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Although [[Lacan]] uses the [[terms ]] "[[real]]," "[[symbolic]]" and "[[imaginary]]" from early on in his work, it is not until 1953 that he speaks of these as [[three ]] "[[order]]s" or three "[[order|register]]s.") From that [[moment ]] on they come to be the fundamental classification [[system ]] around which all his theorizing turns. The [[imaginary]], the [[symbolic]] and the [[real]] thus comprise a basic This classification system (around which all [[Lacan]]'s theorizing turns) which allows important distinctions to be drawn between [[concepts ]] which, according to [[Lacan]], had previously been confused in [[psychoanalytic theory]].

For example [[Lacan]] argues that much misunderstanding has arisen in [[psychoanalytic theory]] due to a failure to distinguish between the [[imaginary]] [[father]], the [[symbolic]] [[father]] and the [[real]] [[father]]. Thus [[Lacan]] claims that his [[tripartite ]] classification system has shed invaluable light on [[Freud]]'s [[work]]:

<blockquote>"Without these three systems to [[guide ]] ourselves by, it would be [[impossible ]] to [[understand ]] anything of the [[Freudian ]] [[technique ]] and experience."<ref>{{S1}} p. 73</ref></blockquote>

The [[imaginary]], the [[symbolic]] and the [[real]] are profoundly heterogeneous, each referring to quite distinct aspects of [[psychoanalytic]] [[experience]]. It is therefore difficult to see what they have in common, and yet, the fact that [[Lacan]] refers to all three as "[[order]]s" implies that they share some common property. [[Lacan]] explores this question of what the three [[order]]s have in common by means of the [[topology]] of the [[Borromean knot]] in his 1974-5 [[seminar]], [[RSI]]. They are not [[mental ]] forces like the three [[agency|agencies]] in [[Freud]]'s [[structural model]]. However, they are primarily concerned with mental functioning, and together they cover the [[whole ]] field of [[psychoanalysis]].

Although the three [[orders]] are profoundly heterogeneous, each order must be defined by reference to the [[other ]] two. The [[structural]] interdependence of the three [[order]]s is illustrated by the [[Borromean knot]], in which the severing of any one of the three rings causes the other two to become separated also.

It should also be noted that the "orders" are not [[stable ]] concepts; at each moment each may be implicated in the redefinition of the [[others]].