Page:The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis II 1921 2.djvu/80

 236 BOOK REVIEWS

dealing with very large and complicated subjects), and would content himself with working out one problem or a few closely connected smaller themes, with more deliberation, something of more value and real utility might emerge.

In conclusion, it is difficult to refriain from marvelling at his optimism when we hear from him for example that "the modern feminist movement is a movement for insight in women" (p. 112), and still more, that "a new kind of marriage is possible in which, because of scientifically understood human mating there could be no thought on the man's part of dissatisfaction or of infidelity to the monogamic prin- ciple" etc.

Is Mr. Lay making 'science' a short cut to all his own personal inclinations and fantasies, one wonders?

Psychoanalysis and Behaviour. By Andrd Tridon.

In this book we have seven chapters, the first five dealing with various aspects of human behaviour and its problems (such as, 'The Organism', 'Problems of Childhood', 'Sleep and Dreams', 'Problems of Sex'), the last two concerned with 'The Psychoanalytic Treatment' (Ch. VI) and 'The Four Schools of Psychoanalysis' (Ch. VD). Of the first five chapters it is needless to say much: what is of any value in them is to be found in other books on psycho-analysis which have the advantage of expressing themselves suitably : a very great deal of the matter contained in them is inaccurate, misleading, inappropriately presented, often revealing great misunderstanding of psycho-analytical principles. We get, for example, such absurdities as: "Psychoanalysis assumes that all human beings are born with probably the same average ability,^ but that in the course of their bringing up some of that average ability has been handicappedby complexes", etc. (p. 113). "The Napoleon type and the Edison type are at the opposite poles, the first being highly negative, self-centred and destructive, the other highly positive, socially useful and constructive", etc. (p. 191). "When we set to work to watch our unconscious it is soon shorn of its harmful power", etc. (p. 214). "According to whether the majority of dreams refer to the past, the present, or the future they may reveal a regressive, a static, or a positive tendency", (p. 207). The last extract is from Chapter II, Section IV 'Self-Knowledge through Dream-Study' which fairly bristles with mistakes and misleading matter, perhaps explainable in part from a remark made at the beginning of the chapter (p. 201) : "It is com- paratively easy to know others". Mr. Tridon appears to extend this dictum to the knowing and understanding of theories and ideas; he would .seem to find it so easy that he can dispense with studying them; at any rate his book bears little evidence of any real grasp of psycho-analysis.


 * Reviewer's italics.