phobia ({{Top}}phobie) A phobia is usually defined in psychiatry as an extreme{{Bottom}}
A [[phobia]] is usually defined in [[psychiatry]] as an extreme '''[[fear ]]''' of a [[particular ]] [[object ]] (such as an [[animal]]) or a particular [[situation ]] (such asleaving the home).
leaving the home). Those who suffer from a phobia [[experience ]] [[Anxiety]] if they[[encounter]] the phobic object or are placed in the feared situation, and develop 'avoidance strategies' so as to prevent this from happening.
encounter These avoidance strategies may become so elaborate that the phobic object or are placed in the feared situation, and develop[[subject]]'s [[life]] is severely restricted.
'avoidance strategies' so as to prevent this from happening. These avoidance---
strategies may become so elaborate that the subject[[Freud]]'s life is severely restrictedmost important contribution to the study of phobias concerned a young boy whom he dubbed Little [[Hans]].
Freud's most important contribution Shortly before his fifth birthday, Hans developed a violent fear of horses and became unwilling to go outdoors lest he encounter one in the study of phobias concerned astreet.
young boy whom he dubbed Little In his [[case]] study of Hans, Freud distinguished between the initial onset of anxiety (which was not attached to any object) and the ensuing fear which was focused specifically on horses; only the latter constituted the phobia proper. Shortly before his fifth birthday, Hans
developed a violent fear Freud argued that the anxiety was the transformation of [[sexual]] excitement generated in Hans by his [[relationship]] with his [[mother]], and that the horses and became unwilling to go outdoors lest herepresented his [[father]] who Hans feared would punish him.<ref>{{SF}} 1909b</ref>
encounter one in the street. In his case study of Hans, Freud distinguished---
between [[Lacan]], in his [[seminar]] of 1956-7, offers a detailed [[reading]] of the initial onset case of anxiety (which was not attached to any object) [[Little Hans]], andproposes his own view of phobia.
Following Freud, he stresses the ensuing [[difference]] between phobia and anxiety: anxiety appears first, and the phobia is a defensive [[formation]] which turns the anxiety into fear which was focused specifically by focusing it on horses; only the lattera specific object.<ref>{{S4}} pp. 207, 400</ref>
constituted However, rather than [[identifying]] the phobia proper. phobic object as a [[representative]] of the father, as Freud argued does, Lacan argues that the anxiety was fundamental characteristic of the transforphobic object is that it does not simply [[represent]] one person but represents different [[people]] in turn.<ref>{{S4}} pp. 283-8</ref>
mation of sexual excitement generated Lacan points out the extremely diverse ways in which Hans by his relationship with describes the feared horse at different moments of hisphobia; for example, at one point Hans is afraid that a horse will bite him and at [[another]] [[moment]] that a horse will fall down.<ref>{{S4}} p. 305-6</ref>
motherAt each of these different moments, Lacan argues, and that the horses represented his father who horse represents a different person in Hans feared would's life.<ref>{{S4}} p. 307</ref>
punish him (Freud, 1909b)The horse thus functions not as the equivalent of a sole [[signified]] but as a [[signifier]] which has no univocal [[sense]] and is [[displaced]] onto different signifieds in turn<ref>{{S4}} p.288</ref>
Lacan, in his seminar of 1956-7, offers a detailed reading of the case of--
Little Lacan argues that Hansdevelops the horse phobia because his [[Real]] father fails to intervene as the [[agent]] of [[castration]], and proposes which is his own view of phobiaproper [[role]] in the [[Oedipus Complex]].<ref>{{S4}} p. Following Freud, he stresses212</ref>
When his [[sexuality]] begins to make itself felt in [[infantile]] [[masturbation]], the difference between phobia and anxiety: [[preoedipal]] [[triangle]] (mother-[[child]]-[[Imaginary]] [[phallus]]) is transformed from [[being]] Hans's source of [[enjoyment]] into something that provokes anxiety appears first, and thein him.
phobia The [[intervention]] of the [[Real]] father would have saved Hans from this anxiety by [[Symbolic]]ally [[castrating]] him, but in the [[absence]] of this intervention Hans is [[forced]] to find a defensive formation which turns [[substitute]] in the anxiety into fear by focusingphobia.
