‘The mothering instinct’ and Bion: The importance of the link between curiosity and love in the ability to nurture emotional growth

Abstract In this paper the author explores the emerging model of maternal care which Bion uses to understand analytic function and attitude. Inspired by Bion, he suggests that both curiosity and love are important for mothering capacity in nurturing emotional growth, both in childcare and in analytic work. In his view, of central importance in both of these is the strength of the links to the father or paternal figure. He considers that Bion struggled with a problem in his earlier analytic work, illustrated in his paper ‘On Arrogance’, that followed his prioritisation of curiosity, of seeking knowledge, over its emotional impact. The author suggests that Bion's later change towards a focus on the growth of Being (O), and his recommendations regarding the analyst's attitude, namely a disciplined suspension of memory and desire during psychoanalytic sessions, were aimed at addressing this problem, bringing Bion into line with Klein and Freud.