Rob Gordon

Opening Comments

Rob Gordon PhD, President ACPP

The theme of our meeting is “Unity and Diversity,” and it is our hope that what we have in common will be enriched by the differences we can bring to each other.  If we can do this, we will be creating a place in which we can think together.

The contemporary world surprises us with themes that we thought belonged to the early 20th Century, with the reign of populism and the drift towards extremism and sectarian violence, even in Australia.  It reminds me of the theme of “Decadence” (Nordau, 1920) that was prominent in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries where these manifestations were felt to show a tendency to revert to an earlier or inferior state of mind below what people are capable of.   On the other hand, as Elias (Elias, 2000) would have it, it shows the civilising process is a hard won achievement of society that is constantly on danger of being undone by some.  

Contemporary discourse in politics, public debate and almost any topic we choose, has been subverted by “influencers” and “fake news” and the other phenomena we are becoming familiar with.  This is a time of threat to thinking itself and to the ethics of public discussion.  Instead of truth being the framework for exchange of views, anything can be enlisted in the service of the end to be attained, or the influence to be exerted.

The Confederation comprises four Associations who have in common their recognition of the unconscious dimension of human life, and the need to find this through talk and communication so the conditions for people to encounter themselves in a new and creative way can be established.  The quality of this talk is far from common sense.  It has to embody the qualities that are being lost in society – respect for truth, commitment to seek it, an ethical relationship between the participants, the opportunity to explore and test ideas on the understanding that no one knows what the truth is, but it is most likely to be found between people who seek it together.  

In this conference we have the opportunity to embody these qualities which are at the heart of any form of psychoanalytic thinking.  To achieve this, we are interested, not only in the content of the presentations with their varied perspectives and topics, but also in the discussion as a group where we can think together and be stimulated by unexpected contributions and responses.  

It is the Confederation’s task to provide a basis for a psychoanalytic community.  But more than this, we want that community to come to life as a vividly as possible and that means, in line with the fundamental principle of our profession, that we become a self-conscious community through the lively exchange of ideas and experiences to form a group which can become a resource to all of us who find a place within it.

References 

Elias, Norbert, (2000) The Civilizing Process: Sociogenetic and Psychogenetic Investigations.  Oxford, Blackwell Publishing.

Nordau, Max, (1920)  Degeneration.  London, William Heinemann