Cross-Cultural Reflections on the Feminine “Other”: Hebraism and Hellenism Redux

Cantz, Paul; Kaplan, Kalman J.

doi:10.1007/s11089-012-0464-x

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…As my co-author Kalman J. Kaplan and I emphasised in a recent essay that contrasted Greek and Hebraic views of femininity (Cantz & Kaplan, 2013), the ancient Greeks endorsed a world view that veritably considered women as being a race apart (Hesiod, c. 700 BCE, Theogony: 592) 2 a species that, unlike their male counterparts, had been fashioned from, "filth and sediment" (Hippolytus's comments in Eurpides' Hippolytus).…”

Section: Misogyny In Ancient Greek Thoughtmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The intellectual dominance of Classical Greek attitudes, beliefs, and meaning structures has directly contributed to the otherness status of woman, establishing an implicit misogynistic undercurrent throughout Western history (Cantz & Kaplan, 2013). The privileging of certain Greek ethos that are embedded within the foundation of Christendom likewise has amplified and ultimately institutionalised Antisemitism, 1 solidifying the Jew as an "other", atavistic and vestigial nation of people (cf.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Suspicious circumcisions: a psychoanalytic exploration of the connection between Antisemitism and Misogyny

Cantz

2015

Mental Health, Religion & Culture

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The historical dominance of Classical Greek attitudes, beliefs, and meaning structures has directly contributed to the "otherness" status of women, establishing an implicit misogynistic undercurrent in the history of Western society. The privileging of certain Greek ethos within the foundation of Christendom has likewise amplified and institutionalised Antisemitism, solidifying the Jew as an "other", atavistic and vestigial nation of people. The biblical world view, in contradistinction, offers an important reappraisal of masculine and feminine ideals, undercutting misogynistic attitudes and in so doing delimiting space for an authentic feminine other to find expression. The alternative gender conceptualizations endorsed by the Bible and more generally embodied in Hebraic thought render Jews a target for displaced misogynistic rage. Particular attention is given to the domains of rationality vs. irrationality, activity vs. passivity, and the dramatically different ways that the Graeco-Roman, psychoanalytic, and Jewish traditions understand ritual circumcision, specifically how after being filtered through a Hebraic lens ritual circumcision can be psychoanalytically re-conceptualised as a potent mechanism for forging intergenerational connectedness.

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Section: Misogyny In Ancient Greek Thoughtmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Suspicious circumcisions: a psychoanalytic exploration of the connection between Antisemitism and Misogyny

Cantz

2015

Mental Health, Religion & Culture

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“…The Bible has been institutionally maligned, ignored, or otherwise rendered theoretically sterile by the psychoanalytic tradition specifically and the modern mental health establishment in general, which have both been largely informed by classical Greek values and foundation stories (Cantz, 2012;Cantz & Kaplan, 2013;Kaplan, 1990Kaplan, , 2002Kaplan & Algom, 1997;Simon, 1978, Wellisch, 1954. Indeed, it has been argued that the greatest dichotomy in Western thought exists between Hellenism and Hebraism, between our Classical and biblical traditions.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Psycho-Biblical Response to Death Anxiety: Separation and Individuation Dynamics in the Babel Narrative

Cantz

Castle

2013

Journal of Psychology and Theology

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Compared to other biblical narratives, the well-known account of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11: 1–9) has been underrepresented in the psychological analysis of the Bible. Although the Babel narrative has conventionally been understood as a tale cautioning against the perils of rebelling against authority, on the one hand, and as an explanatory legend concerning the origins of linguistic and societal diversity, on the other—in this paper we maintain that the psychological relevance of the Babel narrative runs substantially deeper than what is to be found in these standard interpretations, and in fact offers interpretations, offering a sophisticated solution to the universal condition of death anxiety. Since the development of the Western mental health establishment has been largely underwritten by Classical Greek attitudes and values, the Hebraic worldview has been suppressed if not completely ignored within the development of psychoanalytic metatheory. The Greek myths of Phaëton and Icarus are examined to illuminate the contrast between the Classical Greek and biblical views of rebelliousness and individuation as it relates to assuaging death anxiety. Once interpreted through Hebraic optics, the Babel narrative can be appreciated as a story wherein a loving Deity (father figure) acts according to the best interests of His children (the Multitude), facilitating their emotional maturity and psychological individuation and consequently providing the space to mobilize their death anxiety into a vitalizing, life-affirming sense of self.

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Lilith: A Rabbinic Projection of the Demonic Female

Schept

2021

Psychological Perspectives

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Cross-Cultural Reflections on the Feminine “Other”: Hebraism and Hellenism Redux

Cited by 5 publications

References 4 publications

Suspicious circumcisions: a psychoanalytic exploration of the connection between Antisemitism and Misogyny

Suspicious circumcisions: a psychoanalytic exploration of the connection between Antisemitism and Misogyny

A Psycho-Biblical Response to Death Anxiety: Separation and Individuation Dynamics in the Babel Narrative

Lilith: A Rabbinic Projection of the Demonic Female

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