In C: Towards a ‘Bionian’ Theory of Creativity

Abstract

While Wilfred Bion did not formally develop a theory of art and creativity, Bion's work, both as a psychoanalytic theorist and a surprisingly creative writer, offers the possibility to discern a ‘Bionian’ theory of creativity drawing on his theory of thinking (Bion, 1993). He frequently referenced the work of many different artists and thinkers, including John Milton, William Shakespeare, and Leonardo da Vinci, and his last major work, A Memoir of the Future, is explicitly an experimental and creative text blending fiction, autobiography, and theory. A number of key ideas, such as the thought without a thinker, the stray or wild thought, the construction of the necessary dream, and Bion's use of Elliott Jaques’ idea of the integrative reticulum as a model of the container‐contained relationship are brought together to imagine a new kind of transformation, the transformation ‘in C’, where C is understood chiefly as a shorthand for creativity and its role in communication between minds, but also with echoes of row C (the level of dreams and myths) of the Grid. Bion is shown to draw comparison between the artist, the psychotic, and the psychoanalyst, and he invites the practising therapist to consider their work a kind of creative artwork.