Fondation du Champ Freudien

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Fondation du Champ freudien

The Fondation du Champ freudien (English: Foundation of the Freudian Field) is a French psychoanalytic foundation established in 1979 by Jacques Lacan and Jacques‑Alain Miller. It was created in the final years of Lacan’s life to support the transmission, preservation, and international dissemination of Lacanian psychoanalysis beyond the internal conflicts of the École Freudienne de Paris (EFP). As the institutional and symbolic heir to Lacan’s thought, the Fondation du Champ freudien plays a central role in maintaining the vitality of the Freudian Field (Champ freudien)—a term Lacan used to designate the domain of psychoanalysis initiated by Sigmund Freud and rearticulated through his own teaching.

The foundation serves as an umbrella organization that coordinates a variety of institutions, including psychoanalytic schools, clinical sections, university programs, and publishing activities in France and worldwide.

Historical Context

The Crisis of the École Freudienne de Paris

The École Freudienne de Paris (EFP), founded by Jacques Lacan in 1964, sought to renew Freudian psychoanalysis and challenge the institutional formalism of the International Psychoanalytical Association (IPA). However, over time, the EFP became increasingly fractured due to disputes over Lacan’s authority, innovative training methods such as la passe, and debates over institutional transparency.

By January 1980, amid growing tensions, Lacan unilaterally dissolved the EFP, stating:

"I dissolve the École Freudienne de Paris in order to prevent it from being dissolved by those who make up its body."[1]

He expressed concern that institutionalization—even under his name—was distorting the ethical and conceptual stakes of psychoanalysis.

Founding of the Fondation du Champ freudien

Although the EFP dissolution occurred in 1980, the Fondation du Champ freudien had already been created in 1979 by Lacan and his son‑in‑law Jacques‑Alain Miller, who had been his close collaborator and editor of Lacan’s Séminaires since the early 1970s.

The foundation’s purpose was:

  1. To preserve Lacan’s teachings and legacy after his death.
  2. To provide an institutional structure that avoids the hierarchical pitfalls of previous analytic organizations.
  3. To coordinate a global Lacanian movement with clinical and academic orientations.[2]

Miller was appointed as the foundation’s principal coordinator, a role he continues to play in the broader Lacanian field.

Institutional Goals and Mission

The Fondation du Champ freudien is not a psychoanalytic school in itself, but a framework designed to support psychoanalytic work inspired by Lacan. Its mission includes:

  • Promoting clinical practice in the Lacanian orientation.
  • Supporting teaching and research in psychoanalysis across academic and clinical settings.
  • Facilitating international exchange among psychoanalysts in the Lacanian field.
  • Encouraging translation and publication of Lacan’s works and contemporary Lacanian scholarship.
  • Maintaining ethical transmission of psychoanalysis through study, debate, and critique.

The foundation fosters a decentralized network of institutions rather than concentrating authority in a single center.

The Concept of the "Freudian Field" (Champ freudien)

The term Champ freudien was introduced by Lacan in the 1960s to designate the conceptual field opened up by Freud and rearticulated through structural linguistics, logic, and topology. Lacan emphasized that psychoanalysis should remain faithful to the singularity of the unconscious rather than becoming an institutional doctrine. The Freudian Field refers to a living domain of practice and theory grounded in Freud’s discoveries and extended by Lacanian innovation.

Lacan wrote:

"The psychoanalyst’s desire is not a pure desire. It is a desire that bears on the Freudian Field."[3]

The Fondation was explicitly tasked with preserving and cultivating this field, especially after Lacan’s death in 1981.

Relationship to the École de la Cause freudienne (ECF)

The Fondation du Champ freudien is closely associated with the École de la Cause freudienne (ECF), a psychoanalytic school founded by Jacques‑Alain Miller in 1981, one year after Lacan dissolved the EFP. While the ECF functions as a psychoanalytic school with training, membership categories, and clinical work, the Fondation serves as its legal and conceptual umbrella.

Together, the Fondation and the ECF pursue a shared mission of:

  • Training analysts in the Lacanian orientation.
  • Developing psychoanalytic theory and ethics.
  • Supporting clinical rigor and political responsibility.

Miller described the ECF as the institutional body of the "Cause freudienne," signifying renewed commitment to Freud’s discovery and Lacan’s ethical project.[4]

International Expansion and the World Association of Psychoanalysis

Under the Fondation’s auspices, Lacanian psychoanalysis expanded internationally, particularly through the creation of the World Association of Psychoanalysis (WAP) in 1992. The Fondation played a foundational role in supporting this global expansion by providing organizational coherence and ethical orientation.

