Libido
Sigmund Freud
Freud conceives of the libido as a quantitative (or "economic") concept: it is an energy which can increase or descrease, and which can be displaced.[1]
Freud insisted on the sexual nature of this energy, and throughout his work he maintained a dualism in which the libido is opposed to another (non-sexual) form of energy.
Carl Jung
Jung opposed this dualism, positing a single form of life-energy which is neutral in character, and proposed that this energy be denoted by the term "libido."
Jacques Lacan
Lacan rejects Jung's monism and reaffirms Freud's dualism.[2]
He argues, with Freud, that the libido is exclusively sexual.
Lacan also follows Freud in affirming that the libido is exclusively masculine.[3]
"Libido and the ego are on the same side. Narcissism is libidinal."[4]
From 1964 on, however, there is a shift to articulating the libido more with the real.[5]
However, in general Lacan does not use the term "libido" anywhere near as frequently as Freud, preferring to reconceptualize sexual energy in terms of jouissance.
See Also
References
- ↑ Freud, Sigmund. SE XVIII. 1921c. p.90.
- ↑ Lacan, Jacques. The Seminar. Book I. Freud's Papers on Technique, 1953-54. Trans. John Forrester. New York: Nortion; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. p.119-20
- ↑ Lacan, Jacques. Écrits: A Selection. Trans. Alan Sheridan. London: Tavistock Publications, 1977. p.291
- ↑ Lacan, Jacques. The Seminar. Book II. The Ego in Freud's Theory and in the Technique of Psychoanalysis, 1954-55. Trans. Sylvana Tomaselli. New York: Nortion; Cambridge: Cambridge Unviersity Press, 1988. p.326
- ↑ Lacan, Jacques. Écrits. Paris: Seuil, 1966. p.848-9