Psychoanalysis as a Science of Incomplete Gestures

This chapter deals with the importance of gestures in psychoanalysis. To that end, I will adopt a pragmatic and semiotic approach to the philosophy of psychoanalysis, drawing theoretical resources from pragmatism, specifically from Giovanni Maddalena’s theory of gesture. In this way, I will attempt to offer an alternative to an overly intellectualized understanding of psychoanalysis by highlighting the importance of incomplete gestures in psychoanalytic practice and theory. By leaning on Jonathan Lear’s interpretation, I will highlight the pragmatic dimension of transference, understood as a complete mixture of complete and incomplete gestures.