Resumo

VAZQUEZ, Silvina. Openness to Thought, Openness to the Other: a Meditation on Respect and Alterity through the Work of Wilfred R. Bion and Emmanuel Levinas. Desafíos [online]. 2015, vol.27, n.2, pp.187-217. ISSN 0124-4035.  https://doi.org//10.12804/desafios27.2.2015.06.

This article inquires into the complex process of thought in the human mind and its relationship with the identity-formation process at both the individual and the communitarian level. Two different traditions of discourse, the psychoanalysis of Wilfred Bion and the post-romantic philosophical perspective of Emmanuel Levinas are discussed as complementary sources of reflection for political theory, especially the kind that takes into account the inner world of citizens. Considering the bond between the concept of interself and some specific circumstances of Bion's biography -such as his enlisting in the two world wars- some of his contributions to the theory of thought are analyzed. Early identity formation is situated in the context of human group interactions and depicted through the notion of mind-group developed by Bion, specifically stressing two of the states with major political repercussions: the fight/flight and the dependency state of the mind of the group. Both are also connected with the exercise of some forms of political authority and some specific kinds of authoritarian leadership. Last but not least, a call for openness and for infinite alterity, both in a metaphysical and a materialist sense, are considered through the Levinasian concept of the other, which, in turn, tends to be the very foundation of respect and unselfish ties between citizens.

Palavras-chave : theory of thought; identity; fight or flight; dependency; Bion; alterity; respect; Levinas.

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