The Mind in Conflict, by Charles Brenner. New York:  International Universities Press, 1982,  266 pp.

Although this book is relatively lucid and tightly structured, its thesis suffers from reliance on the structural hypothesis, drive theory, and oedipal determinants of psychic conflict. Briefly, the author views psychic conflict as ubiquitous and as arising when gratification of a drive derivative in relation to superego demands arouses anxiety or depressive affect. The solution to psychic conflict is through compromise formation. The components of compromise formation are aspects of superego functioning, drive derivatives, defense, and the affects of anxiety and depression. The ideational contents of these affects include one or more of the early childhood calamities, namely, object loss, loss of love, castration, and superego demands and prohibitions. The ego functions to arrive at maximal gratification of drive derivatives with minimal arousal of unpleasurable affect. Compromise formations are pathological to the extent that drive gratification is restricted, affects are unpleasurable, functional capacities are restricted, self-injury results, or conflicts arise with the environment. On the other hand, compromise formations are often normal, or nearly so, and include desirable character traits, parapraxis, dreams, daydreams, transference and all object relations, and choice of vocation or avocation. Brenner observes that consensual acceptance of certain compromise formations accounts for the success of folk tales, myths and legends, religion, superstitions, and works of fiction.

In the course of developing his view of how compromise formation solves psychic conflict, Brenner highlights his conception of affect (a complex of ideas and pleasurable and unpleasurable sensations connected with drive derivatives); of what he calls castration depressive affect (more prominent among girls saddened that they have already lost their penises, and reciprocal with the castration anxiety of boys fearful about the future loss of theirs); of transference neurosis (a concept unwar