The WAP includes affiliated schools such as:

  • École de la Cause freudienne (France)
  • Escuela de la Orientación Lacaniana (Argentina)
  • Escola Brasileira de Psicanálise (Brazil)
  • Nueva Escuela Lacaniana (Latin America)
  • EuroFederation of Psychoanalysis (Europe)

The Fondation supports transnational collaboration, congresses, and clinical seminars.[5]

Clinical Sections and Academic Institutions

A major achievement of the Fondation has been the creation of Clinical Sections (Sections cliniques) and Institutes of the Freudian Field throughout France, Europe, and Latin America.

These Sections offer:

  • Postgraduate clinical training
  • Seminars in psychoanalytic theory
  • Case presentations and clinical supervision

In France, the Section Clinique de Paris–Île‑de‑France, founded in 1980 and associated with Jacques‑Alain Miller, operates in close connection with the Department of Psychoanalysis at Paris 8 University (Vincennes–Saint‑Denis), originally founded by Lacan in 1969. The department continues to provide university‑level training and is supported by the Fondation.[6]

Events and Congresses

The Fondation supports major psychoanalytic events, including:

  • The biennial Congrès de l’Association Mondiale de Psychanalyse (AMP)
  • The annual Journées de la Fondation du Champ freudien
  • The Forum du Champ freudien, engaging psychoanalysis with contemporary social and political issues

These events foster dialogue among analysts, scholars, clinicians, and the wider public.

Publications and Translation

The Fondation has been central in editing, translating, and publishing Jacques Lacan’s works. Through Jacques‑Alain Miller’s editorial efforts, many of the Séminaires de Lacan have been published by Éditions du Seuil. Key volumes include:

  • The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis (Seminar XI)
  • Encore (Seminar XX)
  • The Ethics of Psychoanalysis (Seminar VII)

The Fondation also supports journals such as La Cause freudienne, Scilicet, Mental, and the historical Ornicar?. It sponsors translation projects that bring Lacan’s work into English, Spanish, Portuguese, and other languages, ensuring global access to the Lacanian corpus.[7]

The Fondation du Champ freudien is registered in France as a nonprofit foundation under the 1901 law. It is governed by a board of directors, with Jacques‑Alain Miller as its principal representative and intellectual coordinator. Its administrative structure emphasizes ethical responsibility over bureaucratic regulation, reflecting Lacan’s caution about institutionalization and the singular nature of the unconscious.

Ethical Orientation

The foundation’s ethical orientation is grounded in the Lacanian principle that the analyst’s authority arises from their own analytic journeys rather than hierarchical accreditation. This principle rejects formal accreditation by external authorities and underscores the importance of personal responsibility, theoretical rigor, and clinical integrity—ensuring that psychoanalysis remains faithful to the real rather than institutional dogma.[8]

Legacy and Influence

The Fondation du Champ freudien has played a decisive role in the global dissemination of Lacanian psychoanalysis. It has helped transition the Lacanian movement from a national French school to a worldwide network of psychoanalytic thought and practice.

Today, the Fondation stands as:

  • A guardian of Lacan’s legacy
  • A transmitter of Freudian ethics
  • A network of schools, clinics, and publications
  • A forum for critical engagement between psychoanalysis and contemporary life

As such, it continues to shape the field of psychoanalysis in the 21st century.

See Also

References

  1. ↑ Lacan, Jacques. Lettre de dissolution, January 1980, in Télévision, Paris: Seuil, 1990, pp. 129–131.
  2. ↑ Roudinesco, Élisabeth. Jacques Lacan: Esquisse d'une vie, histoire d'un système de pensée. Paris: Fayard, 1993.
  3. ↑ Lacan, Jacques. Proposition du 9 octobre 1967 sur le psychanalyste de l’École, in Autres Écrits. Paris: Seuil, 2001.
  4. ↑ Miller, Jacques‑Alain. La Cause du désir, opening address at the ECF, 1981.
  5. ↑ World Association of Psychoanalysis, constitutional acts and congress proceedings, 1992.
  6. ↑ Paris 8 University – Department of Psychoanalysis, official site.
  7. ↑ Éditions du Seuil publication history; journal records.
  8. ↑ Miller, Jacques‑Alain. L’Éthique du Champ freudien, La Cause freudienne, 1995.
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