Alter ego

Origin

Latin, literally, second I

• 1537

Definitions

• 1: a second self: as a : a trusted friend

b : the opposite side of a personality

c : counterpart

Description

The representation of an other complicit in the subject's narcissism, or self-object, the alter ego refers to the narcissistic need of an other similar to the self, a factor in the development of the self. The term appeared in the work of Kohut Heinz Kohut in 1971 in the context of alter ego transference, a form of mirror transference. After 1984, given the autonomy of the alter ego transference, it appears as a constituent of the self, along with the grandiose self, the pole of ambitions, and the idealized parental imago, the pole of ideals. Defined as an arc of tension between the two poles, the alter ego takes into account the harmony of the self, while the mirror affirms the vigor of the self and its idealization and cohesion. The line of development of the alter ego is important throughout the period that extends from the age of four to ten years; friendship, the need for someone like us, sometimes changes into the need for an imaginary companion. The alter ego is associated with humanity and sexual identity through self-identification—the father's true son. The reverse would be a Kafkaesque world of dehumanizing experiences. When this sector is stopped, repressed needs remain fixed and are difficult to verbalize because of the shame they arouse. The alter ego is associated with other needs and narcissistic transferences. Within this context, the concept of identification loses the specificity it has in Freudian metapsychology in terms of the constitution of the ego.

See also

• Prayer and the Alter Ego

Bibliography

• Kohut, Heinz. (1971). The analysis of the self. New York: International Universities Press.
• ——. (1977). The restoration of the self. New York: International Universities Press.
• ——. (1984). How does analysis cure? Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Source Citation

• Oppenheimer, AgnÈs. "Alter Ego." International Dictionary of Psychoanalysis. Ed. Alain de Mijolla. Vol. 1. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. 52. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 9 Sept. 2010.
• Document URL: https://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?&id=GALE%7CCX3435300059&v=2.1&u=tel_a_uots&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w