Christianity and Psychoanalysis

Published by

Clarissa

August 31, 2013

“Freud created psychoanalysis to liberate his contemporaries from two oppressive forces: the practice of psychiatry and the practice of Christianity,” I say. “Take for instance the enjoinment to honor thy father and mother. Any analysis begins with a critical evaluation of the role of one’s parents in one’s life.”

“No,” N responds. “Honoring thy father and mother is crucial for the success of individual analysis. You need to honor them to make sure they are alive and in good health at the time when you finally manage to find the strength for analysis. Because a critical evaluation of a dead parent is next to impossible compared to that of a healthy, vigorous parent.”

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20 responses to “Christianity and Psychoanalysis”

n8chz

August 31, 2013

I take it N. is also what you call an “analysand?”

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1. bloggerclarissa
  
  August 31, 2013
  
  Nobody who has seen what analysis did for me could resist. 🙂 I’m a walking advertisement. 🙂
  
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musteryou

August 31, 2013

The aspect of Freud I really don’t like is the idea that female gender is a deformation. Just accept it. You are deformed. Embracing deformation = maturity. Not embracing = “hysteria”. How could one make such an outlandish error in psychology?

In other ways, Freud is more logical. He takes Kant to task for his categorical imperative, which means imprisonment by the Superego without any moderation in relation to material needs.

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1. bloggerclarissa
  
  August 31, 2013
  
  When I read the very first Hispanists, my hair stands on end. Progress is a great thing. 🙂
  
  Before Freud, hysteria was treated with horrifyingly cruel methods. Freud, at least, listened to the women instead if torturing them. In North America this torture continued into the 1950s. And today all there is is pills.
  
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  1. musteryou
    
    August 31, 2013
    
    Hysteria is a non-existent illness, like ADHD.
    
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    1. bloggerclarissa
      
      August 31, 2013
      
      Of course. But it wasn’t invented by Freud.
      
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      1. musteryou
        
        August 31, 2013
        
        Invented and perpetuated by patriarchy and its psychodynamics.
        
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  2. Lear
    
    September 1, 2013
    
    According to you patriarchy is to blame for everything 🙂 On ilness “Beyond Human nature” by Jesse. J. Prinz exemplifies (based on bibliography) how most mental and physical ilnesses are nothing but culture artefacts and/or byproducts.
    
    I don’t recommend the whole book, but that section might be of your interest.
    
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2. Z
  
  September 6, 2013
  
  My theme for the day: ideological state apparatuses (Althusser). When are and are not psychoanalysis/psychotherapy ideological state apparatuses? This is an interesting question.
  
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  1. musteryou
    
    September 6, 2013
    
    I recommend reading BLACK HAMLET, which should confuse you or answer some of your questions.
    
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  2. musteryou
    
    September 6, 2013
    
    traditional psychoanalysis has the idea that ego is strengthened by conformity to established social mores. Ethically this is an amoral position, which, however becomes criminally reckless when combined with the notion that women don’t need a publicly validated position in society, because they are simply creatures of emotion.
    
    It’s a shame Freud wasn’t an ethicist or a philosopher of basic logic, or else he might have attempted to come to terms with this inconsistency.
    
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  3. Z
    
    September 6, 2013
    
    Yes, we read Black Hamlet in school. Agree on Freud/traditional psychoanalysis. My question is rhetorical — it’s just that a few of today’s events emphasized that it continues to be pertinent, one that should be kept in mind, etc.
    
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  4. musteryou
    
    September 6, 2013
    
    specifically, ego cannot thrive where it is smashed and denied on the basis of gender norms — even and especially when you conform to those gender norms: that’s when it gets the most smashed down and decimated.
    
    I choose intellectual shamanism instead:
    
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  5. Z
    
    September 6, 2013
    
    Yes.
    
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  6. musteryou
    
    September 6, 2013
    
    The possibility of thinking outside the system is very limited. Now, Bion did aim for that with the idea that one should attempt to blank one’s mind and think of infinity when encountering a new patient – but who can really do that? How does one really get to a point of getting even close? Shamans do it by singing and trance states, making themselves open, but the measures employed by a self-consciously rational civilization are more restrictive.
    
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  7. Z
    
    September 6, 2013
    
    Right.
    
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Lear

September 1, 2013

I’ve been thinking about giving it a shot but fees seem pretty high at £150 the 40 min session (Not even neurosurgeons make that much). It makes you wonder weather they’re really worth the money or more hype than anything else. The method is certainly compelling but don’t know anyone around who could share their experience. Besides I already know my parents are the root of all evil 🙂

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1. bloggerclarissa
  
  September 1, 2013
  
  Everything in the UK is insanely expensive. One can always find a much more reasonably priced specialist working through Skype from North America.
  
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  1. Benoni
    
    September 1, 2013
    
    “Everything in the UK is insanely expensive.”
    
    I consider it a “We Don’t Have Republicans” tax.
    
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  2. Anonymous
    
    September 1, 2013
    
    Contraceptives are for free.
    
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