The Collision between Comparative Theory and Dialectical Thinking

Response to Benjamin, Schwartz Cooney, and Swartz

Datos Bibliográficos

ID21630716
AutoresSteven H Cooper (0009-0007-8575-6294, Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, autor de correspondencia)
Año2021
Volumen31
Número3
Páginas396-406
Fecha de publicación2021-05-04
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaPsychoanalytic Dialogues (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1048-1885 • E-ISSN: 1940-9222
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10481885.2021.1902736
OpenAlexW3169757828
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas22

The author responds to rich discussions by Benjamin, Schwartz Cooney, and Swartz (this issue). He attempts to understand further the historical context for Mitchell’s developmental tilt paper as he elaborates what was overlooked. Mitchell’s pervasive epistemological focus in the developmental tilt paper was at odds with Winnicott’s revolutionary impact as one of the progenitors of an ontological approach to analytic work. The author joins in appreciating each discussant’s ways of understanding the tensions between schematic thinking intrinsic to comparative psychoanalysis exemplified in Mitchell’s developmental tilt theory and the unique and rich dynamic identity of any individual psychoanalytic theory. Each discussant and the author examine the strains of resisting the concretization of developmental metaphors in order to hold the value of early experience as a rich and vital part of analytic work. Each discussant and the author also note Mitchell’s continued work throughout his career to redress some of the limitations in his earlier, more constricted views of development

Dialectic · Epistemology · Psychoanalysis · Psychoanalytic theory · Sociology · Academic and Historical Perspectives in Psychology · Philosophy · Psychology · Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications · Social Representations and Identity