Vanquishing the False Self: Winnicott, Critical Theory, and the Restoration of the Spontaneous Gesture

Abstract

This chapter uses Winnicott’s theory and practice in juxtaposition with critical theory. While critical theorists consistently identify a disconcerting absence of meaningful subjectivity, and lament a host of sociopolitical problems stemming from that lacuna, they offer few clear answers as to how to positively answer this lack. In Winnicott, this paper locates not only essential mechanisms for supporting the transcendence of the False Self formation, but also the seeds of a politics of obdurate authenticity, which Buzby will develop by reading Winnicott through the lens of critical theory. By placing Winnicott’s work in juxtaposition with critical theory, therefore, both will be made productive in new ways that speak to important political questions inherent in contemporary society.