Jacques-Alain Miller
Encyclopedia
Jacques-Alain Miller is a French academic. He is a Lacanian psychoanalyst.
, he met his future father-in-law Jacques Lacan
in 1964 while attending his seminars at the rue d'Ulm. After having read everything Lacan
had thus far published, he asked him, "Does your notion of the subject imply an ontology
?" and an entente was made with him. In 1966 he founded Cahiers pour l'Analyse
, a seminal publication whose editorial board included Alain Badiou
, François Regnault
and Jean-Claude Milner
. He was the editor of Ornicar? when Lacan announced the dissolution of L'Ecole Française de Psychanalyse, and the foundation of L'École de la Cause Freudienne.
At the École Normale Supérieure
, Miller studied with Louis Althusser
at the same time as Jacques Derrida
and Jacques Rancière
, but soon he was following the teachings of Jacques Lacan
who in 1964 had been appointed lecturer at the École Pratique des Hautes Etudes
. Althusser assigned him the task of reading "all of Lacan" and Miller carried out the task admiringly. In time he would become instrumental in Lacan's Ecole Freudienne de Paris. When Lacan moved to the University of Vincennes - the Department of Psychoanalysis was renamed "Le Champ freudien" - Lacan became its director, and Jacques-Alain Miller the president. Lacan's dissolution of the École Française de Psychanalyse in 1980 was followed by the creation of La cause freudienne. Soon thereafter Lacan died leaving Miller as the sole editor of his Seminars, an endeavor that would require Miller's entire life.
Jacques-Alain Miller, who married Lacan's daughter (aka Judith Miller
), started his own weekly seminars in 1980, called "L'Orientation lacanienne" intended to expound and elucidate Lacan's work. As the editor of Jacques Lacan's seminars, he has so far published more than half of them in French. He also supervised the English translations of Lacan's work: "Écrits", and the seminars, "The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis", "The Ethics of Psychoanalysis", Encore - On Feminine Sexuality. In 2001 he started a series of public interventions on behalf of the independence of psychoanalysis vis-à-vis government control in France. He wrote First Letter addressed by Jacques-Alain Miller to An Enlightened Public, "Clear Like Day Letter" and "The Tenderness of Terrorism" where he asserted that "an analyst is only authorized by her/himself" (Lacan's dictum: l'analyste ne s'autorise que de lui-même).
In the early nineties, Miller's work began to be translated into English and published in the United States through the New York-based cultural journal Lacanian Ink
under the editorship of Josefina Ayerza
. More recently other groups have taken root in America, notably in Omaha, Nebraska
. In 1992 Miller set up the World Association of Psychoanalysis, WAP, in order to advance Lacan's teachings. Today it has over a thousand members in Europe, America, Israel and Australia. The WAP creates Schools that transmit psychoanalysis, ensure the formation of analysts, guarantee their qualification and the quality of their practice.
Within the frame of his "Orientation lacanienne" Miller works in apparent conjunction, with other European philosophers such as Slavoj Žižek
and Alain Badiou
. There is nevertheless a clear distance from them, from the beginning as may be seen in the review "Cahiers pour l'Analyse". http://www.web.mdx.ac.uk/cahiers/
/WorldCat
encompasses roughly 300+ works in 600+ publications in 13 languages and 4,000 library holdings.
Life and career
As a student at the École Normale SupérieureÉcole Normale Supérieure
The École normale supérieure is one of the most prestigious French grandes écoles...
, he met his future father-in-law Jacques Lacan
Jacques Lacan
Jacques Marie Émile Lacan was a French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist who made prominent contributions to psychoanalysis and philosophy, and has been called "the most controversial psycho-analyst since Freud". Giving yearly seminars in Paris from 1953 to 1981, Lacan influenced France's...
in 1964 while attending his seminars at the rue d'Ulm. After having read everything Lacan
Jacques Lacan
Jacques Marie Émile Lacan was a French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist who made prominent contributions to psychoanalysis and philosophy, and has been called "the most controversial psycho-analyst since Freud". Giving yearly seminars in Paris from 1953 to 1981, Lacan influenced France's...
had thus far published, he asked him, "Does your notion of the subject imply an ontology
Ontology
Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, existence or reality as such, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations...
