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Cultural determinants in Winnicott's developmental theories
Author(s) -
Dajani Karim G.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
international journal of applied psychoanalytic studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.314
H-Index - 15
eISSN - 1556-9187
pISSN - 1742-3341
DOI - 10.1002/aps.1640
Subject(s) - subjectivity , psychoanalytic theory , epistemology , sociology , meaning (existential) , habitus , perspective (graphical) , perception , psychology , structuring , psychoanalysis , anthropology , philosophy , ethnography , finance , artificial intelligence , computer science , economics
This article applies a cultural or collective perspective to Winnicott's developmental theories. Expanding on existing psychoanalytic literature and drawing from neighboring fields, specifically the work of the French sociologist and anthropologist Pierre Bourdieu, the notion of habitus is utilized to account for the constitutive impact of culture or a collective on individual development. Cultural systems play a fundamental role in the structuring of subjectivity and the coordination of inter‐subjective linking. Collective systems of meaning‐making (cultures) replicate themselves in the minds of individuals who are structured by them. Extending this idea to Winnicott's developmental theories will help illuminate the constitutive impact of Winnicott's cultures or collectives on his perception, thinking and theories. A case example illustrating the thesis of cultures’ constitutive impact on an individual's basic experience of self and world is provided.