it on a specific The phobia functions by using an [[Imaginary]] object (the horse) to reorganise the [[Symbolic]] [[world]] of Hans and thus [[help]] him to make the passage from the [[Imaginary]] to the [[Symbolic]] [[order]]<ref>{{S4}} pp. 230, 207245-6, 400). However, rather than identifying the284</ref>
phobic object as Far from being a representative of the fatherpurely [[negative]] phenomenon, as Freud doesthen, Lacan argues that the fundamental characteristic of the phobic object is that it does not simply represent one person but represents different people in turn (S4, 283-8). Lacan points out the extremely diverse ways in which Hans describes the feared horse at different moments of his a phobia; for example, at one point Hans is afraid that makes a horse will bite him and at another moment that a horse will fall down (S4[[traumatic]] situation thinkable, 305-6). At each of these different momentslivable, Lacan arguesby introducing a [[symbolic]] [[dimension]], the horse represents even if it is only a different person in Hans's life (S4, 307)provisional solution. The horse thus functions not as the equivalent of a sole signified but as a signifier which has no univocal sense and is displaced onto different signifieds in turn (<ref>{{S4, 288)}} p.82</ref>
Lacan argues that Hans develops the horse phobia because his [[Real]] father fails to intervene as the agent of castration, which is his proper role in the OEDIPUS COMPLEx (S4, 212). When his sexuality begins to make itself felt in infantile masturbation, the preoedipal triangle (mother-child-[[Imaginary]] phallus) is transformed from being Hans's source of enjoyment into something that provokes anxiety in him. The intervention of the [[Real]] father would have saved Hans from this anxiety by [[Symbolic]]ally castrating him, but in the absence of this intervention Hans is forced to find a substitute in the phobia. The phobia functions by using an [[Imaginary]] object (the horse) to reorganise the [[Symbolic]] world of Hans and thus help him to make the passage from the [[Imaginary]] to the [[Symbolic]] order (S4, 230, 245-6, 284). Far from being a purely negative phenomenon, then, a phobia makes a traumatic situation thinkable, livable, by introducing a [[Symbolic]] dimension, even if it is only a provisional solution (S4, 82).
The phobic object is thus an [[Imaginary]] element which is able to function as a signifier by being used to represent every possible element in the subject's world. For Hans, the horse represents at different moments his father, his mother, his little sister, his friends, himself, and many other things besides (S4, 307). In the process of developing all the permutations possible around 'the signifying crystal of his phobia', little Hans was able to exhaust all the impossibilities that blocked his passage from the [[Imaginary]] to the [[Symbolic]] and thus find a solution to the impossible by recourse to a signifying equation (E, 168). In other words, a phobia plays exactly the same role which Claude LÈvi-Strauss assigns to myths, only on the level of the individual rather than of society. What is important in the myth, argues LÈvi-Strauss, is not any 'natural' or 'archetal' meaning of the isolated elements which make it up, but the way they are combined and re-combined in such a way that while the elements change position, the relations between the positions are immutable (LÈvi-Strauss, 1955). This repeated re-combination of the same elements allows an impossible situation to be faced up to by articulating in turn all the different forms of its impossibility (S4, 330).
