The other Moses - Maimonides
Chapter 1 in Guide to the perplexed
explains the metaphorical, or abstract, internal perception through thought rather than a literal interpretation of the Talmud.
Possibly this is where Freud came to the thought of the Jewish person's capacity to abstract, given the unknowable nature of God.
Maimonides also says that man being made in God's image is an abstract idea. He argues that only humans have the capacity for speech and thought, which is how God communicated with them. So the capacity for thought is close to Godliness, not the physical form. Also idols were not the problem, only the incorporeal concept of what they symbolised was the problem. This is the stimulus to know thyself to know God. Maybe a pantheist approach, ie God is to be found within me and all humans.
Although one cannot deny that the sun produces the light on our Earth, without which we would not be here, at least in this form, the light is possibly enlightenment, thought, knowledge, the capacity to know and transcend nature. As in I see the light or the aha moment.
The more you introspect, the more disconnected you become with the physical world. Food becomes less important and thoughts and reflection become the food of the soul. I can attest to this. In this way, teaching people to know themselves, through psychoanalysis, which one hopes generalises to become a lifetime of self examination and reflection, is akin to Maimonides raah, hibbit and hazel and to find inner peace. In this way there is more moral understanding of good and evil, the apparent truths, rather than the necessary truths of true and false. This then leads tot he concept of Freud as the moralist. Freud however attempted to come to this learning by logical analysis, which he termed science.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
today
Why Epicurus and Freud?
Look at our lives today.
What happened to friendship? With fragmentation of families, increased social mobility, 50% divorce rates and jails filled to overflowing. What about the hand of friendship to illegal aliens' and 'boat people?
What about consumerism? The gross consumerism which does not share with poorer nations. Obesity, mountains of rubbish, fast food, diabetes, long hours of work to buy ever larger houses full of material goods. Does any of it bring lasting happiness?
what about globalisation? The rape of the poor for the greed of the fat. Globalisation could have been a greater good but it was hijacked.
what about politics and war? War over religions. greed, oil. Nuclear arms race.The point is?
What happened to thinking? Decline in students seeking arts, humanities, philosophy education. Rise in science and sciencism. Lots of chatter but very little thinking.
Public education as industrial revolution mentality. Teach them enough to be able to be skilled enough to do their job- the cog in the great wheel of industry. Don't teach them to think or any more than they need or it just might be dangerous. Business schools that source large enterprises for content in learning. No wonder ethics is not taught. Business ethics is seen as an oxymoron! Business without ethics is a short term gain.
Individualism over communitarianism.
Homogeneity versus diversity
Environmental issues-pollution;global warming;oil spills on the reef;extinction of species;corporate take over of the genome and overpopulation to name a few.
We could learn a lot if we went back to Freud and Epicurus
Look at our lives today.
What happened to friendship? With fragmentation of families, increased social mobility, 50% divorce rates and jails filled to overflowing. What about the hand of friendship to illegal aliens' and 'boat people?
What about consumerism? The gross consumerism which does not share with poorer nations. Obesity, mountains of rubbish, fast food, diabetes, long hours of work to buy ever larger houses full of material goods. Does any of it bring lasting happiness?
what about globalisation? The rape of the poor for the greed of the fat. Globalisation could have been a greater good but it was hijacked.
what about politics and war? War over religions. greed, oil. Nuclear arms race.The point is?
What happened to thinking? Decline in students seeking arts, humanities, philosophy education. Rise in science and sciencism. Lots of chatter but very little thinking.
Public education as industrial revolution mentality. Teach them enough to be able to be skilled enough to do their job- the cog in the great wheel of industry. Don't teach them to think or any more than they need or it just might be dangerous. Business schools that source large enterprises for content in learning. No wonder ethics is not taught. Business ethics is seen as an oxymoron! Business without ethics is a short term gain.
Individualism over communitarianism.
Homogeneity versus diversity
Environmental issues-pollution;global warming;oil spills on the reef;extinction of species;corporate take over of the genome and overpopulation to name a few.
We could learn a lot if we went back to Freud and Epicurus
journal/conference
What about a free online Journal of Philosophy and Psychoanalysis.
What about a virtual conference in philosophy and psychoanalysis. The papers from the conference can be published in the journal.
