Prologue

At once it struck me what a quality went to form a man of achievement…. I mean negative capability, that is, when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason.

This Volume is Dedicated to an Exploration of Relationships among nonlinear dynamic systems (complexity) theory, psychoanalysis, therapeutic action, and therapeutic change.1 Many psychoanalytic contributors have developed a deepening interest in the characteristics of complex systems and their invaluable application to the organization of psychoanalytic thought. Moreover, complex systems theory has invigorated not only the discipline of psychoanalysis in this way, but has for decades been an essential underpinning of many other diverse disciplines as well. A collection of papers written for psychoanalytic practitioners concerned with the clinical and therapeutic implications of a nonlinear dynamic systems perspective is, therefore, not only timely but even, perhaps, overdue.

Whereas the papers presented here share a reliance on such systems concepts as complexity, distribution, and emergence, they nevertheless reflect a variety of perspectives in psychoanalysis and draw from a diverse array of systems theory literature. The authors are individuals who have made distinct contributions to psychoanalysis as a mental health discipline, and they elaborate here their conceptual understanding through applying their own unique systems sensibilities. Addressing specific aspects of systems theory from a particular psychoanalytic perspective, then, these contributors highlight distinct dimensions of contemporary thought, including intersubjective systems theory, self and