Hawaiian Psychology
October 14, 2007
On Brian’s blog and around the house, we have been discussing Freud, feminism, politics, and Hawaiian Psychology - a normal day for us.
At any rate, I am rather interested in the concept of Hawaiian Psychology. Indigenous cultures, specifically Hawaiian culture, often have very interesting and unique ways of looking at problems or ways of living that western culture has too often chosen to ignore. A book on Hawaiian psychology actually exists - Ka Lama Kukui Hawaiian Psychology: An Introduction by William C. Rezentes. The book is primarily for psychologists that are treating Native Hawaiian patients but I think it would be interesting for laymen. I have heard of people (even the courts) performing Ho‘oponopono in order to resolve problems between families, groups, or even inner struggles.
We have also been discussing Freud’s extremely misogynist case study of Dora. I find it disturbing that Freud’s conclusion was that women like to be sexually assaulted by men. He also asserts that Dora really wanted the sexual assault and even further that she should have submitted to it. Freud also seems to assert some kind of empiricism of his method but it is almost as though he never realizes that the entire scenario that he has “derived” are wholly constructed and based on entirely questionable interpolations. Given the history of Dora - her father was having an affair with a family friend, the older [than Dora] husband of the cheating wife comes on to her and sexually assaults her on several occasions, her father becomes distant to her and uses her as a pawn in his sexual games, the cheating wife betrays her trust, her father and creepy husband of cheating wife deny that Dora has been approached by creepy husband, her mother does not really do anything to help her, she’s a Jew living in Germany during a very bad period, and she was subjected to ice-water therapy and shock therapy. If this was not all bad enough, she was sent to Freud who also added insult to injury by telling her that she wanted to kiss him too and asserted that all of the above things were her fault. I do not think that I have to point out any additional reasons why she was not a happy person…
Does anyone have any thoughts on the case study of Dora?
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