Erik H. Erikson: The Power and Limits of a Vision

In his continuing quest for what is enduring in psychoanalysis, Paul Roazen turns to Erik H. Erikson, one of the movement's most creative and influential thinkers. Dr. Roazen contends that while Erikson has succeeded in revitalizing the Freudian tradition, "we would repay him poorly as a teacher if we allowed him to be loosely understood or inadequately challenged." This examination of Erikson's contributions - among them the concepts of identity and the life cycle and the discipline of psychohistory - revisits Freud in light of Erikson and Erikson in terms of Freud. Dr. Roazen's dependable scholarship makes for fluent juxtapositions, and the reciprocity enhances our understanding of both visions.