What are the practical consequences of Lacan's theory in the treatment of subjects who suffer from phobias? Rather than simply desensitising the subject (as in behavioural therapy)For Hans, or simply providing an explanation of the phobic object (e.g. 'the horse is your represents at different moments his father'), the treatment should aim at helping the subject to work through all the various permutations involving the phobic signifier. By helping the subject to develop the individual myth in accordance with its own lawshis mother, his little sister, his friends, himself, the treatment enables him finally to exhaust all the possible combinations of signifying elements and thus to dissolve the phobia (many [[other]] things besides.<ref>{{S4, 402)}} p.307</ref>
(It should be borne in mind that LacanIn the [[process]] of developing all the permutations possible around 's discussion of the case signifying crystal of Little his phobia', little Hans only explicitly addresses was able to exhaust all the question of childhood phobias, impossibilities that blocked his passage from the [[Imaginary]] to the [[Symbolic]] and leaves open thus find a solution to the question of whether these remarks also apply [[impossible]] by recourse to adult phobiasa signifying equation.<ref>{{E}} p.)168</ref>
As Freud himself noted in his case study of Little HansIn other [[words]], phobias had not previously been assigned any definite position in psychiatric nosographies. He attempted to remedy this uncertainty surrounding the classification of a phobia, but his proposed solution is prey to a certain ambiguity. On the one hand, since phobic symptoms can be found among both neurotic and psychotic subjects, Freud argued that phobias could not be regarded as an 'independent patholo- gical process' (Freud, 1909b: SE X, l15). On the other hand, in plays exactly the same work Freud did isolate a particular form of neurosis whose central symptom is a phobia. Freud called this new diagnostic category 'anxiety hysteria' in order to distinguish it from 'conversion hysteria' (role which Freud had previously referred Claude LÈvi-[[Strauss]] assigns to simply as 'hysteria'). Freud's remarks are thus ambiguous, implying that phobia can be both a symptom and an underlying clinical entity.The same ambiguity is repeated in Lacan's works, where the question is rephrased in terms of whether phobia is a symptom or a [[Structuremyths]]. Usually, Lacan distinguishes only two neurotic structures (hysteria and obsessional neurosis), and describes phobia as a symptom rather than a structure (S4, 285). However, there are also points in Lacan's work where he lists phobia as a third form of neurosis in addition to hysteria and obsessional neurosis, thus implying that there is a phobic structure (e.g. E, 321); in 1961, for example, he describes phobia as 'on the most radical form level of neurosis' (S8, 425). The question is not resolved until the seminar of 1968-9, where Lacan states that One cannot see in it [phobia[individual]] a clinical entity but rather a revolving junction [plaque tournante], something that must be elucidated in its relations with that towards which it usually tends, namely the two great orders than of neurosis, hysteria and obsessionality, and also the junction which it [[Realsociety]]ises with perversion. (Lacan, 1968-9, quoted in Chemama, 1993: 210)
Thus phobia What is not, according to Lacan, a clinical structure on important in the same level as hysteria and obsessional neurosis[[myth]], but a gateway which can lead to either of them and which also has certain connections with the perverse structure. The link with perversion can be seen in the similarities between the fetish and the phobic objectargues [[Lévi-Strauss]], both of which are is not any '[[natural]]' or 'archetal' [[Symbolicmeaning]] substitutes for a missing element and both of the isolated elements which serve to structure make it up, but the surrounding world. Furthermore, both phobia way they are combined and perversion arise from difficulties re-combined in such a way that while the passage from the elements [[Imaginarychange]] preoedipal triangle to the [[Symbolicposition]] Oedipal quaternary, the relations between the positions are immutable.<ref>Lévi-Strauss.1955</ref>
This repeated re-combination of the same elements allows an impossible situation to be faced up to by articulating in turn all the different forms of its [[impossibility]].<ref>{{S4}} p. 330</ref>
---
What are the [[practical]] consequences of Lacan's [[theory]] in the [[treatment]] of [[subjects]] who suffer from phobias? Rather than simply desensitising the subject (as in behavioural [[therapy]]), or simply providing an explanation of the phobic object (e.g. 'the horse is your father'), the treatment should aim at helping the subject to [[work]] through all the various permutations involving the phobic signifier.
By helping the subject to develop the individual myth in accordance with its own laws, the treatment enables him finally to exhaust all the possible combinations of signifying elements and thus to dissolve the phobia.<ref>{{S4}} p. 402</ref>
phobia (phobie) A phobia is usually defined in psychiatry as an extreme---
fear (It should be borne in [[mind]] that Lacan's [[discussion]] of the case of Little Hans only explicitly addresses the question of [[childhood]] phobias, and leaves open the question of a particular object (such as an animalwhether these remarks also apply to [[adult]] phobias.) or a particular situation (such as
leaving the home). Those who suffer from a phobia experience [[Anxiety]] if they---
encounter the phobic object or are placed As Freud himself noted in the feared situationhis case study of Little Hans, and developphobias had not previously been assigned any definite position in [[psychiatric]] nosographies.
