[Autism and inter-subjectivity]

The concept of autism as a fundamental symptom of schizophrenia has been lacking of psychiatric eminence in the course of time, just because of its absence of univocal sense, and its extraordinary richness, hardly to be apprehended by deterministic procedures. However, the experience which it refers to, is still present in the daily clinical practice. In its attempt of apprehend this reference, the psychopathology has developed several concepts, as diverse and unspecific as "Praecoxfeeling", "self disorders", or "contact disturbances". In this paper, we start from "Intersubjectivity" as the viewpoint from which we try to comprehend the immediate experience of the Other as a whole. Finally, our purpose would be to offer an interpretation of autism that could serve as a comprehensive substrate for many of the manifestations of the schizophrenic condition.