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In From Classical to Contemporary Psychoanalysis: A Critique and Integration, Morris Eagle has written a clear, logical, and readable account of a complex subject. Stating that there has been a good deal of ferment and controversy in psychoanalysis in the last forty years, he notes his wish to bring some order and clarity to the situation. In an admirably concise preface, he lays out his approach with directness and purpose. Since contemporary psychoanalytic theories take as their point of departure various aspects of classical psychoanalytic theory, he first describes the essentials of that theory, using what he sees as its four most fundamental topics. By classical psychoanalysis, Eagle means Freudian psychoanalysis, as he defines it; some readers will question aspects of this definition, and I will return to these further on.
Thus, part I is entitled “Freudian Theory.” It begins with a chapter on what Eagle sees as the basic elements of Freudian theory: the constancy principle; the pathogenic effects of the isolation of mental contents;