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Function, and in particular the concept of alpha function, is undoubtedly one of the defining elements of contemporary psychoanalytic discourse, especially of W.R. Bion and Bionian thought, to which, as is well known, W.R. Bion and Bionian thought make frequent reference. The main question in this article is: Can this concept have a more or less relevant counterpart in Freud's text; can Freud's text speak with this line of conceptualization or, if so, with which theoretical scope can it give voice to this speech as much as possible? While going through these questions, an attempt will be made both to produce a voice by the Freudian text and to briefly discuss the approaches of Bion and some contemporary authors, especially those inspired by Bion, to interpret the Freudian text on the relevant subject.
Freud directly used the German word Funktion in various places. However, the equivalent of the concept of function in Freud's text that deserves to be considered together, besides the German word Funktion, should be considered mainly the words together with, the suffix -work (G: -arbeit) and the concept of -binding (G: -bindung) from which these works derive. An approach that properly unravels the transitions and interconnections between these concepts, could potentially make Freud and Bion speak more closely to one another. Freud's text, with all its scope, internal necessities and extensions, along with its conversation with Bion's text, would be able to find voices reaching into more diverse and expansive realms.