Difference between revisions of "Algebra"

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In 1955, [[Lacan]] begins to use [[algebraic]] [[symbol]]s -- in an attempt to [[formalize]] [[psychoanalysis]].
 
In 1955, [[Lacan]] begins to use [[algebraic]] [[symbol]]s -- in an attempt to [[formalize]] [[psychoanalysis]].
  
===Formalization of Psychoanalysis===
+
''[[Formalization|Click here]] to read about the [[Formalization|Formalization of Psychoanalysis]]''
Three main reasons lie behind this attempt at [[formalization]].
 
 
 
:1. [[Formalization]] is necessary for [[psychoanalysis]] to acquire [[scientific]] status.
 
 
 
:Just as [[Claude Lévi-Strauss]] uses quasi-mathematical formulae in an attempt to set [[anthropology]] on a more [[scientific]] footing, [[Lacan]] attempts to do the same for [[psychoanalysis]]
 
 
 
:[[Lacan]] used quasi-mathematical formulae in an attempt to set [[psychoanalysis]] on a more [[scientific]] footing.
 
 
 
:2. [[Formalization]] can provide a core of [[psychoanalytic theory]] which can be transmitted integrally even to those who have never experienced [[psychoanalytic treatment]].
 
 
 
:The [[matheme|formulae]] thus become an essential aspect of the [[training]] of [[psychoanalysis]] which take their place alongside [[training|training analysis]] as a medium for the transmission of [[psychoanalytic]] [[knowledge]].
 
 
 
:3. [[Formalization]] of [[psychoanalytic theory]] in terms of [[algebraic]] [[symbols]] is a means of preventing [[knowledge|intuitive understanding]], which [[Lacan]] regards as an [[imaginary]] [[lure]] which hinders access to the [[symbolic]].
 
 
 
:Rather than being understood in an intuitive way, the [[algebraic]] [[symbols]] are to be used, manipulated and read in various different ways.<ref>{{E}} p.313</ref>
 
  
 
==List of Algebraic Symbols==
 
==List of Algebraic Symbols==
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Therefore some caution should be exercised when referring to the following list of equivalences.
 
Therefore some caution should be exercised when referring to the following list of equivalences.
 
  
 
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{| style="width:75%;" border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" align="center"

Revision as of 01:10, 8 August 2006

Algebra (Fr. algèbre) is a branch of mathematics

  • which reduces the solution of problems to manipulations of symbolic expressions, and
  • concerned with the properties and relationships of abstract entities represented in symbolic form.



Jacques Lacan

In 1955, Lacan begins to use algebraic symbols -- in an attempt to formalize psychoanalysis.

Click here to read about the Formalization of Psychoanalysis

List of Algebraic Symbols

The algebraic symbols used by Lacan, which appear principally in the mathemes, schema l and the graph of desire, are listed below, together with their most common meaning.

However, it is important to remember that the symbols do not always refer to the same concept throughout Lacan's work, but are used in different ways as his work develops.

Therefore some caution should be exercised when referring to the following list of equivalences.

SYMBOL TRANSLATION
A the big Other
A the barred Other
a (see objet petit a
a' (see objet petit a
BigS.gif 1. (before 1957) the subject
2.(from 1957 on) the signifier
3. (in the schemas of Sade) the raw subject of pleasure
StrikeS.gif the barred subject
SS1.gif the master signifier
SS2.gif the signifying chain/knowledge
s the signified (in the Saussurean algorithm
StrikeS(A).gif the signifier of a lack in the Other
S(a).gif the signification of the Other (the message/symptom)
D Demand
d Desire
m the ego (moi)
i the specular image (schema R)
i(a) 1. the specular image (graph of desire)
2. the ideal ego (optical model)
I the ego-ideal (schema R)
I(A) the ego-ideal (graph of desire)
Π the real phallus
Φ the symbolic phallus [upper-case phi]
(-φ) the imaginary phallus [lower-case phi]
S the symbolic order (schema R)
R the field of reality (schema R)
I the imaginary order (schema R)
P the symbolic father / Name-of-the-Father
p the imaginary father
M the symbolic mother
J Jouissance
phallic jouissance
JA the jouissance of the Other
E the statement
e the enunciation
V the will-to-enjoy (volonté de jouissance)


Typographic Details

The typographic details and diacritics are extremely important in Lacanian algebra.


The difference between upper- and lower-case symbols, the difference between italicised and non-italicised symbols, the use of the apostrophe, the minus sign, and subscripts; all these details play their part in the algebraic system.

For example the upper-case letters usually refer to the symbolic order, whereas the lower-case letters usually refer to the imaginary.

The use of the bar is also important.

See Also

References


See Also