Dennis B. Klein explores the Jewish consciousness of Freud and his followers and the impact of their Jewish self-conceptions on the early psychoanalytic movement. Using little-known sources such as the diaries and papers of Freud's protégé Otto Rank and records of the Vienna B'nai B'rith that document Freud's active participation in that Jewish fraternal society, Klein argues that the feeling of Jewish ethical responsibility, aimed at renewing ties with Germans and with all humanity, stimulated the work of Freud, Rank, and other analysts and constituted the driving force of the psychoanalytic movement.
The work is a history of Jewish beliefs regarding the concept of the soul, the idea of resurrection, and the nature of the afterlife. The work describes these beliefs, accounts for the origin of these beliefs, discusses the ways in which these beliefs have evolved, and explains why the many changes in belief have occurred. Views about the soul, resurrection, and the afterlife are related to other Jewish views and to broad movements in Jewish thought; and Jewish intellectual history is placed within the context of the history of Western thought in general. That history begins with the biblical period and extends to the present time.
In this book, Suzanne Kirschner traces the origins of contemporary psychoanalysis back to the foundations of Judaeo-Christian culture, and challenges the prevailing view that modern theories of the self mark a radical break with religious and cultural tradition. Instead, she argues, they offer an account of human development which has its beginnings in biblical theology and neoplatonic mysticism. Drawing on a wide range of religious, literary, philosophical and anthropological sources, Dr Kirschner demonstrates that current Anglo-American psychoanalytic theories are but the latest version of a narrative that has been progressively secularized over the course of nearly two millennia. She displays a deep understanding of psychoanalytic theories, while at the same time raising provocative questions about their status as knowledge and as science.
This book presents readers with the fascinating story of the history of psychoanalysis during the time of the British Mandate in Palestine and the early days of Israel's statehood. During the 1920s and 1930s, and particularly with the rise of anti-Semitism in Central and Eastern Europe, the Nazi rise to power in Germany, and the invasion of Austria, disciples of Freud began arriving in Palestine and laying a foundation for the psychoanalytic movement in the country. They included Dorian Feigenbaum, Montague David Eder, Max Eitingon, Moshe Wulff, Josef Friedjung, and Grete Obernik-Reiner. Freud's theories would not have been accepted in the circles of the Jewish community were it not for the efforts of these followers of psychoanalysis, who worked with enthusiasm and determination to introduce Freudian methods into hospitals, educational institutions, social services, the Hebrew University, and kibbutzim, in particular the kibbutzim of HaShomer HaTza'ir. Guido Liebermann paints a colorful and lively portrait of figures such as Aryeh Feigenbaum, Siegfried van Vriesland, Henrietta Szold, David Idelsohn, Zvi Sohar, and Shmuel Golan, who called on the Jewish People to acknowledge its indebtedness to the Jewish genius from Vienna, the father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud. Freud's methods made it possible to provide attention and treatment to thousands of war orphans, Holocaust survivors, kibbutz children, and children of immigrants from Arab countries. Guido Liebermann is a psychoanalyst and member of the Freudian Psychoanalytic Society (Paris), a historian and member of the International Society for the History of Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis, a senior clinical psychologist in a state psychiatric hospital in central Israel, and the author of many articles and two books: La psychanalyse en Palestine 1918-1948. Aux origines du mouvement analytique israélien, CampagnePremière/, 2012 (published in Spanish and Hebrew; Portuguese edition forthcoming), and La psychanalyse à l'épreuve du kibboutz, CampagnePremière/, 2014 (published in Spanish and Hebrew as well).
The Routledge Companion to Jewish History and Historiography provides an overview of Jewish history from the biblical to the contemporary period, while simultaneously placing Jewish history into conversation with the most central historiographical methods and issues and some of the core source materials used by scholars within the field. The field of Jewish history is profitably interdisciplinary. Drawing from the historical methods and themes employed in the study of various periods and geographical regions as well as from academic fields outside of history, it utilizes a broad range of source materials produced by Jews and non-Jews. It grapples with many issues that were core to Jewish life, culture, community, and identity in the past, while reflecting and addressing contemporary concerns and perspectives. Divided into four parts, this volume examines how Jewish history has engaged with and developed more general historiographical methods and considerations. Part I provides a general overview of Jewish history, while Parts II and III respectively address the rich sources and methodologies used to study Jewish history. Concluding in Part IV with a timeline, glossary, and index to help frame and connect the history, sources, and methodologies presented throughout, The Routledge Companion to Jewish History and Historiography is the perfect volume for anyone interested in Jewish history.
A pioneering scholarly investigation into the intersection of personality and cultural history, this study asserts that Freudian psychology is rooted in Judaism — particularly, in the mysticism of the Kabbalah. It examines how Freud's Jewish heritage contributed, either consciously or unconsciously, to his psychological theories and clarifies the foundations of modern psychoanalysis.
The Encyclopedia of Modern Jewish Culture is an extensively updated revision of the very successful Companion to Jewish Culture published in 1989 and has now been updated throughout. Experts from all over the world contribute entries ranging from 200 to 1000 words broadly, covering the humanities, arts, social sciences, sport and popular culture, and 5000-word essays contextualize the shorter entries, and provide overviews to aspects of culture in the Jewish world. Ideal for student and general readers, the articles and biographies have been written by scholars and academics, musicians, artists and writers, and the book now contains up-to-date bibliographies, suggestions for further reading, comprehensive cross referencing, and a full index. This is a resource, no student of Jewish history will want to go without.
This book studies the role played by Jews in the explosion of cultural innovation in Vienna at the turn of the century, which had its roots in the years following the Ausgleich of 1867 and its demise in the sweeping events of the 1930s. The author shows that, in terms of personnel, Jews were predominant throughout most of Viennese high culture, and so any attempts to dismiss the "Jewish aspect" of the intelligentsia are refuted. The book goes on to explain this "Jewish aspect," dismissing any unitary, static model and adopting a historical approach that sees the "Jewishness" of Viennese modern culture as a result of the specific Jewish backgrounds of most of the leading cultural figures and their reactions to being Jewish.
Freud and the Politics of Psychoanalysis is a sympathetic critique of Freud's work, tracing its political content and context from his early writings on hysteria to his late essays on civilization and religion. Brunner's central claim is that politics is a pervasive and essential component of all of Freud's discourse, since Freud viewed both the psyche and society primarily as constellations of power and domination. Brunner shows that when read politically, Freud's discourse can be seen to unite mechanics and meaning into a plausible, fruitful and internally consistent theory of the mind, therapy, family and society. Part one deals with the medical and political background of Freud's work. It explains how Freud postulated mental principles that were the same for all races and nations. The second part is concerned with the logic and language of Freud's theory of the mind. Brunner also details how Freud introduced dynamics of dominance and subjugation into the very core of the psyche. Part three addresses dynamics of power in the clinical setting, which Freud forged out of a curious blend of authoritarian and liberal elements. Brunner focuses on how this setting creates an arena for verbal politics. He also examines various social factors that influenced the therapeutic practice of psychoanalysis, such as class, gender and education. Part four explores Freud's analysis of the family and large-scale social institutions. Though Brunner is critical of the authoritarian bias in Freud's social theory, he suggests that it provides a useful vocabulary to unmask hidden psychological aspects of domination and subjection. This is an essential book for those interested in the history of ideas and psychoanalysis. Jos Brunner is Senior Lecturer at the Buchmann Faculty of Law and the Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas, both at Tel Aviv University. Born in Zrich, Switzerland, he has been living in Israel for most of the last three decades. He is author of numerous publications on the history and politics of psychoanalysis and contemporary political theory.
