This stimulating collection of papers by distinguished international contributors from the fields of psychoanalysis, group analysis, management consultancy and social science explores formative influences affecting Bion's emotional and intellectual development. The authors revisit in depth the origins of Bion's ideas, setting them in the context of his World War I experiences, his contact with Trotter, and his later work with the Tavistock Clinic and psychoanalysis. Chapters discuss the roots of his epistemology, re-examining and extending basic assumption theory; links between Bion and Foulkes; group mentality and Bion in Italy. Through these the spirit and shape of his work can be discovered by those new to Bion, and rediscovered by those who feel well acquainted with him.This is a collection of original and insightful papers which, along with its companion volume Building on Bion: Branches, will not only deepen understanding of Bion's contributions to theory and practice, but will also be invaluable to those who work with groups, in both therapeutic and management contexts. CONTENTSPreface, Malcolm Pines and Robert M. Lipgar. Introduction, James S. Grotstein, UCLA, USA. Part I: Roots and Early Developments.1. Re-discovering Bion's Experiences in Groups: Notes and Commentary on Theory and Practice, Robert M. Lipgar. 2. Bion's War Memoirs: A psychoanalytical commentary, Paulo Cesar Sandler, Sociedade Brasiliera de Psicanalise de Sao Paulo, Brazil. 3. Gregariousness and the Mind: Wilfred Trotter and Wilfred Bion, Nuno Torres, University of Essex. 4. Group Dynamics: A Re-view, Matias Sanfuentes, University of Essex. 5. Anthropological Psychoanalysis: Bion's Journeying in Italy, Claudio Neri, University of Rome, Italy. Part II: Bion's Context: Contemporaries and Refinements. 6. Pairing Bion and Foulkes: Towards a Metapsychosociology, Dennis Brown, Institute of Group Analysis. 7. Group Mentality and 'Having a mind', Robert Hinshelwood, University of Essex. 8. Incohesion: Aggregation/Massification - the Fourth Basic Assumption in the Unconscious Life of Groups and Group-like Social Systems, Earl Hopper. 9. Building on 'O': Bion and Epistemology, Victor L. Schermer. 10. Bion and Foulkes on Empathy, Malcolm Pines. References. Index
