The Foundational Nature of the Autistic-Contiguous Position in Relation to the Paranoid-Schizoid Position

Although Tomas Ogden separated the Autistic-Contiguous Position (commonly translated into Chinese as “心位”, meaning  “mental position”) from the Paranoid-Schizoid Position, the Autistic-Contiguous Position has not truly separated from the Paranoid-Schizoid Position. This is because the delineation of the “boundary” between the inner and outer worlds is fundamentally within the experiential framework of binary oppositions—either/or distinctions. Additionally, the “all-or-none” principle governing individual neuronal signal further underscores that the most basic position cannot separate from the realm of the Paranoid-Schizoid Position.

However the Autistic-Contiguous Position, can be considered as a simplified (basic) and less integrated version of the more complex, multidimensional (as if  three-dimensional scenario) Paranoid-Schizoid Position. It emphasises superficial perceptions, such as the skin sensation of contact, the visual impression of boundaries, or the sense of identification with others through the appearances as if some seeming skin sense . It does not, however, involve vivid representations of physical or bodily contexts, nor does it evoke the kind of striking impact or “magical” quality that such contexts can produce.

The so-called “magical sense” refers to the lack of maturity found in the Depressive Position—specifically, the acceptance of the irreversibility of time, which allows for the recognition that the harm done to an object cannot be magically erased, this understanding gives rise to the characteristic ambivalence and compassion of the Depressive Position. Tomas Ogden brilliantly distinguished between the compassion and concern associated with the integration of love and hate in the Depressive Position and the simple childlike feelings of friendliness and sympathy in the Paranoid-Schizoid Position.

The Autistic-Contiguous Position lacks the Paranoid-Schizoid Position's "magic sense" of reversing time, erasing mistakes, and starting over, mainly because its experiential organization remains at the most rudimentary model level, incapable of constructing multidimensional (as if three-dimensional) contexts or scenarios, nevertheless it still adheres to the binary logic characteristic of the Paranoid-Schizoid Position.