ABSTRACT
Symbols usable in a process of discovery express gaps susceptible to investigation. Fertile symbols mix the known and unknown in productive ways. W. R. Bion uses various sets of signs and symbols to evoke a sense of the two main no-things at stake. For Bion a central task of humankind is to grow a psyche capable of sustaining the evolution of new places of interaction of diverse terms of experience. If patient and analyst succeed in using the analyst’s ability to interpret as reassurance against the loss of meaning, a stalemate results. Bion’s focus on no-thing led through a series of signs that represent the growth of awareness of what no-thing can mean. For Bion an existing no-thing, such as an evil attitude, may be the outcome of work done by a no-thing outside existence. The old saying that a psychopath has no conscience is grossly misleading in light of Bion’s insights.
