Vicissitudes and destinies of the Ego in theory and in the psychoanalytic situation

Abstract

The authors raise questions about the egoic instance, emphasizing its position of ambiguity in the psychoanalytic clinic and, consequently, in the history of psychoanalysis. They thus point out questions regarding the interpretations that propose that the analysis is the dismantling of the Ego, as well as those that propose its strengthening, and seek to investigate other relevant nuances in the way of thinking about this psychic instance. They accompany some oscillations on the status of the Ego in Freudian theory, debating them from Jean Laplanche's ideas about the origins of the psychic apparatus and the importance of alterity in the constitution of the psychic topic, elucidating the place of the Ego in the theory of generalized seduction. Such research supports the hypothesis that the emphasis given to the drive and alterity of the Ego allows us to consider that the tradutive and psychic organization functions of this instance need to be reinvested constantly and that this is one of the roles of an analyst.