Care must be taken when we try to understand another's inner mental life. Most of science is based on inference. Although the author discusses empathic assessment a great deal, it seems to me that he is really talking about how the unconscious can distort our observation unless we are aware of it. He adeptly differentiates psychology, which he says is based on "mentalism," from behaviorism. One must not confuse what one believes to be empathy with countertransference. Throughout the paper Goldberg seems to ignore the concept of the unconscious.