The Role of the Third in the Genesis of a We-perspective

According to a recent and prominent view, a 'we-perspective' arises out of a dyadic I-you relation involving a special form of reciprocity in which I relate to another as a you - as somebody who is also attending and addressing me. As important as this argument might be, one obvious limitation lies in that it typically applies to dyadic forms of 'we' which are bound to the here and now of face-to-face interactions between 'ad hoc pairs of individuals'. Drawing inspiration from Sartre's Critique of Dialectical Reason and Freud's Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego, I will argue that in order to trace a way out of this impasse, one needs to shift the theoretical focus from dyadic face-to-face (immediate) relations of reciprocity between I and You, self and other to ternary relations of 'mediated reciprocity' involving the figure and the functions of a third party (le tiers).

Automated summary

According to a recent and prominent view, a 'we-perspective' is said to emerge from a special form of reciprocity in a dyadic I-you relationship, where I see the other as a you, engaging in mutual attention and conversation. However, this perspective is limited to dyadic forms of 'we', as it is based on face-to-face interactions between specific individuals. To overcome this limitation, the focus needs to shift towards ternary relations involving a third party, as inspired by Sartre and Freud's theories.