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If indeed psychoanalysis should be regarded as a master tool for the unearthing of unexamined assumptions in the modern world, a ‘hermeneutic of suspicion’ as Paul Ricoeur has claimed, then Aner Govrin's Conservative and Radical Perspectives on Psychoanalytic Knowledge turns this ethos of suspicion back upon itself. Govrin casts a wide net in his attempt to come to grips with the provocation that initiates his book: ‘Psychoanalysis really should not exist today’ (p. 1). In looking for an answer to the myriad questions this statement occasions, Govrin zeroes in on psychoanalytic theorists and practitioners and their ‘images of knowledge’ - the social factors that determine their views about knowledge - which, in turn, constitute their communal bond (p. 38). In doing so, Govrin presents an extensive account of the dynamics that form between fascinated and troubled communities within the history of psychoanalysis, as well as the central issues that have either invigorated or threatened their progress and cohesion. It is from this position that Govrin offers insightful comments on how psychoanalytic communities might proceed in the future. Though, to be sure, Govrin is careful to note that his ‘objective is not to present ideal solutions to problems, but to provide a theoretical framework that might facilitate such solutions’ (p. 197).
Govrin's argument stems from a sort of retrospective assessment of psychoanalysis as a whole, one which ‘presupposes that psychoanalysis is a successful project’, though perhaps less so of late (p. 8). Govrin argues for a revaluation of fascination, which he identifies as both the key ingredient in the maintenance of psychoanalytic schools and the production of their theories, as well as the factor that has engendered some of the most vehement attacks upon them. Using the emergence of the relational school as a point of reference, Govrin argues that psychoanalysis is in need of an institutional recalibration. One that will keep psychoanaly