Receptivity is not passivity: A comparison between psychoanalysis and phenomenology concerning experience, judgement and the analytic attitude.
Heinz Weiss
The International journal of psycho-analysis October 2023 DOI: 10.1080/00207578.2023.2255468 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Passivity Analytic attitude Receptivity |
| Key points | Argues that although phenomenology and psychoanalysis both distinguish receptivity from passivity, they conceptualize the rudimentary 'ego-activity' underlying receptivity differently: phenomenology locates it in a primary openness of the ego toward the world, while psychoanalysis emphasizes projective and introjective processes linked to bodily experience and unconscious phantasy. Proposes that receptivity is a field where the two approaches can mutually enrich each other, with implications for the analytic attitude. |
Abstract
Starting from Edmund Husserl's last book Experience and Judgement, this paper explores the notions of "passivity" and "receptivity" in phenomenology and psychoanalysis. Both sciences agree that receptivity differs from passivity, but they have developed different conceptualizations about the very nature of the rudimentary "ego-activity" which is the source of receptivity. In phenomenological terms, "pre-predicative" experience roots in a primary presence and openness of the ego towards the world, whilst psychoanalysis has emphasized the role of projective and introjective processes which are close to bodily experiences and unconscious phantasy. The second part of the paper draws some conclusions concerning the analytic situation, in particular the shift among receptivity, empathy, curiosity and creative imagination as central features of the analytic attitude from a mainly Kleinian point of view. The paper argues that receptivity is a field where phenomenological and psychoanalytic approaches can mutually enrich and learn from each other.
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