Abstract
Bion's basic theory of transformations includes the concept of invariances: those aspects that are kept unchanged in the transformation. Translations are considered transformations that include invariances that allow for the recognition of the transformation. Psychoanalytic interpretations are seen by the author of this paper as a special case of such transformations. From Borges's radically open perspective on translation, psychoanalytic interpretations can be characterized as pertaining to one of three categories: (1) interpretations that change the unfamiliar to the familiar, (2) rigid motion transformations, or (3) interpretations that are transformations towards O. These ideas are dramatized in the reading of two of Borges's fictional stories that present two different approaches to translation, Averroes' search and Pierre Menard, author of the Quixote. These stories exemplify transformations in -K and + K. Finally, Cervantes' intuition of a hybrid language that approaches O and allows for a peaceful and multilayered interpretation of reality (transformation towards O) is discussed.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1115-1127 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | International Journal of Psychoanalysis |
Volume | 94 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1 Jan 2013 |
Keywords
- Bion
- Borges
- Cervantes
- Interpretation
- Invariance
- Transformation
- Translation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Clinical Psychology
- Psychiatry and Mental health