Jacques Lacan

The work of Jaques Lacan, eminent French psychoanalyst and influential thinker (1901-1981), is recognized as being of vital importance to psychoanalysts, philosophers, and all those concerned with the the study of man and language. Its value is not limited to the field of psychoanalysis alone, but provides the basis for a new philosophy of man and a new theory of discourse. It is, however, notoriously difficult for the non-specialist reader to come to terms with Lacan's reading of Freud and his investigations of the unconscious. Until now, there has been no satisfactory general introduction to Lacan, and this first general exposition of his work, translated and revised from the French edition, is designed to provide the conceptual tools which will enable the reader to study Lacan using the original texts. Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 4 Preface by Jacques Lacan......Page 6 Foreword by Antoine Vergote......Page 15 Acknowledgements......Page 23 Introduction......Page 24 Synthesis of Lacanian Thought......Page 29 Part I. Some Elements and Some Problems of General Linguistics......Page 33 1 Debates as to the nature of the linguistic sign and their methodological conséquences......Page 35 2 The two great axes of language......Page 53 Part II. Lacan's Use of the General Data of Linguistics......Page 59 3 The Lacanian perspective in linguistics......Page 61 4 Philosophy of language in Jacques Lacan......Page 74 Part III. The Constitution of the Subject by Accession to the Symbolic the Spaltung, The Role of the Oedipus in This Transition......Page 89 5 The Spaltung......Page 90 6 'Splitting', otherwise known as 'Séparation' (Introduction to the alienating identifications, the imaginary and the neuroses)......Page 95 7 The role of the Oedipus in accession to the symbolic......Page 101 Part IV. The Engendering of the Unconscious by Primal Repression (or Accession to Language) in Accordance with the Process of Metaphor......Page 117 8 The constituting metaphor of the unconscious......Page 119 9 Critical study of the article, 'The unconscious: a psychoanalytic study' by J. Laplanche and S. Leclaire. Clarifications as to Lacan's thought......Page 136 Part V. The Elementary Signifiers Constituting the Unconscious......Page 156 10 The unconscious as second structure......Page 158 11 The elementary signifiers of the unconscious......Page 162 12 Structure, organization and functioning of the unconscious order in Freud......Page 176 Part VI. The Transition from Lack to Desire and to Demand......Page 182 13 From need (or lived lack) to the instinct and désire: accession to language......Page 184 14 From desire to demand......Page 192 15 The dialectic of identifications......Page 199 Part VII. The Mechanisms of the Formations of the Unconscious: Structure and Organization of the Unconscious Signifying Network......Page 208 16 The revelatory formations of the unconscious......Page 210 17 The mechanisms of the formations of the unconscious. Displacement and condensation or metonymy and metaphor......Page 214 18 Analysis of unconscious formations following metaphoric and metonymie processes......Page 229 Part VIII. The General Conception of the Cure in Lacan......Page 236 19 Language: the primordial indicator of truth in the analytic cure......Page 238 20 The rôle of the analyst......Page 240 21 Transference......Page 243 22 Interprétation......Page 246 Part IX. The Lacanian Conception of Neurosis and Psychosis......Page 248 23 Neurosis......Page 250 24 Psychosis......Page 253 Conclusion......Page 270 Appendix......Page 272 Bibliography......Page 277 Index......Page 284 The First General Exposition Of Lacan's Important But Difficult Work, This Is Designed To Provide The Conceptual Tools Which Will Enable The Reader To Study Lacan Using The Original Texts. Some Elements And Some Problems Of General Linguistics -- Lacan's Use Of The General Data Of Linguistics -- Constitution Of The Subject By Accession To The Symbolic, The Spaltung, The Role Of The Oedipus In This Transition -- Engendering Of The Unconscious By Primal Repression (or Accession To Language) In Accordance With The Process Of Metaphor -- Elementary Signifiers Constituting The Unconscious -- Transition From Lack To Desire And To Demand -- Mechanisms Of The Formations Of The Unconscious: Structure And Organization Of The Unconscious Signifying Network -- General Conception Of The Cure In Lacan -- Lacanian Conception Of Neurosis And Psychosis. Anika Lemaire ; Translated By David Macey. Translation With Revisions Of Jacques Lacan. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 254-260) And Index. A standard text on Lacan, designed to provide the conceptional tools to enable the reader to study Lacan using the original tetxs. A helpful exposition of Lacan's difficult but important work.