Rogow's 'The Psychiatrists' Analyzes Social
Aspects, Views Science's Impending Changes
Psychiatry and psychi atrists
undergo thorough research in one
of the most serious studies of the
subject made with a view of prob-
ing the science and the scientists
in the light of current social con-
ditions.
Prof. Arnold A. Rogow of the
City University of New York, in
"The Psychiatrists," a Putnam
publication, takes an "inside look
Into the fascinating world" of psy-
chiatry and his study is marked by
analyses, factual records and direct
approaches to the subject. He
deals with the problems involved
in mental illnesses, with the meth-
ods pursued today which may be-
come obsolete tomorrow, with the
attitudes of psychiatrists and the
outlooks for the future.
He goes deeply into the issues-
laden subject, inquiring into Freu-
dianism, its supporters and critics,
and he makes the point:
"The central weakness In
Freudian Psychoanalysis is not
its lack of scientific method, Its
rigidity about the length and
number of sessions, or any other
criticisms, but Its neglect of
socialization processes that have
affected the nature of repression
and altered both the conscious
and unconscious components of
behavior."
Dr. Rogow takes into account
the current protests against the
social ills, the unrest, and in com-
ment in which he quotes Sigmund
Freud's only surviving daughter,
the only one of his children who
turned to psychiatry, he states:
"Whatever the expression, the
decline of religion and the family,
and the widespread distrust, espe-
cially among the young, of the poli-
tical, business, educational and
military leaders, not to mention
the forces of law and order, re-
flects conscious and unconscious
socialization processes which the
Freud model does not take into
account and to which, given its
assumplions, It must be hostile.
Anna Freud has pointed out,
'Young people now are not inter
ested in man's struggle against
himself, but in man's struggle
against society. They see that
what psychoanalysis may lead to
is adaptation to society. That's the
last thing they have in mind.'
"If by 'society' is meant that
instinctual renunciation that Freud
explicitly made a condition of cul-
ture, then psychoanalyists may
also be the 'last thing' the parents
of the young people have in mind
. . . Given the history of psycho-
sent world threat of nuclear wea-
pons—have the effect of perpetuat-
ing death symbolism. and their
sense of permanent encounter with
death in a manner not true for
concentration camp survivors (al-
though the latter have had their
anxieties over survival priority in-
tensified by such reminders as out-
breaks of anti-Semitism anywhere
in the world and, more important-
ly, the Eichmann trial). Despite
their importance, these phycho-
logical problems of death symbol-
ism have too often been overlooked
or minimized by psychiatric exam-
iners concerned with later be-
havior of concentration camp vic-
tims, and by those studying other
forms of persecution and disaster
as well.
A special chapter, "Jews as
Survivors," Is devoted to Jean-
Francois Steinner's "Treblinka"
and its moral Judgment on vic-
tims' behavior. Here, too, the
Hiroshima-Nazi aspects and con-
trasts or likenesses are taken
Into accotmt.
The current student outbursts,
the campus revolts, the Jewish
relationships, are not overlooked
and the author, dealing with the
Columbia University incidents, the
Black Panthers, the French uni-
theme of the "psychological im- versity students and demonsstra-
tions,
the New Left and related
print" in concentration camp sur-
vivors "which includes depressive issues, declares:
"On the border of mockery are
mood, withdrawal, apathy, out-
bursts of anger, self-deprecatory such slogans of the French stu-
attitudes which, in extreme cases, dents as 'We are all undesirables!'
lead to a 'living corpse' appear- and the much more powerful 'We
ance; this is in turn attributed to are all Jews!' The slogans refer
their owing their survival to main- directly to the origins of Colui-
taining an existence of a 'walking Bendit, the student leader, but
corpse' while their fellow inmates their significance extends much
further. They mock not only anti-
succumbed."
It is in relation to the Hiroshima Semitism and national-racial chau-
vinism,
but the over-all process of
survivors, and in contrast with the
Nazi terror and its survivors that victimization itself, and the 'old
history'
for-harboring
such victim-
Prof. Litton continues to state:
". . . in Nazi concentration ization. The method by which this
was
done
is
worth
noting:
a vast
camps, in addition to the more
prolonged physical and psycho- open-air charade with thousands of
logical assault upon entity and students who, by shouting in
character structure, the problem unison, 'We are all German Jews!',
of survival priority was more di- momentarily became classical
rectly experienced: Each inmate European victims, thereby render-
became aware that either he or Mg ridiculous the very categories
someone else would be chosen for of victim and victimizer. At this
death, and went to great lengths affirmative border of mockery
to maintain his own life at the then, and at the far reaches of the
expense of the known or anony- protean style, is a call for man to
mous 'other.' In the atomic bomb cease his folly in dividing himself
experience, the problem of sur- into what Erik Erikson has called
vival priority was more symbol- pseudo-species, and to see himself
ically evoked, though the end re- as the single species he is."
