Love and work : the value system of psychoanalysis /

Love and Work represents Fine's attempt to show that psychoanalysis is not a branch of medicine but should be thought of more as a philosophical theory with implications in psychology, psychotherapy, psychiatry, and society at large. This is a bold assertion, but undoubtedly a correct one, especially with the movement of the treatment of mental illness toward treatment based in biochemistry. Fine insists that psychoanalysis is essentially a value system with two main values--love and work. This is a very perceptive approach to psychoanalytic thinking and probably one that will gain momentum as time goes on. Fine suggests that psychoanalytic treatment for an individual should never end but should be renewed from time to time. This idea is consistent with Freud's 1937 work, "Endliche und die unendliche Analyse" (Analysis Terminable and Interminable). This book has much to recommend it: it is fresh, insightful, and daring. Undoubtedly it will be both criticized and applauded. Recommended for general reading and for undergraduate and graduate students in psychology, philosophy, and sociology. -R. J. Howell, Brigham Young University

Proposing that ``psychoanalysis is a theory of happiness ,'' more philosophy than science, Fine ( The Intimate Hour ) documents and explains the pervasive presence of analytic tenets, ideas and values current in global society. His stance as apologist (``Generally people nowadays approach Freud with a negative transference'') is evident in his views on homosexuality, in his opposition to the ``remedicalization'' of psychiatry and his support of non-medical analysts. Chapters on love distinguish romantic infatuation from ``normal'' or ``mature'' love; others attempt to approach changing views of sexuality and job satisfaction, including the move of women into the marketplace, from a historical perspective. While the study is valuable in its documentation of psychoanalysis's growth and development, Fine's overview of today's society seems scattershot, dated, arbitrary and occasionally unreliable, as in his interpretation of Erica Jong's phrase ``zipless fuck.'' (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved