April 2022: “On Grotstein’s ‘truth’ in Bion’s theory of ‘O’” with Caron Harrang, LICSW, FIPA, BCPsa

In this presentation Caron Harrang discusses Grotstein’s (2004) “The seventh servant: The implications of a truth drive in Bion's theory of ‘O’” and its relevance to the theme of EBOR 2022: Truth and Lies. From his highly creative reading of Bion’s later work emphasizing transformations in ‘O’, Grotstein proposes the existence of an emotional truth drive to explain why analysands can accept the analyst’s interpretations even as they often reveal painful psychical realities. According to Grotstein, this drive constitutes Bion’s mysterious ‘seventh servant’ and a truth principle (analogous to Freud’s reality and pleasure principles in a different model). Our need of truth is parallel to our love of knowledge (epistemophilic drive). Grotstein says this drive meets evolving O (absolute truth and ultimate reality) halfway within us and helps calibrate our ontological reliability. Briefly discussed and relevant to the EBOR theme, is Grotstein’s explanation of Bion’s observation—perplexing for many—that all thoughts, as they are ordinarily known, are false. If the quest for emotional truth is universal as Grotstein suggests, what can this possibly mean?