Review: Freud Wars

Philosophia, 2005

Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 2014

Psychoanalysis and History, 1999

Central Europe , 2015

The life and work of Sigmund Freud continue to fascinate general and professional readers alike. Joel Whitebook here presents the first major biography of Freud since the last century, taking into account recent developments in psychoanalytic theory and practice, gender studies, philosophy, cultural theory, and more. Offering a radically new portrait of the creator of psychoanalysis, this book explores the man in all his complexity alongside an interpretation of his theories that cuts through the stereotypes that surround him. The development of Freud's thinking is addressed not only in the context of his personal life, but also in that of society and culture at large, while the impact of his thinking on subsequent issues of psychoanalysis, philosophy, and social theory is fully examined. Whitebook demonstrates that declarations of Freud's obsolescence are premature, and, with his clear and engaging style, brings this vivid figure to life in compelling and readable fashion.

2013

This is the English translation of the full text of my dissertation Freud als Geschichtsphilosoph, which was published in 2013 under the title Geschichtsphilosophie und Psychoanalyse by V&R unipress. The thesis was accepted as a doctoral dissertation at the Ruhr University Bochum in 2012 (Jürgen Straub, Chair of Social Theory and Social Psychology). The translation was done using the translation software deepL.com. (The author apologises for any errors or inaccuracies caused by this software translation. The original German text can be searched via Google Books. A German reading sample including a table of contents can be found among the texts uploaded here). The core of this work deals with the question of how psychoanalysis, history and the philosophy of history can be thought together. To this end, it examines differences and parallels between Freud's teachings and selected approaches to the theory and philosophy of history. (The concluding third part of text, Philosophy of History and Psychoanalysis, is to be seen as a sketchy proposal for what a future psychoanalytic philosophy of history might look like). In order to distinguish the present text from my essay Freud as a Philosopher of History, which was previously uploaded to academia.edu and can be seen as a summary of the main theses of the dissertation, its title is Freud as Philosopher of History (without article).

Psychoanalysis and History, 2023

Book review of the book by Mikkel Borch-Jacobson

The Mountain Path

F reud's arrival in the New World on August 29, 1909, on the steamer George Washington in the New York Harbour, accompanied by his onetime disciples Sándor Ferenczi (1873-1933) and C.G. Jung (1875-1961) marks his quintessential attack on Western civilization unapologetically attempting to undermine it at its core, at its metaphysical and spiritual roots, when he made the providential pronouncement: "They don't realize we're [the psychoanalytic movement] bringing them the plague." 1 It was Freud's first and only visit to America to deliver five introductory lectures on psychoanalysis at the invitation of G. Stanley Hall (1846-1924) for the twentieth anniversary celebration of Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. It needs to be remembered, as he disclosed The following article is a synopsis of a book by the author on Freud.