Wilfred R. Bion’s Psychoanalysis Between Epistemology and Mysticism: The Dark Night, Transformation in O, and Mental Growth
Interdisciplinary Journal for Religion and Transformation in Contemporary Society June 18, 2025 Martin Eleven
Wilfred R. Bion's psychoanalysis uniquely blends epistemology with mysticism. His concept of O offers an alternative understanding of religion, not as an archaic relic but as encounters with the numinous—the presence of absolute truth or ultimate reality—described as processes of transformation of an open reality. Bion's required attitude for these transformations is explained through his references to John of the Cross's mysticism, particularly the Dark Night.