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As Pollak sees it, these compulsive fabrications stem from Bettelheim's fascination with the "As If" philosophy of a post-Kantian thinker named Hans Vaihinger. He believed that people could act meaningfully even on the basis of fictions they knew to be false because such fantasies helped them see the world more objectively and make life bearable.
The book doesn't assess the lasting impact of Dr. B.'s psychological theories. That may be because in his case the cupboard is depressingly bare. As Pollak points out, Bettelheim's books tend to be anecdotal rather than systematic and on many issues his opinions are either outdated or just plain wrong. Even when faced with overwhelming evidence that autism is organic in origin, for example, Bettelheim was reluctant to modify his opinion that the disorder is caused by bad parenting. His harsh criticism of European Jews in The Informed Heart--that "ghetto thinking" led them to submit passively to Hitler's Holocaust--is not only distasteful but also contrary to the facts.
There is no doubt that Bettelheim and his school helped troubled youths, although not so many as he liked to claim. Countless readers, moreover, found provocation if not inspiration in his books, which for the most part are blessedly free of analytic jargon. But Pollak's biography makes a persuasive case that Dr. B. was a manipulative, domineering ego tripper who abused his charges and co-workers psychically if not physically. For all his public charisma and healing skills, he might have been an evil twin to the Wizard of Oz.