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Thu, 19 Mar 1998 14:58:39 -0500 |
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There have been a few comment on this list pertaining to psychoanalysis
and Judaism. There may well be a certain strong affinity between the
two. The similarities between talmudic tradition and psychoanalytic
interpretation, for example, may explain Jewish interest in
psychoanalysis. However, Jews have been equally prominent in:
Behaviorism
Cognitive therapies
Radical politics in American and European countries
Conservative politics in American and European countries
Baseball pitching in the 60's
Organized crime in the first half of this century
The garment business
Invention of polio vaccines
The Movie Industry
Nuclear weapon development
etc.
My point is that Jews, with a centuries old history of scholarship, a
mercantile tradition, and-in the USA-the ambition of poor immigrants,
were likely to get involved in a variety of endeavors. The specifics of
Judaism can always be applied as post-hoc explanations for each specific
endeavor, but one could apply such post-hoc explanations to almost
anything. I suspect that the most likely explanation is that Jews, as
outsiders and immigrants, need to get into new fields which do not yet
have an establishment. Psychoanalysis was one of those fields.
Howard D. Eisman, Ph.D.
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