Passion and anti-passion in the aesthetic conflict

Abstract

Donald Meltzer's clinical research allowed him to imaginatively conceive the fundamental conflict of the human subject's mentality: the aesthetic conflict. This would awaken, in the encounter with the aesthetic object (primarily the mother), both positive and negative links. Named by Bion L, H, K and –L, -H, –K, they would be confronted at the very moment of fragile tolerance to mystery and uncertainty in the aesthetic conflict. These emotional links require integration to resist the permanent harassment of anti-emotion links or anti-links, as Meltzer called them. Passion could be understood as a meta-emotion or meta-link capable of containing the pressure for disintegration arising from anti-passionate forces. In this way, Meltzer managed to redefine envy as the stupidity of evil, interfering with the always fragile support of aesthetic conflict. Its disintegrating action produces a mental state of dis-passion, disconnecting the set of positive links (passion). The theoretical-clinical validity of the concept of envy is witnessed by psychoanalysts truly interested in the problem of Evil (Chuster and Trachtenberg, 2004, 2010 and Trachtenberg, 2005a, 2005b, 2018, 2019). Meltzer's contribution in this regard is invaluable. Two dreams from two different patients are presented that illustrate the possibility of tolerance to aesthetic conflict (Mrs. P.) and also intrusive curiosity as a product of intolerance to mystery, the  negative “in-capability” (Dr. I.).