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II. C. USE OF QUASI-MATHEMATICAL SYMBOLS TO EXEMPLIFY BION’S CYCLE OF TRANSFORMATIONS: PAULO CESAR SANDLER Sandler’s (2005, p. 801) synoptic presentation of a cycle of transformation lays out the concept’s symbols/signs, their definitions according to Bion (1965), and practical examples, which here serves to introduce, and to complement to, what follows in the next section, where these symbols/signs will be further specified and used in generalized quasi- mathematical equations: ‘O’ represents the numinous realm, ultimate reality, the thing in itself (Kant 1781); in ‘O’, one may find the invariants. It may be illustrated, according to Bion, by ‘poppy-ness’ of poppies. T represents cycles of trans-formations: defined as changes in form (presentation) of events in the realm of phenomena and as such, they are counterparts of ‘O’. Sandler gives a practical example of two people observing a field of poppies: a painter (pi) and a drug addict (t). Tα represents processes through which a given transformation occurs. It is a process employing α elements, by which the individual arrives at Tβ. In the practical example, both painter and addict are aware of sense impressions. The painter couples these with his emotional experiences and paints the poppies on a canvas. The drug addict also couples the sense impressions with emotional experiences that differ significantly from those of the painter, and he thinks of opium. Tβ signifies the end product of a transformation; in case of a painter, it will be a picture depicting a field of poppies. Ta is used as a sign for a given analyst’s cycle of transformations. Taα then represents analyst’s mental processes through which the analyst furnishes the interpretation. Taβ would then stand for the interpretation or construction (Freud 1937). In Sandler’s practical example, where Tpi stands for painter’s transformation, Tpiα stands for the painter’s impressions, emotions and painting technique; and the Tpiβ for the picture. In a psychoanalytic situation, where Tp is a sign for the patient’s transformations, example of Tpα would be a dream work, with pβ being a dream. In the case of a drug addict, Tt are drug addict’s transformations, with Ttα standing in for impressions and desires, and Ttβ standing in for the drug addict’s making opium (Sandler 2005, 801-802). In a context of the Grid, gradually formulated since early1960’s, referred to and further developed in „Transformations”, in terms of the genesis of thinking (Bion 1962b 1967), Sandler (2005 p. 153) notes that the cycle of transformations can also be viewed as the process of development from pre-conception to conception (E to D categories of the Grid): When a pre-conception finds a realization, the conception is born. In a renewed cycle of transformations, the conception can be used as a new pre-conception (Sandler 2005, p. 153). This, too, is further specified in the next section.
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