The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis
Encyclopedia
The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis is the [1977] English translation of a 'transcription of the Seminar held by Jacques Lacan
at the École Normale Supérieure
in Paris between January and June 1964'.
It was with the 1973 (French) publication that 'Lacan's oral teachings first began to reach the larger audience of the printed word'.
The blurb
describes the book as providing "illuminating insights into the mind of the most controversial psychoanalyst since Freud"; and the Seminar, it has been suggested, 'marks the beginning of a new and difficult phase in Lacan's teaching...shift[ing] the central focus of his teaching away from the letter of Freud's texts'.
The 1994 edition contains an introduction by David Macey.
'.
The Seminar 'was a forum for Lacan rather than for a collective exploration...and although the Seminar played a vital role in the education of a generation of psycho-analysts, it was not part of any formal training programme'.
and repetition
. The transference
- I hope to approach it next time -...[&] lastly, the drive
'.
On the drive, 'Lacan reread Freud...in order to emphasize that the four components of the drive — pressure, object, aim, and source — are not natural phenomena: the drive is a montage'.
The appearance during its course of what he called 'the newly published, posthumous work of my friend Maurice Merleau-Ponty
, Le Visible et l'invisble ' led Lacan however - 'free as I am to pursue...the way that seems best to me' - into a long detour midway upon 'the eye and the gaze - this is for us the split in which the drive is manifested at the level of the scopic field'. In particular, 'Lacan spends some time on the "otherness" and alterity of mimesis
in relation to the gaze'.
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...
at the École Normale Supérieure
École Normale Supérieure
The École normale supérieure is one of the most prestigious French grandes écoles...
in Paris between January and June 1964'.
It was with the 1973 (French) publication that 'Lacan's oral teachings first began to reach the larger audience of the printed word'.
The blurb
Blurb
A blurb is a short summary or some words of praise accompanying a creative work, usually used on books without giving away any details, that is usually referring to the words on the back of the book jacket but also commonly seen on DVD and video cases, web portals, and news websites.- History :The...
describes the book as providing "illuminating insights into the mind of the most controversial psychoanalyst since Freud"; and the Seminar, it has been suggested, 'marks the beginning of a new and difficult phase in Lacan's teaching...shift[ing] the central focus of his teaching away from the letter of Freud's texts'.
The 1994 edition contains an introduction by David Macey.
The Seminar
Lacan's "Seminar" - an annual occurrence over many decades, of which this is the first transcript to be published (though of the eleventh, not the first year) - was 'a central institution in Lacan's long and stormy career as the France's most prominent and most controversial psycho-analystPsychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
'.
The Seminar 'was a forum for Lacan rather than for a collective exploration...and although the Seminar played a vital role in the education of a generation of psycho-analysts, it was not part of any formal training programme'.
Contents
Lacan sought in his eleventh Seminar to cover what he called 'the major Freudian concepts - I have isolated four that seem to come within this category...the first two, the unconsciousUnconscious
Unconscious might refer to:In physiology:* unconsciousness, the lack of consciousness or responsiveness to people and other environmental stimuliIn psychology:...
and repetition
Repetition compulsion
Repetition compulsion is a psychological phenomenon in which a person repeats a traumatic event or its circumstances over and over again. This includes reenacting the event or putting oneself in situations where the event is likely to happen again...
. The transference
Transference
Transference is a phenomenon in psychoanalysis characterized by unconscious redirection of feelings from one person to another. One definition of transference is "the inappropriate repetition in the present of a relationship that was important in a person's childhood." Another definition is "the...
- I hope to approach it next time -...[&] lastly, the drive
Drive theory
The terms drive theory and drive reduction theory refer to a diverse set of motivational theories in psychology. Drive theory is based on the principle that organisms are born with certain physiological needs and that a negative state of tension is created when these needs are not satisfied...
'.
On the drive, 'Lacan reread Freud...in order to emphasize that the four components of the drive — pressure, object, aim, and source — are not natural phenomena: the drive is a montage'.
The appearance during its course of what he called 'the newly published, posthumous work of my friend Maurice Merleau-Ponty
Maurice Merleau-Ponty
Maurice Merleau-Ponty was a French phenomenological philosopher, strongly influenced by Karl Marx, Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger in addition to being closely associated with Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir...
, Le Visible et l'invisble ' led Lacan however - 'free as I am to pursue...the way that seems best to me' - into a long detour midway upon 'the eye and the gaze - this is for us the split in which the drive is manifested at the level of the scopic field'. In particular, 'Lacan spends some time on the "otherness" and alterity of mimesis
Mimesis
Mimesis , from μιμεῖσθαι , "to imitate," from μῖμος , "imitator, actor") is a critical and philosophical term that carries a wide range of meanings, which include imitation, representation, mimicry, imitatio, receptivity, nonsensuous similarity, the act of resembling, the act of expression, and the...
in relation to the gaze'.