Autonomy & Relatedness: Self-Realization Versus Self-Absorption

I argue in this paper that contrary to the usual assumption of an incompatibility between autonomy and relatedness, in healthy functioning the two trends operate compatibly. I argue further that the autonomy linked to self-realization and creativity depend on and entail object relations. More generally, I suggest that there is an important distinction between self-realization and self-absorption and that the former entails directing one’s interests outward toward objects rather than inward toward oneself. I illustrate these ideas through reference to poetry and the clinical situation.