Difference between revisions of "Aphanisis"

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aphanisiS        The literal meaning of this Greek term is 'disappearance'. It was
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==Disappearance of Desire==
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The literal [[meaning]] of this Greek term is '''disappearance'''. It was first introduced into [[psychoanalysis]] by [[Ernest Jones]], who uses it to mean "the [[disappearance]] of [[sexual]] [[desire]]."<ref>[[Jones]], Ernest. 1927. "Early [[Development]] of [[Female]] [[Sexuality]]" in ''Papers on Psychoanalysis'' (5th edn), Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, [[1948]].</ref> For Jones, the [[fear]] of [[aphanisis]] [[exists]] in both [[sex]]es, giving rise to the [[castration complex]] in [[male|boys]] and to [[penis envy]] in [[female|girls]].
  
      first introduced into psychoanalysis by Ernest Jones, who uses it to mean 'the
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==Disappearance of the Subject==
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[[Lacan]] takes up Jones's term, but modifies it substantially.  For [[Lacan]], ''[[aphanisis]]'' does not mean the [[disappearance]] of [[desire]], but the [[disappearance]] of the [[subject]].<ref>{{S11}} p. 208</ref>  The ''[[aphanisis]]'' of the [[subject]] is the [[fading]] of the [[subject]], the fundamental [[division]] -- or [[split]] -- of the [[subject]] which institutes the [[dialectic]] of [[desire]].<ref>{{S11}} p. 221</ref>
  
      disappearance of sexual desire' (Jones, 1927). For Jones, the fear of aphanisis
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==Neurosis==
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Far from the [[disappearance]] of [[desire]] [[being]] the [[object]] of [[fear]], it is precisely what the [[neurotic]] aims at; the [[neurotic]] attempts to shield himself from his [[desire]], to put it aside.<ref>{{S8}} p. 271</ref>
  
      exists in both sexes, giving rise to the castration complex in boys and to penis
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==Fading==
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[[Lacan]] also uses [[another]] term, "[[fading]]," in a way that makes it synonymous with the term ''[[aphanisis]]''.  [[Fading]] (a term which [[Lacan]] uses directly in [[English]]) refers to the [[disappearance]] of the [[subject]] in the [[process]] of [[alienation]].
  
      envy in girls.
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==Mathemes==
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The term is used by [[Lacan]] when describing the [[mathemes]] of the [[drive]] and of [[fantasy]]: the [[subject]] "[[fades]]" or "[[disappears]]" in the face of [[demand]] and in the face of the [[object]], as is shown by the fact that the [[subject]] is [[bar]]red in these [[matheme]]s.
  
          Lacan takes up Jones's term, but modifies it substantially. For Lacan,
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==See Also==
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{{See}}
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* [[Alienation]]
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* [[Bar]]
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* [[Castration complex|Castration]]
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* [[Demand]]
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* [[Desire]]
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* [[Dialectic]]
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* [[Matheme]]
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* [[Neurosis]]
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* [[Split]]
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* [[Subject]]
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{{Also}}
  
      aphanisis does not mean the disappearance of desire, but the disappearance
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==References==
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<div style="font-size:11px" class="references-small">
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<references/>
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</div>
  
      of the subject (see S11, 208). The aphanisis of the subject is the fading of the
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[[Category:Psychoanalysis]]
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[[Category:Jacques Lacan]]
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[[Category:Subject]]
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[[Category:Dictionary]]
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[[Category:Concepts]]
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[[Category:Terms]]
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{{OK}}
  
      subject, the fundamental division of the subject (see SPLIT) which institutes the
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__NOTOC__
 
 
      dialectic of desire (see S11, 221). Far from the disappearance of desire being
 
 
 
      the object of fear, it is precisely what the neurotic aims at; the neurotic
 
 
 
      attempts to shield himself from his desire, to put it aside (S8, 271).
 
 
 
          Lacan also uses another term, 'fading', in a way that makes it synonymous
 
 
 
        with the term aphanisis. Fading (a term which Lacan uses directly in English)
 
 
 
      refers to the disappearance of the subject in the process of alienation. The term
 
 
 
      is used by Lacan when describing the MATHEMEs of the drive and of fantasy: the
 
 
 
      subject 'fades' or 'disappears' in the face of demand and in the face of the
 
 
 
      object, as is shown by the fact that the subject is barred in these mathemes.
 

Latest revision as of 02:01, 24 May 2019

Disappearance of Desire

The literal meaning of this Greek term is disappearance. It was first introduced into psychoanalysis by Ernest Jones, who uses it to mean "the disappearance of sexual desire."[1] For Jones, the fear of aphanisis exists in both sexes, giving rise to the castration complex in boys and to penis envy in girls.

Disappearance of the Subject

Lacan takes up Jones's term, but modifies it substantially. For Lacan, aphanisis does not mean the disappearance of desire, but the disappearance of the subject.[2] The aphanisis of the subject is the fading of the subject, the fundamental division -- or split -- of the subject which institutes the dialectic of desire.[3]

Neurosis

Far from the disappearance of desire being the object of fear, it is precisely what the neurotic aims at; the neurotic attempts to shield himself from his desire, to put it aside.[4]

Fading

Lacan also uses another term, "fading," in a way that makes it synonymous with the term aphanisis. Fading (a term which Lacan uses directly in English) refers to the disappearance of the subject in the process of alienation.

Mathemes

The term is used by Lacan when describing the mathemes of the drive and of fantasy: the subject "fades" or "disappears" in the face of demand and in the face of the object, as is shown by the fact that the subject is barred in these mathemes.

See Also

References

  1. Jones, Ernest. 1927. "Early Development of Female Sexuality" in Papers on Psychoanalysis (5th edn), Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1948.
  2. Lacan, Jacques. The Seminar. Book XI. The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis, 1964. Trans. Alan Sheridan. London: Hogarth Press and Institute of Psycho-Analysis, 1977. p. 208
  3. Lacan, Jacques. The Seminar. Book XI. The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis, 1964. Trans. Alan Sheridan. London: Hogarth Press and Institute of Psycho-Analysis, 1977. p. 221
  4. Lacan, Jacques. Le Séminaire. Livre VIII. Le transfert, 1960-61. Ed. Jacques-Alain Miller. Paris: Seuil, 1991. p. 271