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Richard Kradin's paper, ‘Generosity: a psychological and interpersonal motivational factor of therapeutic relevance’, states that its aim is to examine the role of generosity in analysis. It also aims to explore the nexus between generosity and myth and generosity and evolutionary theory.
In different parts of the paper, the author offers brief definitions of ‘generosity’ as ‘a complex of cognitions and affects … antithetical to those states of superego harshness that characterize many forms of human psychopathology’. It is also claimed that it shares certain qualities with agape, defined by the author as encompassing ‘a variety of aspects of non-erotic love’. Further defining qualities of generosity are cited as a willingness to share unselfishly; ampleness; being imbued with euphoric affect and inspiring nobility in others.
Most interestingly, Kradin also links its cognative roots to the term generative which will be dealt with at more length further in this response. Another point he makes is that generosity is both a privately felt and shared experience. The main aim of the paper is the establishment of generosity as ‘a cardinal therapeutic factor in analysis’.
The expansive breadth of the paper may suit its theme but the paper's allusive style leaves it unclear as to what links the author is making to the other works that are cited. It starts with a critical response to Bion's famous recommendation to suspend ‘memory and desire’ during analysis, and it would be interesting to see how Kradin sees this as relating to the main thrust of his paper. Bion's own central aim expressed in this saying is that of removing references to the past, that is, memory or to the future, that is, desire so that the ‘evolution of the session’ will be observed while it is actually taking place (Bion 1967, p. 18). If, as Kradin's critical stance implies, Bion's aim is unrealistically ‘generous’ this could have been a useful point to make in relation to Kradin's own understanding of a su