143: Winnicott: Creativity and Subjectivity, Part I

143: Winnicott: Creativity and Subjectivity, Part I

From Ordinary Unhappiness by Patrick & Abby

May 9, 2026 · 1h 40m · Episode 143

About this episode

The episode discusses Donald Winnicott's theories on creativity and subjectivity, focusing on his paper about transitional objects in infant development.

Taking a breather from our moment’s unrelentingly grim headlines, Abby, Patrick, and Dan return to a favorite analytic thinker – Donald Winnicott (1896-1971) – and begin the first of a two-part episode on one of his most famous papers, “Transitional Objects and Transitional Phenomena” (1951/1953). Winnicott’s ostensible subject here is infantile development, and specifically the attachment very young children frequently develop towards a particularly favored object, whether that be a blanket,...

People in this episode

Hosts: Abby, Patrick

Guest: Dan

Topics covered

  • creativity
  • subjectivity
  • infantile development
  • transitional objects
  • psychology
  • Winnicott

Keywords

  • Winnicott
  • creativity
  • subjectivity
  • transitional objects
  • infant development
  • psychology
  • attachment

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Transitional Objects and Transitional Phenomena

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