Wilfred R. Bion’s Psychoanalysis Between Epistemology and Mysticism: The Dark Night, Transformation in O, and Mental Growth
Martin Eleven
Interdisciplinary Journal for Religion and Transformation in Contemporary Society June 18, 2025 DOI: 10.30965/23642807-bja10136 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mysticism |
| Key points | Argues that Bion's concept of O allows religion to be understood as encounters with the numinous involving processes of transformation of an open reality, informed by John of the Cross's Dark Night. |
Abstract
This article examines Wilfred R. Bion’s psychoanalysis in its unique interplay between epistemology and mysticism. It then explores the potential of Bion’s concept of O for an alternative understanding of religion within psychoanalysis and beyond. Rather than seeing religion as an archaic relic of human history, Bion makes it possible to understand the encounters with the numinous (the experience of the presence of the godhead, absolute truth or ultimate reality) described in religion as processes of transformation of an open reality. The attitude that Bion requires in order to make these transformations possible is explained on the basis of his own references to the mysticism of John of the Cross, in particular to the Dark Night described by him.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mysticism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The mystical mind: probing the biology of religious experience | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis | 1983 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Problem of Pure Consciousness: Mysticism and Philosophy | 1993 | Edited collection of essays | |
| Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mysticism and schizophrenia: A phenomenological exploration of the structure of consciousness in the schizophrenia spectrum disorders. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |