Difference between revisions of "Name-of-the-Father"

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When the expression "[[Name-of-the-Father|the name of the father]]" first appeared in [[Lacan]]’s work, in the early 1950s, it is without capital letters and refers generally to the "[[prohibition|prohibitive role]]" of the "[[symbolic]] [[father]]" as the one who lays down the [[incest]] [[taboo]] in the [[Oedipus complex]].
 
When the expression "[[Name-of-the-Father|the name of the father]]" first appeared in [[Lacan]]’s work, in the early 1950s, it is without capital letters and refers generally to the "[[prohibition|prohibitive role]]" of the "[[symbolic]] [[father]]" as the one who lays down the [[incest]] [[taboo]] in the [[Oedipus complex]].
  
<blockquote>"It is in the 'name of the father' that we must recognize the support of the symbolic function which, from the dawn of history, has identified his person with the figure of the law."<ref>{{E}} p.67</ref></blockquote>  
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<blockquote>It is in the 'name of the father' that we must recognize the support of the symbolic function which, from the dawn of history, has identified his person with the figure of the law.<ref>{{E}} p.67</ref></blockquote>  
  
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===The 'No" of the Father===
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From the beginning [[Lacan]] plays on the homophony of ''le nom du père'' (the name of the father) and ''le 'non' du père'' (the 'no' of the father), to emphasize the legislative and prohibitive function of the [[symbolic]] [[father]] -- the 'no' of the [[incest]] [[taboo]].
 +
 
 +
In the French language, the expression “the name of the father” (''le nom du père'') is phonetically similar to the expression “the ‘no’ of the father” (''le ‘non’ du père'').
 +
Lacan plays on this similarity to emphasize the prohibitive function of the symbolic father (the ‘no’ of the [[incest]] [[taboo]]).
 +
 
 +
 
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The term is a play on the near-homonyms ''non'' and ''nom''.
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The "[[Name-of-the-Father]]" (''[[nom-du-père]]'') can be read the "'No' of the [[Father]]" (''non-du-père'').
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The 'No' refers to the [[symbolic]] [[prohibition]]
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The 'No' of the [[Father]] to the [[desire]] of the [[child]] for [[incest]]uous relations with the [[mother]].
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The 'No' of the [[Father]] to the [[child]]'s [[incest]]uous [[desire]] for the [[mother]].
  
From the beginning [[Lacan]] plays on the homophony of ''le nom du père'' (the name of the father) and ''le 'non' du père'' (the 'no' of the father), to emphasize the legislative and prohibitive function of the [[symbolic]] [[father]].
 
  
 
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Revision as of 11:33, 4 August 2006

"Name-of-the-Father (Fr. Nom-du-Père)


Jacques Lacan

Jacques Lacan introduced the concept of the Name-of-the-Father into psychoanalytic theory.


When the expression "the name of the father" first appeared in Lacan’s work, in the early 1950s, it is without capital letters and refers generally to the "prohibitive role" of the "symbolic father" as the one who lays down the incest taboo in the Oedipus complex.

It is in the 'name of the father' that we must recognize the support of the symbolic function which, from the dawn of history, has identified his person with the figure of the law.[1]

The 'No" of the Father

From the beginning Lacan plays on the homophony of le nom du père (the name of the father) and le 'non' du père (the 'no' of the father), to emphasize the legislative and prohibitive function of the symbolic father -- the 'no' of the incest taboo.

In the French language, the expression “the name of the father” (le nom du père) is phonetically similar to the expression “the ‘no’ of the father” (le ‘non’ du père). Lacan plays on this similarity to emphasize the prohibitive function of the symbolic father (the ‘no’ of the incest taboo).


The term is a play on the near-homonyms non and nom.

The "Name-of-the-Father" (nom-du-père) can be read the "'No' of the Father" (non-du-père).

The 'No' refers to the symbolic prohibition

The 'No' of the Father to the desire of the child for incestuous relations with the mother.

The 'No' of the Father to the child's incestuous desire for the mother.


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A few years later, in the seminar on the psychoses, the expression becomes capitalized and hyphenated and takes on a more precise meaning; the Name-of-the-Father is now the fundamental signifier which permits signification to proceed normally.

This fundamental signifier both confers identity on the subject (it names him, positions him within the symbolic order) and signifies the Oedipal prohibition, the 'no' of the incest taboo.

If this signifier is foreclosed (not included in the symbolic order), the result is psychosis.

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In another work on psychosis, Lacan represents of the Oedipus complex as a metaphor (paternal metaphor), in which one signifier (the Name-of-the-Father) substitutes another (the desire of the mother).

  1. Lacan, Jacques. Écrits: A Selection. Trans. Alan Sheridan. London: Tavistock Publications, 1977. p.67