From the act to the somatic event; history, construction and nachträglichkeit

Abstract

This paper addresses the subject of somatization and other episodes that can affect the body. These phenomena are conceptualized as suffering that comes from the outside of the representational field, and their subsequent transformation into mental representations. In this study the author introduces the notion of act, which also lies outside the representational field, as well as that of event ensuing from the work of construction and historicization. These two concepts are described as essential tools of a psychoanalytic treatment to be used in the creation of psychic weft. In addition special emphasis is laid on subsequent resignification or Nachträglichkeit. The author applies these concepts to the clinical field and links them to somatization and its relation to the somatic event. He thinks of somatization as an episode of biological order, universal and identical for every human being. A somatic event would be the outcome of a process of historicization, which responds to the particular fantasies of each person, helps to restore subjectivity and includes the somatization in psychic reality. Contributions of current philosophers on the concept of event are included, as well as clinical vignettes to illustrate the above ideas and concepts.