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KMID : 0385320000110010047
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Journal of Korean Psychoanalytic Society
2000 Volume.11 No. 1 p.47 ~ p.68
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Talmud and Psychoanalysis
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Lee Byung-Wook
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Abstract
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In the psychoanalytic history, the Jewish contribution has been absolutely great. Nonetheless the selective inattention and mutism on the Jewish issue has been observed in the enormous psychoanalytic literatures. I affirm that the Jewish analysts played an very important and decisive role in theoretical development, but they suffered hardships only by reason of the Jewishness under the stigmatic title of Jew psychology in contrast with Nazi-made Aryan psychology. Although they could not forget this painful memory, it is a matter of regret that we meet with an invisible obstacle to the widening of scope in psychoanalysis. I think that my interest on how had Talmud an influence on the development of psychoanalytic theory is very natural because of an decisive role and contribution of the Jewish analysts. I consider that Talmud’s power and influence on the Jewish identity formation should not be neglected. Although many analysts disagree to my opinion, but Talmud has been really the core of Jewish mind and spirit, behavior, attitude, manner, life style consciously or unconsciously. Talmud does not teach us the knowledge, but the wisdom. Talmudic tradition amplified the Jewish creativity and talent, and we know that many scholars of worldwide reputation was Jewish. Historically famous Jewish people influenced on various fields of Western society and culture. Talmud says everythings all about human’s psyche and life such as dream and wish, good and evil, life and death, sex and incest, money and contract, guilt and punish, love and hate, revenge and forgiveness, pain and reward, mind and body, etc. Above all, many concepts and topics in Freud’s theory such as wishfulfilment, dream and fantasy, sexuality, irrationlity, conflict, love and hate, sado-masochism, guilt and punish, insight and outsight, offense and defense, psychic trauma, repetition compulsion, inner and outer pressure, ego and superego development, eros and thanatos, memory and repression, murder and incest, censorship and free association, self-esteem and selfishness, contract and appointment, psycho-economy, listening and interpretation, pleasure and reality, phasic development, termination and self-analysis, sublimation and civilization, paternal preoccupation etc, all kind of these could be derived from the Talmudic origin and source even though Freud himself took no notice of it. Nowadays Talmud is worldwidely read by non-Jews as a treasury of the expert wise. This study exploring the Talmudic background underlying to Freudian theory is very meaningful because of Talmudic moral, ethical, educational, economic, political values. Everyone should not be caught in a trap by a simple logical jump that psychoanalysis is Jewish psychology only by the reason of Talmudic scent. Antisemitism has been a refractory illness and chronic malady in the Western society, but as a result chronic paranoid, persecutory condition to their prejudice is not desirable equally. Neutrality which Freud emphasized to us has been the most difficult order, but we can never disregard this goal of neutrality as a clinician as long as psychoanalysis persist in.
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KEYWORD
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Talmud, Psychoanalysis, Jewish
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