Reviews

Spence argues that Freud used powerful rhetorical devices to persuade his potential followers that his ideas were correct... The result has been (1) rigidity of theory-because much of theory is metaphor that can be neither proven nor disproven; and (2) limitation of discourse in psychoanalytic literature-because the central metaphors have attained the status of 'truth' that is no longer questioned scientifically. Spence makes his point effectively and thoughtfully. -- Richard Almond * Psychoanalytic Quarterly *