The psychodynamic determinants of Moses and Monotheism

Many writers have commented on the lack of Freud's usual level of logic and powers of persuasion in Moses and Monotheism. The majority attribute it to the significance of dynamic determinants in Freud himself--most notably, identification with Moses. Fromm (1972) says "one must assume that Freud's preoccupation with Moses was rooted in the deep unconscious identification with him" (p. 79). Unfortunately, the situation is much more complex. Although many pertinent observations have been made, what is needed is a detailed dissection of the text, a correlation with elements from Freud's personal life, and an overall psychoanalytic synthesis of the data. This paper makes a beginning in that direction, incorporating the ideas of other investigators with those of the author--but it is hoped that much more detailed analysis and biographical correlation will follow. There is a wealth of information about Freud in Moses and Monotheism and no one paper will exhaust it. In this examination no attempt will be made to evaluate Moses and Monotheism for its literary, psychohistorical, or scientific merit. The focus is on the psychodynamic determinants of Freud's essay.