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Abstract
Bateson's theory of the double bind has been mistakenly interpreted as pertaining to a simple communication paradox. This article proposes a semiotic reformulation of the double bind as a manipulated breach in a concerted effort to create thirdness. This proposal is guided by an interdisciplinary perspective that investigates the double bind by drawing on parallel themes from relational psychoanalysis, semiotics, and Bakhtinian linguistics. The reformulation of the double bind is illustrated through the analysis of excerpts from literary works that exemplify how binds might close the potential space of intersubjectivity.
Keywords:: double bind; semiotics; language and psychoanalysis; potential space; intersubjectivity; Portnoy's complaint
Published Online: 2009-04-02
Published in Print: 2009-April
© 2009 by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, D-10785 Berlin
