Choosing to be one-sided is culture. Being unable to help it is barbarism.

Carl Jung, Psychological Types (1923), ch. V 'The Type Problem in Poetry'

What it means

Focusing hard on one thing is a skill. Being stuck in one mode because you cannot do anything else is a weakness. The difference is whether you chose it.

The source

"Choosing to be one-sided is culture. Being unable to help it is barbarism." Carl Jung said it in Psychological Types (1923), ch. V 'The Type Problem in Poetry'. Translated by H. Godwin Baynes, 1923.

"Conscious capacity for one-sidedness is a sign of the highest culture. But involuntary one-sidedness, i.e. inability to be anything but one-sided, is a sign of barbarism."

H. Godwin Baynes, 1923, Psychological Types (1923), ch. V 'The Type Problem in Poetry'. Text read at archive.org.

Who said it

Carl Jung (1875–1961). Swiss psychiatrist who broke with Freud and founded analytical psychology. He mapped the persona, the shadow, the collective unconscious and the lifelong work of becoming yourself, which he called individuation. Our lines come only from his writings published before 1931, in our own translations from the German or in English translations of the time.

Questions

What does "Choosing to be one-sided is culture. Being unable to help it is barbarism." mean?: Focusing hard on one thing is a skill. Being stuck in one mode because you cannot do anything else is a weakness. The difference is whether you chose it.
Who said "Choosing to be one-sided is culture. Being unable to help it is barbarism."?: Carl Jung (1875–1961). Source: Psychological Types (1923), ch. V 'The Type Problem in Poetry'.
What is the original wording?: Conscious capacity for one-sidedness is a sign of the highest culture. But involuntary one-sidedness, i.e. inability to be anything but one-sided, is a sign of barbarism (H. Godwin Baynes, 1923). Translated by H. Godwin Baynes, 1923.
Is "Choosing to be one-sided is culture. Being unable to help it is barbarism." on a shirt?: Yes. We print it to order on our tees in 6 illustrated looks, from $44, with free US shipping.

Cite this line

"Choosing to be one-sided is culture. Being unable to help it is barbarism." (Carl Jung, Psychological Types (1923), ch. V 'The Type Problem in Poetry', trans. H. Godwin Baynes, 1923). https://spartansurfers.com/quotes/choosing-to-be-one-sided-is-culture-being