The Third as Object and Subject: Educational Relat ionship, Third Function and Mediation

The role of the third party is often played by a material or psychicobject or by a living being, then called the “subject”. The thirdparty enables relationships, especially in education.According to Michel Vial, “the third object is a medium that sendsthe subject back to themself and allows them to work on theirchange, to regulate themself, to evaluate themself”. If the objectcan exercise the role of the third party in interpersonal orintrapersonal relations, it is always the subject and the subject’srelationship with another human being, or with the group, thatbenefits or suffers from it. Paradoxically, it may well be that thecondition of possibility enabling the process of personification isthe third party, the “non-person”, as Benveniste claimed.This book is intended for relationship professionals, educators,parents, teachers, facilitators and trainers, as well as caregiversand therapists, in order to help them understand the issue of thethird party