Psychoanalysis and the Wisdom of Ecclesiastes

Psychoanalysis and the Wisdom of Ecclesiastes looks at one of the most profound books in the Hebrew Bible – Ecclesiastes, known as Koheleth in Hebrew – through a psychoanalytic lens. Paul Marcus explores Ecclesiastes’ understanding of the profound and compelling problematics of the human condition and explains how he offers a sensible and feasible attitude toward contemporary life. Comparing Ecclesiastes’ way of looking at life to the Freudian worldview, Marcus suggests what psychoanalysis might in part appropriate or further explore and develop as it tries to enhance itself as a narrative of the human condition and a compelling “technology of the self.” The book also uses psychoanalysis to illuminate aspects of Ecclesiastes that have been underappreciated and undercomprehended. Psychoanalysis and the Wisdom of Ecclesiastes will be of interest to psychoanalysts exploring spirituality and the human condition, and to academics and students of psychoanalytic studies, religious studies, Judaic studies, and philosophy.