ANOTHER HISTORY: FAMILY,NATION AND THE REMEMBRANCE OF THE EGYPTIAN JEWISH PAST IN CONTEMPORARY ISRAELI LITERATURE

In this article I will focus on how Egyptian Jews who migrated to Israel after 1948 and their descendants remember Egypt and how they situate themselves vis-à-vis Israeli society and culture. I will base my analysis on three semi-autobiographical novels published between 2003 and 2011 by Israeli writers of Egyptian descent belonging to three subsequent generations: Baderekh la'itztadion by Yitzhak Gormezano Goren, Kol tze‘adenu by Ronit Matalon, and Yolanda by Moshe Sakal. By analysing specific passages from these books, I will argue that even after the decline of the Jewish presence in Egypt in the 1950s, the cultural and social worlds to which their families belonged did not vanish completely but, rather, struggled for survival at a very intimate level. This ultimately produced a multifaceted archive in which the written narrative of the family's past became an alternative homeland where historical memories and fictional details are inextricably blended.     

THE MODERN STUDY OF MYTH AND ITS RELATION TO SCIENCE

The history of the modern study of myth can be divided into two main categories: that which sees myth as the primitive counterpart to natural science, itself considered overwhelmingly modern, and that which sees myth as almost anything but the primitive counterpart to natural science. The first category constitutes the nineteenth‐century approach to myth. The second category constitutes the twentieth‐century approach. Tylor and Frazer epitomize the nineteenth‐century view. Malinowski, Eliade, Bultmann, Jonas, Camus, Freud, and Jung epitomize the twentieth‐century approach. The question for the twenty‐first century is whether myth can be brought back to the physical world, but in a way compatible with science. The case of the myth of Gaia will be considered as a possible way of doing so.     

JEWISH WOMEN'S PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING: THE ROLE OF ATTACHMENT, SEPARATION, AND JEWISH IDENTITY

The purpose of this study was to examine the contributions of attachment, separation, and Jewish identity to psychological well-being in a sample of 115 late adolescent Jewish women. Results from multiple regression analyses demonstrated that attachment to parents, separation from parents, and Jewish identity collectively accounted for variance in psychological distress, as measured by anxiety, depression, self-esteem problems, and interpersonal problems. Thus, late adolescent Jewish women's psychological functioning may be fostered by therapeutic interventions addressing their relationships with parents and Jewish identity.     

PHILOSOPHY AND THE STUDY OF ITS HISTORY

Abstract: This article's goal is to outline one approach to providing a principled answer to the question of what is the proper relationship between philosophy and the study of philosophy's history, a question arising, for example, in the design of a curriculum for graduate students. This approach requires empirical investigation of philosophizing past and present, and thus takes philosophy as an object of study in something like the way that contemporary (naturalistic) philosophy of science takes science as an object of study. This approach also requires articulating a sense in which philosophy might make, or might have made, progress.     

DARWIN AND CHRISTIANITY: TRUTH AND MYTH

In recent years many historical myths about the relations between science and religion have been corrected but not always with sensitivity to different types and functions of “myth.” Correcting caricatures of Darwin's religious views and of the religious reaction to his theory have featured prominently in this myth‐busting. With the appearance in 2017 of A. N. Wilson's depiction of Darwin himself as a “mythmaker,” it is appropriate to reconsider where the myths lie in discourse concerning Darwin and Christianity. Problems with Wilson's account are identified and his provocative demeaning of Darwin is contrasted with an image gleaned from Darwin's friend and colleague George Romanes. The article concludes with a brief reference to the problem of suffering and to the work of Christopher Southgate.     

GENDER AND WORK HISTORY IN THE PLACEMENT AND PERCEPTIONS OF ELDER COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS

This study explored factors that determine the types of volunteer jobs older adults are placed in, as well as factors that define the meaning of their roles. With a sample of 169 elder community volunteers (mean age, 73 years), we investigated the patterns of job perceptions of women and men in two types of volunteer positions: jobs that involved leadership and jobs that did not. A two-way MANOVA with gender and leadership as independent variables revealed that there was a significant interaction effect. When men are leaders, their sense of interpersonal feedback is higher than when they are non-leaders, but their sense of influence and autonomy is lower. Women in leadership jobs feel more influential and autonomous than their peers in non-leadership jobs. Subsequent analyses probing differences in job placement suggested that work history was a significant predictor of leadership jobs for men, but not for women. Correspondingly, men with prestigious preretirement work histories perceived their volunteer roles as less influential than men who had been in lower status jobs before retirement. Work history was not a predictor of job perception for women. These placement and perception issues are discussed within the context of an historical perspective on paid work, with special emphasis on gender.     

