Synthesized answer
A Freudian perspective, specifically identifying a "prodigious 'parental complex'" in figures like Mohammed, could reshape our understanding by recognizing the psychogenic factors that impelled him to formulate and propagate a religious and social system [1]. This complex, rooted in an intense "father-complex" involving infantile fixation on the mother, led to a sublimation of aggressive impulses [2]. Instead of direct hostility, these impulses found expression in a life-long war against the traditions of his people [2]. This tendency to attack the authority of the father in religion and politics, exemplified by Mohammed, can be seen as a notable symptom of certain psychoneuroses [3].
The passages suggest that this deeply buried and unconscious complex against the father, which pervades all men, could be the source of the emotional intensity that leads individuals to embrace faith and confront death with great fortitude [4]. In Mohammed's case, defiance of parental authority, rooted in his subjective feelings, was not only justifiable but encouraged within Islam, potentially contributing to its tremendous power [5]. This psycho-analytic survey highlights how a Freudian…
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From the book
ewhat similar lines, for there is nothing shadowy or mysterious in the records of the life of the Great Arabian Prophet. We know as much of Mohammed as we do even of Luther and Milton. As in the case of Amenhotep, there exists in the life-history of Mohammed an abundance of evidence which points unmistakably to the existence of a prodigious "parental complex". Therefore it is by no means unlikely that a psycho-analytic survey of the material at our disposal will enable us to recognise at least some of the psychogenic factors which impelled Mohammed to devote his life to the formulation and…
f both men had their roots in an intense “father-complex” involving a strong infantile fixation in regard to the mother. For Amenhotep the roots of his venge fulness Jay in the beautiful and gifted Asiatic princess, Teje; while the incestuous love of Mohammed was directed towards the gentle Amina, daughter of Khuweilid, whose very name “Amina”, “the Faithful”, is daily in the mouth of every Muslim throughout the world. In the case of Mohammed the “Father-complex” was of a rather peculiar kind since, being born a posthumous child, he never knew his father. The place of the father was taken by…
heir respective conflicts in waging a life-long war on the traditions, religious, political and social, of their people. Doubtless the aggressive impulses (against the father) of Amenhotep underwent a far greater degree of sublimation than those of Mohammed, so that his character became in the end more essentially to resemble that of Jesus of Nazareth than that of the founder of Islam, for the hatred of Amenhotep for his father found its final expression in a consuming love for all created things. The intensity of the unconscious feeling of both these men can only be measured by the…
the deeply-buried and unconscious complex against the father, which is an attribute that pervades the minds of all men. From hardly any other source could there spring those wild torrents of emotion that enable men, "utterly lost to every call of honour, or patriotism, or family affection, whose only occupation is eating, and whose only recreation is woman, to thrill with excitement at the summons of the faith, and meet death with a contempt the Red Indian could only envy". It is beyond the scope of this article to consider the social and political consequences that might follow upon a fuller…
dolatry, the Kaaba, which succeeded, and the other relating to the worship of the three "exalted Females", which failed. Again we find this same tendency manifested in the attitude adopted by Mohammed towards authority. While on the one hand the authority of parents and rulers was to be respected according to the objective feeling of Mohammed, on the other hand, in pursuance of his subjective feeling on the subject of parental authority, it must be opposed and destroyed, so that, in certain circumstances, defiance of authority was not only justifiable but to be encouraged. In this aspect of…
More questions about this book
- How would you explain the principle of "rigid determinism in all psychic processes" and the "parental complex" to someone unfamiliar with psychoanalysis, using the application to historical figures like Mohammed or Amenhotep IV?
- Berkeley-Hill argues that "nothing shadowy or mysterious" exists in Mohammed's records, making him suitable for psychoanalysis. What unique challenges or ethical considerations might arise when applying psychoanalytic methods, typically designed for living patients, to historical figures whose inner lives are only accessible through secondary sources?
- The text suggests that Freud's "rigid determinism" *led* to the psychoanalysis of historical personalities. Can you articulate the chain of reasoning that connects a belief in psychic determinism to the justification for applying it to figures from the distant past?
- Considering the overall title "Psycho (Film) by Alfred Hitchcock" which frames this excerpt, how might the ideas presented in "The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis" — particularly the discussion of historical psychoanalysis and complexes — serve as a foundational or thematic backdrop for understanding Hitchcock's film?