“Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people.”
— Carl Jung, Letters, Vol. 1
What this quote means
Jung’s ethic of the Shadow: only by facing one’s own capacity for cruelty, envy, or fear can one meet those forces in others without naïveté or projection. Self-knowledge is presented as the ground of tolerance.
The idea behind it
The Shadow — Jung's term for the disowned parts of the self — traits we deny and project onto others — which must be integrated to become whole.
From Jung’s collected letters; attribution verified. Confidence: high.