'avoidance strategies' so as He attempted to prevent remedy this from happeninguncertainty surrounding the classification of phobia, but his proposed solution is prey to a certain ambiguity. These avoidance
strategies may become so elaborate On the one hand, since phobic [[symptoms]] can be found among both [[neurotic]] and [[psychotic]] subjects, Freud argued that the subjectphobias could not be regarded as an 'independent pathological process's life is severely restricted.<ref>Freud, 1909b: SE X, l15</ref>
On the other hand, in the same work Freud's most important contribution to the study did isolate a particular [[form]] of phobias concerned [[neurosis]] whose central [[symptom]] is aphobia.
young boy whom he dubbed Little HansFreud called this new diagnostic [[category]] 'anxiety [[hysteria]]' in order to distinguish it from 'conversion hysteria' (which Freud had previously referred to simply as 'hysteria'). Shortly before his fifth birthday, Hans
developed Freud's remarks are thus ambiguous, implying that phobia can be both a violent fear of horses symptom and became unwilling to go outdoors lest hean underlying [[clinical]] entity.
encounter one The same ambiguity is repeated in Lacan's works, where the streetquestion is rephrased in [[terms]] of whether phobia is a symptom or a [[structure]]. In his case study of Hans, Freud distinguished
between the initial onset of anxiety Usually, Lacan distinguishes only two neurotic [[structures]] (which was not attached to any objecthysteria and [[obsessional]] neurosis) , anddescribes phobia as a symptom rather than a structure.<ref>{{S4}} p. 285</ref>
the ensuing fear which was focused specifically on horsesHowever, there are also points in Lacan's work where he lists phobia as a [[third]] form of neurosis in addition to hysteria and [[obsessional neurosis]], thus implying that there is a phobic structure;<ref>{{E}} p. 321</ref>; only in 1961, for example, he describes phobia as "the lattermost radical form of neurosis."<ref>{{S8}} p. 425</ref>
constituted The question is not resolved until the seminar of [[1968]]-9, where Lacan states that One cannot see in it [phobia proper. Freud argued ] a clinical entity but rather a revolving junction [plaque tournante], something that must be elucidated in its relations withthat towards which it usually tends, namely the anxiety was two great [[orders]] of neurosis, hysteria and obsessionality, and also the transforjunction which it realises with [[perversion]].<ref>{{JL}} 1968-9</ref>
mation of sexual excitement generated in Hans by his relationship with his---
motherThus phobia is not, according to Lacan, a [[clinical structure]] on the same level as hysteria and obsessional neurosis, but a gateway which can lead to either of [[them]] and that which also has certain connections with the horses represented his father who Hans feared would[[perverse]] structure.
punish him (FreudThe link with perversion can be seen in the similarities between the [[fetish]] and the phobic object, 1909b)both of which are [[symbolic]] substitutes for a [[missing]] element and both of which serve to structure the surrounding world.
LacanFurthermore, both phobia and perversion arise from difficulties in his seminar of 1956-7, offers a detailed reading of the case ofpassage from the [[imaginary]] preoedipal triangle to the [[symbolic]] [[Oedipal]] [[quaternary]].
influence of these lectures on his work, especially his earlier work, is immense, and whenever Lacan refers to Hegel it is KojËve's reading of Hegel that he has in mind. From Hegel Lacan takes (among other things) an emphasis on dialectical modes of thought, the concept of the [[Beautiful Soul]], the dialectic of the [[Master]] and the slave, and a distinction between animal and human [[Desire]]. e Heidegger Lacan established a personal friendship with Heidegger, visiting him and translating some of his works. Heidegger's influence on Lacan's work can be seen in Lacan's metaphysical discussions of [[Being]], and in the distinction between full [[Speech]] and empty speech. These are only the philosophers to whom Lacan refers most frequently; he also discusses the work of many other philosophers such as St Augustine, Spinoza, Sartre, and others. Lacan's work engages with many philosophical schools and areas of enquiry. In his early work he shows a bent towards phenomenology, even presenting a 'phenomenological description of the psychoanalytic experience' in 1936 (Ec, 82-5), but he later becomes quite opposed to phenomenology, and in 1964 presents a critique of Merleau-Ponty's Phenomenology of Perception (Sll, 71-6). Insofar as psychoanalysis engages with ontological questions, Lacan aligns psychoanalysis with [[Materialism]], ag3ÃDSt all forms of idealism. Lacan also engages with epistemology and the philosophy of [[Science]], where his constant approach is rationalist rather than empiricist. Further information on Lacan's relationship with philosophy is provided in Juranville (1984), Macey (1988: ch. 4), Ragland-Sullivan (1986) and Samuels (1993). == References ==<div style="font-size:11px" class="references-small">
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[[Category:Jacques Lacan]][[Category:Terms]][[Category:Concepts]][[Category:Psychoanalysis]][[Category:Dictionary]]{{OK}}
