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It is a hard task to do justice in a review to a book with such a wide remit as the definition and understanding of mental space. In these present times, when the need
for reflection, thought, and an awareness of the complexity of life are constantly threatened by the requirement for models of mind that allow for measurement, quantification, and above all cost-effectiveness, it is unfashionable to admit that human problems do not change as a result of quick solutions. The creation of a mental space where these difficulties can be deeply understood is not an easy matter.
It is Robert Young's thesis that mental space occurs at the interface of psychology, culture, politics and philosophy. He states
Analytical work with its emphasis on the importance of mental space is the last refuge of those who wish to change the world but have learned that to change oneself and perhaps a few others is quite a lot to be getting on with.
This move, from an omnipotent position to a clearer understanding of what is really possible, taking into account one's own nature and that of the Other, lies at the heart of this book. Throughout it, one feels that Young's idea of what he can achieve has, with experience and training, become more realistic than it was before. This development seems to have been a painful process, and one can still at times feel his wish to burst out of these confines and write the book that will solve all problems. But this impulse is checked, and the rather verbose theorising that I feel is the book's weakness is far outweighed by its perceptiveness. What seem at first like rather overblown statements give real gems of insight. This is particularly so in relation to the field of applied psychoanalysis: light is thrown on difficult areas such as politics, racism, and the dynamics of groups and institutions.
Reading Young's book, with its emphasis on the space to think, I reflected that we are at present facing a period in social and political life in which the importan