In his book Death Instinct and Knowledge, Massimo Fagioli first introduced the birth theory, which offers valuable insight also into language acquisition during the early stages. From the beginning, the infant should be considered a complete human being, capable of producing linguistic communication in unpredictable, innovative, and unique ways. He/she will eventually acquire a specific maternal language after the first year of life. He will use a specific historical language to express his/her personal feelings through these tools. Despite the fact that humans have been communicating since very early stages, general linguistics labels this stage only as “prelinguistic”, i.e. a period “before” rational language acquisition.
During the first months of life, an infant will be able to listen and feel the sounds around him/her, responding through original feelings. Thus, communication begins before the acquisition of a specific language, which usually doesn’t occur before the second year of life.
For a correct understanding of the psychotherapeutic process, a thorough understanding of language acquisition is also essential. Psychotherapy is only able to cure the patient since the language used by the analyst is not rational but is a communication of images that move from the patient to the analyst, who is able to create new images that can heal the unconscious of the patient regardless of the patient’s rational understanding of the communication. The process of this irrational communication began in the first year of life, when each of us could create original images based not on rational communication, but on the sounds and feelings around us.
The book clarifies this unconscious process, which allows it to determine the precise meaning of many words by explaining their semantic value through opposition. For example, consider the words “no” and “not”. By saying “no,” analysts reject pathological conditions, whereas those who say “not” would negate positive states.
The paper highlights the book’s relevance to the understanding of how language is acquired and functions, which is the main tool for psychotherapy.
Bibliography
- De Mauro T. (1992). Guida all’uso delle parole. Roma: Editori Riuniti.
- Fagioli, M. (2002). Ideologia scienza e storia Introduzione a Il No e il Sì di Spitz, gennaio 1975. Il Sogno della Farfalla, 3, pp. 5-18.
- Fagioli, M. (2022). Istinto di morte e conoscenza. Roma: L’Asino d’oro (1972).
- Fagioli, M., Fago M., Homberg A., Masini F. (2011), Istinto di morte e conoscenza, 40 anni dopo. Il sogno della farfalla, 1, pp. 5-19.
- Fagioli, Marcella (1993), Prime note su ipotesi di lavoro che legano gli studi linguistici alla realtà psichica. Il Sogno della Farfalla, 2, pp. 61-64.
- Fagioli, Marcella, Masini F. (1993). Se parlare non è necessario, perché gli psicoterapeuti usano le parole? Il Sogno della Farfalla, 3, pp. 73-84.
