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Pichon-Rivière, one of the most brilliant minds amongst the pioneers of psychoanalysis in Argentina and a founding member of the Argentine Psychoanalytic Association, was very rarely published; as far as we know, this is the only English version of any of his papers. It is part of a book (pp. 235-246) published by the Argentine Psychoanalytic Association in 1997: Psychoanalysis in Argentina, selected articles 1942–1997. This paper appeared in various publications, and we could not establish which one was used for this translation. It is part of the second volume of Del psicoanálisis a la psicología social (From psychoanalysis to social psychology) published by Galerna in 1970 (Buenos Aires).
The observation and enquiry into phenomenic aspects of mental illness or deviated behaviour, which are inherent to our psychiatric work, on the basis of discovering genetic, evolutional and structural elements, allow us to come to an understanding of human behaviour as a totality that evolves dialectically. This means that the signs of an ‘abnormal’, ‘deviated’ or ‘ill’ form of behaviour are pointing to an underlying conflictive situation from which illness emerges as a failed attempt at solving such conflict.
From a totalising approach, we define behaviour as a structure, as a dialectic and significant system which is in permanent interaction, attempting to solve, from this perspective, the mind-body, individual-society, organism-environment opposite pairs (Lagache). Including this dialectic perspective leads us to enlarge the definition of behaviour, understanding it not only as a structure, but also as a ‘structuralising’ system, i.e. as a multiple unit or interactive system. The concept of dialectic interaction involves the notion of mutual transformation, of intrasystemic and intersystemic inter-relations. By intrasystemic relationship we understand that which
takes place within the realm of the individual’s ego, in which internalised objects and links constitute an intern