The Bipolarity of the Relational Mind: The “Masculine” and “Feminine” in Cognitive Processes

Summary:

The author presents the first part of a work in which he proposes, on the basis of his group-analytic model and within the horizon of complexity, a structurally and dually relational configuration of the mind:

1. The inter-subjective relationship between intentionality and protomental devices.
2. The intra-subjective relationship between masculine elements (rationality, codes, the Self) and feminine elements (irrationality, silence, the non-Self).

In this first part the author describes the experiences that, in recent years, have gradually shaped his theoretic proposal. The second part will examine the inter- and intra-subjective processes for which the relational nature of the mind conforms with its bipolarity. Part three will propose groupings of behavior within a nosographic framework that’s based on the criterion of the relative number of excess elements related to the Self versus the non-Self, and vice versa.