Separation

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Lacan introduced the concept of "separation" in Seminar XI.[1]

"Separation" is linked to desire, and designates the process through which the child differentiates himself from the mother and is not simply a subject of language.

Separation occurs in the domain of desire and requires from the subject a "want-to-be" (manque-à-être) separate from the signifying chain.

It also involves a "want to know" of that which is outside structure and beyond language and the Other.


See Also

  • Lacan, Jacques. The Seminar. Book XI. The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis, 1964. Trans. Alan Sheridan. London: Hogarth Press and Institute of Psycho-Analysis, 1977.