Hermeneutics And The Psychoanalysis Of Religion

This book is a philosophical study of the Freudian psychoanalysis of religion from a hermeneutical perspective. Drawing on the work of Paul Ricoeur, the twentieth-century French phenomenologist, the author offers a sustained and rigorous reflection on Freud's critique of Christian religion and raises the pertinent question of whether psychoanalysis should be conceived of as a form of hermeneutics. To this end, the author details the often acrimonious debates and discussions that took place between Ricoeur and Jacques Lacan, as well as drawing on the work of Slavoj Zizek on this intriguing subject, with Lacan and Zizek resisting any attempt to interpret psychoanalysis along the lines of hermeneutics. Having brought Ricoeur's reflections to bear on both Freud and Lacan, the author next engages with the Thomist metaphysical tradition. He deals especially with Aquinas' famous five arguments for the existence of God, the relevance of which becomes apparent in the last chapter when the author sheds a Lacanian light on Thomas' mystical experience. The author argues that the 'real' God - the God of Thomas' experience - pertains to the (Lacanian) order of the Real. The book concludes with a précis on the beauty of belief.

ISBN 9042000333 (paperback) NLG 45.00 This volume presents hermeneutical psychological studies on religion which rely on both classical and contemporary approaches. Dealing with topics like mysticism, religious symbols, life stories and mental health, contributions to the volume draw on a variety of perspectives. through genealogy and psychoanalysis.

Paul Ricoeur (1913-) is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Chicago and Dean of the Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences at the University of Paris X, Nanterre. One of the foremost contemporary French philosophers, his work is influenced by Husserl, Marcel and Jaspers and is particularly concerned with symbolism, the creation of meaning and the interpretation of texts. The Conflict of Interpretations ranges across an astonishing diversity of fields: structuralism, linguistics, psychoanalysis, religion and faith. The essays it comprises are bound together by Ricoeur's customary concern for interpretation and language and all bear the stamp of the systematic and critical thinking which has become his hallmark in contemporary philosophy. Edited by Don Ihde>

Leading philosopher of religion D. Z. Phillips examines the conceptual assumptions of atheistic thought.

In this thought-provoking book, clinical psychologist and professor of religious studies James W. Jones presents a dialogue between contemporary psychoanalytic thinking and contemporary theology. He sheds new light on the interaction of religion and psychology by viewing it from the perspective of world religions, providing an epistemological framework for the psychology of religion that draws on contemporary philosophy of science, and bringing out the importance of gender as a category of analysis. Developments in psychoanalysis provide new resources for theological reflection, Jones contends. The Freudian view that human nature is isolated and instinctual has shifted to a vision of the self as constituted in and through relationships. Jones uses this relational model of human nature to explore the convergence between contemporary psychoanalysis, feminist theorizing, and themes in religious thought found in a variety of traditions. He also critiques the reductionism inherent in Freud's discussion of religion and proposes nonreductionistic and genuinely psychoanalytic ways for psychoanalysis to treat religious topics. For therapists, psychologists, theologians, and others interested in spiritual or psychological issues, Jones offers illuminating clinical material and insightful analysis.

In this provocative book, W. W. Meissner, a Jesuit and psychoanalyst, attempts to bring about a rapprochement between psychoanalysis and religious thinking. Utilizing the resources of modern psychoanalytic insight, he examines Freud's views on religion, explores the dialectical relationship between psychoanalysis and religion, and applies more contemporary concepts in psychoanalysis to the understanding of religious experience. Dr. Meissner has written a book which is consistently interesting, often challenging, and impressive for its wide range of scholarship in two fields not often combined in the same work...Dr. Meissner has done us a service in this scholarly work by demonstrating how two perspectives of the human condition have over the course of the last several decades come to similar conclusions.-Otto F. Thaler, M.D., Journal of the American Academy of Religion A rich and stimulating book addressing important issues that lie at the intersection of psychoanalysis and religion.-Paul C. Vitz, Contemporary Psychology Meissner has made a challenging useful contribution that will be pondered, applied, and debated.It will undoubtedly also achieve the goal of bringing about more understanding between analysts and theologians.-Lowell Rubin, M.D., Newsletter, Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute

In every process of reading there is interaction between text and reader. Religious texts speak about God; readers of religious texts have their images of God. Thus, in the process of reading religious texts we have a triangle with text, reader and God at the extreme points. But how are these points connected? The articles in the book discuss this question. They focus on biblical texts, and they make use of different psychoanalytic approaches. The book deals with the biblical subjects of the «bloody bridegroom» in Ex 4, the Oedipus complex in the book of Esther, the Saul-David story from a Kleinian perspective, and the creation of woman. This work also examines the question of interiorization and the images of God. The contributors are scholars from several European countries and from widely differing scholarly and denominational backgrounds, who discussed their papers in the course of a European SOCRATES intensive program.

Polka also raises the larger issue of the relationship between modernity, hermeneutics, and biblical ontology. He argues that the origins and structure of modern values can be understood only through a theory of hermeneutics whose ontology overcomes the dualism between the secular and the religious, between philosophy and religion. Polka shows this to be possible when biblical ontology is understood to be at once rational and faithful, secular and religious. He uses the work of Spinoza, Kant, Hegel, and Kierkegaard to articulate the ontological framework that makes clear how typically modern Freud is in being unable to account for the relationship of his thought to biblical religion. Polka argues that Freudian metapsychology, precisely because it cannot account for its own principles of explanation, contradicts the insights of depth psychology. Paradoxically, religion returns in Freud as the repressed, as it does in so much of modern thought. Polka shows that what is therefore required is a hermeneutical theory whose ontological articulation of biblical religion is critically self-conscious.

The Other Freudis an exciting and original analysis of Freud's major writings on religion and culture. It explores how Freud's texts are multi-faceted and rich, but are taken for granted. James DiCenso analyses the texts and uses theories derived from contemporary French theorists Jacques Lacan and Julia Kristeva to draw a critical portrait of the other Freud. The author addresses concerns from the fields of psychoanalytic theory, postmodern thought, cultural theory, and religious studies.