On: Sanity and Madness

Dear Sirs,

I was intrigued by Dr. Symington's view (2006) of the human mind and his utilization of a very original schema for the purpose of making distinctions between mental health and the kind of sicknesses we are apt to meet in our work. I was also pleased to note his idea regarding ‘the achievement of sanity’ being ‘a joint venture,’ a view that I wholly agree with and one consistent with recent infant research, e.g. that of Daniel Stern (1995, pp. 99-115). But when he speaks of this ‘emotional reality’ involving ‘something more than Bion's reverie’ (p. 1065) and then immediately, in the text of his paper, makes a reference to ideas that appear in Symington (2001) regarding the ‘contemplative act’, it appears to me that he may be being a bit misleading.

To begin with, and incidentally, Bion made references to ‘reverie’ in his first book, Learning from experience (1962, pp. 36, 37), not in Elements of psychoanalysis (1963), as Symington suggests. But the point I wish to make here is that there is a great deal of time/space between 1962 and 1978 (when Bion made his last contribution) for a continuous evolution of his mind to have taken place. Specifically, Bion further deepened and expanded his views which would take him far beyond ‘reverie’, a matter recognizable early by way of his commentary in Second thoughts where he makes the recommendation regarding the importance of the analyst being able to gain the capacity to ‘eschew memory and desire’ (1967b, p. 137), it being through this action that the analyst is able to achieve the very contemplative state of mind that Symington refers to, one applicable both to the analytic situation as well as to the mother and her baby. This, as Symington points out, involves ‘an act of emotional wonder’, the interference of which would obstruct the establishment of and the ‘joint venture’ (p. 1065).

Bion continued his investigation into the nature of this mental state and introduced the concept of ‘reverence and awe’ (1967a). Thi