MYTH, RITUAL, AND THE ARCHETYPAL HYPOTHESIS

Abstract. This paper reexamines the myth-ritual complex, considering myth as a psychobiological stereotype, the neurobiology of myth structuring, the neurobiology of myth transformation, and some religious implications of the myth-ritual complex. Relevant points of comparison between this neurobiological analysis of the myth-ritual complex and Jungian psychological theory are made throughout. Finally the neurobiology of transcendent experiences is considered along with a brief neuroepistemological consideration of the possibility of transcendence itself.     

MYTH AND MORALITY: THE LOVE COMMAND

Abstract. Following in general a history of religions analysis, the paper argues that myth lays a basis for morality in that it sets forth a picture of "how things really are" (the is ), to which humans seek to conform their actions (morality, the ought ). A parallel argument locates the capacity for morality and values orientation in the process of evolution itself. A hypothesis is formulated concerning the function of myth in the emergence of Homo sapiens , namely, to motivate the action required if creatures so culturally formed as humans were to survive. The Christian love command (understood as altruism) is interpreted as an example of the general hypothesis.     

THE MYTH AND HISTORY OF SOME PSYCHOANALYTIC CONCEPTS: THOUGHTS INSPIRED BY A READING OF ORANGE ET AL., WORKING INTERSUBJECTIVELY

In this paper the author gives her reactions to a book on the intersubjective approach that deals with major issues such as the analyst's role in the psychoanalytic process, neutrality, technique and self-disclosure. Noting that the book often adopts an antagonistic and innovative stance towards Freud, she draws attention to aspects of his theories that deal with concepts deemed by the intersubjective school to be of fundamental importance. Chief among these is the influence of the analyst on the analytic process, in terms both of his 'defects' and of his individuality in general. In opposition to the 'myth of the isolated mind' attributed by the book to Freud, the author presents some selected passages from his works that emphasise the structuring function of the object and the influence of various groups on the individual. The aim of the paper is not only to counter the oversimplified view of Freud that emerges from the book but also to put forward a theoretical position with respect to a school that is exerting an increasingly powerful attraction on both sides of the Atlantic. The author's argument is based mainly on a discussion of the detailed clinical sequences featuring in the book. She also considers some possible cultural and social determinants of the development of the intersubjective trend.     

SEXUAL MORES,ETHICAL THEORIES,AND THE OVERPOPULATION MYTH

Some of the causes of the ‘sexual revolution’ during the past few decades are widely known: The development of relatively safe and reliable contraceptives, especially the birth‐control pill; the ‘morning after’ pill; antibiotics to relieve or cure sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea, herpes, and syphilis; the increased social acceptance of pre‐marital sex, homosexuality, and other behaviors that formerly were considered deviant; and the legalization of abortion as the ultimate ‘contraceptive’. But little attention has been paid to two rather cerebral factors relevant to these developments – namely, ethical theories, and theories of overpopulation. In this paper I will argue that these two less well‐known and more subtle factors have been at least as powerful as the more obvious factors mentioned above, in bringing about sea‐changes in sexual mores. More specifically, I will argue that some implicit approaches to ethical theory are more conducive than others to bringing about the present status quo in sexual mores, and that the widespread belief in world overpopulation has not only changed the moral climate regarding sexuality, but has helped to redefine what is moral and what is immoral.     

REDEFINING MYTH AND RELIGION: INTRODUCTION TO A CONVERSATION

Abstract. Minimally, myth means "story," and religion means "that which binds" a community into a coherent unity. Myth and religion are closely associated because a shared myth is the most efficient and effective means for achieving social coherence. Ancient myths were initially formulated in terms of the science of their day, Thus, an integration of science, myth, and religion is essential to a healthy culture. As these elements become disintegrated there arises a need to generate new mythic visions. The question of our day is whether science offers resources relevant to the expression of a new myth.