ABSTRACT
This chapter orients the reader to the main project of the book—the development of a conception of psychoanalysis as an essentially (rather than peripherally) ethical process, in which the ethical development of both analyst and patient serves as the fulcrum of psychic change. Ethics is defined, historical background is provided, and the author shares about his personal investment in these topics. The author also outlines three guiding assumptions of the present work: (a) the foundational role of theory in psychoanalysis; (b) the inevitability of approaching clinical process from both subjective and objective perspectives; and (c) the importance of “bridging the gap” between our publicly endorsed analytic theories and our reflexive ethical commitments from our everyday lives as human beings, specifically concerning altruism, human dignity, freedom and responsibility, the importance of behavior and its consequences, and the connection between ethical living and psychological well-being. The chapter opens with a clinical vignette in which the author wanted to physically strike his patient—this serves as the main case example to which the author returns throughout the book, in order to illustrate key elements of his theory and therapeutic technique.