"We are equally capable of de-
sult may be psychologically quite
similar. Moreover, two additional stroying or renewing ourselves," is
factors--the fear of aftereffects, the powerful warning that is the
and the survivors' tendency to re- major admonition in Dr. Lifton's
late their experience to the pre- analytical work.
—P.S.
Yale University Professor Rob-
ert Jay Litton, in his series of
essays on peace and war, contem-
porary psychology, young and old
in the present critical period in
history, draws upon the Jewish
experiences gathered from the
Nazi holocaust era and relates
them to the present.
His "History and Human Sur-
vival," published by Random
House, is illuminated by his expert-
ise in the psychological field, and
in his explanation of his role as a
PsYchohistorian, he comments on
the "certain kind of despair-
tinged insight emerging from
America's extraordinary influence
upon the world and states:
"Being a Jew is very much a
part of the constellation, and has
a great deal to do with my con-
cerns with dislocations and sur-
vivals, and with man in history
in generaL My writing about
Hiroshima is affected, and I hope
informed, by my relationship as
a Jew to the Nazi persecutions
--and my comparison of the two
holocausts becomes an impera-
tive personal task as well as a
logical intellectual one."
The eminent author deals exten-
sively with the subject. He devotes
considerable discussion to the
have added to awareness of suf. 90 per cent of those treated by
analysts are white persons about
tering, want and discrimination.
equally divided between Pro-
Whatever the explanation,
testants and Jews; only 10 per
younger analysts give an impres-
sion of being bothered less by; cent are Catholics or members
of denominations other than Pro-
their material advantages, al-
though there is no reason toi testant or Jewish. There is a
footnote that states: "The pa-
think that their polltical views
tients of the analysts, as corn-
are less liberal than those of the
pared with those of the PsYchis-
older group.
trists, in the study were more
But in truth there is no such
highly educated and inchuled
person as the psychiatrist or the
more Jews and fewer Catholics."
analyst, whether young or old.
Another interesting recorded fact
For every therapist or analyst
who himself needs a therapist in Dr. Rogow's book is: "Judging
by
names, most American Psycho-
or analyst, there are a hundred
of the "solid citizen" variety analytic Association presidents
have
been Jews, and one woman
attempting to meet their respon-
sibilities to their Patients, their has served as president."
Dr. Rogow refers to "the prom-
own families, and the larger
society. If many of them do not inence of Jews in psychiatry" and
know how they personally should asserts that there is a "widely
relate to the problems of war, held view that the Catholic Church
race and poverty, who does is hostile toward psychiatry and
have this knowledge, whatever especially psychoanalysis."
his profession? If, like other
Dr. Rogow's is a significant and
thoughtful Americans, many of thorough analysis of a major sub-
them are caught between the ject and his views have special
desire to do good and the desire relevance in our time. —P.S.
to do well, who ha the rest of the
population is not also caught in
this dilemma? If, like the mem•
bers of other professions, they
are not certain how much they
do Is art and how much science,
how much will continue to be the
result of hunch and Intuition,
and how much the product of
new technologies, who is certain?
Indeed, Is there any guarantee
that the psyche of 21st Century
man will resemble that of 19th-
nryl
20th Cenutry man upon which, in
the form of one interpretation or
another, the whole of psychoan-
alysis and most of psychiatry is
based?
To ask these questions is to . 1
risk laboring the obvious. And
nr: nnx
Yet, just as analysts find It dif-
ficult to agree with Whitehead
that "a science which hesitates
to forget its founders is lost,"
ripr.
so the larger number of patients
in therapy and analysis and the
wider circles of the public find
'D
It difficult to agree with Freud D 4711.t
that psychoanalysis is no more
capable than psychiatry, reli-
gion, education, and science of
.17D74 /271
serving as a cure-all or panacea
for the ills of mankind. At least
twice in his life Freud observed 1-1
that there were three "Impos-
sibl e" professions: educating,
healing, and governing. In the
end he was not even able to
1171/71Dr.17
believe that man would succeed
in controlling "the human in-
f
stinct of aggression and self- 11170
destruction." It remains to be
'711 4
seen whether, by the year 2000, 171 - "IP
Voice of Jerusalem
either Whitehead or Freud has
proven wrong.
Agricultural
There are interesting references -
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analysis, it is not beyond question
that the Freudian model will be
modified to take account of
changed social conditions and espe-
cially the permanent as distinct
from the temporary or transient to Jews in psychiatry in Dr.
impact of increasing permissive- Rogow's book. Writing about non-
ness, notably as manifested in the religious Jewish identification, he
states in a footnote: "It is gener-
'sexual revolution'."
