ABSTRACT
To have the chance to reflect on the papers of Drs. Beebe and Demos is an enriching experience. EN1 Each of their papers has been developed from sets of data that are as close to the empirical beginnings from which the self is organized in postnatal life as can possibly be studied. Each grapples with the four fundamental questions that grip all of us: (a) On what basis do we describe precursors of a phenomenon as elusive and complex as the self? (b) In terms of observable behaviors, can we correctly infer inner experience? (c) How is inner experience welded into the psychic structure we call the self? (d) What are the changes in organization and representation that both inner experience and the self as a psychic structure undergo over the longer term spans of development?
