ABSTRACT
Psychoanalysts are familiar by now with the theory of projective identification even if they do not agree with it. This chapter aims to propose a concept—perceptive identification—to make a distinction in object relations theory. The concept of projective identification is often used to explain how the self can identify empathically with the other. A problem with this singular concept of identification, however, is that it runs the risk of assuming that Hamlet exists because analysts have created him through their projections. Another problem is that although projective identification will always play some role in analysts' relation to Hamlet, working exclusively from this theory of perception, identification, empathy, and critical appraisal risks destroying the integrity of the object itself. Perceptive identification is based on the self’s ability to perceive the object as a thing-in-itself. Perceptive identification allows the analysts to love an object.
