Difference between revisions of "Captation"
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* [[Imaginary]] | * [[Imaginary]] | ||
* [[Specular image]] | * [[Specular image]] | ||
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* [[Seduction]] | * [[Seduction]] | ||
* [[Subject]] | * [[Subject]] | ||
Revision as of 08:33, 21 August 2006
| French: captation |
Origin of the Term
The French substantive captation is a neologism coined by the French psychoanalysts Édouard Pichon and Odile Codet -- from the verb capter.
It was adopted by Jacques Lacan in 1948 and occurs regularly in his work from this point on.
Imaginary Effects of the Specular Image
Lacan uses the term captation to describe the imaginary effects of the specular image on the subject.[1]
The double sense of the French term - "captivation" and "capture" - nicely indicates the ambiguous nature of the power of the specular image.
Captivation
On the one hand, it has the sense of "captivation," thus expressing the fascinating, seductive power of the image.
On the one hand, it conveys the sense of "captivation."
In this sense, captation refers to the power of the specular image to "captivate" -- to fascinate and/or to seduce -- the subject.
Capture
On the other hand, the term also conveys the idea of "capture," which evokes the more sinister power of the image to imprison the subject in a disabling fixation.
On the other hand, the term also conveys the idea of "capture."
In this sense, captation refers to the power of the specular image to "capture" -- to "imprison" and/or to "hold" -- the subject (in a disabling fixation).
See Also
References
- ↑ Lacan, Jacques. Écrits: A Selection. Trans. Alan Sheridan. London: Tavistock Publications, 1977. p.18
