ABSTRACT
As analysts become more experienced, theoretical knowledge becomes more integrated and implicit and is gradually transformed into the practical wisdom (phronesis) described by Aristotle. While this leads to greater freedom in ways of working, it remains conditional on the consistent disciplined practice represented by the analytic attitude. In the context of the author’s own development as an analyst, they suggest that increasingly the analyst works from the self rather than the ego and link this with Fordham’s account of ‘not knowing beforehand’. Some implications for boundaries, enactment and the use of personal disclosure are discussed in relation to clinical material. The author compares analysis with the wisdom traditions of religious practice and suggests that analysis is concerned with a way of living rooted in humane values of compassion and benevolence.
