Abstract
This paper addresses two of the most famous “others” in human history: Hellenism in relation to Hebraism and man in relation to woman. The development of modern psychiatry and psychology has been fundamentally informed by classical Greek thought, leaving the Bible epistemologically maligned as a valid alternative source-text for development of metatheory. This historical dominance of classical Greek thought has likewise directly contributed to the “otherness” status of women, establishing an implicit misogynistic undercurrent in Western history. The biblical worldview offers a destigmatized conception of the woman that affirms her independent status as a psychologically complete individual. This difference dramatically plays out in contrasting biblical and Greek views of women through comparing the story of Prometheus and Pandora with that of Adam and Eve. Pandora is described as a curse to man in retaliation for Prometheus stealing fire for man. In stark contrast, Eve is described as a blessing to man and as a helpmeet-opposite (ezer kenegdo). The biblical narrative of Adam and Eve represents a truly egalitarian approach to women. Despite Freud’s materialistic treatment of religion, the privileged position that classical Greek thought has enjoyed in the West has in fact acted as an illusion, serving as an existential tranquilizer and distracting the scientific conversation away from the life-affirming, hopeful message promoted through the biblical tradition. We can no longer afford to keep the Bible in the “other” category—we must mobilize the biblical tradition in the service of inductively developing a robust new conception of mental health.
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Notes
Contrary to popular misconception, Eve was not created to be an assistant or “helpmate” to Adam. The term “mate” slipped into modern translations since it approximates the Elizabethan Old English word “meet,” which is defined as “fit to” or “corresponding to.”
It is interesting to note that the Jewish Midrashic tradition records that prior to Eve a woman named Lilith was created from “filth and sediment” rather than pure dust and proved to be a deceitful and authoritarian demoness (Graves and Patai 1983). This seems to reflect a Greek rather than a biblical view of woman.
Bruno Bettelheim (1955, p. 115) has argued that one illustration of this male fear of absorption by the female is the theme of the vagina dentata (castrating vagina with teeth) in primitive art.
See, for example, the myth of Paris versus Menelaus or Hector versus Achilles. Paris and Hector are David-like figures who, unlike David, lack the covenantal relationship with their deity and accept the Goliath warrior rules that physical strength equals power.
It is worth noting that the eminent Jewish French philosopher Emmanuel Levinas takes a softer stance on this subject, praising the liberation of Hebraic ideas through the translatability, mutuality, and reciprocality inherent in the Greek universalizing tendency (cf. Eisenstadt 2005).
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Further Reading
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Lucian of Samosota (1905). The works of Lucian of Samosota. Trans. H. W. Fowler & F. G. Fowler. Vol. 1. Oxford: The Clarendon Press.
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Cantz, P., Kaplan, K.J. Cross-Cultural Reflections on the Feminine “Other”: Hebraism and Hellenism Redux. Pastoral Psychol 62, 485–496 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-012-0464-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-012-0464-x