Difference between revisions of "Optical schema"

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[[File:Lacan-opticalmodel.jpg|thumb|Lacan's optical schema]][[Lacan]] borrowed his [[optical]] [[schema]] from [[physics]]. He used it to illustrate the [[role]] of the [[real]] [[Other]] in constructing both the [[body]] and the [[specular]] [[image]] as the [[model]] for the ego.
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[[File:Phantom Bouquet.jpg|thumb|Phantom Bouquet experiment (from Hopkins, 1890)]]
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[[Lacan]] borrowed his [[optical]] [[schema]] from [[physics]]<ref>Berkeley Physics Demos, [https://web.archive.org/web/20200119145017/http://berkeleyphysicsdemos.net/node/723 Phantom Bouquet: Real image from a concave mirror]</ref><ref>Hopkins, George M, ''Experimental [[Science]]: Elementary, [[Practical]] and Experimental Physics'', Munn & Co (1890), p. 211</ref>. He used it to illustrate the [[role]] of the [[real]] [[Other]] in constructing both the [[body]] and the [[specular]] [[image]] as the [[model]] for the ego.
  
Lacan introduced this schema in his [[seminar]] of 1953-1954, on <i>[[Freud]]'s Papers on [[Technique]]</i>. He took his cue from Freud's reference to an optical schema in T<i>he [[Interpretation]] of [[Dreams]]</i> (Freud, 1900a, p. 536; Lacan, 1953-54, 74-76). Lacan first used the schema to illustrate the reciprocal play of the real, the [[imaginary]], and the [[symbolic]] in Melanie [[Klein]]'s [[case]] of "Little Dick."
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Lacan introduced this schema in his [[seminar]] of 1953-1954, on <i>[[Seminar I|Freud's Papers on Technique]]</i>. He took his cue from [[Freud]]'s reference to an optical schema in [[The Interpretation of Dreams|''The Interpretation of Dreams'']]<ref>[[Freud, Sigmund]] (1900a), ''The [[interpretation]] of [[dreams]]''. SE V p. 536</ref>:<blockquote>[[Optics]] could also have its say. At this point I find that I'm not in disagreement with the [[tradition]] established by the [[master]] - more than one of you must have noticed in the ''Traumdeutung'', in the chapter 'The [[psychology]] of the [[dream]]-process', the famous schema into which Freud inserts the entire proceedings of the [[unconscious]].<ref [[name]]=":0">[[Lacan, Jacques]]. (1988). ''[[The Seminar]] of [[Jacques Lacan]], Book I, Freud's Papers on [[Technique]] (1953-1954)''. (John Forrester, Trans.). New York: Norton. p. 74</ref></blockquote>Lacan first used the schema to illustrate the reciprocal play of the [[Real, the (Lacan)|real]], the [[imaginary]], and the [[symbolic]] in [[Melanie Klein]]'s [[case]] of "Little Dick."<ref>[[Klein]], Melanie. (1930). ''[[The importance of symbol-formation in the development of the ego]]''. International Journal of [[Psycho]]-[[Analysis]], 11:24-39</ref>[[File:Lacan-opticalmodel.jpg|thumb|Lacan's simplified optical schema]]Because of the optical properties of concave mirrors, a bouquet of flowers that is hidden from the [[visual]] field of the viewer emerges above the vase. And if the eye of the viewer is properly placed, an image of flowers in the vase is produced as a [[whole]] or a [[unity]].
  
Because of the optical properties of concave mirrors, a bouquet of flowers that is hidden from the [[visual]] field of the viewer emerges above the vase. And if the eye of the viewer is properly placed, an image of flowers in the vase is produced as a [[whole]] or a [[unity]].
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The [[illusory]] [[presence]] of the flowers in the vase represented a [[baby]]'s relation to his body, but this is something the baby cannot see. To create a "[[substitute]] for the [[mirror]]-[[stage]]"<ref name=":0" />, Lacan introduced a plane mirror.
  
The [[illusory]] [[presence]] of the flowers in the vase represented a [[baby]]'s relation to his body, but this is something the baby cannot see. To create a "[[substitute]] for the [[mirror]]-[[stage]]" (1953-54, p. 74), Lacan introduced a plane mirror.
 
 
In the [[virtual]] [[space]] beyond the mirror, a [[specular image]] is created, <i>i</i>′ <i>(a)</i>, and this is where the baby as [[subject]] recognizes the image as its ego. This represents the [[dimension]] of radical [[alienation]] in ego [[formation]] as it occurs in relation to the image of a fellow being—a [[process]] that is specific to secondary [[narcissism]] and the [[ideal]] ego.
 