Prof. Rogow makes this impor- ally true of this and other studies
tant comment as a concluding that atheists of Protestant and
Catholic origin are apt to describe
note to his challenging study:
Perhaps in psychiatry and themselves as atheists (period)
psychoanalysis, there is a de- whereas most Jews who are athe-
veloping "generation gap" marl: ists or agnostics are inclined to
identify themselves as Jews, no
ed by differing Interests and
orientations. Younger practition- matter how strongly irreligious."
Dealing with statistics, Dr.
to
be
more
interested
ers seem
than older colleagues in scien. Rogow indicates that "a fifth of
the
analysts . .. have Jewish pa-
title research and methdological
problems, and they may critter tients to the extent of between 75
and
100 per cent of their practice,
As
al-
In other ways as well.
ready mentioned, some analysts and for another quarter of the
analysts
Jews constitute between
In the study group appear to
feel somewhat ill at ease about 50 and 75 per cent of their total
practice."
In another count, how-
their incomes and affluent living
standards. Those who are most ever, Jews form a smaller per-
troubled by a social conscience centage of patients. He makes a
perhaps were adolescents or distinction, in his study, between
yotmg adults during the Depres- analysts and psychiatrists. He pro-
sion, and became involved, vides these additional figures:
"Because the decision to
through their relatives or friends,
undergo psychoanalysis is a
in radical politics. It is possible
that the rise of Nazi Germany voluntary one that entails a con-
siderable expenditure of money
disposed Jewish analysts, in par-
and time, the patients of analysts
ticular, to the political left and
are very different from patients
a lasting sensitivity to social
of
psychoanalysts. According to
problems. Analytic training as
a study reported in 1967, almost
such, in the earlier period, may
48—Friday, July 24, 1970
Hiroshima and Holocaust Attitudes
Corelated in Dr. Lifton's Analyses
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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Keren Hayesod, 50,
Praised for Devotion
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JERSUALEM (JTA)—The Keren
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(Editor's Note: Daniel Kaplan,
dollars for the State of Israel and,
na
son of Mr. and Mrs. Percy Kap-
previously, for the Jewish com-
lan, is the translator of this He-
brew column. Danny, a Hillel
munity in Palestine, Finance Min-
n,n77 rcr ri 47 1 f.7M
Day School graduate and a high
ister Pinhas Sapir told a special
school senior, is presently visit-
session of the Knesset devoted to
‘nilr Tizi 0 '47. '?.Pt ? '2 ?*314)74 ing
in Israel.)
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A letter to my friend, Avraham, in
the United States:
Dear Avraham,
Yesterday, I visited the agricultural
exhibition. I was sorry that you could
not see and enjoy it. It is interesting,
and very beautiful.
Do you remember the first years of
the existence of the state, when we
lacked many food Items? Today, the
population has increased more than
double, but the agricultural output
provides almost everything plentifully.
There are (even) things, such as eggs,
that Israel sells to other countries.
At the exhibition you see (notice)
this development of agriculture. In
every field (branch), there is notice-
able advancement: In the growing of
citrus fruit, as well as other fruits;
produce and vegetables and also in
the raising of livestock—the cattle,
and the sheep; the fowl and the fish.
And of course, there are also new
branches (products) that were non-
existent in Israel (only) a few years
ago, such as the growing of cotton.
My little daughter was not inter-
ested in figures, charts and the dif-
ferent kinds of machinery. But for
one whole hour she stood by the fish
pond and looked (stared) at all the
kinds of fish that are being bred in
the country.
Her greatest pleasure was when we
came to a camp of Bedouin tents. The
Bedouins honored me with coffee, and
my daughter rode on a camel.
Regards to the family.
With sincere greetings,
Joseph
the 50th anniversary of the found-
ing of Keren Hayesod at the Lon-
don Zionist Conference.
Calling it an "unprecedented
event" that a "people dispersed
all over the globe should tax itself
voluntarily to see its dream come
true," the minister said two-thirds
of the money raised came from
the U.S. and 90 per cent of it
alter the establishment of the
state of Israel. The people's great-
est response came during the
Six-Day War when the Emergency
Appeal was set up, he said, and
within a few days three million
dollars was collected.
"Long lines of contributors lined
up at UJA offices and Israeli em-
bassies in many countries; parents
donated their savings; communi-
ties and synagogues sold their
property; housewives, children
and pensioners gave us their sav-
ings, and young boys and girls
took on jobs and donated their
earnings to the emergency fund,"
Sapir said.