Difference between revisions of "Id"
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=="Unknown and Uncontrollable Forces"== | =="Unknown and Uncontrollable Forces"== | ||
| − | Groddeck argued that "what we call the ego behaves essentially passively in life, and ... we are 'lived' by unknown and uncontrollable forces,"<ref>{{F}} ''[[Works of Sigmund Freud|The Ego and the Id]]''. 1923b. [[SE]] XIX. p. 23</ref> and used the term ''[[das Es]]'' to denote these forces. | + | Groddeck argued that "what we call the ego behaves essentially passively in [[life]], and ... we are 'lived' by unknown and uncontrollable forces,"<ref>{{F}} ''[[Works of Sigmund Freud|The Ego and the Id]]''. 1923b. [[SE]] XIX. p. 23</ref> and used the term ''[[das Es]]'' to denote these forces. |
==Structural Model of the Psyche== | ==Structural Model of the Psyche== | ||
| − | The term first appears in [[Freud]]'s work in the early 1920s, in the context of the second model of the [[psyche]]; in this model, the [[psyche]] is divided into three agencies: the [[id]], the [[ego]] and the [[superego]]. | + | The term first appears in [[Freud]]'s [[work]] in the early 1920s, in the context of the second [[model]] of the [[psyche]]; in this model, the [[psyche]] is [[divided]] into [[three]] [[agencies]]: the [[id]], the [[ego]] and the [[superego]]. |
| − | The [[id]] corresponds roughly to what [[Freud]] called the [[unconscious|unconsicous system]] in his first model of the [[psyche]], but there are also important differences between these two concepts. | + | The [[id]] corresponds roughly to what [[Freud]] called the [[unconscious|unconsicous system]] in his first model of the [[psyche]], but there are also important differences between these two [[concepts]]. |
==Jacques Lacan== | ==Jacques Lacan== | ||
| − | [[Lacan]]'s main contribution to the theory of the [[id]] is to stress that the "unknown and uncontrollable forces" in question are not primitive [[biological]] [[need]]s or wild [[instinct]]ual forces of [[nature]], but must be conceived of in [[linguistic]] terms: | + | [[Lacan]]'s main contribution to the [[theory]] of the [[id]] is to stress that the "unknown and uncontrollable forces" in question are not [[primitive]] [[biological]] [[need]]s or wild [[instinct]]ual forces of [[nature]], but must be conceived of in [[linguistic]] [[terms]]: |
| − | <blockquote>The ''Es'' with which anlaysis is concerned is made of the signifier which is already there in the real, the uncomprehended signifier. It is already there, but it is made of the signifier, it is not some kind of primitive and confused property relevant to some kind of pre-established harmony...<ref>{{S4}} p. 49</ref></blockquote> | + | <blockquote>The ''Es'' with which anlaysis is concerned is made of the [[signifier]] which is already there in the [[real]], the uncomprehended signifier. It is already there, but it is made of the signifier, it is not some kind of primitive and confused property relevant to some kind of pre-established [[harmony]]...<ref>{{S4}} p. 49</ref></blockquote> |
==Origin of Speech== | ==Origin of Speech== | ||
[[Lacan]] conceives of the [[id]] as the [[unconscious]] origin of [[speech]], the [[symbolic]] "it" beyond the [[imaginary]] [[ego]]. | [[Lacan]] conceives of the [[id]] as the [[unconscious]] origin of [[speech]], the [[symbolic]] "it" beyond the [[imaginary]] [[ego]]. | ||
| − | Thus whereas Groddeck states that "the affirmation 'I live' is only conditionally correct, it expresses only a small and superficial part of the fundamental principle 'Man is lived by the It,'"<ref>Groddeck, Georg. ''The Book of the It'', London: Vision Press, 1949 [1923]. p. 5</ref>, [[Lacan]]'s view could be summed up in similar terms, only replacing the verb "to live" with the verb "to speak"; the affirmation "I speak " is only a superifical part of the fundamental principle "Man is spoken by it." | + | Thus whereas Groddeck states that "the [[affirmation]] 'I live' is only conditionally correct, it expresses only a small and superficial part of the fundamental [[principle]] 'Man is lived by the It,'"<ref>Groddeck, Georg. ''The Book of the It'', [[London]]: [[Vision]] Press, 1949 [1923]. p. 5</ref>, [[Lacan]]'s view could be summed up in similar terms, only replacing the verb "to live" with the verb "to [[speak]]"; the affirmation "I speak " is only a superifical part of the fundamental principle "Man is spoken by it." |
Hence the phrase which [[Lacan]] frequently uses when discussing the [[id]]; "it speaks" (''le ca parle'').<ref>{{S7}} p. 206</ref> | Hence the phrase which [[Lacan]] frequently uses when discussing the [[id]]; "it speaks" (''le ca parle'').<ref>{{S7}} p. 206</ref> | ||
