Difference between revisions of "Imaginary"

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{| align="[[right]]" style="line-height:2.0em;margin-left:10px;align:right;text-align:right;background-color:#fcfcfc;border:1px solid #aaa"
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| [[French]]: ''[[imaginaire]]''
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| [[German]]: ''[[Imaginäre{{Bottom}}
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==Jacques Lacan==
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In the [[Jacques Lacan:Bibliography|work]] of [[Jacques Lacan]], the [[real]], the [[symbolic]], and the [[imaginary]] are a central [[order|set of references]]. The [[imaginary]] is the [[order|field]] of the [[ego]].
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In the [[Jacques Lacan:Bibliography|work]] of [[Jacques Lacan]], the [[real]], the [[symbolic]], and the [[imaginary]] are a central [[order|set of references]]. The [[imaginary]] is the [[order|field]] of the [[ego]].
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=====History=====
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[[Lacan]]'s use of the term "[[imaginary]]" as a substantive dates back to [[{{Y}}|1936]].<ref>{{Ec}} p. 81</ref>  The term relates to the [[dual relation]] between the [[ego]] and the [[specular image]].  From [[{{Y}}|1953]] on, the [[imaginary]] becomes one of the [[order|three orders]] which constitute the [[order|tripartite scheme]] at the center of [[Lacan]]ian [[thought]], being opposed to the [[symbolic]] and the [[real]].
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It took Lacan twenty years to restore the imaginary to its [[full]] [[place]] alongside the real and [[the symbolic]], which he did within the topic of the Borromean [[knot]] (a set of [[three]] interlinked rings that come apart if any one is removed).
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<!-- In his 1936 essay "Au-delà du 'principe de réalité"' (Beyond the [[reality]] [[principle]]), Lacan noted that [[Freud]] discovered a [[meaning]] in [[patients]]' complaints that [[other]] physicians considered imaginary and thus [[illusory]]. In his first [[reading]] of Freud's [[work]], Lacan emphasized the [[notion]] of the image by highlighting its function: reflecting the subject's discrete behaviors in [[unified]] [[images]]. In the [[mirror]] [[stage]], the subject [[identifies]] with these images and develops an ego [[concept]] in relation to [[another]]. -->
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=====Ego=====
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The [[imaginary|imaginary order]] is based on the [[formation]] of the [[ego]] in the [[mirror stage]] by [[identification]] with the [[counterpart]] (or [[specular image]]).  The [[dual relation]] between the [[ego]] and the [[counterpart]] is characterized by [[alienation]] and [[narcissism]].
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The [[imaginary|imaginary order]] is based on the [[mirror stage]], whereby the [[ego]] is constituted by [[identification]] with the [[other|little other]]. The [[ego]] is [[formation|formed]] by [[identification|identifying]] with the [[counterpart]] or [[specular image]]. Thus, [[identification]] is an important aspect of the [[imaginary|imaginary order]]. The [[ego]] and the [[counterpart]] [[form]] the prototypical [[dual relation]]ship, and are interchangeable. 
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identification is essential to the structure of the imaginary [[order]] and to the [[development]] of the human ego.</i> The basis of the [[imaginary|imaginary order]] is the [[mirror stage]], in which the [[subject]] [[identification|identifies]] with its [[counterpart]] or [[specular image] and develops an ego concept in relation to another.
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((Since the [[ego]] is formed by [[identifying]] with the [[counterpart]] or [[specular image]], [[identification]] is an important aspect of the [[imaginary|imaginary order]]. ))
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This relation­ship whereby the [[ego]] is constituted by [[identification]] with the [[other|little other]] means that the [[ego]], and the [[imaginary|imaginary order]] itself, are both sites of a radical [[alienation]]; "Alienation is constitutive of the imaginary order."<ref>{{S3}} p. 146</ref> 
