni = introversion × intuition      Ne = extraversion × intuition

query(Ti) = 'what is true in my own logic?'
query(Te) = 'what works, in the outer system?'
query(Fi) = 'what feels right by my inner values?'
query(Fe) = 'what keeps the shared field in harmony?'
query(Si) = 'what impression does this leave in me?'
query(Se) = 'what concrete fact is here and now?'
query(Ni) = 'what inner vision is forming?'
query(Ne) = 'what outer possibilities are opening?'

opposite(a × f) = flip(a) × counterpole(f)      # BOTH flip
@example(opposite(Fi) = Te)

differentiation(f)                               # each function has its own level (A3)
principal_function := 'the most differentiated function: it leads'    @aka(dominant)
principal_function = max_by(differentiation, function)
inferior_function  := 'the least differentiated: the unconscious counterweight'
inferior_function  = opposite(principal_function)
auxiliary_function := 'the differentiated second, serving the principal'
axis(auxiliary_function) != axis(principal_function)    @source(CW6, quoted below)
attitude(auxiliary_function) = free_variable            @status(contested)

stackᴮ = [principal_function, auxiliary_function, inferior_function]   # by differentiation
type = habit(principal_function)                        @source(CW6: Type)

"Experience shows that the secondary function is always one whose nature is different from, though not antagonistic to, the primary function... The auxiliary function is therefore one of the irrational functions when the primary function is rational, and one of the rational when the primary is irrational."

On the contested line: MBTI asserts the auxiliary attitude always flips. Jung fixes only the axis and stays silent on the attitude, so jungscript leaves it a free variable and lets behavior and questionnaires decide, per the argument in the public post. Also note: the public post contained the line function_stack = principal_attitude, which was a bug; stackᴮ above is the fix.

7.5 Image, idea, and reading levels

imageᴶ := 'the psyche's native representation: fantasy-image,
           not retinal picture'                                  @source(CW6: Image)
objective_level  := 'reading an imageᴶ as information about the object'    @status(jung)
subjective_level := 'reading an imageᴶ as information about the subject'   @status(jung)
imago := 'the inner figure of a person, not identical with the person:
          an imageᴶ held on the subjective_level'                @status(jung)

concretism := 'image and object taken as one thing'              @source(CW6: Concretism)
concretism: imageᴶ ≈ object
concretism -> differentiation↓
abstraction := 'pulling the general out of the concrete,
                withdrawing from the object'                     @source(CW6: Abstraction)
abstraction: imageᴶ -> concept        # the tie to the object is cut
abstraction -> differentiation↑

ideaᴶ := 'the meaning distilled from a primordial_image'         @source(CW6: Idea)
ideaᴶ = abstraction(primordial_image)          # primordial_image: @extern, see §8
Se -> bias(concretism)                         @status(inferred)
Ni | Ti -> bias(abstraction)                   @status(inferred)

7.6 Boundary traffic: the moveᴮ schema

A4 makes all subject-object traffic image traffic. Here is the payoff of the whole formalization: eight of Jung's dictionary entries turn out to be one operation with four dials.

moveᴮ(payload, path, awareness, adjusts)
# payload   : which content travels
# path      : subject -> object | object -> subject | none (the boundary itself fails)
# awareness : conscious | unconscious | either
# adjusts   : what actually changes

projection := 'unconscious content of the subject met as a quality
               of the object'                                    @source(CW6: Projection)
projection = moveᴮ(unconscious(content), subject -> object, unconscious,
                   adjusts: how_the_object_is_seen)
@example('unaware of your own dishonesty, you distrust everyone')

introjection := 'a quality of the object taken into the subject'  @status(jung)
introjection = moveᴮ(quality(object), object -> subject, either,
                     adjusts: contents_of_subject)
@example('the critical parent's voice becomes your inner standard')

empathyᴶ := 'feeling into: the object taken in while the ego
             keeps standing'                                     @source(CW6: Empathy)
empathyᴶ = introjection + ego_preserved       # a mechanism, not a virtue
@example('you feel your way into the client and remain yourself')

