International experts reflecting on psychoanalysis in relation to religion and morality.
In this volume renowned experts in psychoanalysis reflect on the relationship between psychoanalysis and religion, in particular presenting various controversial interpretations of the question if and to what extent monotheism semantically and structurally fits psychoanalytic insights. Some essays augment traditional religious critiques of Freudianism with later religio-philosophical theories on, for example, femininity. Others explore the relation between psychopathology and morality from the Freudian premise that psychopathology shows in an excessive way aspects or mechanisms of the human psyche that constitute our subjectivity, and as such also our moral capacities and behaviour.
This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).
Contributors: Andreas De Block (University of Leuven), Fethi Benslama (University of Paris Diderot), Sergio Benvenuto (ISTC, Rome), Gohar Homayounpour (Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran), Felix de Mendelssohn (Sigmund Freud University, Vienna), Julia Kristeva (University of Paris Diderot), Lode Lauwaert (University of Leuven), Siamak Movahedi (University of Massachusetts), Wolfgang Müller-Funk (University of Vienna), Gilles Ribault (University of Paris Diderot), Céline Surprenant (University of Sussex), Inge Scholz-Strasser (Sigmund Freud Foundation), Herman Westerink (University of Vienna), Joel Whitebook (Columbia University), Moshe Zuckermann (Tel Aviv University)
Preface
Inge Scholz-Strasser
Introduction
Wolfgang Müller-Funk and Herman Westerink
Part I: The Forces of Monotheism
Moses’ Heritage.
Psychoanalysis between Anthropology, History and Enlightenment
Wolfgang Müller-Funk
The Jewish Tradition in Sigmund Freud’s Work
Felix de Mendelssohn
Islam in Light of Psychoanalysis
Fethi Benslama
Part II: Religion and its Critiques
Freud’s Conception of Religion within the Context of the Modernist Critical Discourse
Moshe Zuckermann
The Need to Believe and the Desire to Know,
Today
Julia Kristeva
Part III: Femininity and the Figure of the Father
Monotheism and the ‘Repudiation of Femininity’
Joel Whitebook
Fort!/Da! Through the Chador: The Paradox of the Woman’s Invisibility and Visibility
Siamak Movahedi and Gohar Homayounpour
Part IV: Morality
The Two Sources of Morality in Freud’s Work
Gilles Ribault
On Moral Responsibility: A Freudian Perspective
Herman Westerink
Pathology and Moral Courage in Freud’s Early Case Histories
Céline Surprenant
Part V: Law and Perversion
Does Perversion Need the Law?
Sergio Benvenuto
Outlawed by Nature? A Critique of Some Current
Psychiatric and Psychoanalytic Theories of Sexual Perversion
Andreas De Block and Lode Lauwaert
Bibliography
Notes on the Contributors
Index of Names
Frequently Asked Questions
What is "Psychoanalysis, Monotheism and Morality" about?
International experts reflecting on psychoanalysis in relation to religion and morality.
In this volume renowned experts in psychoanalysis reflect on the relationship between psychoanalysis and religion, in particular presenting various controversial interpretations of the question if and to what extent monotheism semantically and structurally fits psychoanalytic insights. Some essays augment traditional religious critiques of Freudianism with later religio-philosophical theories on, for example, femininity. Others explore the relation between psychopathology and morality from the Freudian premise that psychopathology shows in an excessive way aspects or mechanisms of the human psyche that constitute our subjectivity, and as such also our moral capacities and behaviour.
This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).
Contributors: Andreas De Block (University of Leuven), Fethi Benslama (University of Paris Diderot), Sergio Benvenuto (ISTC, Rome), Gohar Homayounpour (Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran), Felix de Mendelssohn (Sigmund Freud University, Vienna), Julia Kristeva (University of Paris Diderot), Lode Lauwaert (University of Leuven), Siamak Movahedi (University of Massachusetts), Wolfgang Müller-Funk (University of Vienna), Gilles Ribault (University of Paris Diderot), Céline Surprenant (University of Sussex), Inge Scholz-Strasser (Sigmund Freud Foundation), Herman Westerink (University of Vienna), Joel Whitebook (Columbia University), Moshe Zuckermann (Tel Aviv University)
Who wrote "Psychoanalysis, Monotheism and Morality"?
"Psychoanalysis, Monotheism and Morality" was written by Daniela Finzi.
Daniela Finzi is the head of the research department of the Sigmund Freud Museum in Vienna and member of the board of the Sigmund Freud Foundation.
Who edited "Psychoanalysis, Monotheism and Morality"?
"Psychoanalysis, Monotheism and Morality" was edited by Wolfgang Müller Funk, Inge Scholz Strasser and Herman Westerink.
Wolfgang Müller-Funk is Professor of Cultural Studies at the Department of European and Comparative Literature and Language Studies (University of Vienna) and research coordinator of his faculty.
Inge Scholz-Strasser is Chairwoman of the Sigmund Freud Foundation and Director of the Sigmund Freud Museum in Vienna.
Herman Westerink is endowed and associate professor at the Center for Contemporary European Philosophy at Radboud University Nijmegen.
Is "Psychoanalysis, Monotheism and Morality" part of a series?
Yes, "Psychoanalysis, Monotheism and Morality" is part of the "Figures of the Unconscious" series. It's book 12 in the series.
In collaboration with the International Society for Psychoanalysis and Philosophy (SIPP-ISPP).