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The [[dual relation]]ship between the [[ego]] and the [[counterpart]] is fundamentally [[narcissistic]], and [[narcissism]] is another characteristic of the [[imaginary|imaginary order]]. [[Narcissism]] is always accompanied by a certain [[aggressivity]].
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[[Lacan]]'s use of the term "[[imaginary]]" as a substantive dates back to 1936.<ref>{{Ec}} p. 81</re>  
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=====Image=====
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The [[imaginary]] is the realm of [[image]] and [[imagination]], [[truth|deception]] and [[lure]]. The principal illusions of the [[imaginary]] are those of [[gestalt|wholeness]], [[dialectic|synthesis]], [[autonomous ego|autonomy]], [[dual relation|duality]] and, above all, [[counterpart|similarity]].
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The [[imaginary]] exerts a [[captation|captivating power]] over the [[subject]], founded in the almost hypnotic effect of the [[specular image]].  The [[imaginary]] is thus rooted in [[subject]]'s [[relationship]] to his own [[body]] (or rather to the [[image]] of his body). This [[captation|captivating/capturing power]] is both [[seductive]] (the [[imaginary]] is manifest­ed above all on the [[sexual]] plane, in such forms as sexual display and courtship [[rituals]])<ref>{{L}} "[[Situation de la psychanalyse et formation du psychanalyste en 1956]]." ''[[Écrits]]''. [[Paris]]: Seuil, 1966 [1956b]: 272</ref> and disabling: it imprisons the [[subject]] in series of static fixations.
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From the beginning, the term has connotations of illusion, fascination and seduction, and relates specifically to the [[dual relation]] between the [[ego]] and the [[specular image]].  
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=====Psychology=====
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The [[imaginary]] is the [[dimension]] of the [[human]] [[subject]] which is most closely linked to [[animal]] [[psychology]], yet it is [[structure]]d by the [[symbolic]], and this means that "in man, the imaginary relation has deviated [from the realm of nature]."<ref>{{S2}} p. 210</ref>
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the [[imaginary]] represents the closest point of contact between [[human]] [[subjectivity]] and [[animal]] [[ethology]],<ref>{{S2}} p. 166</ref> it is not simply identical; the [[imaginary|imaginary order]] in [[human]] [[being]]s is [[structure]]d by the [[symbolic]], and this means that "in man, the imaginary relation has deviated [from the realm of nature]."<ref>{{S2}} p. 210</ref>
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All attempts to explain [[human]] [[subjectivity]] in [[terms]] of [[animal]] [[psychology]] are thus limited to the [[imaginary]].  Although the [[imaginary]] represents the closest point of contact between [[human]] [[subjectivity]] and [[animal]] [[ethology]],<ref>{{S2}} p. 166</ref> it is not simply identical; the [[imaginary|imaginary order]] in [[human]] [[being]]s is [[structure]]d by the [[symbolic]], and this means that "in man, the imaginary relation has deviated [from the realm of nature]."<ref>{{S2}} p. 210</ref>
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It is important to note, however, that while the imaginary always retains connotations of illusion and lure, it is not simply synonymous with 'the illusory' insofar as the latter term implies something unnecessary and inconsequential (Ec, 723).  
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=====Criticism=====
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[[Lacan]] accused the major [[school|psychoanalytic schools]] of reducing [[psychoanalysis]] to the [[imaginary|imaginary order]].
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[[Lacan]] accused the major [[school|psychoanalytic schools]] of his day of reducing [[psychoanalysis]] to the [[imaginary|imaginary order]]: these [[psychoanalysts]] made [[identification]] with the [[analyst]] into the [[goal]] of [[treatment|analysis]], and reduced [[treatment|analysis]] to a [[dual relation]]ship.<ref>{{E}} p. 246-7</ref> [[Lacan]] sees this as a [[complete]] [[betrayal]] of [[psychoanalysis]], a deviation which can only eveer succeed in increasing the [[alienation]] of the [[subject]].
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The imaginary is far from inconsequential; it has powerful effects in the real, and is not simply something that can be dispensed with or 'overcome'.
 