==Subject== | ==Subject== | ||
| − | The [[symbolic]] nature of the [[id]], beyond the [[imaginary]] sense of self-constituted by the [[ego]], is what leads [[Lacan]] to equate it with the term "[[subject]]". | + | The [[symbolic]] nature of the [[id]], beyond the [[imaginary]] [[sense]] of [[self]]-constituted by the [[ego]], is what leads [[Lacan]] to equate it with the term "[[subject]]". |
| − | This equation is illustrated by the homophony between the [[German]] term ''[[Id|Es]]'' and the letter '''S''', which is [[Lacan]]'s [[symbol]] for the [[subject]].<ref>{{E}} p. 129</ref> | + | This equation is illustrated by the homophony between the [[German]] term ''[[Id|Es]]'' and the [[letter]] '''S''', which is [[Lacan]]'s [[symbol]] for the [[subject]].<ref>{{E}} p. 129</ref> |
==''Wo Es war, soll Ich werden''== | ==''Wo Es war, soll Ich werden''== | ||
| − | One of [[Freud]]'s most famous statements concerns the [[id]] and its relationship with [[psychoanalytic treatment]]; ''Wo Es war, soll Ich werden'' (which the [[Standard Edition]] renders "Where id was, there ego shall be.")<ref>{{F}} ''[[Works of Sigmund Freud|New Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis]]''. 1933a. [[SE]] XXII. p. 80</ref> | + | One of [[Freud]]'s most famous statements concerns the [[id]] and its [[relationship]] with [[psychoanalytic treatment]]; ''[[Wo Es war, soll Ich werden]]'' (which the [[Standard Edition]] renders "Where id was, there ego shall be.")<ref>{{F}} ''[[Works of Sigmund Freud|New Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis]]''. 1933a. [[SE]] XXII. p. 80</ref> |
| − | One common reading of this cryptic statement has been to take it as meaning that the task of [[psychoanalytic treatment]] is to enlarge the field of [[consciousness]]; it is just such a reading that is crystallized in the original [[French]] translation of [[Freud]]'s statement - ''le moi doit déloger le ça'' (the [[ego]] shall dislodge the [[id]]). | + | One common [[reading]] of this cryptic [[statement]] has been to take it as [[meaning]] that the task of [[psychoanalytic treatment]] is to enlarge the field of [[consciousness]]; it is just such a reading that is crystallized in the original [[French]] [[translation]] of [[Freud]]'s statement - ''le moi doit déloger le ça'' (the [[ego]] shall dislodge the [[id]]). |
| − | [[Lacan]] is completely opposed to such a reading.<ref>{{S1}} p. 195</ref>, arguing instead that the word ''soll'' is to be understood as an [[ethics|ethical injunction]], so that the [[end of analysis|aim]] of [[analysis]] is for the [[ego]] to submit to the [[autonomy]] of the [[symbolic order]]. | + | [[Lacan]] is completely opposed to such a reading.<ref>{{S1}} p. 195</ref>, arguing instead that the [[word]] ''soll'' is to be [[understood]] as an [[ethics|ethical injunction]], so that the [[end of analysis|aim]] of [[analysis]] is for the [[ego]] to submit to the [[autonomy]] of the [[symbolic order]]. |
| − | Thus [[Lacan]] prefers to translate [[Freud]]'s statement as "there where it was, or there where one was ... it is my duty that I should come into being" [''Là où c'était, peut-on dire, là où s'était . . . c'est mon devoir que je vienne à être''].<ref>{{E}} p. 129, 299-300; [[Ec]] p. 417-8</ref> | + | Thus [[Lacan]] prefers to translate [[Freud]]'s statement as "there where it was, or there where one was ... it is my [[duty]] that I should come into being" [''Là où c'était, peut-on [[dire]], là où s'était . . . c'est mon devoir que je vienne à être''].<ref>{{E}} p. 129, 299-300; [[Ec]] p. 417-8</ref> |
| − | The [[end of analysis]], according to this view, is thus a kind of "existential recognition" of the [[symbolic]] determinants of one's [[being]], a recognition of the fact that "You are this" (You are this [[signifying chain|symbolic chain]], and no more).<ref>{{S1}} p. 3</ref> | + | The [[end of analysis]], according to this view, is thus a kind of "existential [[recognition]]" of the [[symbolic]] determinants of one's [[being]], a recognition of the fact that "You are this" (You are this [[signifying chain|symbolic chain]], and no more).<ref>{{S1}} p. 3</ref> |
==See Also== | ==See Also== | ||
Revision as of 23:56, 24 May 2019
| French: ça |
Sigmund Freud
Freud borrowed the term das Es (which the Standard Edition translates as "the Id") from Georg Groddeck, one of the first German psychiatrists to support psychoanalysis, although Freud also noted, Groddeck himself seems to have taken the term from Nietzche.[1]
"Unknown and Uncontrollable Forces"
Groddeck argued that "what we call the ego behaves essentially passively in life, and ... we are 'lived' by unknown and uncontrollable forces,"[2] and used the term das Es to denote these forces.