?" and an entente was made with him. In 1966 he founded Cahiers pour l'Analyse
Cahiers pour l'Analyse
Cahiers pour l'Analyse was a journal published by a group of young philosophy graduates at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris in the 1960s. Ten issues of the journal appeared between 1966 and 1969...
, a seminal publication whose editorial board included Alain Badiou
Alain Badiou
Alain Badiou is a French philosopher, professor at European Graduate School, formerly chair of Philosophy at the École Normale Supérieure . Along with Giorgio Agamben and Slavoj Žižek, Badiou is a prominent figure in an anti-postmodern strand of continental philosophy...
, François Regnault
François Regnault
François Regnault is a French philosopher, playwright and dramaturg. Also a university instructor and teacher, Regnault was maître de conférences at Paris VIII before his retirement...
and Jean-Claude Milner
Jean-Claude Milner
Jean-Claude Milner is a linguist, philosopher and a French essayist. In particular, he is a specialist in the field of both linguistics and psychoanalysis...
. He was the editor of Ornicar? when Lacan announced the dissolution of L'Ecole Française de Psychanalyse, and the foundation of L'École de la Cause Freudienne.
At the École Normale Supérieure
École Normale Supérieure
The École normale supérieure is one of the most prestigious French grandes écoles...
, Miller studied with Louis Althusser
Louis Althusser
Louis Pierre Althusser was a French Marxist philosopher. He was born in Algeria and studied at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, where he eventually became Professor of Philosophy....
at the same time as Jacques Derrida
Jacques Derrida
Jacques Derrida was a French philosopher, born in French Algeria. He developed the critical theory known as deconstruction and his work has been labeled as post-structuralism and associated with postmodern philosophy...
and Jacques Rancière
Jacques Rancière
Jacques Rancière is a French philosopher, Professor of Philosophy at European Graduate School in Saas-Fee and Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Paris Jacques Rancière (born Algiers, 1940) is a French philosopher, Professor of Philosophy at European Graduate School in Saas-Fee...
, but soon he was following the teachings of Jacques Lacan
Jacques Lacan
Jacques Marie Émile Lacan was a French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist who made prominent contributions to psychoanalysis and philosophy, and has been called "the most controversial psycho-analyst since Freud". Giving yearly seminars in Paris from 1953 to 1981, Lacan influenced France's...
who in 1964 had been appointed lecturer at the École Pratique des Hautes Etudes
École pratique des hautes études
The École pratique des hautes études is a Grand Établissement in Paris, France. It is counted among France's most prestigious research and higher education institutions....
. Althusser assigned him the task of reading "all of Lacan" and Miller carried out the task admiringly. In time he would become instrumental in Lacan's Ecole Freudienne de Paris. When Lacan moved to the University of Vincennes - the Department of Psychoanalysis was renamed "Le Champ freudien" - Lacan became its director, and Jacques-Alain Miller the president. Lacan's dissolution of the École Française de Psychanalyse in 1980 was followed by the creation of La cause freudienne. Soon thereafter Lacan died leaving Miller as the sole editor of his Seminars, an endeavor that would require Miller's entire life.
Jacques-Alain Miller, who married Lacan's daughter (aka Judith Miller
Judith Miller (philosopher)
Judith Miller is a French philosopher, and the daughter of Jacques Lacan — radical psychoanalyst, and wife to prominent Lacanian Jacques-Alain Miller....
