Difference between revisions of "Biology"

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==Freud and Biology==
 
==Freud and Biology==
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[[Freud]]'s work is full of references to [[biology]].  
 
[[Freud]]'s work is full of references to [[biology]].  
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[[Freud]] regarded [[biology]] as a model of scientific rigour on which to base the new [[science]] of [[psychoanalysis]].
 
  
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==Lacan's Critique of 'Biologism'==
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[[Freud]] regarded [[biology]] as a [[scientific]] model on which to base the new [[science]] of [[psychoanalysis]].  
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[[Lacan]], however, is strongly opposed to any attempt to construct [[psychoanalysis]] upon a [[biological]] model, arguing that the direct application of [[biological]] (or ethological/psychological) concepts (such as [[adaptation]]) to [[psychoanalysis]] will inevitably be misleading and will obliterate the essential distinction between [[nature]] and [[:category:culture|culture]].  
 
  
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Such biologising explanations of human behaviour ignore, according to [[Lacan]], the primacy of the [[symbolic]] [[order]] in human [[existence]].  
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[[Biology]] was at that time a model of [[scientific]] rigour in general.
  
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[[Lacan]] sees this '[[biologism]]' in the work of those [[psychoanalysts]] who have confused [[desire]] with [[need]], and [[drives]] with [[instincts]], concepts which he insists on distinguishing.
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[[Lacan]] expresses his point with a [[paradox]]: "Freudian biology has nothing to do with biology."<ref>{{S2}} p.75</ref>
  
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These arguments are evident from the very earliest of [[Lacan]]'s psychoanalytic writings.  
+
[[Freud]] borrowed concepts from [[biology]] (such as the concept of the [[drive]) but reworked them in such a radical way that they become totally new concepts.  
  
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In his 1938 work on the [[family]], for example, he rejects any attempt to explain [[family]] [[structure]]s on the basis of purely [[biological]] data, and argues that [[human]] [[psychology]] is regulated by [[complex]]es rather than by [[instinct]]s.<ref>Lacan, 1938: 23-4</ref>
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[[Lacan]], like [[Freud]], uses concepts borrowed from [[biology]], and then reworks them in an entirely [[symbolic]] framework.
  
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[[Lacan]] argues that his refusal of [[biological]] reductionism is not a contradiction of [[Freud]] but a [[return]] to the essence of [[Freud]]'s work.  
+
For example, the concept of the [[death instinct]] "is not a question of biology."<ref>{{E}} p.102</ref>
  
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When [[Freud]] used [[biological]] models, he did so simply because [[biology]] was at that time a model of scientific rigour in general, and because the conjectural [[science]]s had not then achieved the same degree of rigour.  
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==Biological Reduction==
 +
[[Lacan]] consistently rejects all forms of [[biological]] reductionism.
  
−
[[Freud]] certainly did not confuse [[psychoanalysis]] with [[biology]] or any other exact [[science]], and when he borrowed concepts from [[biology]] (such as the concept of the [[drive]) he reworked them in such a radical way that they become totally new concepts.  
+
[[Lacan]] opposed the application of [[biological]] (or ethological/[[psychological]]) concepts (such as [[adaptation]], [[biological]] explanations of [[human]] [[behavior]]) to [[psychoanalysis]].
  
−
For example, the concept of the [[death instinct]] "is not a question of biology."<ref>{{E}} p.102</ref> 
+
[[Lacan]] rejects the reduction of psychic phenomena to crude biological determination.
  
−
[[Lacan]] expresses his point with a [[paradox]]: "Freudian biology has nothing to do with biology."<ref>{{S2}} p.75</ref>
+
[[Lacan]] rejects any attempt to explain psychic phenomena on the basis of purely [[biological]] data.
 +
 
 +
[[Lacan]] draws distinctions between [[need]] and [[desire]], [[drives]] and [[instinct]]s.
 +
 
 +
[[Lacan]] stresses the distinction between [[nature]] and [[:category:culture|culture]].  
 +
 
 +
[[Lacan]] stresses the primacy of the [[symbolic]] [[order]] in [[human]] [[existence]].  
 +
 
 +
==Penis and Phallus==
  
−
[[Lacan]], like [[Freud]], uses concepts borrowed from [[biology]], and then reworks them in an entirely [[symbolic]] framework.
+
[[Freud]] conceives of the [[castration complex]] and [[sexual difference]] in terms of the [[presence]] and [[absence]] of the [[penis]].
  
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==Phallus==
+
[[Lacan]] reformulates the [[castration complex]] and [[sexual difference]] in non-biological, non-anatomical terms (the [[presence]] and [[absence]] of the [[phallus]]).
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Perhaps the most significant example of this is [[Lacan]]'s concept of the [[phallus]], which he conceives as a [[signifier]] and not as a bodily organ.  
 
  
−
Thus while [[Freud]] conceives of the [[castration complex]] and [[sexual difference]] in terms of the [[presence]] and [[absence]] of the [[penis]], Lacan theorises them in non-biological, non-anatomical terms (the [[presence]] and [[absence]] of the [[phallus]]).
+
[[Lacan]] conceives of the [[phallus]] as a [[signifier]] rather than as a [[bodily]] [[organ]].
  
