Lacan and Bion: Paving the Way to Dialogue

This study focuses on establishing a dialogue between the psychoanalytic teachings of two major structuralist psychoanalysts, Jacques Lacan and Wilfred Bion. The line of this dialogue involves examining aspects of their theories for similarities in the production of psychoanalysis. The study concentrates on several cornerstones of both theories, including the analysts' incorporation of the subject's relationship with the Thing-in-itself in the Kantian sense; Bion's and Lacan's views on the phenomenon of transference; and the issue of the analyst's desire and the concept of desire as such. Moreover, the work provides a perspective on both theory and the application of this theory in practice, allowing for an assessment of the practical significance of Lacan's and Bion's theoretical concepts in the context of psychoanalysis. To the extent necessary for the analysis, aspects of Sigmund Freud's theory are addressed, as it is the theory that gave rise to the developments of Lacan's and Bion's teachings. Regarding desire, the study pays particular attention to the primary historical and psychoanalytic prerequisites for the emergence of the concept of the analyst's desire in the context of Sigmund Freud's discovery of the psychoanalytic method. Thus, this study aims to identify points of intersection in Lacan's and Bion's theoretical approaches, which may contribute to a deeper understanding of their contributions to psychoanalytic practice and theory. The research demonstrates how Lacan and Bion, each through their unique methodological and theoretical lenses, enrich the psychoanalytic field by offering diverse perspectives on the understanding of the human psyche, the process of analysis, and the role of the analyst.