The Latin word imago simply means "image"==Psychoanalysis==Originally introduced into [[psychoanalytic theory]] by [[Jung]] in 1911, but it has acquired a number of powerful connotations over time. Christian theology refers to the "[[Latin]] term ''[[imago Dei", the image of God ]]'' had already become standard in which human beings were created and with which they should strive to conform. [[Carl Jung psychoanalytic]] [[:category:terms| Carl Gustav Jungterminology]] introduced the term into psychology; for Jung, the individual forms a personality by identifying with imagos that emerge from the collective unconscious, a shared reservoir of mythical figures and scenarios. [[time]] [[Lacan takes up the term to refer to the image the infant sees in the mirror (or the image of the caregiver) and with which the infant identifies. In the ah-ha experience that characterizes the mirror stage, the infant grasps the connection between the image and its own existence. The infant experiences the imago ]] began [[training]] as a [[Gestaltpsychoanalyst]], a meaningful formin the 1930s.
It ==Images==The term is clearly related to the term "[[image]]", but it is meant to emphasize the [[subjective]] determination of the [[image]]; in [[other]] [[words]], it includes [[feelings]] as well as a [[visual]] [[representation]]. [[Imago]]s are specifically [[image]]s of other [[people]]. However, they are not the product of purely personal [[experience]] but [[universal]] prototypes which may be actualized in anyone's [[psyche]]. [[Imago]]s act as stereotypes influencing the way the [[subject]] relates to other people, who are perceived through the lens of these various [[imago]]s. ==Complex==The term "[[imago]]" occupies a central [[role]] in [[Lacan]]'s pre-1950 writings, where it is closely related to the term [[complex]]. In 1938, [[Lacan]] [[links]] each of the [[three]] [[family complex]]es to a specific [[imago]]: the [[weaning]] [[complex]] is important liked to the [[imago]] of the [[maternal]] [[breast]], the [[intrusion complex]] to the [[imago]] of the [[counterpart]], and the [[Oedipus complex]] to note the [[imago]] of the [[father]].<ref>{{1938}}</ref> ==Psychology==In 1946, [[Lacan]] argues that in formulating the [[concept]] of the [[imago ]], [[psychoanalysis]] has provided [[psychology]] with a proper [[object]] of study and thus set [[psychology]] on a truly [[scientific]] footing. <blockquote>"It is external possible.. to designate in the imago the proper object of psychology, exactly to the infantsame extent that [[Galileo]]'s [[notion]] of the inert [[material]] poitn formed the basis of phsyics. The "I" comes into <ref>{{Ec}} p. 188</ref></blockquote> ==Negative Effects==Whereas for [[Jung]] and [[Klein]] [[imago]]s have equally positive and [[negative]] effects, in [[Lacan]]'s [[work]] they are weighted firmly towards the negative, [[being not as an emanation ]] funamentally deceptive and disruptive elements. [[Lacan]] speaks of the [[imago]] of the individual[[fragmented body]], but and even [[autonomy|unified]] [[imago]]s such as the result [[specular image]] are mere [[illusion]]s of [[lack|wholeness]] which introduce an underlying [[aggressivity]]. <blockquote>"The first effect of the imago which appears in the [[human]] being is an encounter with effect of subjective ''[[alienation]]''.<ref>{{Ec}} p. 181</ref></blockquote> ==Jacques Lacan==After 1950 the term "[[imago]]" [[disappears]] almost entirely from [[Lacan]]'s [[theoretical]] [[:category:concepts|vocabulary]]. However, the basis [[ideas]] developed around the term in [[Lacan]]'s pre-1950 writings continue to play an important part in his [[thinking]], being articulated around other[[terms]], principally the term "[[image]]". ==See Also=={{See}}* [[Complex]]* [[Counterpart]]||* [[Fragmented body]]* [[Lack]]||* [[Image]]* [[Specular image]]{{Also}} ==References==<div style="font-size:11px" class="references-small"><references/></div> [[Category:Psychoanalysis]][[Category:Jacques Lacan]][[Category:Imaginary]][[Category:Dictionary]][[Category:Concepts]][[Category:Terms]]{{OK}} __NOTOC__
