Although the [[imaginary]] represents the closest point of contact between [[human]] [[subjectivity]] and animal ethology,<ref>{{S2}} p. 166</ref> it is not simply identical; the [[imaginary|imaginary order]] in [[human]] [[being]]s is [[structure]]d by the [[symbolic]], and this means that "in man, the imaginary relation has deviated [from the realm of nature]."<ref>{{S2}} p. 210</ref>
=====Imagination=====
[[Lacan]] has a Cartesian mistrust of the [[imaginary|imagination]] as a cognitive tool.
He insists, like Descartes, on the supremacy of pure intellection, without dependence on images, as the only way of arriving at certain [[knowledge]].
It is this that lies behind Lacan's use of [[topology|topological figures]], which cannot be represented in the [[imaginary|imagination]], to explore the [[structure]] of the [[unconscious]].
This mistrust of the [[imaginary|imagination]] and the senses puts [[Lacan]] firmly the side of [[science|rationalism]] rather than [[science|empiricism]].
=====Imaginary Reductionism=====
