Homo Psychicus as Human and on Becoming a Person: Towards a theory of the human being between the analogue and the digital, Alf Nilsson

This book is about unifying, in one and the same theory, the human being, Homo psychicus, both as an affective/internal presentation being and an operative, cognitive being. In this way, we see two human abilities – on the one hand, Silvan Tomkins’ comprehensive theories of our innate biological affects and, on the other hand, Jean Piaget’s theories of Homo psychicus as an operative, cognitive being – in one theory. According to Piaget the basis for operations is to be found in our innate reflexes. Overarching perspectives of this derivation are found in development: evolutionary, phylogenetic, ontogenetic and epigenetic. The author’s empirical research is directed towards development of a «percept-genetic» method called the Percept-genetic Object-Relation Test (PORT). This method is employed in the description and illustration of how Homo psychicus may become a person. Thus, this subject is discussed from an epigenetic and a clinical perspective.