Embodiment, Playfulness, and Humanization
Embodiment, Playfulness, and Humanization

Summary/Abstract: This paper aims to outline the relation between embodiment, playfulness, and humanization in the case of mother-infant interactions. To accomplish this task, I will firstly draw on the works of Marc Richir, since he has provided a full-fledged phenomenological account of key concepts pertaining to the psychoanalytical theory of British psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott. Even though this essay will be situated mostly in the framework of Richir’s thought, I will also draw on different phenomenological authors, such as Eugen Fink or Paul Ricoeur, whose ideas can strengthen my initial claim. The process of humanization, as described by Richir entails the entire range of playful gestures, which reveal our embodied being. Therefore, interactions such as the exchange of gazes, mother-infant vocalization and touch will be analyzed. Finally, this article attempts to introduce a novel reading on the notion of resistance, to reveal its ethical implications regarding the mother-infant scenario. The process of humanization does not involve only how the infant commences to learn about aspects concerning what it means to be human, but also it entails the ethical relationship to others, henceforth, the notion of empathy will be also addressed.

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