The authors, members of the team that worked ten years in Palo Alto (California) with Gregory Bateson, study here the pragmatics of interpersonal communication. Communication is considered a qualitatively different relationship of the properties of the individuals who participate in it. After defining some general concepts, the authors present the basic features of human communication and illustrate its manifestations and possible disturbances. The various aspects of the theory is exemplified through an analysis of the piece Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Edward Albee. We analyze the special importance of the paradox and contradiction in human communication, both from the point of view of the pathology and therapy. Disturbed behavior is seen as a reaction to a situation that communication has certain properties, and not as a disease located in the mind of the individual. It also discusses the famous double-bind theory of schizophrenia, and exemplifies the contradictory situation that characterizes the double bind in a variety of interpersonal situations, including psychotherapy. The final chapter provides a comparison between communication theory and existential point of view. Within the new literature on the phenomena of human communication, this book is already on track to become a classic.