Transitivism

From No Subject - Encyclopedia of Psychoanalysis
Revision as of 18:48, 28 April 2006 by Riot Hero (talk | contribs)
Jump to: navigation, search

transitivism (transitivisme) Transitivism, a phenomenon first discov-

  ered by Charlotte B¸hler (see E, 5), refers to a special kind of IDENTIFICATION
  often observed in the behaviour of small children. For example a child can hit
  another child of the same age on the left side of his face, and then touch the

right side of his own face and cry in imagined pain. For Lacan, transitivisin

  illustrates the confusion of ego and other which is inherent in imaginary
  identification. The INVERSION (right to left) is further evidence of the function
  of the mirror.
      Transitivism is also evident in paranoia, in which attack and counter-attack
  are bound together 'in an absolute equivalence' (Lacan, 1951b: 16).