Lacanian School of Psychoanalysis
| Lacanian School of Psychoanalysis | |
|---|---|
| Organization details | |
| Type | School |
| Founded | 1964 |
| Dissolved | 1980 (EFP) |
| Founder(s) | Jacques Lacan |
| Key figures | Jacques-Alain Miller, Serge Leclaire |
| Orientation | Lacanian |
| Institutional context | |
| Predecessor | Société Psychanalytique de Paris |
| Successor(s) | École de la Cause Freudienne, World Association of Psychoanalysis |
| Affiliation | Independent (post-IPA split) |
| Relation to IPA | Expelled (1963) |
| Operations | |
| Headquarters | Paris, France |
| Geographic scope | International |
| Training function | Cartel, Pass |
| Publications | Lacanian Ink, Ornicar? |
The Lacanian School of Psychoanalysis encompasses the institutional lineage stemming from Jacques Lacan's teachings, beginning with the École Freudienne de Paris (EFP; Freudian School of Paris), founded in 1964 following his split from the International Psychoanalytical Association (IPA).[1][2] Distinct from IPA orthodoxy, it prioritizes Lacan's "return to Sigmund Freud" via structural linguistics, the mirror stage, and concepts like the Real and objet petit a.[1] Successor organizations, coordinated under the World Association of Psychoanalysis (WAP), employ anti-hierarchical devices such as the cartel and pass to transmit psychoanalysis.[3]
This tradition represents a major schism in 20th-century psychoanalysis, challenging ego psychology and fixed session lengths with variable-length sessions (scansion) and speech-centered practice.[1][2]
History
Precursors and Origins
Lacan's early career in the 1930s–1940s drew from French psychiatry, Surrealism, and Alexandre Kojève's Hegelian lectures on desire as recognition, informing his mirror stage theory.[1] In the 1950s, his "return to Freud" critiqued ego psychology, adopting Saussurean linguistics in the "Rome Discourse" (1953), reframing the subject as an effect of the signifier.[1]
Tensions with the IPA arose over Lacan's short sessions and influence, leading to his 1963 removal as a training analyst by the Société Française de Psychanalyse (SFP).[1][2]
Founding (1964)
On 21 June 1964, Lacan founded the EFP via the "Founding Act," declaring himself "alone" in relation to psychoanalysis, with the cartel as its "basic organ."[1][4] This marked Lacanianism's institutional independence.[2]
Growth and Dissolution
The EFP expanded rapidly in France, though criticized for quantity over quality.[2] In 1967, Lacan introduced the pass.[1] He dissolved the EFP in 1980, citing group psychology failures, and briefly launched the Cause Freudienne.[1][2]
Posthumously, Jacques-Alain Miller founded the École de la Cause Freudienne (ECF) and WAP (1992 onward), with schools like Escuela de Orientación Lacaniana (EOL; 1992, Buenos Aires) and Escuela Lacaniana de Psicoanálisis (2000).[3]
Organizational Structure
Lacanian schools reject traditional hierarchies, using "grades" over ranks: Analyste-Membre de l'École (AME; school member analyst) and Analyste de l'École (AE; school analyst, post-pass).[1]
Governance
Governed by directorates or commissions, with power dispersed via juries and cartels to avoid "glue" of group dynamics.[1][3]
Cartel
The cartel, from the 1964 Founding Act, comprises 3–5 members plus a "Plus-One" for selection and outcome, enabling sustained elaboration without hierarchy.[3][4]
Training and Formation
Training occurs via seminars, supervision, and clinical work, emphasizing four-times-weekly analysis.[5]
The Pass
Introduced in 1967, the pass verifies analysis's end: the passand testifies to passeurs (two peers), who relay to a jury assessing fantasy traversal for AE nomination.[1]
Transmission
Includes teaching networks, clinical sections, and cartels as pedagogical alternatives to hierarchies.[3]
Key Concepts / Theoretical Orientation
The Lacanian orientation progresses from Imaginary/Symbolic (1950s) to Real/jouissance (1960s–70s), stressing Name-of-the-Father, objet petit a, and mathemes.[1][2] These inform anti-hierarchical institutions, prioritizing speech and scansion.[1]
Notable Members
- Jacques Lacan: Founder, developed core theory.[1]
- Jacques-Alain Miller: ECF/WAP leader, seminar editor.[1]
- Serge Leclaire: Early Lacanian, SFP figure.[2]
Publications
- Ornicar? (EFP journal).
- Lacanian Ink (associated).
- ECF/WAP seminar transcriptions.[1]
See also
- Jacques Lacan
- École Freudienne de Paris
- World Association of Psychoanalysis
- Cartel (psychoanalysis)
- Pass (psychoanalysis)
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 "Lacanianism". No Subject. Retrieved 2026-01-31.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 "Lacanianism". Wikipedia. Retrieved 2026-01-31.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "The World Association of Psychoanalysis". AMP. Retrieved 2026-01-31.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Founding documents of the Lacanian School". Retrieved 2026-01-31.
- ↑ "On the Aim and End of Analysis in the Lacanian School". Retrieved 2026-01-31.
Further reading
- Roudinesco, Élisabeth. Jacques Lacan (1997).