Who's Afraid of Matte Blanco: An Introduction for People with No Mathematical Background

SUMMARY Analysts and therapists have daily to cope with a difficulty, the fact that many of their patients' most important feelings are felt as infinite. For example that boundless despair so often apparent in a depressive patient is a felt infinity. This infinity often masks other unconscious infinities, such as those of boundless guilt, grandiosity or omniscience. It is thus an important aspect of Matte Blanco's work that it draws attention to the whole subject of infinite outcomes. The examination of such outcomes is aided in this paper by illustrations of some useful ways of picturing infinity.
Matte Blanco's work also contains a suggestion as to a major source of these infinities and, in discussing this, this paper will enable an analyst or therapist to look for this source of a particular patient's pathological infinities.
The paper concludes by suggesting some extensions to Matte Blanco's work and some possible auras for future work.