  
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==See Also==
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{{See}}
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* [[Aggressivity]]
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* [[Alienation]]
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* [[Captation]]
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* [[Counterpart]]
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* [[Dual relation]]
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* [[Ego]]
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* [[Identification]]
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* [[Knowledge]]
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* [[Linguistics]]
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* [[Mirror stage]]
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* [[Narcissism]]
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* [[Nature]]
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* [[Specular image]]
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* [[Subject]]
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* [[Structure]]
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* [[Symbol]]
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* [[Symbolic]]
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{{Also}}
  
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From 1953 on, the imaginary becomes one of the three ORDERS which constitute the tripartite scheme at the centre of Lacanian thought, being opposed to the symbolic and the real.
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==References==
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<div style="font-size:11px" class="references-small">
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<references/>
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The basis of the imaginary order continues to be the formation of the ego in the MIRROR STAGE.
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{{OK}}
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Since the ego is formed by identifying with the counterpart or specular image, IDENTIFICATION is an important aspect of the imaginary order. The ego and the counterpart form the prototypical dual relationship, and are interchangeable.
 
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This relation­ship whereby the ego is constituted by identification with the little other means that the ego, and the imaginary order itself, are both sites of a radical ALIENATION; 'alienation is constitutive of the imaginary order' (S3, 146).
 
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The dual relationship between the ego and the counterpart is fundamentally narcissistic, and NARCISSISM is another characteristic of the imaginary order.
 
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Narcissism is always accompanied by a certain AGGRESSIVITY.
 
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The imaginary is the realm of image and imagination, deception and lure.
 
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The principal illusions of the imaginary are those of wholeness, synthesis, autonomy, duality and, above all, similarity.
 
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The imaginary is thus the order of surface appearances which are deceptive, observable phenomena which hide underlying structure; the affects are such phenomena.
 
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However, the opposition between the imaginary and the symbolic does not mean that the imaginary is lacking in structure.
 
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On the contrary, the imaginary is always already structured by the symbolic order.
 
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For example in his ussion of the mirror stage in 1949, Lacan speaks of the relations in ginary space, which imply a symbolic structuring of that space (E, I).
 
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expression 'imaginary matrix' also implies an imaginary which is struc­d by the symbolic (Ec, 221), and in 1964 Lacan discusses how the visual
 
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I is structured by symbolic laws (Sll, 91-2). )
 
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he imaginary also involves a linguistic dimension. Whereas the signifier is foundation of the symbolic order, the SIGNIFIED and SIGNIFICATION are part of imaginary order. Thus language has both symbolic and imaginary aspects; ts imaginary aspect, language is the 'wall of language' which inverts and orts the discourse of the Other (see SCHEMA L).
 
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he imaginary exerts a captivating power over the subject, founded in the ost hypnotic effect of the specular image. The imaginary is thus rooted in subject's relationship to his own body (or rather to the image of his body). s captivating/capturing power is both seductive (the imaginary is mani­ed above all on the sexual plane, in such forms as sexual display and lrtship rituals; Lacan, 1956b: 272) and disabling: it imprisons the subject in ~ries of static fixations (see CAPTATION).
 
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~he imaginary is the dimension of the human subject which is most closely ced to ethology and animal psychology (S3, 253). All attempts to explain nan subjectivity in terms of animal psychology are thus limited to the Iginary (see NATURE). Although the imaginary represents the closest point ~ontact between human subjectivity and animal ethology (S2, 166), it is not Iply identical; the imaginary order in human beings is structured by the nbolic, and this means that 'in man, the imaginary relation has deviated )m the realm of nature]' (S2, 210) ..
 
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~acan has a Cartesian mistrust of the imagination as a cognitive tool. He ists, like Descartes, on the supremacy of pure intellection, without depen­lce on images, as the only way of arriving at certain knowledge. It is this It lies behind Lacan's use of topological figures, which cannot be repre­lted in the imagination, to explore the structure of the unconscious (see 'OLOGY). This mistrust of the imagination and the senses puts Lacan firmly the side of rationalism rather than empiricism (see SCIENCE).
 
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[[Category:Psychoanalysis]]
 
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[[Category:Imaginary]]
 
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[[Category:Development]]
 
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Latest revision as of 00:10, 25 May 2019

French: imaginaire
German: Imaginäre

Jacques Lacan

In the work of Jacques Lacan, the real, the symbolic, and the imaginary are a central set of references. The imaginary is the field of the ego.

Ego

The imaginary order is based on the formation of the ego in the mirror stage by identification with the counterpart (or specular image). The dual relation between the ego and the counterpart is characterized by alienation and narcissism.

Image

The imaginary is the realm of image and imagination, deception and lure. The principal illusions of the imaginary are those of wholeness, synthesis, autonomy, duality and, above all, similarity.

Psychology

The imaginary is the dimension of the human subject which is most closely linked to animal psychology, yet it is structured by the symbolic, and this means that "in man, the imaginary relation has deviated [from the realm of nature]."[1]

Criticism

Lacan accused the major psychoanalytic schools of reducing psychoanalysis to the imaginary order.


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. 210
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