ABSTRACT
This chapter suggests most regrettable the fact that the concept of intersubjectivity tends to be taken over by certain schools of thought that try to turn it into their own emblem. By subscribing only to restrictive definitions of the concept, they are an obstacle to the metapsychological and psychoanalytic exploration of it. The chapter argues that an initial approach—an attempt at clearing the metapsychological way for dealing with the issues involved, focusing inter alia on the part played by the drive-related and sexual dimensions—is not only possible, but also somewhat urgent. A brief clinical illustration will make it easier to grasp the importance of the object in the organization of the drives. When drive-related impulses begin to become intelligible and can be reflected back to the patient, it becomes possible to initiate the more classic form of work—the intrasubjective reappropriation of the narcissistic elements that they contain.
