Difference between revisions of "Communication"

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Most theories of [[communication]] offered by modern [[linguistics]] are characterised by two important features.
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The term '[[consciousness]]' ([[French]]:''conscience''), as [[Sigmund Freud]]  
  
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Firstly, they usually involve a reference to the category of intentionality, which is conceived of as coterminous with [[consciousness]].  
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In the so-called 'topographical model', [[Freud]] isolates consciousness as one of the parts of the [[psyche]], along with the [[unconscious]] and the [[preconscious]].  
  
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Secondly, they represent [[communication]] as a simple process in which a message is sent by one person (the addresser) to another (the addressee).<ref>e.g. Jakobson, 1960: 21</ref>
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[[Lacan]] finds [[Freud]]'s remarks on [[consciousness]] far weaker than his formulations on the [[unconscious]].
  
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However, both these features are put into question by the specific experience of [[communication]] in [[psychoanalytic]] [[treatment]].  
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<blockquote>"While he [Freud] can give a coherent, balanced account of the majority of other parts of the psychic apparatus, when it's a question of consciousness, he always encounters mutually contradictory conditions."<ref>{{S2}} p.117</ref></blockquote>
  
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[[Speech]] is revealed to possess an intentionality that goes beyond [[conscious]] purpose.
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According to [[Lacan]], [[Freud]]'s problems with discussing [[consciousness]] return again and again to haunt his theory:
  
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Secondly, the speaker's message is seen to be not merely directed at another but also at himself;
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"The difficulties which this system of consciousness raises reappear at each level of Freud's theorising."<ref>{{S2}} p.117</ref>
  
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"In human speech the sender is always a receiver at the same time."<ref>{{S3}} p.24</ref>
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In particular, [[Lacan]] rejects the apparent attempts in [[Freud]]'s work to link the [[consciousness]]-perception system to the [[ego]], unless this link is carefully theorised.  
  
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It can be said that the part of the speaker's message which is addressed to himself is the [[unconscious]] intention behind the message.  
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If there is a link between the [[ego]] and [[consciousness]], it is in terms of a [[lure]]; the [[illusion]] of a fully self-[[transparent]] [[consciousness]] is subverted by the whole psychoanalytic experience (see [[cogito]]).  
  
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When speaking to the [[analyst]], the [[analysand]] is also addressing a message to himself, but is not aware of this.  
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<blockquote>"Consciousness in man is by essence a polar tension between an ego alienated from the subject and a perception which fundamentally escapes it, a pure percipi."<ref>{{S2}} p.177</ref></blockquote>
  
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The task of the [[analyst]] is to enable the [[analysand]] to hear the message he is [[unconscious]]ly addressing to himself by interpreting the [[analysand]]'s words, the [[analyst]] permits the [[analysand]]'s message to return to him in its true, [[unconscious]] dimension.  
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In 1954 [[Lacan]] gives "a materialist definition of the phenomenon of consciousness."<ref>{{S2}} p.40-52</ref>
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However, matter is not to be confused with [[nature]]; [[Lacan]] argues that [[consciousness]] does not evolve from the [[natural]] [[order]]; it is radically discontinuous, and its origin is more akin to creation than to [[evolution]].<ref>{{S7}} p.213-14; 223</ref>
  
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Hence [[Lacan]] defines analytic [[communication]] as the [[act]] whereby "the sender receives his own message from the receiver in an inverted form."<ref>{{Ec}} p.41</ref>
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In the 1960s [[Lacan]] rethinks the [[illusion]] of a self-[[consciousness]] (''Selbstbe-wu?tsein'') fully present to itself in terms of his concept of the [[subject supposed to know]].
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{{Les termes}}
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==See Also==
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==References==
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* PAGES 19-20, 40, 43, 83, 20-3, 71
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[[Category:Psychoanalysis]]
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[[Category:Sigmund Freud]]
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[[Category:Jacques Lacan]]
 
[[Category:Dictionary]]
 
[[Category:Dictionary]]
 
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[[Category:Jacques Lacan]]
 
 
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Revision as of 17:22, 21 June 2006

The term 'consciousness' (French:conscience), as Sigmund Freud

In the so-called 'topographical model', Freud isolates consciousness as one of the parts of the psyche, along with the unconscious and the preconscious.

Lacan finds Freud's remarks on consciousness far weaker than his formulations on the unconscious.

"While he [Freud] can give a coherent, balanced account of the majority of other parts of the psychic apparatus, when it's a question of consciousness, he always encounters mutually contradictory conditions."[1]

According to Lacan, Freud's problems with discussing consciousness return again and again to haunt his theory:

"The difficulties which this system of consciousness raises reappear at each level of Freud's theorising."[2]

In particular, Lacan rejects the apparent attempts in Freud's work to link the consciousness-perception system to the ego, unless this link is carefully theorised.

If there is a link between the ego and consciousness, it is in terms of a lure; the illusion of a fully self-transparent consciousness is subverted by the whole psychoanalytic experience (see cogito).

"Consciousness in man is by essence a polar tension between an ego alienated from the subject and a perception which fundamentally escapes it, a pure percipi."[3]

In 1954 Lacan gives "a materialist definition of the phenomenon of consciousness."[4] However, matter is not to be confused with nature; Lacan argues that consciousness does not evolve from the natural order; it is radically discontinuous, and its origin is more akin to creation than to evolution.[5]

In the 1960s Lacan rethinks the illusion of a self-consciousness (Selbstbe-wu?tsein) fully present to itself in terms of his concept of the subject supposed to know.

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.117
  2. ↑ 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.117
  3. ↑ 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.177
  4. ↑ 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.40-52
  5. ↑ Lacan, Jacques. The Seminar. Book VII. The Ethics of Psychoanalysis, 1959-60. Trans. Dennis Porter. London: Routledge, 1992. p.213-14; 223
  • PAGES 19-20, 40, 43, 83, 20-3, 71
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