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| | | [[French]]: ''[[mathème{{Bottom}} | | | [[French]]: ''[[mathème{{Bottom}} |
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| − | The [[matheme]] is a concept introduced in the [[{{LB}}|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]],<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]].
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| − | ==Schema L==
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| − | [[Image:Lacan-schemal.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Schema L]]
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| − | In 1955, [[Lacan]] introduced what could be called his first [[matheme]], the relatively simple "'''[[schema L]]'''", illustrating the [[imaginary|imaginary function]] of the [[ego]].
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| − | '''[[Schema L]]''' [[identification|identifies]] four points in the [[signifying chain]]:
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| − | # [[Image:Biga.gif]], the [[unconscious]] or the "[[discourse]] of the [[Other]]]", and then .
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| − | # [[Image:Smalls.gif]], the [[subject]], which in turn results from the relation between
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| − | # [[Image:Smalla.gif]], the [[ego]] and
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| − | # [[Image:Smalla'.gif]], the [[counterpart|other]].
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| − | ==Signifier==
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| − | [[Image:SAUSSUREANALGORITHM.gif|thumb|100px|right|Saussurean algorithm|The Saussurean algorithm]]
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| − | Perhaps the most familiar [[matheme]] is the "[[matheme|algorithm]]" which in 1957 replaces [[Saussure]]'s simple diagram / arbor with the notion '''S/s'''. In 1957, [[Lacan]] replaces [[Saussure]]'s diagram of the [[sign]] with what is now referred to as the "'''[[Saussurean algorithm]]'''".<ref>{{E}} p. 149</ref> The [[matheme]] links the [[law]]s of the [[unconscious]] discovered by [[Freud]] to the [[law]]s of [[language]] ([[metaphor]] and [[metonymy]]).
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| − | This is to be understood as demonstrating that the [[signifier]] is above the [[signified]] , showing the primacy of the [[signifier]] (which is capitalized, whereas the [[signifier]] is reduced to mere lower-case italic), and that the two are separated by a [[bar]] that resists [[signification]] and forces the [[signifier]] to [[slip|slide]] endlessly.<ref>{{L}} "[[The Agency of the Letter in the Unconscious or Reason Since Freud|L'instance de la lettre dans l'inconscient ou la raison depuis Freud]]." ''[[Écrits]]''. Paris: Seuil, 1966: 493-528 ["[[The Agency of the Letter in the Unconscious or Reason Since Freud|The agency of the letter in the unconscious or reason since Freud]]." Trans. [[Alan Sheridan]] ''[[Écrits: A Selection]]''. London: Tavistock, 1977; New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1977: 146-78].</ref>
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| | ==See Also== | | ==See Also== |
