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This article presents a conversation between Fred Plaut and Andrew Samuels. Plaut told Samuels that he is well-known in the analytical world for a variety of reasons, but two that he would like to mention is interest in maps and the process of discovery, and the fact that he has moved a lot in his life from Germany to South Africa, to England, to Germany. He was wondering if he would talk about possible connections between these two aspects of himself. He can speak about connections which he saw only very recently. When he came to England in 1946, just after the war, he wasn't at all sure whether he would be staying.

Utilizing Jung's idea of theory as a 'personal confession', the author charts his own development as a theorist, establishing links between his personal history and his ideas. Such links include his relationship with both parents, his sexuality, his cultural heritage, and his fascination with Tricksters and with Hermes. There follows a substantial critical interrogation of what the author discerns as the two main lines of clinical theorizing in contemporary analytical psychotherapy: interpretation of transference-countertransference, and the relational approach. His conclusion is that neither is superior to the other and neither is in fact adequate as a basis for clinical work. The focus then shifts to explore a range of political and social aspects of the clinical project of analytical psychology: economic inequality, diversity within the professional field, and Jung's controversial ideas about Jews and Africans. The author calls for an apology from the 'Jungian community' for remarks about Africans analogous to the apology already issued for remarks about Jews. The paper is dedicated to the author's friend Fred Plaut (1913-2009)., (© 2014, The Society of Analytical Psychology.)