Difference between revisions of "Graph of desire"

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Pictured above is Graph II in the series of four graphs that make up Lacan’s topology of desire (taken from Zizek The Sublime Object of Ideology 103). Before laying out how the graph depicts the movement of desire, I will first take a moment to define the symbols it uses. On the far left of the graph is the term "Signifier," designating the starting point of the act of signification and proceeding to the "Voice," which is the final outcome of the process of signification. At the bottom left hand corner of the graph is the symbol I(O), indicating the ego-ideal, the imaginary version of itself with which the ego would like to be identified. Further up on the left hand side is "e," designating the ego itself, caught halfway between the signifying chain ("Signifier" to "Voice") and the ego-ideal. On the bottom right hand side of the graph is "S/" (S with a bar through it), designating the barred subject, the subject split by his or her entry into the symbolic and finally never coincident with its own signification. Immediately above the barred S is a delta which feeds directly into the parabolic line which ends at I(O). This delta is the Lacanian algebra for "the prelinguistic mythical subject of pure need" which must "pass through the defiles of the signifier" in the course of producing the barred subject (Evans 76). That is, the delta designates the embryonic subject prior to the intervention of the paternal interdiction ("the defiles of the signifier"), after which time it simply denotes desire, the urge to return to the time and place preceding that rude awakening. Midway up the right hand side of the graph is the symbol "i(o)," designating the specular image which the ego encounters in the mirror stage and throughout life; it is non-coincident with either the ego or the ego-ideal, though it is more accurate than the ego-ideal. Everything in the lower half of the graph, below the signifying chain, is located firmly in the imaginary order. The two circles at the points where the trajectory of S/<-> I(O) are points de capiton, points at which the signifying chain is anchored to the imaginary by the crossing trajectories of desire and signification. Within the left point de capiton is the symbol "s(O)," the signification of the other, the temporally prior point in the act of signification that bears the meaning of the Other (language) but does not yet articulate it. Inside the right point de capiton is the symbol "O," indicating the Other itself, language in its ever-expanding entirety. The appearance of the Other at this point retroactively punctuates the temporally precedent s(O), allowing it to bring forth its meaning as a particular portion of the "‘treasure of the signifier’" (Bowie 190) which it guards. As the points de capiton, these two intersections represent the arbitrary but stable points in the signifying chain at which meaning appears to dangle vertically from the process of signification as well as inhering in its syntactic or horizontal movement.
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The [[graph of desire]] is a [[topology|topological model]] of the [[structure]] of [[desire]].
  
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In terms of its movement, this graph displays the oscillating movement between I(O) and S/ as the fundamental movement of desire from the initial imaginary encounter with the specular image to the formation of the ideal-ego and on to the foundation of the barred subject. Crossing that trajectory from left to right is the signifying chain, from Signifier to Voice as an instance of the speech which makes of the subject a "parlêtre." This movement is only provisionally unidirectional, however; between the points de capiton there is a retrogressive movement by which the punctuation of the Other fixes the meaning of the signification of the other in the particular utterance. This fixation is also a deflection, however, as it interferes with the direct path between the subject and the ideal-ego. Furthermore, the placement of the arc of this deflection above the signifying chain reveals that it is an unconscious process, since though we may be aware of the temporal construction of meaning in the linear development of grammar, its effect on our psyche is one of an always-already established meaning. Finally, the two smaller cells contained in the lower half of the graph play on the analogy between the imaginary identification between the specular image (i(o)) and the ego (e) and the way in which the signification of the Other (s(O)) is never quite coincident with the Other itself (O); both are imaginary relations. The first short-circuits the symbolic order by refusing to articulate its processes of identification, while the second represents the imaginary aspect of the signifying chain, the realm of the signified as the arbitrary sound-images which lend some semblance of coherence to the symbolic order. As a final addition to this graph, we might position the objet a at the center of it all as the absent still point around which the machinery of desire, signification, and identification turns in the psychic life of the subject.  
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==History==
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[[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>
  
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== def ==
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==Four Stages==
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The '''graph of desire''' is a conceptual tool from the psychoanalytic theory of [[Jacques Lacan]].
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In this paper, [[Lacan]] builds up the [[graph of desire]] in four [[stages]].
  
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[[Category:Lacan]]
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===Elementary Cell===
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The first of these stages in the "[[graph of desire|elementary cell]]" of the [[graph of desire|graph]].<ref>{{E}} p.303</ref>
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The horizontal line represents the [[diachronic]] [[signifying chain]]; the horseshoe-shaped line represents the vector of the [[subject]]'s [[intention]]ality.
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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'''.
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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]], '''$'''.
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===Intermediate Stages===
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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>
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Nevertheless, [[Lacan]] never intended to describe the genetic stages of a [[biological]] [[development]].
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Rather, it represents the "[[logical]] moments" of the [[birth]] of a [[speaking]] [[subject]].
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===Complete Graph===
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In the [[completed graph]] there are not one but two [[signifying chain]]s.
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The lower [[chain]] (from the [[signifier]] to the [[voice]]) is the [[conscious]] [[signifying chain]], the level of the [[statement]].
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The upper [[chain]] (from ''[[jouissance]]'' to [[castration]]) is the [[signifying chain]] in the [[unconscious]], the level of the [[enunciation]].
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The [[structure]] is thus duplicated: the upper part of the [[graph]] is [[structured]] exactly like the lower part.
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==See Also==
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{{See}}
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* [[Desire]]
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* ''[[Point de capiton]]''
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* [[Signifier]]
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* [[Signifying Chain]]
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* [[Structure]]
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* [[Subject]]
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* [[Unconscious]]
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* [[Topology]]
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{{Also}}
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==References==
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| [[French]]: ''[[graphe du désir]]
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[[Image:GRAPHOFDESIRE-ONE.jpg||thumb|]]
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Latest revision as of 08:47, 24 May 2019

The graph of desire is a topological model of the structure of desire.

History

Jacques Lacan began to develop the graph of desire in his 1957-58 seminar, Les formations de l'inconscient.[1] The graph of desire reappears in some of the following seminars 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."[2]

Four Stages

In this paper, Lacan builds up the graph of desire in four stages.

Elementary Cell

The first of these stages in the "elementary cell" of the graph.[3]

The horizontal line represents the diachronic signifying chain; the horseshoe-shaped line represents the vector of the subject's intentionality.

The double intersection of these two lines illustrates the nature of retroaction: the message, at the point marked s(A) in the elementary cell, is the point de capiton determined retroactively by the particular punctuation given to it by the Other, A.

The 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 evolution or temporal development, since the graph always exists as a whole; they are simply pedagogical devices used by Lacan in order to illustrate the structure of the complete graph.[4]

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

In the completed graph there are not one but two signifying chains.

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

References

  1. ↑ Lacan, Jacques. Les formations de l'inconscient. The Formations of the Unconscious. 1957-58
  2. ↑ Lacan, Jacques. "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
  3. ↑ Lacan, Jacques. Écrits: A Selection. Trans. Alan Sheridan. London: Tavistock Publications, 1977. p.303
  4. ↑ Lacan, Jacques. Écrits: A Selection. Trans. Alan Sheridan. London: Tavistock Publications, 1977. p.315
French: graphe du désir
GRAPHOFDESIRE-ONE.jpg
GRAPHOFDESIRE-TWO.jpg
Vector2.jpg
Goodwill.jpg


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