Subjectivity in Radical Ethics

Radical ethics, a philosophical position recognizing the priority of the other over the ego, specifically concerns the other’s suffering. It refuses to see the other as an instance of a category or concept, and therefor holds immense significance for workers in any mental health profession. But it can seem to deny, or minimize the needs of these workers, or of any individual’s needs in the face of the other’s suffering, and thus comes up against undeniable human limitations. It also raises the psychoanalytic problem of masochism. A revised and clearer idea of subjectivity, or of selfhood, can help us to see how we become ourselves in our very pre-existing responsibility for others, even when we come up against our limits.