Myth and Madness: The Psychodynamics of AntisemitismThe persistence of anti-Semitism and its current resurgence after a brief post-Holocaust suppression, challenge those who study human behavior to locate the causal bases of anti-Semitism and find approaches to combat it. This is an astonishing report of a nine-year study of the psychodynamics of anti-Semitism. Undertaken by Dr. Mortimer Ostow on behalf of the Psychoanalytic Research and Development Fund, it puts flesh and bones on the discussion of antisemitism in Sigmund Freud's 1939 classic theoretical study "Moses and Monotheism. "Its close adherence to case material, and application of psychoanalytic theory to historical data and cultural products, yields new insights into bigotry and equity alike. By examining prejudiced patients and their myths, Dr. Ostow shows the common threads of anti-Semitism in a variety of national and cultural settings, even under supposed optimal conditions when antisemitism is stringently controlled. The work uses the psychiatric approach, and can be read as a study of how this area of behavioral science reveals the interplay of the individual and the group, cultural background and material opportunities. The book is divided into five major segments: Psychoanalytic interpretation of anti-Semitism in the past; clinical data on anti-Semitic sentiments in a variety of personal and national settings; mythological dimensions of anti-Semitism and apocalyptic doctrines; specific anti-Semitic myths including pre-Christian early and medieval Christian, "racial" and post-modern Muslim anti-Semitism. The final segment focuses on the pogrom mentality, including the Nazi phenomenon, antisemitic fundamentalism, and black anti-Semitism. "Myth and Madness "is informed by an amazing breadth of learning: from biblical exegesis to modern sociology, from close attention to mundane patients to evaluating mythic claims of the loftiest, and at times most dangerous sort. This is a landmark effort--one that will be the touchstone for theoretical and clinical works to come. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 34
... tion of antisemitism in the past ; clini- cal data on antisemitic sentiments in a variety of personal and national settings ; mythological dimensions of antisemitism and apocalyptic doc- trines ; specific antisemitic myths , including ...
... tion ; clinical professor emeritus of Psychiatry , College of Physicians and Surgeons , Columbia University ; board of directors and secretary- treasurer , Sigmund Freud Archives , Inc .; board of directors , Freud Lon- don Museum ...
... tion and a new appreciation of the influence of developmental events , of the interplay of the individual and group , the influence of cultural background and the opportunities and hazards of the material world in the determination of ...
... tion as a basic mechanism , and added too that it is common for indi- viduals to fear the victim of their hostility . Ernest Jones in 1951 wrote on " The Psychology of the Jewish Ques- tion " ( Jones , 1951 ) . He suggested that ...
... tion with the elite . They observed that group pressures provide for so- cial determination of stereotypes and social determination of antisemitic behavior . They also considered Jewish antisemitism , " liberal anti- semitism , " and ...
Contents
3 | |
Study of Clinical Data | 43 |
Mythology | 63 |
Antisemitic Myths | 95 |
The Pogrom Mentality | 151 |
Conclusions | 175 |
Bibliography | 181 |
Index | 187 |