French Literature Reviews - 2026

A. Phillips, Winnicott, or the Choice of Solitude.
Philosophy, Anthropology and Ideas

Winnicott, or the Choice of Solitude
Adam Phillips

Published: 06/11/2008
Publisher: Olivier (Editions de l')
Series: Penser/Rêver
ISBN: 978-2-87929-597-8
EAN: 9782879295978

Publisher price: 18,00€

This biography, written by his foremost authority, places Winnicott's thought under tension, even in crisis: it is a critical biography.
This perhaps explains why we had to wait twenty years for its French publication. Indeed, in the 1980s, this pediatrician—sometimes viewed as overly optimistic regarding the mother-infant dyad, and whom French audiences were often content to see merely as a gentle and original theorist—seemed to stand apart from conflicts: those of sexuality, of power, and, if they differ, of psychoanalysis.

It took time to become disillusioned. The "capacity to be alone"—the title of one of his famous papers published in 1958—would turn into a highly conflictual and almost negative vision of humanity when, in 1963, Winnicott wrote: "Each individual is an isolate, permanently non-communicating, permanently unknown, in fact, unfound."

Adam Phillips is a psychoanalyst.
He is a Visiting Professor in the Department of Literature at the University of York. He is the general editor of the new Penguin translations of Freud's works. He has written numerous essays, several of which are international bestsellers. The New York Times described him as an essayist who "combines the energy of the great Victorian sages, such as Thomas Carlyle and John Ruskin, with a radical belief in the indeterminacy of all truth that characterizes the postmodern sensibility of Walter Benjamin or Jorge Luis Borges."

The bookstore Les Cahiers de Colette and Éditions de l'Olivier invite you on November 21 (6 p.m.) to a meeting with the authors of the journal and the series penser / rêver:
To mark the publication of

MICHEL NEYRAUT, Alter Ego

ADAM PHILLIPS, Winnicott, or the Choice of Solitude
and JEAN-MICHEL REY, Paul, or Ambiguities

And L'inadaptation des enfants et de quelques autres, issue no. 14 of the journal Penser/rêver

Les Cahiers de Colette 23/25 rue Rambuteau 75004 Paris Tel: 01 42 72 95 06
Website: www.lescahiersdecolette.com

Published within the Penser/Rêver series, this critical study shifts away from the conventional image of D.W. Winnicott as a merely comforting pediatrician. Instead, author Adam Phillips examines the tensions within the British psychoanalyst s clinical framework, charting a trajectory from his earlier optimistic theories of the mother-infant relationship toward a more radical, solitary view of the human subject. The book engages deeply with Winnicott s influential 1958 concept of the capacity to be alone and his later 1963 formulation regarding the fundamentally isolated individual, providing a nuanced perspective on mid-century psychoanalytic thought.

This accessible yet rigorous biography will appeal to readers interested in psychoanalysis, modern intellectual history, and the intersections between clinical theory and philosophy. Adam Phillips brings his extensive background as a practicing psychoanalyst and literary scholar to bear on Winnicott s legacy, offering fresh insights into how psychoanalytic concepts address human isolation. It serves as an essential resource for students and practitioners seeking to understand the complexities of the British Independent Group and the ongoing debates surrounding psychoanalytic interpretations of the self.