Decomposition: Partition as an Escape from Decay – A Gestalt of the Obsessive Life-World

Abstract

According to phenomenological literature, the life-world of the obsessive subject is characterized by its claustrophobic closure, the attempt to stop the flow of time, and the inability to accept the formlessness hidden behind the form. The obsessive obstinately tries to build defences against what he cannot tolerate of reality and this effort causes loss of spontaneity in the pre-reflective dimension of existence, resulting in the thought process being oversaturated and ending up by blocking action. Our proposal is to unpack the phenomenon of partition in the obsessive’s world, analysing the similarities and differences with the schizophrenic life-world. In fact, although the mechanization and the predominance of a reflective dimension are similar in these psychopathological typologies, these phenomena are based on completely different foundations: the ontological question in the case of the schizophrenic subject, while the ontic question in the case of the obsessive subject. By decomposing reality, the obsessive tries to stem the dimension of the formless, which is hidden under the representative order of things which he cannot tolerate. Understanding the hyper-rationalizing tendency of obsessive thought offers important clinical implications by providing shareable insights into psychotherapeutic development.