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==History==
[[Jacques Lacan]] began to develop the [[graph of desire]] in his [[{{Y}}|1957]]-[[{{Y}}|58]] [[seminar]], ''[[Seminar V|Les formations de l'inconscient]]''.<ref>[[Jacques Lacan|Lacan, Jacques]]. ''[[Seminar V|Les formations de l'inconscient]]''. [[Seminar V|The Formations of the Unconscious]]. [[{{Y}}|1957]]-[[{{Y}}|58]]</ref> The [[graph of desire]] reappears in some of the following [[seminar]]s in various forms, although the most well known form of it appears in "[[The Subversion of the Subject and the Dialectic of Desire in the Freudian Unconscious]]."<ref>[[Jacques Lacan|Lacan, Jacques]]. "[[Works of Jacques Lacan|Subversion du sujet et dialectique du désir dans l'inconscient freudien]]." ''[[Écrits]]''. Paris: Seuil, 1966. p.793-827. "[[The subversion of the subject and the dialectic of desire in the Freudian unconscious]]." [[Ecrits: A Selection]]. Trans. Alan Sheridan. Bruce Fink. London: Tavistock. 1977. New York: W. W. Norton. 2004. p.292-325</ref>
==Four Stages==
In this paper, [[Lacan]] builds up the [[graph of desire]] in four successive stages -- which represent the constitution of the [[human]] [[subject]] and his [[desire]].
===Elementary Cell===
[[Image:Lacan-graph-elementary.jpg|Elementary Cell|thumb|right|200px]]
The first of these stages in the "[[graph of desire|elementary cell]]" of the [[graph of desire|graph]].<ref>{{E}} p.303</ref>
The horizontal line represents the [[diachronic]] [[signifying chain]]; the horseshoe-shaped line represents the vector of the [[subject]]'s [[intention]]ality.
The double intersection of these two lines illustrates the nature of [[time|retroaction]]: the message, at the point marked '''s(A)''' in the [[graph of desire|elementary cell]], is the ''[[point de capiton]]'' determined [[time|retroactively]] by the particular [[punctuation]] given to it by the [[Other]], '''A'''.
The [[linguistic|prelinguistic]] mythical [[subject]] of pure [[need]], indicated by the triangle, must pass through the defiles of the [[signifier]] which produces the [[divided]] [[subject]], '''$'''.
===Intermediate Stages===
The intermediate stages of the [[graph of desire]] are not meant to show any [[progress|evolution]] or [[development|temporal development]], since the [[graph of desire|graph]] always exists as a whole; they are simply pedagogical devices used by [[Lacan]] in order to illustrate the [[structure]] of the [[graph of desire|complete graph]].<ref>{{E}} p.315</ref>
Nevertheless, [[Lacan]] never intended to describe the genetic stages of a [[biological]] [[development]].
Rather, it represents the "logical moments" of the birth of a [[speaking]] [[subject]].
===Complete Graph===
[[Image:Lacan-graph-complete.jpg|Complete Graph|thumb|right|200px]]
In the [[graph of desire|complete graph]] there are not one but two [[signifying chain]]s.
The lower [[chain]] (from the [[signifier]] to the [[voice]]) is the [[conscious]] [[signifying chain]], the level of the [[statement]].
The upper [[chain]] (from ''[[jouissance]]'' to [[castration]]) is the [[signifying chain]] in the [[unconscious]], the level of the [[enunciation]].
The [[structure]] is thus duplicated: the upper part of the [[graph]] is structured exactly like the lower part.
==See Also==
