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Each discourse is defined by writing the four algebraic symbols in a different position. The symbols always remain in the same order, so each discourse is simply the result of rotating the symbols a quarter turn. The top-left position ('the agent') is the dominant position which defines the discourse. In addition to the four symbols, each algorithm also contains an arrow going from the agent to the other.<ref>The four discourses are shown in Figure 3 (taken from Sl7, 31).</ref>
In 1971, Lacan proposes that the position of the agent is also the position of the [[seblancesemblance]]. In 1972, Lacan inscribes two arrows in the formulas instead of one; one arrow (which Lacan labels 'impossibility') goes from the agent to the other, and the other arrow (which is labelled 'powerlessness') goes from production to truth.<ref>S20, 21</ref>
The discourse of the [[master]] is the basic discourse from which the other three discourses are derived. The dominant position is occupied by the master signifier (Si), which represents the subject (S) for another signifier or, more precisely, for all other signifiers (S2); however, in this signifying operation there is always a surplus, namely, objet petit a. The point is that all attempts at totalisation are doomed to failure. The discourse of the master 'masks the division of the subject' (Sl7, 118). The discourse also illustrates clearly the structure of the dialectic of the master and the slave. The master (S,) is the agent who puts the slave (S2) (O WOrk; the result of this work is a surplus (a) that the master attempts to appropriate.
