Looking back and moving forward

If anyone were inclined to put forward the paradoxical proposition that the normal man is not only far more immoral than he believes but also far more moral than he knows, psycho-analysis, on whose findings the first half of the assertion rests, would have no objection to raise against the second half. (Freud, 1923)

One hundred years ago, on 7 December 1918, shortly after the end of the First World War, Ernest Jones wrote to Sigmund Freud: “I think the time is ripe for an English journal, or edition of the Zeitschrift (not identical, of course) owned by the Vereinigung.” The Letters from Warsaw in this volume’s opening issue remind us again about the interconnectedness between the development of psychoanalysis and of The International Journal with the two world wars, their context of social upheaval and forced migrations, massive loss but also passion. As we move closer to marking the 100th volume of the IJP in 2019, we remember the significance of, and the contribution that psychoanalysis has offered at times of upheaval and change, as well as its role in bringing inter-cultural exchange and dialogue to the fore as we continue to navigate our contemporary times.

2018, the year of the 99th volume of The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, will see the first of our centenary celebration conferences, starting off our encounter with the general theme of the conferences: The Unconscious Core: Encountering and Speaking to the Unconscious. Taking place in October 2018 in a beautiful countryside setting in Rye Brook, a short drive from New York City, the conference will be in the form of a retreat with an emphasis on small group discussions of pre-circulated papers. Registration is now open for this conference. Two further conferences will follow in 2019, the anniversary year, with different speakers and in different formats. The celebration conference in Buenos Aires will take place in the historic National Library and will be conducted in Spanish only. The finale will