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The author's eminence as a protagonist of Kleinian psychoanalysis is emphasized by the fact that this volume is published under the auspices of the Melanie Klein Trust. Bion's influence is generally reflected in contemporary Kleinian psychoanalysis but perhaps more specifically in the theory and practice of our Latin-American colleagues. This volume, which includes a number of previously published papers, offers the more traditional psychoanalyst an invaluable opportunity to examine the view of mental life that determines the analytic technique of a significant percentage of the International Psychoanalytic Association membership.
In his introductory remarks the author refers to changes in his views as 'an evolutionary change of opinion', which he then discusses at some length in the concluding commentary. The following perceptive statement raises the reader's hopeful anticipation that such changes might herald greater communication or possible rapprochement. 'It becomes fatal to good analysis if premature application of a theory becomes a habit which places a screen between the psychoanalyst and the exercise of his intuition on fresh and therefore unknown material.' It must be stated at the outset that any such hopes are doomed to disappointment. The evolutionary changes in the author's views are not directly related to his understanding of psychoanalysis. On the contrary they mainly derive from his growing scepticism as to the validity of analytic contributions which rely on the presentation of clinical material. The analytic situation is limited to the one-to-one relationship between patient and therapist. What occurs within this situation the author regards as ineffable. The nearest the reporter can come to communicating this ineffable experience is to express it in terms which may be perceived as sensory and immediate. The more, in contrast, the analytic writer describes mechanisms, uses common technical terms, or refers to generally accepted diagnost