You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
The wide applicability of psychoanalysis to the study of human behavior, normal or diseased, is in no small measure due to the sound biological foundation on which the science was established. The discovery of the rôle of instinct in psychic representations, and the furnishing of the key to interpretation, placed psychoanalysis in the vanguard of psychology. The degree of penetration made possible by such an instrument has naturally led, along with the rest, to exploration into the more rarefied ramifications of psychic life. The shift in this direction, and away from contact with the physical sciences, was fostered by the hostility of other medical disciplines, which urged the analyst to push rapidly ahead in a field that he could consider exclusively his own. There has on the other hand been a danger that analysis, due to this tendency, might become cut off from the main body of scientific progress to the detriment of both. Interchange of ideas between analysts and other groups of investigators has always been going on, but the time is now ripe for something more systematic through which somatic and psychological medicine can clear knowledge which will be of interest to both. A distinct contribution to the much needed liaison is Dr. Dunbar's book.
It is made up of two major divisions, text and selected bibliography. The text comprises digests and excerpts from the literature, together with a summary suggesting the significance of this material for therapy and further research. The bibliography is composed entirely of references, 2,251 in all. The material has been carefully sifted, and the author explains that extensive bibliographies were excluded, since they were to be found by following the references given. In the text each reference has the year of publication and number corresponding to the bibliographical list in the second section. In addition, both author index and subject index are cross-referenced with text and bibliography. The book is there