identification := 'unconscious molding of the subject toward
                   the object'                                   @source(CW6: Identification)
identification = moveᴮ(form(object), object -> subject, unconscious,
                       adjusts: the_subject_itself)
identification -> differentiation↓
@example('under a charismatic leader you start speaking in their voice')

identityᴶ := 'no boundary yet: subject and object one, prior to
              any distinction'                                   @source(CW6: Identity)
identityᴶ: subject ≈ object                   # a state, not your sense of self
@example('the toddler's mood is the mother's mood')

participation_mystique := 'partial identityᴶ with a person or thing'
participation_mystique: partial(subject ≈ object)    @status(jung)  # after Levy-Bruhl
@example('the stadium roars: the striker's goal is your own act')

assimilation := 'the new bent to fit the subject'                @source(CW6: Assimilation)
assimilation(new) = adjust(new -> subject)
@example('you restate a harsh remark in your own terms')

dissimilation := 'the subject bent toward the object'            @status(jung)
dissimilation = adjust(subject -> object)
@example('your default tone drifts toward the remark's style')

The same eight as a matrix:

Pattern	Path	Adjusts	Awareness	Ego afterwards
`projection`	out	how the object is seen	unconscious	stands, sees wrong
`introjection`	in	contents of subject	either	stands
`empathyᴶ`	in	contents of subject	conscious	stands, by definition
`identification`	in	the subject itself	unconscious	weakened
`identityᴶ`	none: never two	nothing yet	unconscious	absent
`participation_mystique`	partial merge	the boundary, locally	unconscious	partial
`assimilation`	inward fit	the incoming content	either	stands
`dissimilation`	outward fit	the subject	either	drifting

Eight entries, one operation, four dials. Memorize the schema and you can re-derive the dictionary. @status(inferred) on the unification itself: Jung never wrote moveᴮ; he wrote eight entries that happen to be its rows.

7.7 Activation: complexes and tinted intake

affectᴶ := 'emotion proper: a feeling-state plus body innervation'   @source(CW6: Affect)
affectᴶ -> differentiation↓          # A3 in action: flooded means primitive
# feelingᴶ judges worth; affectᴶ is the seizure. English merges them; Jung does not.

complexᴶ := 'a feeling-toned cluster of contents with its own charge
             and a will of its own'                    @status(jung)   # not: a hang-up
constellation := 'a complexᴶ switching on and organizing perception
                  and behavior'                        @status(jung)
when trigger(object) matches complexᴶ: constellation(complexᴶ)

perception := 'raw intake'                             @status(jung)
perception = intake(sensationᴶ | intuition)
apperception := 'intake linked to what is already active'   @source(CW6: Apperception)
apperception = link(perception, constellated(content))
active_apperception  := 'subject-led linking: an inner aim selects the match'
passive_apperception := 'object-led linking: the loudest stimulus or
                         charged complexᴶ selects'     @status(jung)

constellation -> bias(apperception)
introversion -> bias(active_apperception)      @status(inferred)
extraversion -> bias(passive_apperception)     @status(inferred)
active_apperception  -> assimilation↑          @status(inferred)
passive_apperception -> dissimilation↑         @status(inferred)

@example('harsh feedback constellates a shame complexᴶ; the next day a
          neutral email is apperceived as criticism; assimilation then
          rewrites the whole day in its terms')

7.8 The energy story

compensationᴶ := 'self-regulation: the unconscious answers the conscious
                  attitude with its counterweight'     @source(CW6: Compensation)
one_sidedness := 'libidoᴶ overinvested in the principal position'    @status(jung)
enantiodromia := 'the flip of a one-sided position into its opposite'
                                          @source(CW6: Enantiodromia)  # after Heraclitus
transcendent_function := 'the union of conscious and unconscious positions
                          in a living third'   @source(CW8: The Transcendent Function)

when one_sidedness:
    libidoᴶ ~> unconscious(opposite(principal_function))   # A2: the counterweight charges
    tension↑
when hold(tension):  transcendent_function(conscious_position, unconscious_position) -> third
when drop(tension):  enantiodromia        # eruption: the inferior takes the wheel

