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order (''ordre'')
[[Jacques Lacan]] first develops the three '[[order]]s' (or '[[register]]s') in 1953.
The [[Imaginary]], the [[Symbolic]] and the [[Real]] thus comprise a basic classification system (around which all [[Lacan]]'s theorising 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>{{Sl}} p.73</ref>
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
==See Also==
* [[Imaginary]]
* [[Symbolic]]
* [[Real]]
* [[Borromean knot]]
== References ==
<references/>
[[Category:Jacques Lacan]]
[[Category:Terms]]
[[Category:Concepts]]
[[Category:Psychoanalysis]]
[[Category:Dictionary]]