Adaptation

1. Etymology

Adaptation names the process of coming to terms with the external world on the one hand, and with one’s own unique psychological characteristics on the other. Related: attitude; neurosis; individuation; not mere conformism.

2. Plain summary

Adaptation is never finished once and for all. Outer necessity and inner harmony need each other: you meet the world well only when you are also in some harmony with yourself, and the reverse. Before individuation can be a goal, a necessary minimum of collective norms must be reached—the soil in which a plant can unfold.

When an attitude stops fitting reality, progression of libido stalls; affect piles up; conflict and dissociation risk appear. Failure to adapt is one definition of neurosis—sometimes toward outer reality, sometimes toward inner. Analysis may first unsettle a spurious adaptation so a truer balance of personal and collective demands can form.

Examples (exhaustive house list for this Index lemma — common adaptation motifs named across Jung’s essays and standard Jungian lexica; not a claim that Jung’s CW contains only these):
outer world + unique psyche; vs conformism; fresh adaptation demanded by life’s flow; inner/outer mutual condition; minimum collective norms before individuation; attitude breakdown → affect; regression to earlier adaptation when obstacle blocks progression; parental imagos reactivation; typology-varied modes; personal vs collective tension; neurosis as failure to adapt.

3. Academic elucidation

4. Lexicon

Sharp (1991)

Adaptation. The process of coming to terms with the external world, on the one hand, and with one’s own unique psychological characteristics on the other. (See also neurosis.) Before [individuation] can be taken as a goal, the educational aim of adaptation to the necessary minimum of collective norms must first be attained. … The constant flow of life again and again demands fresh adaptation. Adaptation is never achieved once and for all.

(Sharp, 1991, p. [provisional — unverified])

adaptation Relating to, coming to terms with, and balancing internal and external factors. To be distinguished from conformism; a vital aspect of INDIVIDUATION. … According to Jung, failure to adapt is one definition of NEUROSIS. … adaptation per se also suggested a balancing of the needs of both internal and external worlds…

(Samuels, Shorter, & Plaut, 1986, p. 10)

5. CW concordance — sample, not exhaustive

Thus it may easily happen that an attitude can no longer satisfy the demands of adaptation because changes have occurred in the environmental conditions which require a different attitude.
(Jung, 1928/1969, CW 8, p. 51, ¶61)

He can meet the demands of outer necessity in an ideal way only if he is also adapted to his own inner world, that is, if he is in harmony with himself. Conversely, he can only adapt to his inner world and achieve harmony with himself when he is adapted to the environmental conditions.
(Jung, 1928/1969, CW 8, p. 60, ¶75)

… the constant flow of life again and again demands fresh adaptation. Adaptation is never achieved once and for all.
(Jung, 1958/1969, CW 8, p. 103, ¶143)

Under no circumstances can individuation be the sole aim of psychological education. Before it can be taken as a goal, the educational aim of adaptation to the necessary minimum of collective norms must first be attained. If a plant is to unfold its specific nature to the full, it must first be able to grow in the soil in which it is planted.
(Jung, 1921/1971, CW 6, p. 621, ¶760)

See also: attitude; individuation; conflict; libido; neurosis; typology; affect; transcendent function.

References

Jung, C. G. (1969). On psychic energy. In H. Read, M. Fordham, G. Adler, & W. McGuire (Eds.), The collected works of C. G. Jung (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.) (Vol. 8, pp. 51, 60, ¶¶61, 75). Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1928)

Jung, C. G. (1969). The transcendent function. In H. Read, M. Fordham, G. Adler, & W. McGuire (Eds.), The collected works of C. G. Jung (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.) (Vol. 8, p. 103, ¶143). Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1958)

Jung, C. G. (1971). Psychological types [Definitions]. In H. Read, M. Fordham, G. Adler, & W. McGuire (Eds.), The collected works of C. G. Jung (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.) (Vol. 6, p. 621, ¶760). Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1921)

Samuels, A., Shorter, B., & Plaut, F. (1986). A critical dictionary of Jungian analysis. Routledge.

Sharp, D. (1991). Jung lexicon: A primer of terms & concepts. Inner City Books.