ABSTRACT
The differentiation in the clinical setting of psychoanalysis between the manifestations of delusions and the reporting of primitive perceptions would seem to be an area of observation and description opened up by W. R. Bion's Theory of Thinking. The theory of alpha-function and beta-elements has already proved itself fruitful for clinical observation in the area of communication of meaningful messages versus communication-like missiles of meaningless stuff. This chapter shows the concepts of two- and three-dimensionality. It discusses the emptiness of the concept of alpha-function by defining a developmental space that is neither internal nor external in its implications, the "buccal theatre for generating meaning", tracing its implications both for speech development and for character. In order to carry out this task it is necessary first to discuss at some length both the concept of attention and some aspects of our ideas about symbol formation.
