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In this imaginative paper the author explores the topic of psychoanalytic pluralism through the theoretical lens of Chilean psychoanalyst Ignacio Matte Blanco. Sanchez-Cardenas approaches his subject by questioning whether there are ‘good’ and ‘bad’ interpretations in analysis. He hopes to demonstrate that:
certain notions contributed by Matte Blanco enable us to approach the question of pluralism in psychoanalysis in an original way and foster greater freedom of thought.
For him, the author has taken on a daunting task. First, the thought of Matte Blanco is difficult and complex. He was a scholar, a philosopher, a mystic, a scientist and neuropsychiatrist, who used the concepts of mathematical logic to illuminate his ideas. Second, the idea of psychoanalytic pluralism is contentious and fiercely debated.
The ideas in this paper are timely. We live in an age of enormous complexity and uncertainty. Increasing fundamentalism, dualistic thinking and intolerance have grown out of an urge to reduce the anxiety associated with complexity. This simplification of ideas can take the form of idealism, where an overvalued idea obscures the reality it is supposed to explain. Our psychoanalytic institutes are not immune to such simplified thinking, linked to hopes for a single unified theory.
The ideas of Matte Blanco do not offer easy answers. However, his perspective proposes deeply ethical and thoughtful means to open and expand psychoanalytic thinking. Sanchez-Cardenas adeptly explores the implications of his theory as a means of fostering more freedom, curiosity and respectful critical thinking by analysts.
Some relevant contextual information about Matte Blanco provides a backdrop for the intention of his work, and for the ‘deicide’ that he felt was necessary to allow for more freedom of thought in psychoanalysis. Shortly before his death, in an interview by Pietro Bria, his Italian translator, he said:
The identity I would like for psychoanalytic man, including myself,