Abstract

Social dimension in psychiatry and psychopathology carries different meanings. After a discussion of some of these meanings, the attention will be focused on a particular aspect of social dimension in psychiatry and psychopathology: intersubjectivity. The Editors of this issue raise three questions: each question represents an opportunity for a better understanding of the role of intersubjectivity in psychopathology. The first question is: Why is it important to consider social perspective in the study of the mind? The importance of the intersubjective perspective in the study of the pathological mind is exemplified by a brief analysis of the recent developments in the field of diagnosis. The second question is: In which way the attention devoted to social perspective has changed our discipline? A considerable number of studies in the area of borderline personality disorders shows how an intersubjective perspective can contribute to a better knowledge (and a better treatment) of this kind of personality disorder. The third question is: How is understanding of social dimension changed? The development of recent models in the area of infantile autism and schizophrenia provides a good example of how intersubjective perspective can contribute to a better understanding of these mental disorders.