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==Jacques Lacan==
=====Early Work==History===The concept of the [[mirror stage]] is [[Lacan]]'s first important contribution to [[psychoanalysis|psychoanalytic theory]], [[Lacan]]'s first innovation within the field of [[psychoanalysis]], propounded at an [[IPA]] conference at Marienbad in [[{{Y}}|1936]]. The concept is a constant point of reference throughout [[Lacan]]'s [[Jacques Lacan:Bibliography|work]], and becomes increasingly complex as it is reworked in various different contexts.
===Child Psychology===The concept "[[mirror stage|mirror test]]" was first described by the [[French]] [[psychology|psychologist]] and friend of [[Lacan]], Henri Wallon, in 1931, although [[Lacan]] attributes its discovery to Baldwin.<ref>{{E}} p. 1</ref> It refers to a particular experiment which can differentiate the [[human]] [[infant]] from his closest [[animal]] relative, the chimpanzee. The six-month-old child differs from the chimpanzee of the same age in that the former becomes fascinated with its reflection in the [[mirror stage]] is and jubilantly assumes it as its own [[image]], whereas the chimpanzee quickly realizes that the [[Lacanimage]]'s first is illusory and loses interest in it.
By the early 1950s [[Lacan]] no longer regards it simply as a moment in the life of the [[infant]], but sees it as also representing a permanent [[structure]] of [[subjectivity]], the paradigm of the [[imaginary|imaginary order]]; it is a stadium (''stade'') in which the [[subject]] is permanently [[captation|caught]] and [[captation|captivated]] by his own [[image]]:
<blockquote>[the mirror stage is] a phenomenon to which I assign a twofold value. In the first place, it has historical value as it marks a decisive turning-point in the mental development of the child. In the second place, it typifies an essential libidinal relationship with the body-image.<ref>{{L}} 1951b. "[[Works of Jacques Lacan|Some Reflections on the Ego]]," ''Int. J. Psycho-Anal.'', vol. 34, 1953: 14</ref></blockquote>
As Lacan further develops the concept of the [[mirror stage]], the stress falls less
on its "[[development|historical value]]" and ever more on its [[structure|structural value]].
<blockquote>The mirror stage is far from a mere phenomenon which occurs in the development of the child. It illustrates the conflictual nature of the dual relationship.<ref>{{S4}} p. 17</ref></blockquote>
The [[mirror stage]] describes the formation of the [[ego]] via the process of [[identification]]; the [[ego]] is the result of [[identifying]] with one's own [[specular image]].
The [[baby]] sees its own [[image]] as [[gestalt|whole]], and the [[dialectic|synthesis]] of this [[image]] produces a sense of contrast with the uncoordination of the body, which is experienced as a [[fragmented body]]; this contrast is first felt by the [[infant]] as a rivalry with its own [[image]], because the [[gestalt|wholeness]] of the [[image]] threatens the subject with [[fragmentation]], and the [[mirror stage]] thereby gives rise to an [[aggressivity|aggressive tension]] between the [[subject]] and the [[specular image|image]].
In order to resolve this [[aggressivity|aggressive tension]], the [[subject]] [[identifies]] with the [[image]]; this [[identification|primary identification]] with the [[counterpart]] is what forms the [[ego]]. The moment of [[identification]], when the [[subject]] assumes its [[image]] as its own, is described by [[Lacan]] as a moment of jubilation,<ref>{{E}} p. 1</ref> since it leads to an [[imaginary]] sense of [[master|mastery]]:
<blockquote>[the child's] joy is due to his imaginary triumph in anticipating a degree of muscular co-ordination which he has not yet actually achieved.<ref>{{L}} 1951b. "[[Works of Jacques Lacan|Some Reflections on the Ego]]," ''Int. J. Psycho-Anal.'', Vol. 34, 1953: 15; {{S1}} p. 79</ref></blockquote>
However, this jubilation may also be accompanied by a depressive reaction, when the [[child]] compares his own precarious sense of [[mastery]] with the omnipotence of the [[mother]].<ref>{{Ec}} p. 345; {{S4}} p. 186</ref>
===Imaginary and Symbolic===It represents the introduction of the [[subject]] into the [[imaginary order]]. However, the [[mirror stage]] also has an important [[symbolic|symbolic dimension]]. The [[symbolic order]] is present in the figure of the adult who is carrying or supporting the [[infant]].
The moment after the [[subject]] has jubilantly assumed his [[image]] as his own, he turns his head round towards this adult, who represents the [[big Other]], as if to call on him to ratify this [[image]].<ref>{{L}} ''[[Seminar X|Le Séminaire. Livre X. L'angoisse, 1962-3]]''. Unpublished. Seminar of 28 November 1962</ref>
{{See}}
* [[Aggressivity]]
{{Also}}
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