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Contemporary thought and research in psychology are heavily saturated with curiosity about the self. There is heightened interest in such matters as the origins of self-regarding attitudes, the effects of focusing attention upon oneself as compared to nonself objects, and the manner in which self-structures serve as selective lenses. The literature teems with topics like narcissism, self-concept, mirror effects, and ego boundaries. Shapiro's book is really an essay about the nature of selfhood. It explores the problems of becoming an independent self and the desperate maneuvers that individuals may resort to in an effort to patch up rents in that abode. To be more specific, Shapiro addresses two issues. First, he explores the degree to which we are actually in charge of ourselves. Second, he outlines the presumed consequences of attempting to defend one's self-territory too rigidly.
It should be said that his method of inquiry is reminiscent of Freud's. He presents elegant theoretical notions, in a skillful literary style; illustrates his points with clinical vignettes; sometimes offers indirect documentation through observations made by others (e.g., Piaget); and basically counts on a line of logical arguments to pull together the skein. He has original ideas and it is exciting to follow along with his analyses. However, he seems to be quite uninterested in the reservoir of research data potentially pertinent to a number of his formulations. I fault him for this but at the same time I can see venturous advantages to the somewhat heroic “I can find my way alone” strategy that he uses to attack knotty problems. In actuality, certain of his arguments could have been nicely bolstered by specific empirical research findings. For example, he asks us to view paranoid behavior as highly motivated by conflicts about power; he could have fortified his position by citing the research of Wolowitz (1965) and others.
Let us turn to Shapiro's first major theme. To what degree are w