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

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{{Top}}Nom-du-Père{{Bottom}}
 
{{Top}}Nom-du-Père{{Bottom}}
 
The [[Name of the Father]]' (Fr. ‘’Nom du père’’) , is the [[signifier]] associated with the [[signified]] [[concept]] of the [[father]].
 
 
The name of the Father is a [[symbolic]] formation.
 
 
==Jacques Lacan==
 
 
[[Jacques Lacan]] introduced the concept of the [[Name-of-the-Father]] into [[psychoanalytic theory]].
 
  
  
 +
===Symbolic Function===
 
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>  
 
 
===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 [[incest]]uous relations with the [[mother]].
 
 
 
The 'No' of the [[Father]] to the [[child]]'s [[incest]]uous [[desire]] for the [[mother]].
 
  
 +
===The "No" of the Father===
 +
From the beginning [[Lacan]] plays on the homophony of ''le nom du père'' (the [[Name-of-the-Father|name of the father]]) and ''le 'non' du père'' (the "[[law|no]]" of the [[father]]), to emphasize the [[law|legislative and prohibitive function]] of the [[symbolic]] [[father]].
  
 
===Fundamental Signifier===
 
===Fundamental Signifier===
 
 
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.
 
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.
+
This [[fundamental signifier]] both confers [[identification|identity]] on the [[subject]] (it names him, positions him within the [[symbolic order]]) and [[signification|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]].
 
If this [[signifier]] is [[foreclosed]] (not included in the [[symbolic order]]), the result is [[psychosis]].
  
In [[Lacan]]'s 1955-6 [[seminar]], [[The Psychoses]], the [[name-of-the-father]] is described as the fundamental [[signifier]] that both confers [[identity]] on [[human]] [[subject]]s by situating them in a lineage and the [[symbolic]] [[order]], and reiterates the [[prohibition]] on [[incest]].
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===Paternal Metaphor===
 
 
 
 
===Other===
 
 
 
 
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]]).
 
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]]).
 
 
 
 
==Psychosis==
 
The [[foreclosure]] of the [[name-of-the-father]], or its expulsion from the [[subject]]'s [[symbolic]] universe, is said by [[Lacan]] to be the mechanism that triggers [[psychosis]].
 
 
If this signifier is foreclosed (not included in the symbolic order), the result is [[psychosis]].
 
Nevertheless, [[Jacques Lacan]] developed this concept with the ultimately unsuccessful aim of curing psychosis.
 
 
 
==Outside Language==
 
 
 
The [[phallus]], as a [[representation]] of [[mastery]], can never be reached.
 
 
 
 
The [[father]] is above or [[outside]] the [[structure]] of [[language]].
 
 
 
[[Language]] relies on the [[absence]] of the [[phallus]] from the [[structure]] of [[signification]].
 
 
[[Language]] would not make sense, or produce [[meaning]], if the [[phallus]] were not '[[outside]]'.
 
 
 
Nothing can be thought that is ''outside'' of language, but the phallus ''is'' there and therefore structures the whole system of thought accordingly.
 
 
 
 
 
==Freud vs Lacan==
 
 
 
 
 
In ''[[Totem and Taboo]]'', [[Sigmund Freud]]
 
 
There was a [[father]] which the brothers killed.
 
 
The brothers felt guilty about killing their [[father]].
 
 
  
 
==See Also==
 
==See Also==
 +
{{See}}
 +
* [[Castration]]
 +
* [[Father]]
 
* [[Foreclosure]]  
 
* [[Foreclosure]]  
 +
||
 +
* [[Law]]
 
* [[Metaphor]]  
 
* [[Metaphor]]  
 +
* [[Oedipus complex]]
 +
||
 
* [[Psychosis]]  
 
* [[Psychosis]]  
* [[Real]]
+
* [[Signification]]
 
* [[Signifier]]  
 
* [[Signifier]]  
 
+
{{Also}}
 
 
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
 
<references/>
 
<references/>
* Lacan, Jacques. (2002). The subversion of the subject and the dialectic of desire in the Freudian subconscious. In Écrits: A selection (Bruce Fink, Trans.). New York: Norton.
 
  
 
[[category:Freudian psychology]]
 
[[category:Freudian psychology]]
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[[Category:Concepts]]
 
[[Category:Concepts]]
 
[[Category:Terms]]
 
[[Category:Terms]]
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Revision as of 12:00, 21 August 2006

French: Nom-du-Père


Symbolic Function

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.

Fundamental Signifier

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.

Paternal Metaphor

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).

See Also

References

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