The journal can be Web2.0 friendly with discussion and videos.
What about a virtual conference in philosophy and psychoanalysis. The papers from the conference can be published in the journal.
The journal can be Web2.0 friendly with discussion and videos.
two moses
Moses Maimonides was a famous Jewish philosopher. He is revered and people speak of between Moses (Moshe) and Moses (Moshe). Some years passed between both these Moses. Both are seen as messianic.The first gave us the Mosaic law, given to him at Mt Sinai. The second gave the 13 principles of faith among other philosophies.
The aha moment when Freud makes a point of saying that history has condensed two Moses into one. Add the Hasidic concepts of time, using condensation and timelessness, and it becomes easier to see why Freud could tease out two Moses in his book, Moses and Monotheism.
The aha moment when Freud makes a point of saying that history has condensed two Moses into one. Add the Hasidic concepts of time, using condensation and timelessness, and it becomes easier to see why Freud could tease out two Moses in his book, Moses and Monotheism.
Epicurus and Freud
Epicurus' philosophy was often placed with Stoicism but they are quite different. Freud has been discussed from the position of both these philosophies (Kirsner, 2006). The Stoics saw the attainment of pleasure as solely through the virtues (arete). Epicureans, Aristotle and Freud allowed some material gains or ways of attaining pleasure as also leading to a good life.
The pleasure principle is the cornerstone of Epicurian thinking. This is not the hedonistic pleasure principle and neither was Freud's.It is about the most pleasure, in the long run, not short term pleasures. Pleasure is attained through the virtues.Pleasure is about minimizing pain.
There is also a limit in simple living, and he who fails to understand this falls into an error as great as that of the man who gives way to extravagance
(Epicurus)
For example
Sexual pleasure promotes good things (pleasure, relationships, children), but not in excess, or immoral as this brings pain and suffering.
Friendship is also a pleasure (Epicurus says the greatest) and so short term gains at the expense of your friends means long term loss of this pleasure.
This is about the balance of good and evil or as Moses Maimonides(RaMBaM) says that good and evil are mere facets of the same thing (Moses Maimomides).
So Bentham and Mills also promoted the pleasure principle, the most good, least pain approach to justice and ethical living.
Freud certainly read all 4 writers.He studied classical philosophy at the gymnasium. His family were Hasidic and he would have read Moses as well, it was in his library.
Freud lived in a time of austerity, dictatorship, wars, repression and anti-semitism. There was little in the way of virtues and little in the way of pleasure to be found in Vienna for a Jewish person. There was a long history of little pleasure for Jewish people for some millenia. So Freud balanced the pleasure principle with the reality principle.(Freud, 1911).
Aristotle called pleasure eudaimonia but he saw the happiness as a byproduct of virtue. Epicurus saw virtue as the pathway to eudaimonia.
Thus the id drives are towards eudaimonia. The super-ego applies the virtues. Thus the ego Ich is in balance, not in a struggle between opposing forces but as a complementary drive.Like the 'breaking of the vessels' both good and bad exists and virtue Tikkun holds them together. This leads to the best life in this world and ever after.
Happiness therefore comes from inner reflection, reason, rational thinking and promotion of the virtues. This is an enlightened, humanist approach, promoted by Freud and Epicurus. Irrespective of the gods, Man has the capacity to look inwardly, to know himself, towards the greater good. In some this is called religious experience, to others psychotherapy. Many philosophers have called this looking into the soul, this word is interchangeable with mind. Epicurus saw soul as material, made up of atoms. The concept of mind is therefore equivalent to an atomic concept of soul.
Epicurus stated that the fear of death and eternal punishment by the ongoingness of the soul after death, was the main cause of suffering.He denied that the soul continued after death, thereby reducing this anxiety. He promoted .carpe diem. Freud also saw anxiety, the thanatos drive as the main anxiety, caused unhappiness and illness(Freud, 1915).
Epicurus saw politics as a danger towards achieving happiness, as did Freud in his Civilisations and its discontents (Freud, 1930). Epicurus warns of the danger of blind trust in organisations
We must free ourselves from the prison of public education and politics (Epicurus). and
It is pointless for a man to pray to the gods for that which he has the power to obtain by himself.(Epicurus)
Freud also warned that this was a childish neurosis, wish for paternalism and incorporation of the father figure, rather than relying on one's own rational mind.
