Difference between revisions of "Alienation"
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| − | alienation ( | + | The term 'alienation' (''aliénation'') does not constitute part of Freud's theoretical vocabulary. |
| + | In Lacan's work the term implies both psychiatric and philosophical references: | ||
| − | + | ==Psychiatry== | |
| + | French psychiatry in the nineteenth century (e.g. Pinel) conceived of mental illness as aliÈnation mentale, and a common term in French for 'madman' is ''aliéné.''<ref>a term which Lacan himself uses; Ec, 154</ref> | ||
| − | + | ==Philosophy== | |
| − | + | The term 'alienation' is the usual translation for the German term ''Entfremdung'' which features in the philosophy of [[Hegel]] and [[Marx]]. | |
| − | + | However, the Lacanian concept of alienation differs greatly from the ways that the term is employed in the Hegelian and Marxist tradition.<ref>as [[Jacques-Alain Miller]] points out; Sll, 215</ref> | |
| − | + | For Lacan, alienation is not an accident that befalls the [[subject]] and which can be transcended, but an essential constitutive feature of the subject. | |
| − | The term 'alienation' is the usual translation for the German term Entfremdung which features in the philosophy of Hegel and Marx. | + | The subject is fundamentally [[split]], alienated from himself, and there is no escape from this division, no possibility of 'wholeness' or synthesis. |
| − | However, the Lacanian concept of alienation differs greatly from the ways that the term is employed in the Hegelian and Marxist tradition | + | Alienation is an inevitable consequence of the process by which the [[ego]] is constituted by [[identification]] with the [[counterpart]]: "the initial synthesis of the ego is essentially an alter ego, it is alienated."<ref>S3, 39</ref> |
| − | Alienation is an inevitable consequence of the process by which the ego is constituted by identification with the counterpart: | + | In Rimbaud's words, "I is an other."<ref>E, 23</ref> |
| − | Lacan coined the term | + | Thus alienation belongs to the [[imaginary]] [[order]]: "Alienation is constitutive of the imaginary order. Alienation is the imaginary as such."<ref>S3, 146</ref> |
| + | Although alienation is an essential characteristic of all [[subjectivity]], [[psychosis]] represents a more extreme form of alienation. | ||
| + | Lacan coined the term ''[[extimacy]]'' to designate the nature of this alienation, in which [[alterity]] inhabits the innermost core of the subject. | ||
| + | Lacan devotes the whole of chapter 16 of [[The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis|The Seminar, Book XI, The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis]] (1964a) to a discussion of alienation and the related concept of [[separation]]. | ||
| Line 16: | Line 21: | ||
== References == | == References == | ||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==See Also== | ||
| + | * [[Separation]] | ||
| + | * [[Imaginary]] | ||
| + | |||
| + | |||
[[Category:Imaginary]] | [[Category:Imaginary]] | ||
Revision as of 08:47, 12 May 2006
The term 'alienation' (aliénation) does not constitute part of Freud's theoretical vocabulary. In Lacan's work the term implies both psychiatric and philosophical references:
Contents
Psychiatry
French psychiatry in the nineteenth century (e.g. Pinel) conceived of mental illness as aliÈnation mentale, and a common term in French for 'madman' is aliéné.[1]
Philosophy
The term 'alienation' is the usual translation for the German term Entfremdung which features in the philosophy of Hegel and Marx. However, the Lacanian concept of alienation differs greatly from the ways that the term is employed in the Hegelian and Marxist tradition.[2] For Lacan, alienation is not an accident that befalls the subject and which can be transcended, but an essential constitutive feature of the subject. The subject is fundamentally split, alienated from himself, and there is no escape from this division, no possibility of 'wholeness' or synthesis. Alienation is an inevitable consequence of the process by which the ego is constituted by identification with the counterpart: "the initial synthesis of the ego is essentially an alter ego, it is alienated."[3] In Rimbaud's words, "I is an other."[4] Thus alienation belongs to the imaginary order: "Alienation is constitutive of the imaginary order. Alienation is the imaginary as such."[5] Although alienation is an essential characteristic of all subjectivity, psychosis represents a more extreme form of alienation. Lacan coined the term extimacy to designate the nature of this alienation, in which alterity inhabits the innermost core of the subject. Lacan devotes the whole of chapter 16 of The Seminar, Book XI, The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis (1964a) to a discussion of alienation and the related concept of separation.