), started his own weekly seminars in 1980, called "L'Orientation lacanienne" intended to expound and elucidate Lacan's work. As the editor of Jacques Lacan's seminars, he has so far published more than half of them in French. He also supervised the English translations of Lacan's work: "Écrits", and the seminars, "The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis", "The Ethics of Psychoanalysis", Encore - On Feminine Sexuality. In 2001 he started a series of public interventions on behalf of the independence of psychoanalysis vis-à-vis government control in France. He wrote First Letter addressed by Jacques-Alain Miller to An Enlightened Public, "Clear Like Day Letter" and "The Tenderness of Terrorism" where he asserted that "an analyst is only authorized by her/himself" (Lacan's dictum: l'analyste ne s'autorise que de lui-même).
In the early nineties, Miller's work began to be translated into English and published in the United States through the New York-based cultural journal Lacanian Ink
Lacanian Ink
Lacanian Ink is a cultural journal based in New York City and founded in the Autumn of 1990 by Josefina Ayerza to provide the American intellectual scene with the theoretical perspective of European post-structuralism. It features major analyses of psychoanalytic theory, poetry, philosophy and...
under the editorship of Josefina Ayerza
Josefina Ayerza
Josefina Ayerza is a writer and a psychoanalyst who lives and works in New York City. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the 70’s she moved to Paris and then settled in NYC where she established a private practice – J...
. More recently other groups have taken root in America, notably in Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
. In 1992 Miller set up the World Association of Psychoanalysis, WAP, in order to advance Lacan's teachings. Today it has over a thousand members in Europe, America, Israel and Australia. The WAP creates Schools that transmit psychoanalysis, ensure the formation of analysts, guarantee their qualification and the quality of their practice.
Within the frame of his "Orientation lacanienne" Miller works in apparent conjunction, with other European philosophers such as Slavoj Žižek
Slavoj Žižek
Slavoj Žižek is a Slovenian philosopher, critical theorist working in the traditions of Hegelianism, Marxism and Lacanian psychoanalysis. He has made contributions to political theory, film theory, and theoretical psychoanalysis....
and Alain Badiou
Alain Badiou
Alain Badiou is a French philosopher, professor at European Graduate School, formerly chair of Philosophy at the École Normale Supérieure . Along with Giorgio Agamben and Slavoj Žižek, Badiou is a prominent figure in an anti-postmodern strand of continental philosophy...
. There is nevertheless a clear distance from them, from the beginning as may be seen in the review "Cahiers pour l'Analyse". http://www.web.mdx.ac.uk/cahiers/
Selected works
In a statistical overview derived from writings by and about Jacques-Alain Miller, OCLCOCLC
OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. is "a nonprofit, membership, computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purposes of furthering access to the world’s information and reducing information costs"...
/WorldCat
WorldCat
WorldCat is a union catalog which itemizes the collections of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries and territories which participate in the Online Computer Library Center global cooperative...
encompasses roughly 300+ works in 600+ publications in 13 languages and 4,000 library holdings.
- The four fundamental concepts of psycho-analysis (1964)
- Le séminaire de Jacques Lacan (1973)
- Entretien sur Le séinaire avec François Ansermet (1985)
- L'Ethique de la psychanalyse: 1959-1960 (1986)
- Un début dans la vie (2002)
- Un comienzo en la vida: de Sartre a Lacan (2003)
- The pathology of democracy: a letter to Bernard Accoyer and to enlightened opinion (2005)
- L'anti-Livre noir de la psychanalyse (2006)
External links
- École de la Cause Freudienne
- Les Cahiers pour l'Analyse
- Lacan dot com
- Articles in Lacanian Ink
- Suture: Elements of the Logic of the Signifier
- A Critical Reading of Jacques Lacan's "Les Complexes Familiaux"
- Objects a in Analytic Experience
- Enigmatized Coitus: A Reading of Borges
- On "Rerum Novarum"
- Bibliography in English
- Reading Jacques Lacan's Seminar on Anxiety - I
- Reading Jacques Lacan's Seminar on Anxiety - II
- Jacques-Alain Miller Live Twenty Lectures at France-Culture - Summer 2005