Psychological resilience: A theoretical contribution (Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, D. W. Winnicott)

In this study I pursue the elaboration of a dynamic definition of psychological resilience. Despite numerous valuable contributions, studies on resilience do not provide us with a unitary theoretical conceptualization of the construct. Using Hegel's ideas on the dialectic and Winnicott's work on emotional development I elaborate a dynamic definition of resilience.; I begin with a review of the structure and findings of resilience studies that turn out to be remarkably dialectical. Hegel argues for a correspondence in structure between true thoughts and the concrete phenomenon they are elaborating. Since our conceptual methods elaborating the construct of resilience and their findings are remarkably dialectical, it follows that the element of resilience in a human life is likely to be dialectical. I review and summarize Hegel's ideas on the Dialectic and apply them to the literature on resilience. The process yields a behavioral definition of resilience as free action that operates on the given in pursuit of normal developmental goals. Free action turns out to be the defining element of what is dialectic.; In pursuing the elaboration of a purely psychological conceptualization of resilience, I review W.D. Winnicott's original ideas on infant emotional development. Unlike Melanie Klein, who relied on abstract Freudian concepts whose validity she presumed in formulating her ideas on emotional development, Winnicott's ideas emerged out of concrete observation and treatment of thousands of infants and their mothers. Predictably, Klein collapsed the dialectic in favor of the instincts, leading her towards an exceptionally tragic view of life. Winnicott elaborated the irreducible dialectical element at the heart of emotional development. His views were patently more hopeful and positive substantiating Hegel's claim that positive developmental processes are irreducibly dialectical.; I utilize the methods and findings of studies on resilience, Hegel's ideas on the dialectic, and Winnicott's understanding of emotional development to derive and elaborate a purely psychological definition of resilience as an on-going capacity to generate and maintain a psychological dialectic.