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Carl Jung suggested life splits into two halves, and the surprise is what the second is for — not more career or identity, but an inward turn he called individuation, reclaiming the parts of yourself the first half left behind

If you've done everything right and still feel strangely empty, Jung had a way of accounting for it. He thought it was a sign the second half of life had started, and that its job is nothing like the first.

By Sanchana Charles · October 16, 2026

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Carl Jung suggested life splits into two halves, and the surprise is what the second is for — not more career or identity, but an inward turn he called individuation, reclaiming the parts of yourself the first half left behind

Explore the library

By branch

By period

Philosophers A–Z

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From the magazine

Aristotle warned that a long silence seems to make friends forget their friendship, but research suggests the friend on the other end would be happier to hear from you than you think

Researchers studied 286 penalty kicks and found goalkeepers almost always dive left or right, even though staying in the center would stop more shots, because a goal hurts more when you didn’t move

In 1974 Nozick asked whether you would plug into a machine that could give you any experience you desired, and he took it for granted that you would refuse.

New to philosophy? Start here.