New Center for Psychoanalysis

This event addresses: Embodiment and the Perversion of Desire

Dr. Celenza presents the case of Laura, who considers her sexual desire to be perverse, to illustrate ways in which subjective positions and affective, embodied states can be defended against, split off or otherwise dissociated, reflecting a perverse intra-subjective position. A schematic is offered that depicts various subjective positions (The Embodied Subject, The Reflective Self or “I,” The Subjective Object or “Me,” The Objectified Self or “It,” and Unconscious Processes or “Not Me”). These positions are conceived as phenomenal subjective states that are universal potentials. The schematic also depicts the extent to which each position is integrated and interpenetrates with other positions. In addition, a modification of this schematic is proposed to illustrate perverse modes of intra-subjective functioning where the position of the Embodied Subject is split off or dissociated, resulting in a deadening of affective experience. The case of Laura is presented to illustrate an example of the latter mode of functioning.