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Dr. Bacciagaluppi's discussion of my paper brings forward the extent to which the “Human Nature” common to us all as members of the same species, with identical biological evolution (2-3) implies the paradoxical knowledge of ourselves through a recognition and comprehension of the widespread and real differences upon which we construct and live our personally and socially biased identities.
If we as analysts dare to emphatically understand what it may be like living in circumstances very different from our own, perhaps we can begin to experience from within ourselves some of the patient's feelings which are sometimes so difficult to verbalize that they are expressed only through the patient's frequently provocative acting out.
It is not unusual to find dialectical paradoxical solutions of this kind in the social sciences. I can mention as one example the way in which political liberalism recognizes diversity in its attempt to legitimize non totalitarian justice and its effort to democratically revise the limits of the latter in a never-ending and necessary dialogue (4-7).
Similarly the recent liberalism versus the communitarism debate in political thought (8-9) may be seen as a recurring and periodically self-corrective effort (10) to contribute to the deepening of both positions. This is another example of how a thoughtful dialogue about differences can illuminate and widen the views of both parties.
The recognition of the plural alternatives, views and social identities which develop through different positions in the social world is crucial for a complex deep understanding of human social experience (11). By immersing ourselves into the life experiences of others who live in conditions different from our own, we can understand not only the varied circumstances under which we live, but also the power structures and their differentiated pro-and-con effects, structures promoting individualistic and utilitarian goals as self-defense beyond the personal and familial every