Illustrative instances, @status(inferred, illustrative):

# flips (enantiodromia)                    # syntheses (transcendent_function)
Ti: rigid inner logic -> sentimental flood     Ti + Fe -> considerate rigor
Fe: harmony keeping   -> tactless verdicts     Fi + Te -> principled effectiveness
Si: routine keeping   -> reckless novelty      Si + Ne -> adaptive tradition
Ne: possibility chase -> detail tyranny        Ni + Se -> grounded vision

7.9 Methods of interpretation

reductive    := 'reading content backward to its origins'    @source(CW6: Reductive)
reductive:    interpret(content) -> origin(past)
constructive := 'reading content forward to its aim'         @source(CW6: Constructive)
constructive: interpret(content) -> aim(future)
synthetic    := 'both at once: origin and aim in one reading'   @status(jung)
synthetic = reductive + constructive

when only reductive:    verdict = 'I am this because of my past'      # fixation
when only constructive: verdict = 'I must simply grow past this'      # rootless
when synthetic:         verdict = 'the past built the pattern;
                                   the pattern shows the work'

7.10 Individuation

individuality := 'the peculiar singularity of a person in every respect:
                  given a priori, largely unconscious'   @source(CW6: Individuality)
individual = conscious(individuality)          # the lived share of it
individuation := 'the process of becoming the distinct whole one
                  already potentially is'      @source(CW6: Individuation)
individuation = repeat( differentiate(stackᴮ) ; compensationᴶ ;
                        hold(tension) ; transcendent_function )
# the loop that neither freezes nor flips

8. Closure report

The audit the system owes you (C5, C6):

Counts: 6 primitives, 4 axioms, 13 operator forms, 11 statement kinds, 60 defined terms (68 counting the eight instruments separately). 15 terms carry the ᴶ mark: attitudeᴶ libidoᴶ willᴶ imageᴶ ideaᴶ identityᴶ feelingᴶ thinkingᴶ sensationᴶ affectᴶ complexᴶ empathyᴶ compensationᴶ rationalᴶ irrationalᴶ. 3 terms carry the ᴮ mark: attitude_functionᴮ stackᴮ moveᴮ.
@extern (declared doors, not defined here): archetype, primordial_image, symbol, fantasy, self, persona, shadow, dream, instinct. First candidates for v0.2 are symbol and fantasy: the transcendent_function quietly leans on symbol formation.
@status(contested): one statement: the attitude of the auxiliary function (Jung silent, MBTI assertive).
@status(inferred) registry: consciousness taken as ground (breaking Jung's ego-circle); the moveᴮ unification; the concretism/abstraction bias lines; the four apperception links; the illustrative flip and synthesis tables.
Known gaps: constellation mechanics beyond the trigger rule; archaism and affectivity (defined by Jung, not yet placed); consciousness treated as two regions instead of a gradient.
Longest definition chain to ground: transcendent_function resolves through tension, compensationᴶ, opposite(), attitude_functionᴮ, attitudeᴶ to libidoᴶ: depth 6. Every other term bottoms out sooner.

9. Roadmap

v0.1 is hand-checked; the rules above are also a build spec. v1 inverts the source of truth: one structured record per term (kind, gloss, formal statement, edges, example, source, status), from which everything renders: these script blocks, glossary cards, the relation graph (replacing the hand-drawn map), the matrices, and an Anki deck, because the original complaint behind this whole project was that the concepts do not stick. A linter then enforces C1-C6 mechanically instead of by hand.

If the notation above feels heavy, that is by design: this layer is the backbone, not the interface. The interface is Jung for Humans: The Translation Layer.

Part of the Jung Compression Project (JCP). Drafted with AI, hand-checked. Citations reference the Definitions chapter of Psychological Types (CW6) by entry name, and CW8 by essay.

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