−
This has been one of the main attractions of [[Lacan]]ian theory for certain [[:category:feminist theory|feminist]] writers who have seen it as a way of constructing a [[essentialism|non-essentialist]] account of gendered [[subjectivity]].
+
Many [[:category:feminist theory|Feminist]] theories have drawn from [[Lacan]] in constructing a [[essentialism|non-essentialist]] account of gendered [[subjectivity]].
  
 
==Culturalism==
 
==Culturalism==
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However, while [[Lacan]] consistently rejects all forms of [[biological]] reductionism, he also rejects the culturalist position which completely ignores the relevance of [[biology]].<ref>{{Ec}} p.723</ref>.
 
  
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If 'biologising' is understood correctly (that is, not as the reduction of psychic phenomena to crude biological determination, but as discerning the precise way in which biological data impact on the psychical field), then [[Lacan]] is all in favour of biologising thought.<ref>{{Ec}} p.723</ref>
+
[[Lacan]] also rejects the [[culturalist]] position which ignores the relevance of [[biology]].
  
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The clearest examples of this are [[Lacan]]'s appeals to examples from animal ethology to demonstrate the power of images to act as releasing mechanisms; hence [[Lacan]]'s references to pigeons and locusts in his account of the [[mirror stage]]<ref>{{E}} p.3</ref>, and to crustaceans in his account of mimicry.<ref>{{Sll}} p.99</ref>
+
[[Lacan]] is in favor of attempts to discern the precise way in which [[biology]] has an impact on the [[psychic]] field.<ref>{{Ec}} p.723</ref>
 +
 
 +
[[Lacan]]'s refers to pigeons and locusts in his account of the [[mirror stage]]<ref>{{E}} p.3</ref>, and to crustaceans in his account of [[mimicry]].<ref>{{S11}} p.99</ref>
  
 
Thus in his account of [[sexual difference]], [[Lacan]] follows [[Freud]]'s rejection of the false dichotomy between "anatomy or convention."<ref>Freud, 1933a: SE XXII, 114</ref>  
 
Thus in his account of [[sexual difference]], [[Lacan]] follows [[Freud]]'s rejection of the false dichotomy between "anatomy or convention."<ref>Freud, 1933a: SE XXII, 114</ref>  
  
 
[[Lacan]]'s concern is not to privilege either term but to show how both interact in complex ways in the process of assuming a sexual position.
 
[[Lacan]]'s concern is not to privilege either term but to show how both interact in complex ways in the process of assuming a sexual position.
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==References==
 
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<references/>
 
  
 
==See Also==
 
==See Also==
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* [[Nature]]
 
* [[Nature]]
  
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==References==
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<references/>
  
 
[[Category:Terms]]
 
[[Category:Terms]]

Revision as of 07:35, 29 June 2006

biology (biologie)

Freud and Biology

Freud's work is full of references to biology.

Freud regarded biology as a scientific model on which to base the new science of psychoanalysis.

Biology was at that time a model of scientific rigour in general.

Lacan expresses his point with a paradox: "Freudian biology has nothing to do with biology."[1]

Freud borrowed concepts from biology (such as the concept of the [[drive]) but reworked them in such a radical way that they become totally new concepts.

Lacan, like Freud, uses concepts borrowed from biology, and then reworks them in an entirely symbolic framework.

For example, the concept of the death instinct "is not a question of biology."[2]

Biological Reduction

Lacan consistently rejects all forms of biological reductionism.

Lacan opposed the application of biological (or ethological/psychological) concepts (such as adaptation, biological explanations of human behavior) to psychoanalysis.

Lacan rejects the reduction of psychic phenomena to crude biological determination.

Lacan rejects any attempt to explain psychic phenomena on the basis of purely biological data.

Lacan draws distinctions between need and desire, drives and instincts.

Lacan stresses the distinction between nature and culture.

Lacan stresses the primacy of the symbolic order in human existence.

Penis and Phallus

Freud conceives of the castration complex and sexual difference in terms of the presence and absence of the penis.

Lacan reformulates the castration complex and sexual difference in non-biological, non-anatomical terms (the presence and absence of the phallus).

Lacan conceives of the phallus as a signifier rather than as a bodily organ.

Many Feminist theories have drawn from Lacan in constructing a non-essentialist account of gendered subjectivity.

Culturalism

Lacan also rejects the culturalist position which ignores the relevance of biology.

Lacan is in favor of attempts to discern the precise way in which biology has an impact on the psychic field.[3]

Lacan's refers to pigeons and locusts in his account of the mirror stage[4], and to crustaceans in his account of mimicry.[5]

Thus in his account of sexual difference, Lacan follows Freud's rejection of the false dichotomy between "anatomy or convention."[6]

Lacan's concern is not to privilege either term but to show how both interact in complex ways in the process of assuming a sexual position.

See Also

References

  1. ↑ Lacan, Jacques. The Seminar. Book II. The Ego in Freud's Theory and in the Technique of Psychoanalysis, 1954-55. Trans. Sylvana Tomaselli. New York: Nortion; Cambridge: Cambridge Unviersity Press, 1988. p.75
  2. ↑ Lacan, Jacques. Écrits: A Selection. Trans. Alan Sheridan. London: Tavistock Publications, 1977. p.102
  3. ↑ Lacan, Jacques. Écrits. Paris: Seuil, 1966. p.723
  4. ↑ Lacan, Jacques. Écrits: A Selection. Trans. Alan Sheridan. London: Tavistock Publications, 1977. p.3
  5. ↑ 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.99
  6. ↑ Freud, 1933a: SE XXII, 114
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