A Psychoanalytic Theory of Infantile Experience

Eugenio Gaddini (1916-85) was a pioneer within the Italian psychoanalytic movement. His research into psychic conflicts in adult patients led him to realize that most archaic and primitive mental processes were close to body functions. Focusing his research on the psycho-physical syndromes of early infancy, he then sought to determine which particular functions contribute to the creation of the mind. For this edited collection of Gaddini's papers, Adam Limentani has selected those covering three main themes: imitation, which Gaddini saw as a central factor in early development; ego formation - the process of instinctual drive arousal and the awareness of separateness from the object; and the way the body becomes meaningful to the mind. In each paper Gaddini supports his hypotheses with ample clinical material. Limentani's interpretative and explanatory introduction discusses what Gaddini and Winnicott had in common and where they differed; the points of contact and difference with Kleinian theories; Gaddini's view of imitiation in the development of the mind; and his approach to psychosomatic medicine. Above all Limentani stresses Gaddini's originality and independence of thought.