In the [[virtual]] [[space]] beyond the mirror, a [[specular image]] is created, <i>i</i>′ <i>(a)</i>, and this is where the baby as [[subject]] recognizes the image as its ego. This represents the [[dimension]] of radical [[alienation]] in ego [[formation]] as it occurs in relation to the image of a fellow being—a [[process]] that is specific to secondary [[narcissism]] and the [[ideal]] ego.
[[File:Complete and simplified optical schemas.png|thumb|Schemas from Seminar X: Anxiety]]
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Lacan returned to the optical schema in his seminar on <i>[[Seminar VIII|Transference]]</i><ref>Lacan, Jacques. (2015). ''The Seminar of Jacques Lacan, Book VIII, [[Transference]] (1960-1961)''. ([[Bruce Fink]], Trans.). Polity Press. p. 345</ref>, but then the plane mirror shows the effect that the parental Other's look has on the baby's organism. This look allows the baby to [[sense]] its own body, modeled on its specular image. Lacan even gave the Other a role in the formation of primary narcissism. This schema allows for an approach to the [[treatment]] of early psychopathologies prior to the [[mirror stage]]<ref>Laznik, Marie-Christine. [[Pour une théorie lacanienne des pulsions]]. Le [[Discours]] psychanalytique, 1993</ref>.[[File:Complete and simplified optical schemas.png|thumb|Schemas from Seminar X: Anxiety]]
Lacan returned to the optical schema in his seminar on <i>[[Transference]]</i> (1960-61), but then the plane mirror shows the effect that the parental Other's look has on the baby's organism. This look allows the baby to [[sense]] its own body, modeled on its specular image. Lacan even gave the Other a role in the formation of primary narcissism. This schema allows for an approach to the [[treatment]] of early psychopathologies prior to the [[mirror stage]] (Laznik-Penot, 1993).
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In his seminar on <i>[[Seminar X|Anxiety]]</i><ref>Lacan, Jacques. (2014). ''The Seminar of Jacques Lacan, Book X, [[Anxiety]] (1962-1963)''. (A.R. Price, Trans.). Polity Press. p. 38</ref>, Lacan redesigned the schema in response to a question asked by [[André Green]] regarding the relations between [[the real]], [[the imaginary]], and [[the symbolic]].
 
 
In his seminar on <i>[[Anxiety]]</i> (1962-63), Lacan redesigned the schema in response to a question asked by André Green regarding the relations between the real, [[the imaginary]], and [[the symbolic]].
 
  
 
This version of the schema presented two [[principle]] modifications:
 
This version of the schema presented two [[principle]] modifications:
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Lacan used the plane mirror in two different ways. Sometimes it referred to the mirror of [[the mirror stage]], still very much centered on the [[structuring]] [[character]] of the image itself. And sometimes it referred to a mirror without a reflection, that is, a [[representation]] of the Other's [[gaze]]. Indeed, our [[understanding]] of this schema has been modified [[retroactively]] by the introduction of the [[concept]] of the [[big Other]]; nevertheless, it is still most often [[understood]] in its strictly intrapsychic dimension.
 
Lacan used the plane mirror in two different ways. Sometimes it referred to the mirror of [[the mirror stage]], still very much centered on the [[structuring]] [[character]] of the image itself. And sometimes it referred to a mirror without a reflection, that is, a [[representation]] of the Other's [[gaze]]. Indeed, our [[understanding]] of this schema has been modified [[retroactively]] by the introduction of the [[concept]] of the [[big Other]]; nevertheless, it is still most often [[understood]] in its strictly intrapsychic dimension.
  
Professor of [[Psychoanalysis]] at Ghent [[University]] Stijn Vanheule has put together a YouTube video demonstrating how the optical [[illusion]] of the inverted vase Lacan discusses in [[Seminar I]] works.
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Professor of [[Psychoanalysis]] at Ghent [[University]] Stijn Vanheule has put together a YouTube video demonstrating how the optical [[illusion]] of the inverted vase Lacan discusses in [[Seminar I]] works.<ref>Vanheule, Stijn. (2015). [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmsFv24LaDg Jacques Lacan's double mirror device]. YouTube.</ref>
  
 
==See Also==
 
==See Also==
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* [[Topology]]
 
* [[Topology]]
  
==References==
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==Reference==
 
<references />
 
<references />
# [[Freud, Sigmund]]. (1900a). The [[interpretation of dreams]]. SE, 4-5: 1-751.
 
# Klein, Melanie. (1930). [https://nonoedipal.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/the-importance-of-symbol-formation-in-the-development-of-the-ego.pdf The importance of symbol-formation in the development of the ego]. International Journal of [[Psycho]]-[[Analysis]], 11:24-39
 
# [[Lacan, Jacques]]. (1988). [[The Seminar]] of [[Jacques Lacan]], Book I, [[Freud's Papers on Technique]] (1953-1954). (John Forrester, Trans.). New York: Norton.
 
