Freud and the non-european

Using an impressive array of material from literature, archaeology and social theory, and demonstrating an abiding interest in Freud´s work and its influence on his own, Edward Said explores the profound implications in Moses and Monotheism for middle-east politics today. He proposes that Freud´s assumption that Moses was an Egyptian undermines any simple ascription of a "pure" identity, and further that identity itself cannot be thought or worked through without the recognition of the limits inherent in it. Said suggests that such an unresolved, unstable sense of identity may in fact form the basis of better understanding between various cultural and political groups; that Freud´s complex and nuanced vision, if embodied in political reality, may ultimately aspire to the foundation of a bi-national state in the land of Jews and Palestinians.