Dialectical Asymmetry: Commentary on an Article by Peter Shabad

ABSTRACT

In this article, I explore the radical asymmetry set forth in the ethical turn, but suggest that Shabad develops a more refined notion of asymmetry grounded in the dialectics of giving and receiving. He develops what I call dialectical asymmetry where the reciprocity of human exchange offers an ethical demand for both analyst and patient. I suggest a productive comparison between Shabad’s perspective and the double asymmetry of the ethical seduction developed in the French tradition.