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Michel de M'Uzan addressed the problem of identity as early as the 1960s, as shown by two previous books. De M'Uzan, (1977, 1994) placed an emphasis on the paradoxically but naturally uncertain nature of ego boundaries and the obscurities in demarcation lines between ego and non-ego, as demonstrated for example by the depersonalization phenomena that arise in the course of treatments. In this new collection, the author goes much further; he pursues this theme in greater depth and considers the modalities that govern the emergence and development of a subject's identity. His investigations arise from his experiences of treating not only psychoneuroses but also pathologies such as psychosis, addiction and psycho somatic complaints, and of supporting people suffering from terminal illnesses.
The problematization of demarcations in identity leads de M'Uzan to reconsider the classical opposition between self-preservation and sexuality. According to the author, self-preservation is, in fact, the expression of ‘a general programme for creation, development and preservation’ that is essentially genetic, which further implies that it is finite. It therefore does not belong to the realm of the drives, since