Introduction

The condition of the human subject demands that he acquire his existence at the price of a real passion. The fact remains that this fundamental heterogeneity that psychoanalysis reveals to be at work within the human being tends to constitute both a treasure and a threat within. If subjective appropriation is the principal aim of psychoanalytic practice, it should be pointed out that the very notion of subjectivation is rooted in that of subjection —in other words, that subjectivity entails first a dimension of subjugation, of being submitted to something. It implies that the very notion of "passivity" must first be examined, insofar as it constitutes a real crossroads of the psychic dynamic. Psychopathology supplies various clinical scenarios according to which such a subject can appear to be mortgaged by an ego endowed with a kind of obstructing hypertrophy. The chapter also presents an overview on the key concepts discussed in this book.