# ——. Le Séminaire-Livre IX, L'[[identification]] (1961-62). (unpublished seminar).
 
# ——. (2004). Le Séminaire-Livre X, L'[[angoisse]] [Anxiety] (1962-1963). [[Paris]]: Seuil.
 
# Vanheule, Stijn. (2015). [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmsFv24LaDg Jacques Lacan's double mirror device]. YouTube.
 
 
 
[[Category:New]]
 
[[Category:New]]

Revision as of 13:20, 4 August 2020

Phantom Bouquet experiment (from Hopkins, 1890)

Lacan borrowed his optical schema from physics[1][2]. He used it to illustrate the role of the real Other in constructing both the body and the specular image as the model for the ego.

Lacan introduced this schema in his seminar of 1953-1954, on Freud's Papers on Technique. He took his cue from Freud's reference to an optical schema in The Interpretation of Dreams[3]:

Optics could also have its say. At this point I find that I'm not in disagreement with the tradition established by the master - more than one of you must have noticed in the Traumdeutung, in the chapter 'The psychology of the dream-process', the famous schema into which Freud inserts the entire proceedings of the unconscious.[4]

Lacan first used the schema to illustrate the reciprocal play of the real, the imaginary, and the symbolic in Melanie Klein's case of "Little Dick."[5]

Lacan's simplified optical schema

Because of the optical properties of concave mirrors, a bouquet of flowers that is hidden from the visual field of the viewer emerges above the vase. And if the eye of the viewer is properly placed, an image of flowers in the vase is produced as a whole or a unity.

The illusory presence of the flowers in the vase represented a baby's relation to his body, but this is something the baby cannot see. To create a "substitute for the mirror-stage"[6], Lacan introduced a plane mirror.

In the virtual space beyond the mirror, a specular image is created, i(a), and this is where the baby as subject recognizes the image as its ego. This represents the dimension of radical alienation in ego formation as it occurs in relation to the image of a fellow being—a process that is specific to secondary narcissism and the ideal ego.

Lacan returned to the optical schema in his seminar on Transference[7], but then the plane mirror shows the effect that the parental Other's look has on the baby's organism. This look allows the baby to sense its own body, modeled on its specular image. Lacan even gave the Other a role in the formation of primary narcissism. This schema allows for an approach to the treatment of early psychopathologies prior to the mirror stage[8].

Schemas from Seminar X: Anxiety

In his seminar on Anxiety[9], Lacan redesigned the schema in response to a question asked by André Green regarding the relations between the real, the imaginary, and the symbolic.

This version of the schema presented two principle modifications:

  1. The flowers, a metaphor for libidinal investment, were no longer the reflection of a bouquet hidden under the table, but rather the effect of a lack, which Lacan wrote as φ.
  2. The inscription of lack, φ, also appeared behind the plane mirror, in the imaginary field. Thus the new version of the schema emphasized the constitutive role of lack in any mental functioning.

Lacan used the plane mirror in two different ways. Sometimes it referred to the mirror of the mirror stage, still very much centered on the structuring character of the image itself. And sometimes it referred to a mirror without a reflection, that is, a representation of the Other's gaze. Indeed, our understanding of this schema has been modified retroactively by the introduction of the concept of the big Other; nevertheless, it is still most often understood in its strictly intrapsychic dimension.

Professor of Psychoanalysis at Ghent University Stijn Vanheule has put together a YouTube video demonstrating how the optical illusion of the inverted vase Lacan discusses in Seminar I works.[10]

See Also

Reference

  1. Berkeley Physics Demos, Phantom Bouquet: Real image from a concave mirror
  2. Hopkins, George M, Experimental Science: Elementary, Practical and Experimental Physics, Munn & Co (1890), p. 211
  3. Freud, Sigmund (1900a), The interpretation of dreams. SE V p. 536
  4. Lacan, Jacques. (1988). The Seminar of Jacques Lacan, Book I, Freud's Papers on Technique (1953-1954). (John Forrester, Trans.). New York: Norton. p. 74
  5. Klein, Melanie. (1930). The importance of symbol-formation in the development of the ego. International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 11:24-39
  6. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named :0
  7. Lacan, Jacques. (2015). The Seminar of Jacques Lacan, Book VIII, Transference (1960-1961). (Bruce Fink, Trans.). Polity Press. p. 345
  8. Laznik, Marie-Christine. Pour une théorie lacanienne des pulsions. Le Discours psychanalytique, 1993
  9. Lacan, Jacques. (2014). The Seminar of Jacques Lacan, Book X, Anxiety (1962-1963). (A.R. Price, Trans.). Polity Press. p. 38
  10. Vanheule, Stijn. (2015). Jacques Lacan's double mirror device. YouTube.