Difference between revisions of "Matheme"

Revision as of 20:30, 10 September 2006

French: mathème

The matheme is a concept introduced in the work of Jacques Lacan.

The "matheme" is a neologism coined by Jacques Lacan in the early 1970s.

Formed by derivation from "mathematics" and by analogy with phoneme and Lévi-Strauss's mytheme,^[1] the term is an equivalent to "mathematical sign". It is not used in conventional mathematics, but is part of Lacan's algebra.

In 1955, Lacan introduced what could be called his first matheme, the relatively simple "schema L", illustrating the imaginary function of the ego.

Schema L identifies four points in the signifying chain:

↑ Mytheme is a term coined by Claude Lévi-Strauss to denote the basic constituents of mythological systems.

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 Formed by derivation from "[[mathematics]]" and by analogy with [[phoneme]] and [[Lévi-Strauss]]'s [[mytheme]],<ref>''Mytheme'' is a term coined by [[Claude Lévi-Strauss]] to denote the basic constituents of mythological systems.</ref> the term is an equivalent to "[[algebra|mathematical sign]]".  It is not used in conventional [[mathematics]], but is part of [[Lacan]]'s [[algebra]].
+=====Schema L=====
+In 1955, [[Lacan]] introduced what could be called his first [[matheme]], the relatively simple "[[matheme|schema L]]", illustrating the [[imaginary|imaginary function]] of the [[ego]].
+[[Matheme|Schema L]] identifies four points in the [[signifying chain]]:
+# [[Image:Biga.gif]], the [[unconscious]] or the "[[discourse]] of the [[Other]]]", and then .
+# [[Image:Smalls.gif]], the [[subject]], which in turn results from the relation between
+# [[Image:Smalla.gif]], the [[ego]] and
+# [[Image:Smalla'.gif]], the [[counterpart|other]].