Difference between revisions of "Aphanisis"

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{{Les termes}}
 
{{Les termes}}
aphanisiS        The literal meaning of this Greek term is 'disappearance'. It was
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aphanisiS         
  
      first introduced into psychoanalysis by Ernest Jones, who uses it to mean 'the
+
==Definition==
 +
The literal meaning of this Greek term is '''disappearance'''.
  
      disappearance of sexual desire' (Jones, 1927). For Jones, the fear of aphanisis
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It was first introduced into psychoanalysis by [[Ernest Jones]], who uses it to mean "the disappearance of sexual desire."<ref>Jones, 1927</ref>
  
      exists in both sexes, giving rise to the castration complex in boys and to penis
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For Jones, the fear of aphanisis exists in both sexes, giving rise to the [[castration complex]] in [[male|boys]] and to [[penis envy]] in [[female|girls]].
  
      envy in girls.
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==Aphanisis and Jacques Lacan==
 +
[[Lacan]] takes up Jones's term, but modifies it substantially.  
  
          Lacan takes up Jones's term, but modifies it substantially. For Lacan,
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For Lacan, aphanisis does not mean the disappearance of [[desire]], but the disappearance of the [[subject]].<ref>see S11, 208</ref>
  
      aphanisis does not mean the disappearance of desire, but the disappearance
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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, 221</ref>
  
      of the subject (see S11, 208). The aphanisis of the subject is the fading of the
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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, 271</ref>
  
      subject, the fundamental division of the subject (see SPLIT) which institutes the
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Lacan also uses another term, 'fading', in a way that makes it synonymous with the term aphanisis.
  
      dialectic of desire (see S11, 221). Far from the disappearance of desire being
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Fading (a term which Lacan uses directly in English) refers to the disappearance of the subject in the process of [[alienation]].
  
      the object of fear, it is precisely what the neurotic aims at; the neurotic
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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 barred in these mathemes.
 
 
      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.
 

Revision as of 02:40, 1 June 2006

aphanisiS

Definition

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.

Aphanisis and Jacques Lacan

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]

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]

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.

  1. Jones, 1927
  2. see S11, 208
  3. S11, 221
  4. S8, 271