Structural Model of the Psyche
The term first appears in Freud's work in the early 1920s, in the context of the second model of the psyche; in this model, the psyche is divided into three agencies: the id, the ego and the superego.
The id corresponds roughly to what Freud called the unconsicous system in his first model of the psyche, but there are also important differences between these two concepts.
Jacques Lacan
Lacan's main contribution to the theory of the id is to stress that the "unknown and uncontrollable forces" in question are not primitive biological needs or wild instinctual forces of nature, but must be conceived of in linguistic terms:
The Es with which anlaysis is concerned is made of the signifier which is already there in the real, the uncomprehended signifier. It is already there, but it is made of the signifier, it is not some kind of primitive and confused property relevant to some kind of pre-established harmony...[3]
Origin of Speech
Lacan conceives of the id as the unconscious origin of speech, the symbolic "it" beyond the imaginary ego.
Thus whereas Groddeck states that "the affirmation 'I live' is only conditionally correct, it expresses only a small and superficial part of the fundamental principle 'Man is lived by the It,'"[4], Lacan's view could be summed up in similar terms, only replacing the verb "to live" with the verb "to speak"; the affirmation "I speak " is only a superifical part of the fundamental principle "Man is spoken by it."
Hence the phrase which Lacan frequently uses when discussing the id; "it speaks" (le ca parle).[5]
Subject
The symbolic nature of the id, beyond the imaginary sense of self-constituted by the ego, is what leads Lacan to equate it with the term "subject".
This equation is illustrated by the homophony between the German term Es and the letter S, which is Lacan's symbol for the subject.[6]
Wo Es war, soll Ich werden
One of Freud's most famous statements concerns the id and its relationship with psychoanalytic treatment; Wo Es war, soll Ich werden (which the Standard Edition renders "Where id was, there ego shall be.")[7]
One common reading of this cryptic statement has been to take it as meaning that the task of psychoanalytic treatment is to enlarge the field of consciousness; it is just such a reading that is crystallized in the original French translation of Freud's statement - le moi doit déloger le ça (the ego shall dislodge the id).
Lacan is completely opposed to such a reading.[8], arguing instead that the word soll is to be understood as an ethical injunction, so that the aim of analysis is for the ego to submit to the autonomy of the symbolic order.
Thus Lacan prefers to translate Freud's statement as "there where it was, or there where one was ... it is my duty that I should come into being" [Là où c'était, peut-on dire, là où s'était . . . c'est mon devoir que je vienne à être].[9]
The end of analysis, according to this view, is thus a kind of "existential recognition" of the symbolic determinants of one's being, a recognition of the fact that "You are this" (You are this symbolic chain, and no more).[10]
See Also
References
- ↑ Freud, Sigmund. The Ego and the Id. 1923b. SE XIX. p. 23
- ↑ Freud, Sigmund. The Ego and the Id. 1923b. SE XIX. p. 23
- ↑ Lacan, Jacques. Le Séminaire. Livre IV. La relation d'objet, 19566-57. Ed. Jacques-Alain Miller. Paris: Seuil, 1991. p. 49
- ↑ Groddeck, Georg. The Book of the It, London: Vision Press, 1949 [1923]. p. 5
- ↑ Lacan, Jacques. The Seminar. Book VII. The Ethics of Psychoanalysis, 1959-60. Trans. Dennis Porter. London: Routledge, 1992. p. 206
- ↑ Lacan, Jacques. Écrits: A Selection. Trans. Alan Sheridan. London: Tavistock Publications, 1977. p. 129
- ↑ Freud, Sigmund. New Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis. 1933a. SE XXII. p. 80
- ↑ Lacan, Jacques. The Seminar. Book I. Freud's Papers on Technique, 1953-54. Trans. John Forrester. New York: Nortion; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. p. 195
- ↑ Lacan, Jacques. Écrits: A Selection. Trans. Alan Sheridan. London: Tavistock Publications, 1977. p. 129, 299-300; Ec p. 417-8
- ↑ Lacan, Jacques. The Seminar. Book I. Freud's Papers on Technique, 1953-54. Trans. John Forrester. New York: Nortion; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. p. 3
Index
- Lacan, Jacques. The Seminar of Jacques Lacan, Book XX: Encore, On Feminine Sexuality, The Limits of Love and Knowledge 1972-1973. Trans. Bruce Fink. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1998. pp. 87, 108n
