Difference between revisions of "Borromean Knot"

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Borromean knot (noeud borromÈen)                         
  
Borromean knot (noeud borromÈen)                          References to knots can be
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References to knots can be found in Lacan's work as early as the 1950s (e.g. E, 281), but it is not until the early 1970s that Lacan begins to examine knots from the point of view of their topological properties. The study of knot theory marks an important development in Lacan'S TOPOLOGY; from the study of surfaces (the moebius strip, the torus, etc.) Lacan moves to the much more complex area of the topology of knots. Topology is increasingly seen as a radically non-metaphorical way of exploring the symbolic order and its interactions with the real and the imaginary; rather than simply representing structure, topology is that structure. In this late period of his work, one kind of knot comes to interest Lacan more than any other: the Borromean knot.
 
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The Borromean knot (shown in Figure 1), so called because the figure is found on the coat of arms of the Borromeo family, is a group of three rings which are linked in such a way that if any one of them is severed, all three become separated (S20, 112). Strictly speaking, it would be more appropriate to refer to this figure as a chain rather than a knot, since it involves the interconnection of several different threads, whereas a knot is formed by a single thread. Although a minimum of three threads or rings are required to form a Borromean chain, there is no maximum number; the chain may be extended indefinitely by adding further rings, while still preserving its Borromean quality (i.e. if any of the rings is cut, the whole chain falls apart).
found in Lacan's work as early as the 1950s (e.g. E, 281), but it is not until the
+
Lacan first takes up the Borromean knot in the seminar of 1972-3, but his most detailed discussion of the knot comes in the seminar of 1974-5. It is in this seminar that Lacan uses the Borromean knot as, among other things, a way of illustrating the interdependence of the three orders of the real, the symbolic and the imaginary, as a way of exploring what it is that these three orders have in common. Each ring represents one of the three orders, and thus certain elements can be located at intersections of these rings.
 
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In the seminar of 1975-6, Lacan goes on to describe psychosis as the unravelling of the Borromean knot, and proposes that in some cases this is prevented by the addition of a fourth ring, the SINTHOME, which holds the other three together.
early 1970s that Lacan begins to examine knots from the point of view of their
 
 
 
topological properties. The study of knot theory marks an important develop-
 
 
 
  ment in Lacan'S TOPOLOGY; from the study of surfaces (the moebius strip, the
 
 
 
  torus, etc.) Lacan moves to the much more complex area of the topology of
 
 
 
knots. Topology is increasingly seen as a radically non-metaphorical way of
 
 
 
exploring the symbolic order and its interactions with the real and the
 
 
 
imaginary; rather than simply representing structure, topology is that struc-
 
 
 
  ture. In this late period of his work, one kind of knot comes to interest Lacan
 
 
 
  more than any other: the Borromean knot.
 
 
 
      The Borromean knot (shown in Figure 1), so called because the figure is
 
 
 
found on the coat of arms of the Borromeo family, is a group of three rings
 
 
 
  which are linked in such a way that if any one of them is severed, all three
 
 
 
  become separated (S20, 112). Strictly speaking, it would be more appropriate
 
 
 
  to refer to this figure     as a chain rather than     a knot, since it involves the
 
  interconnection of several different threads, whereas a knot is formed by a
 
 
 
single thread. Although a minimum of three threads or rings are required to
 
 
 
    form a Borromean chain, there is no maximum number; the chain may be
 
 
 
    extended indefinitely by adding further rings, while still preserving its
 
 
 
    Borromean quality (i.e. if any of the rings is cut, the whole chain falls apart).
 
 
 
      Lacan first takes up the Borromean knot in the seminar of 1972-3, but his
 
 
 
    most detailed discussion of the knot comes in the seminar of 1974-5. It is in
 
 
 
    this seminar that Lacan uses the Borromean knot as, among other things, a way
 
 
 
    of illustrating the interdependence of the three orders of the real, the symbolic
 
 
 
    and the imaginary, as a way of exploring what it is that these three orders have
 
 
 
in common. Each ring represents one of the three orders, and thus certain
 
 
 
  elements can be located at intersections of these rings.
 
 
 
      In the seminar of 1975-6, Lacan goes         on to describe psychosis       as the
 
 
 
unravelling of the Borromean knot, and proposes that in some cases this is
 
 
 
prevented by the addition of a fourth ring, the SINTHOME, which holds the other
 
 
 
  three together.
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
== References ==
 
== References ==

Revision as of 08:46, 26 April 2006

Borromean knot (noeud borromÈen)

References to knots can be found in Lacan's work as early as the 1950s (e.g. E, 281), but it is not until the early 1970s that Lacan begins to examine knots from the point of view of their topological properties. The study of knot theory marks an important development in Lacan'S TOPOLOGY; from the study of surfaces (the moebius strip, the torus, etc.) Lacan moves to the much more complex area of the topology of knots. Topology is increasingly seen as a radically non-metaphorical way of exploring the symbolic order and its interactions with the real and the imaginary; rather than simply representing structure, topology is that structure. In this late period of his work, one kind of knot comes to interest Lacan more than any other: the Borromean knot. The Borromean knot (shown in Figure 1), so called because the figure is found on the coat of arms of the Borromeo family, is a group of three rings which are linked in such a way that if any one of them is severed, all three become separated (S20, 112). Strictly speaking, it would be more appropriate to refer to this figure as a chain rather than a knot, since it involves the interconnection of several different threads, whereas a knot is formed by a single thread. Although a minimum of three threads or rings are required to form a Borromean chain, there is no maximum number; the chain may be extended indefinitely by adding further rings, while still preserving its Borromean quality (i.e. if any of the rings is cut, the whole chain falls apart). Lacan first takes up the Borromean knot in the seminar of 1972-3, but his most detailed discussion of the knot comes in the seminar of 1974-5. It is in this seminar that Lacan uses the Borromean knot as, among other things, a way of illustrating the interdependence of the three orders of the real, the symbolic and the imaginary, as a way of exploring what it is that these three orders have in common. Each ring represents one of the three orders, and thus certain elements can be located at intersections of these rings. In the seminar of 1975-6, Lacan goes on to describe psychosis as the unravelling of the Borromean knot, and proposes that in some cases this is prevented by the addition of a fourth ring, the SINTHOME, which holds the other three together.

References