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In The Inseparable Nature of Love and Aggression: Clinical and Theoretical Perspectives, Otto Kernberg demonstrates his breadth of knowledge and command of psychoanalytic theory while highlighting its connection to neuroscience and empirical systematic research. In contrast to volumes such as those by Charles Brenner (2006) and Leo Rangell (2007), two giants of so-called American ego psychology from the latter part of the twentieth century, this work by Otto Kernberg (written from the perspective of object relations theory) distinguishes itself by its attempt to engage psychoanalytic ideas with the rest of the scientific and academic universe. He ends his introduction as follows: “At … bottom, this volume is based on the conviction that neurobiology and psychoanalysis are two basic sciences that, in their collaboration, have the potential to significantly advance our understanding of the human mind in health and illness” (p. xvii). To my mind this is a challenge to psychoanalysts, regardless of theoretical persuasion. For psychoanalytic ideas to continue to influence the mental health field, we must engage with allied fields and embrace methods, already in place, to systematically evaluate both core concepts and the mutative value of various techniques. Kern-berg's volume is an important step in that direction.
The book, a collection of recent papers, is organized in several sections: Part I, Severe Personality Disorders; Part II, Reflections on Psychoanalytic Theory and Its Applications; Part III, The Psychology of Sexual Love; Part IV, Contemporary Challenges for Psychoanalysis; and Part V, The Psychology of Religious Experience.
The first part, together with the chapter on affects (the first chapter of Part II), is the most important part of the volume and comprises half the book, dealing with topics for which Kernberg is renowned: borderline personality disorders, narcissistic disorders, transference-focused psychotherapy, and the relationship between affect theor