Psychoanalysis between the two pillars of Gaston Bachelard's Philosophy: Scientific epistemology and poetic imagination

Abstract

This paper aims to bring together aspects of the two major strands of Gaston Bachelard’s work, taking as a point of convergence the influence that psychoanalysis exerted on his philosophy. It begins by outlining the context of the works associated with the “diurnal period,” which is linked to rational and epistemological thought, and then introduces the initial developments of the “nocturnal period,” in which the author formulates his reflections on poetic imagination and reverie. The year 1938 is highlighted as a unique moment in Bachelard’s intellectual trajectory, as it marks the only time he published two works in the same year, each aligned with one of these strands: The Formation of the Scientific Mind, focused on the debate surrounding objective knowledge, and The Psychoanalysis of Fire, which inaugurates his exploration of poetic imagery, imaginative processes, and reverie. Given that this is the sole year in which Bachelard simultaneously published works representing both axes of his thought, this article seeks to demonstrate that psychoanalysis, beyond appearing uniquely in this temporal context, may also be understood as a conceptual key that connects the dual registers of his philosophy. It functions both as a critical tool for addressing imagery within the diurnal epistemological framework and as a gateway to the in-depth investigation of images in their literary, poetic, imaginative, and aesthetic dimensions.