Epicurus believed that material objects were never wrong but that the soul/mind may make mistakes based on unconscious (unknown, inner processes) processes. This is a description of the unconscious and Freud's concepts of defense mechanisms, like repression (Freud, 1940).
Epicurus described the civilisation of mankind as the access to the power of fire. This is also reflected in Freud's writing in Totem and Taboo- the acquisition of fire (Freud, 1913).
The interpretation of dreams, the 'royal road to the unconscious' said Freud (Freud, 1900). Epicurus ( in his Vatican aphorisms) also said
Dreams have neither a divine nature nor a prophetic power, but they are the result of images that impact on us. (Epicurus)
To complete this discussion may I quote Epicurus
One must presume that long and short arguments contribute to the same end.
(Epicurus)
List of references
Epicurus, Vatican Sayings. Retrieved 25th April, 2010 from http://www.epicurus.net/en/vatican.html
Freud,S.(1900) The interpretation of dreams Penguin Freud Library.
(1911) Formulations on the two principles of mental functioning in On Metapsychology. PenguinFreud Library
(1913) Totem and taboo. Penguin Freud Library.
(1915) Instincts and their vicissitudes. in On Metapsychology. PenguinFreud Library
(1930) Civilisations and its discontents. Penguin Freud Library.
(1940) Splitting of the ego in the proces of defence in On Metapsychology. PenguinFreud Library
Kirsner, D. (2006). Freud, Civilization, Religion, and Stoicism. Psychoanal. Psychol., 23:354-366.
Konstan, D. (2009)Epicurus Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Retrieved 15th April, 2010 from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/epicurus/
Moses Maimonides Guide to the Perplexed. The forgotten books.org.
The pleasure principle is the cornerstone of Epicurian thinking. This is not the hedonistic pleasure principle and neither was Freud's.It is about the most pleasure, in the long run, not short term pleasures. Pleasure is attained through the virtues.Pleasure is about minimizing pain.
There is also a limit in simple living, and he who fails to understand this falls into an error as great as that of the man who gives way to extravagance
(Epicurus)
For example
Sexual pleasure promotes good things (pleasure, relationships, children), but not in excess, or immoral as this brings pain and suffering.
Friendship is also a pleasure (Epicurus says the greatest) and so short term gains at the expense of your friends means long term loss of this pleasure.
This is about the balance of good and evil or as Moses Maimonides(RaMBaM) says that good and evil are mere facets of the same thing (Moses Maimomides).
So Bentham and Mills also promoted the pleasure principle, the most good, least pain approach to justice and ethical living.
Freud certainly read all 4 writers.He studied classical philosophy at the gymnasium. His family were Hasidic and he would have read Moses as well, it was in his library.
Freud lived in a time of austerity, dictatorship, wars, repression and anti-semitism. There was little in the way of virtues and little in the way of pleasure to be found in Vienna for a Jewish person. There was a long history of little pleasure for Jewish people for some millenia. So Freud balanced the pleasure principle with the reality principle.(Freud, 1911).
Aristotle called pleasure eudaimonia but he saw the happiness as a byproduct of virtue. Epicurus saw virtue as the pathway to eudaimonia.
Thus the id drives are towards eudaimonia. The super-ego applies the virtues. Thus the ego Ich is in balance, not in a struggle between opposing forces but as a complementary drive.Like the 'breaking of the vessels' both good and bad exists and virtue Tikkun holds them together. This leads to the best life in this world and ever after.
Happiness therefore comes from inner reflection, reason, rational thinking and promotion of the virtues. This is an enlightened, humanist approach, promoted by Freud and Epicurus. Irrespective of the gods, Man has the capacity to look inwardly, to know himself, towards the greater good. In some this is called religious experience, to others psychotherapy. Many philosophers have called this looking into the soul, this word is interchangeable with mind. Epicurus saw soul as material, made up of atoms. The concept of mind is therefore equivalent to an atomic concept of soul.
Epicurus stated that the fear of death and eternal punishment by the ongoingness of the soul after death, was the main cause of suffering.He denied that the soul continued after death, thereby reducing this anxiety. He promoted .carpe diem. Freud also saw anxiety, the thanatos drive as the main anxiety, caused unhappiness and illness(Freud, 1915).
