Some Books to Read

Based on a paper given by Derrida at a Freud Symposium at the Freud Museum in London. This book could be seen as a way of reconsidering Freudian psychoanalysis — seeing it as an archeology of memory. Psychoanalytic practice deals with the memories of the patient — how conscious material presented in analysis is to be understood. What aspects of the patient’s utterances are to be understood as pointing towards significant mater in the id (unconscious)?

Derrida compares this analytic process with the process of understanding or deconstructing a text. So we can now consider psychoanalysis as a method of deconstructing a text — were the text is the patient’s speech. Derrida thus compares the process to that of understanding an archive.

Derrida then goes further, to think about the process of understanding Jewish texts, such as The Talmud. That work is also an archive of stories about Jewish law, interpretations of The Torah — the first five books of the Old Testament.

Derrida wants to compare the process of deconstructing the archive of the patient’s next with that of deconstructing and understanding the Talmud. Freud was, of course, Jewish, but apparently did not practice Judaism actively. What did he know of Judaism? Of the Talmud? of the process of interpreting Jewish tests? Derrida talks about the evidence available for this, and reflects on whether and how that influenced Freud in his work

A fascinating book!

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Based on a paper given by Derrida at a Freud Symposium at the Freud Museum in London. This book could be seen as a way of reconsidering Freudian psychoanalysis — seeing it as an archeology of memory. Psychoanalytic practice deals with the memories of the patient — how conscious material presented in analysis is to be understood. What aspects of the patient’s utterances are to be understood as pointing towards significant mater in the id (unconscious)?

Derrida compares this analytic process with the process of understanding or deconstructing a text. So we can now consider psychoanalysis as a method of deconstructing a text — were the text is the patient’s speech. Derrida thus compares the process to that of understanding an archive.

Derrida then goes further, to think about the process of understanding Jewish texts, such as The Talmud. That work is also an archive of stories about Jewish law, interpretations of The Torah — the first five books of the Old Testament.

Derrida wants to compare the process of deconstructing the archive of the patient’s next with that of deconstructing and understanding the Talmud. Freud was, of course, Jewish, but apparently did not practice Judaism actively. What did he know of Judaism? Of the Talmud? of the process of interpreting Jewish tests? Derrida talks about the evidence available for this, and reflects on whether and how that influenced Freud in his work

A fascinating book!

Back

Reserve This Item