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Originally psychoanalysis meant the unmasking of deception and illusion and the search for truth. As time passes, it is not easy to keep up this revolutionary impetus. In order to do so, psychoanalysis would have to acknowledge that all its theories have managed to do is reveal the probable meaning of fragments of a boundless reality, which is constantly laying down new challenges.
As is well-known, scientific research and the extension of knowledge represent one way of facing anxiety about the mysterious unknown and provide some hope of being able to control the uncontrollable. In my opinion, psychoanalytic thought is capable of offering attractive explanations of the mental processes of individuals and groups. The danger lies in the refined quality and persuasive plausibility of such explanations; as an interpretative method for understanding human affairs, psychoanalytic theory can turn out to be more of a snare than a reliable system of explanation.
The very method which allows us to investigate in the greatest depth could at times leave us even more ignorant than when we started. It is important to accept the challenge that reality throws down and seek to solve mysteries by extending our knowledge, but I believe it is also important to have a healthy respect for mystery too. The instruments of interpretation that we as analysts possess, allow us to understand our environment better. They reassure us and permit us to believe that we are able to understand many things, or more than others anyway. But what proportion of life and experience might be lost or at least overlooked in this process?
Apart from certain incisive theoretical and clinical observations, what I found most stimulating about this book were its efforts to discuss the theme of seduction by examining its less well-known and