Epicurus saw politics as a danger towards achieving happiness, as did Freud in his Civilisations and its discontents (Freud, 1930). Epicurus warns of the danger of blind trust in organisations
We must free ourselves from the prison of public education and politics (Epicurus). and
It is pointless for a man to pray to the gods for that which he has the power to obtain by himself.(Epicurus)
Freud also warned that this was a childish neurosis, wish for paternalism and incorporation of the father figure, rather than relying on one's own rational mind.
Epicurus believed that material objects were never wrong but that the soul/mind may make mistakes based on unconscious (unknown, inner processes) processes. This is a description of the unconscious and Freud's concepts of defense mechanisms, like repression (Freud, 1940).
Epicurus described the civilisation of mankind as the access to the power of fire. This is also reflected in Freud's writing in Totem and Taboo- the acquisition of fire (Freud, 1913).
The interpretation of dreams, the 'royal road to the unconscious' said Freud (Freud, 1900). Epicurus ( in his Vatican aphorisms) also said
Dreams have neither a divine nature nor a prophetic power, but they are the result of images that impact on us. (Epicurus)
To complete this discussion may I quote Epicurus
One must presume that long and short arguments contribute to the same end.
(Epicurus)
List of references
Epicurus, Vatican Sayings. Retrieved 25th April, 2010 from http://www.epicurus.net/en/vatican.html
Freud,S.(1900) The interpretation of dreams Penguin Freud Library.
(1911) Formulations on the two principles of mental functioning in On Metapsychology. PenguinFreud Library
(1913) Totem and taboo. Penguin Freud Library.
(1915) Instincts and their vicissitudes. in On Metapsychology. PenguinFreud Library
(1930) Civilisations and its discontents. Penguin Freud Library.
(1940) Splitting of the ego in the proces of defence in On Metapsychology. PenguinFreud Library
Kirsner, D. (2006). Freud, Civilization, Religion, and Stoicism. Psychoanal. Psychol., 23:354-366.
Konstan, D. (2009)Epicurus Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Retrieved 15th April, 2010 from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/epicurus/
Moses Maimonides Guide to the Perplexed. The forgotten books.org.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
some papers to find
Freud and Epicurus- some more works
(1958). Revue Française De Psychanalyse. XXI, 1957: Homage to Freud. F. Lechat. Pp. 325-330.. Psychoanal Q., 27:148.
http://www.yalom.com/sun/excerpts
The Conflict of Interpretations By Paul Ricoeur, Don Ihde
(1958). Revue Française De Psychanalyse. XXI, 1957: Homage to Freud. F. Lechat. Pp. 325-330.. Psychoanal Q., 27:148.
http://www.yalom.com/sun/excerpts
The Conflict of Interpretations By Paul Ricoeur, Don Ihde
Epicurus
Interesting quotye
Don't fear god,
Don't worry about death;
What is good is easy to get, and
What is terrible is easy to endure.
—Philodemus, Herculaneum Papyrus, 1005, 4.9-14
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicureanism
This does seem to be some of Freud's theories.
and then the article goes on to say
In the Jewish exegetical tradition, the word "Apiqoros" (אפיקורוס) appears in Rabbinical literature as a reference to those who lack religion or are ostensibly atheistic. Its origins are uncertain, but it may have originally referred specifically to the Epicurean philosophy, although it eventually came to refer to any philosophy lacking a God or a God-based morality. It is also occasionally used to describe heretic principles or heretics themselves. The word is still used in modern Hebrew, mainly among religious Jews.
Don't fear god,
Don't worry about death;
What is good is easy to get, and
What is terrible is easy to endure.
—Philodemus, Herculaneum Papyrus, 1005, 4.9-14
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicureanism
This does seem to be some of Freud's theories.
and then the article goes on to say
In the Jewish exegetical tradition, the word "Apiqoros" (אפיקורוס) appears in Rabbinical literature as a reference to those who lack religion or are ostensibly atheistic. Its origins are uncertain, but it may have originally referred specifically to the Epicurean philosophy, although it eventually came to refer to any philosophy lacking a God or a God-based morality. It is also occasionally used to describe heretic principles or heretics themselves. The word is still used in modern Hebrew, mainly among religious Jews.
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