The peer-reviewed book series Figures of the Unconscious was founded in 2001 and provides a platform for exchange at the intersection of philosophy and psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis occupies a crucial position within contemporary philosophical thinking and many analysts are influenced by philosophical approaches.
Both philosophy and psychoanalysis are concerned with the nature of the subject, questions of knowledge and epistemology, sexuality, life and death, ethical issues, alterity, and the subject’s manifold relationships to the other - to other human and non-human beings and to its environment.
We welcome manuscripts in the areas and at the intersections of
- the history of psychoanalysis and Freudian thought
- the exploration of psychoanalytic concepts and the development of theories
- the research and development of the psychoanalytic movement
- psychoanalytic and philosophical concepts and ideas
- psychoanalysis, gender and queer studies
- interdisciplinary approaches that combine psychoanalysis with other scientific disciplines
- current developments in psychoanalytic approaches
- ethical approaches in psychoanalysis
- epistemological debates
Editors-in-Chief
Beatriz Santos (Université de Paris)
Herman Westerink (Radboud University)
Esther Hutfless (Sigmund Freud University Linz)
Editorial board
Jeff Bloechl (Boston College)
Advisory Board
Jozef Corveleyn (KU Leuven)
Monique David-Ménard (Université de Paris)
Rodrigo De La Fabián (Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago de Chile)
Jens De Vleminck (Leuven)
Eran Dorfman (University of Tel Aviv)
Laurie Laufer (Université de Paris)
Elissa Marder (Emory University, Atlanta)
Claire Nioche (Université Paris XIII)
Vladimir Safatle (Universidade de São Paulo)
Charles Shepherdson (State University of New York at Albany)
Guillaume Silbertin Blanc (Université Paris 8)
Raluca Soreanu (University of Essex)
Celine Surprenant (Paris)
Antônio Teixeira (Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais)
Johan Van Der Walt (University of Luxemburg)
Wilfried Ver Eecke (Georgetown University)
Proposals
The board accepts manuscripts for review from both members and non-members of the SIPP-ISPP. These can be either monographs or edited volumes, provided they align with the aims and scope of the series.
Proposals and enquiries can be sent to the series editors-in-chief.
Please make use of the submission form to present your manuscript or proposal to our board.
Authors interested in Open Access can consult the available funding options.
Links & Resources
What is the Table of Contents for "Psychoanalysis, Monotheism and Morality"?
Preface
Inge Scholz-Strasser
Introduction
Wolfgang Müller-Funk and Herman Westerink
Part I: The Forces of Monotheism
Moses' Heritage.
Psychoanalysis between Anthropology, History and Enlightenment
Wolfgang Müller-Funk
The Jewish Tradition in Sigmund Freud's Work
Felix de Mendelssohn
Islam in Light of Psychoanalysis
Fethi Benslama
Part II: Religion and its Critiques
Freud's Conception of Religion within the Context of the Modernist Critical Discourse
Moshe Zuckermann
The Need to Believe and the Desire to Know,
Today
Julia Kristeva
Part III: Femininity and the Figure of the Father
Monotheism and the 'Repudiation of Femininity'
Joel Whitebook
Fort!/Da! Through the Chador: The Paradox of the Woman's Invisibility and Visibility
Siamak Movahedi and Gohar Homayounpour
Part IV: Morality
The Two Sources of Morality in Freud's Work
Gilles Ribault
On Moral Responsibility: A Freudian Perspective
Herman Westerink
Pathology and Moral Courage in Freud's Early Case Histories
Céline Surprenant
Part V: Law and Perversion
Does Perversion Need the Law?
Sergio Benvenuto
Outlawed by Nature? A Critique of Some Current
Psychiatric and Psychoanalytic Theories of Sexual Perversion
Andreas De Block and Lode Lauwaert
Bibliography
Notes on the Contributors
Index of Names
Related titles
Psychoanalysis on Borders, Limits and Beyond
Yianna Ioannou (Editor), Izzy Powis (Editor), Sinziana Ravini (Editor), Léa Silveira (Editor), Jamieson Webster (Editor),
November 2026
Feminists Resisting Gendered Violence
Hemangini Gupta (Editor), Fiona Mackay (Editor), Jan Breckenridge (Editor), Louise Chappell (Editor), Rachna Mehra (Editor), Rukmini Sen (Editor), Mailin Suchting (Editor),
October 2026
Architecture & Feminist Critical Theory
Hilde Heynen (Author), Lucía C. Pérez-Moreno (Editor),
November 2025
Seduction, Drive and Repetition
Herman Westerink (Author), Philippe Van Haute (Author),
September 2025
Urban Women
Jelle Haemers (Editor), Andrea Bardyn (Editor), Chanelle Delameillieure (Editor),
April 2025
Towards the Limits of Freudian Thinking
Herman Westerink (Editor), Jenny Willner (Editor), Philippe Van Haute (Editor),
January 2025
Thoughts for the Times on Groups and Masses
Daniela Finzi (Editor), Jeanne Wolff Bernstein (Editor),
January 2025
The Business of Pleasure
Elwin Hofman (Editor), Magaly Rodríguez García (Editor), Pieter Vanhees (Editor),
September 2024
Truth and Suffering
Paulo Beer (Author), Nelson da Silva Júnior (Preface by), Renata Takatu (Translator),
March 2024
Ferenczi Dialogues
Raluca Soreanu (Author), Jakob Staberg (Author), Jenny Willner (Author),
January 2026
Black Matrilineage, Photography, and Representation
Lesly Deschler Canossi (Editor), Zoraida Lopez-Diago (Editor),
September 2022
