At a time when the Doomsday Clock stands at 90 seconds to Midnight, meaning that our species faces imminent extinction from global warming, environmental catastrophe or a nuclear war developing from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, this website is about how and why we have come to this pass. It is my belief that without the insights of psychoanalysis, both on the individual and on the collective level, we can neither answer these questions nor save ourselves from an unprecedented catastrophe. There have been a series of books entitled The End of the World (see here). What has become of our species and of our civilization — and why?
Applied psychoanalysis is a discipline for studying human creation, including art, science, music, architecture, films, and urban civilization, and human destruction, including war, genocide, environmental pollution, and the annihilation of other species.
This website is based on the interdisciplinary research fields of psychohistory, psychobiography, political psychology, psychogeography, and psychoanthropology, among others. Here you will find my books, articles, and blogs on the psychoanalytic interpretation of history, politics, geography, literature, music and other aspects of human behavior and endeavor.
From time to time you will find new pages here about subjects such as the tragic mass murders in Norway and France, the Scottish referendum, U.S.-Israeli relations, Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the Arab-Israeli conflict, or the former U.S. President Donald Trump and his followers.
Any comments or suggestions from you will be appreciated.
Thank you for visiting my website.
Avner Falk, Ph.D. Clinical Psychologist Jerusalem, Israel
Thank you for this lifelong work! As a retired clinical psychiatrist/self-taught psychoanalyst/recovered alcoholic/ and author of the free online e-book, “Stress R Us”, available as a PDF at stressrus.wordpress.com, I only wish that your considerable insight were directed at a larger frame to include human overpopulation and our contribution to worldwide climate collapse. Those of us who cast the net so widely are few and far between and would surely appreciate the input from your fine mind, especially from the psychoanalytic perspective. Thanks, again, for your devotion to your profession and wonderful website.
Moritz Steinschneider lived from 1816 to 1907. I never said he was the first to use the term antisemitism. As far as I know the term Antisemitismus was first used by Wilhelm Marr (1819-1904) in 1879. I know the group behind Clio’s Psyche. It is run by Paul Elovitz of Ramapo College (see https://cliospsyche.org/. Thank you for your comment.
A friend on Facebook mentioned that you discuss Moritz Steinschneider (1916-1907) as the person who may have been the first scholar to have used the phrase antisemitism. I looked Steinschneider up on Wikipedia and there is no mention of his being the first (or even one of the first) to use the phrase. I would like some clarification. I also looked you up on Wikipedia and your work seems to align with the CliosPsyche group in New York to some extent. Do you have any contact with them? I am not an M.D., not a psychiatrist, not a Ph.D. in psychology and not a psychoanalyst. My Ph.D. is in comparative historical sociology (CHS) from the University of Toronto (1979) and two of my teachers were Professor Irving Zeitlin and Professor Lewis Samuel Feuer. (Ironically, they did not get along at all!) Zeitlin’s book on The Jews is a sort of updating in a semi-popular manner of Max Weber’s approach to Ancient Judaism. Irv and I have had wonderful, heated discussions on many topics. For example, he thinks Tanakh should not include Job whereas I feel Job is a wonderful text. But I am not Jewish. Feuer was not liked by my generation, but I attended his lectures regularly since he was extremely well-versed in sociological theory. Thorstein Veblen would (sort of) walk into the room when he lectured on him (etc.)! I was open minded to him after reading his book on Spinoza. Feuer, L. S. [1958] 1966. Spinoza and the Rise of Liberalism. Boston: Beacon. (I go to Unitarian-Universalist services from time to time, so I am proud that Beacon published his work.). I taught the sociology of religion and comparative religious studies for about 40 years (as well as many other subjects). I hope to be 75 this year and have been retired for 9 years, enough time to learn how ignorant I am!
Shalom Avner, I haven’t had the time time to read any of your articles but I will. Hope everything is good with you. CECILIA, from Aventura, Florida
Dear Avner,
I hope this mail finds you in good health and spirit.
As part of “Images in Psychotherapy” new corner of “Sichot,” I am planning to wright about Max Eitingon.
I saw in your website that Agnon’s wife was psychoanalysed for ten years by Eitingon.
I do know that Agnon and Eitingon were in some relationship, as Agnon dedicated a short story, entitled “Another Prayer-Shawl,” in Eitingon’s memorial book published in 1950 by Israel Psycho-Analytical Society, to Eitingon’s memory, wrighting as a moto (in Hebrew) “for the soul of R’ Mordechai Eitingon Halevi of Blessed Memory.”
Can you give me some details or references regarding Eitingon’s relationships with Agnon?
Also, I read in your website that you wrote a psycho-biography on Agnon. Where can I find it?
With all best wishes,
Jacob Margolin
The piece on Barack and Bibi is nicely done, Avner. You know how much I appreciate and learn from this kind of analysis. Kol ha’kovod.
Bravo, Avner, for the site! It works well and is very interesting!
Excellent introduction!
Concise and precise.
ישר כוח! מזל טוב, חג שמח ושנה טובה
צ’רלי גרינבאום
Naturally well-written…. Could there be some illustration for subliminal purpose?
Your new site is lovely…..continued success and thank you for keeping us enlightened! DRB
Congratulations on your website…
Psychology is certainly one of the sources we need the more in order to understand the human aspects of history, geography, and human beings!
kindest regards
Jourdon