Tansley's Psychoanalytic Network: An episode out of the Early History of Psychoanalysis in England

Abstract

The paper traces the psychoanalytic networks of the English botanist, A.G. Tansley, a patient of Freud's (1922-1924), whose detour from ecology to psychoanalysis staked out a path which became emblematic for his generation. Tansley acted as the hinge between two networks of men dedicated to the study of psychoanalysis: a Cambridge psychoanalytic discussion group consisting of Tansley, John Rickman, Lionel Penrose, Frank Ramsey, Harold Jeffreys and James Strachey; and a network of field scientists which included Harry Godwin, E. Pickworth Farrow and C.C. Fagg. Drawing on unpublished letters written by Freud and on unpublished manuscripts, the authors detail the varied life paths of these psychoanalytic allies, focusing primarily on the 1920s when psychoanalysis in England was open to committed scientific enthusiasts, before the development of training requirements narrowed down what counted as a psychoanalytic community.