The Self of the Newborn Has Its Ground in Primordial Presence
In our view, a
human being is born a living
Presence, a
soul, with various
essential qualities inherent in that Presence. This living Presence possesses all the
potential of humanity, all its properties and capacities. The
self of the
neonate, with its perceptions, sensations, feelings, images, impulses, processes, and movements, has its
ground in primordial Presence, the source of all these psychic manifestations. The essential Presence itself constitutes the
identity of the infant, more than any particular manifestation.