Invisible-visual hallucinations in Bion's "Attacks on Linking".

Area of Science:

• Psychoanalysis
• Psychic Representation
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Wilfred Bion's seminal paper "Attacks on Linking" is highly cited in psychoanalytic literature.
• Bion introduced the concept of invisible-visual hallucinations (IVH) within this paper.
• The concept of IVH has been largely unexplored by subsequent scholars.

Purpose of the Study:

• To reread Bion's "Attacks on Linking" focusing on the concept of invisible-visual hallucinations (IVH).
• To define IVH by comparing it with related concepts like negative hallucination, dream screen, and primitive agony.
• To hypothesize that IVH offers a model for the origins of psychic representation.

Main Methods:

• Close reading and conceptual analysis of Bion's "Attacks on Linking."
• Comparative analysis of IVH with negative hallucination (Freud), dream screen (Lewin), and primitive agony (Winnicott).
• Formulation of a hypothesis regarding the role of IVH in psychic representation.

Main Results:

• Invisible-visual hallucinations (IVH) are presented as an enigmatic concept within Bion's work.
• A comparative framework is established for understanding IVH alongside other psychoanalytic concepts.
• A hypothesis is proposed linking IVH to the micro-traumatic inscription of stimuli in the psychic fabric.

Conclusions:

• Invisible-visual hallucinations (IVH) warrant further scholarly attention.
• IVH may provide a foundational model for understanding the genesis of psychic representation.
• The concept sheds light on the initial inscription of stimuli within the psychic structure.