Difference between revisions of "Privation"

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       Freud argues that penis envy persists into adulthood, manifesting itself both    in the desire to enjoy the penis in sexual intercourse, and in the desire to have a    child (since the father has failed to providÈ her with a child, the [[Woman]] turns    to another man instead). Lacan argues that even when the [[Woman]] has a child,    this does not spell the end of her sense of privation. Her desire for the phallus    remains unsatisfied, no matter how many children she has. The mother's basic    dissatisfaction (S4, 194) is perceived by the child from very early on; he  realizes that she has a desire that aims at something beyond her relationship      with him - the [[Imaginary]] phallus. The child then seeks to fulfil her desire by identifying with the [[Imaginary]] phallus. In this way, the privation of the mother is responsible for introducing the dialectic of desire in the child's life for the first time.
 
       Freud argues that penis envy persists into adulthood, manifesting itself both    in the desire to enjoy the penis in sexual intercourse, and in the desire to have a    child (since the father has failed to providÈ her with a child, the [[Woman]] turns    to another man instead). Lacan argues that even when the [[Woman]] has a child,    this does not spell the end of her sense of privation. Her desire for the phallus    remains unsatisfied, no matter how many children she has. The mother's basic    dissatisfaction (S4, 194) is perceived by the child from very early on; he  realizes that she has a desire that aims at something beyond her relationship      with him - the [[Imaginary]] phallus. The child then seeks to fulfil her desire by identifying with the [[Imaginary]] phallus. In this way, the privation of the mother is responsible for introducing the dialectic of desire in the child's life for the first time.
  
 
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==def==
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The concept of privation is essential for Freud. In The Future of An Illusion (1927c), he writes: "For the sake of a uniform terminology we will describe the fact that an instinct cannot be satisfied as a 'frustration,' the regulation by which this frustration is established as a 'prohibition' and the condition which is produced by the prohibition as a 'privation"' (p. 10). Later in the same essay, he defines more specifically the drive-wishes that result from privation: incest, the pleasure in and wish to murder, and cannibalism.
  
 
== References ==
 
== References ==

Revision as of 06:43, 18 May 2006


privation (privation) In his seminar of 1956-7, Lacan distinguishes between three types of 'lack of object': privation, frustration and castration (see LACK). Each of these types of lack is located in a different order, each is brought about by a different kind of agent, and each involves a different kind of object. Privation is defined as a lack in the Real of a Symbolic object (the Symbolic phallus). The agent who brings about this lack is the Imaginary father.

      Privation is Lacan's attempt to theorise more rigorously Freud's concept of female castration and penis envy. According to Freud, when children realize    that some people (women) do not have a penis, this is a traumatic moment     which produces different effects in the boy and in the girl (see CASTRATION COMPLEX). Whereas the boy develops a fear of having his penis cut off, the girl envies the boy his possession of the penis, which she sees as a highly    desirable organ. The girl blames the mother for depriving her of a penis, and    redirects her affections to the father in the hope that he will provide her with a    child as a Symbolic substitute for the penis she lacks (Freud, 1924d).        Privation, then, refers to the female's lack of a penis, which is clearly a lack    in the Real. However, by definition, 'the Real is full'; the Real is never lacking in itself, and thus 'the notion of privation        . . . implies the symbolisation of the object in the Real' (S4, 218), In other words, when the child perceives the penis (a Real organ) as absent, it is only because he has a notion that it somehow    should be there, which is to introduce the Symbolic into the Real. Thus what is lacking is not the Real organ, for, biologically speaking, the vagina is not incomplete without one; what is lacking is a Symbolic object, the Symbolic phallus. Its Symbolic nature is confirmed by the fact that it can be substituted by a child in the girl's unconscious; in appeasing her penis envy by desiring a child, Freud argues, the girl 'slips        - along the lines of a Symbolic equation, one might say     - from the penis to a baby' (Freud, 1924d: SE XIX, 178-9).
      Freud argues that the little girl blames her mother for depriving her of a penis. Lacan, however, argues that it is the Imaginary father who is held to be    the agent of privation. However, these two accounts            are not necessarily incompatible. Even though the girl may at first resent the mother for depriving    her of a penis and turn to the father in the hope that he will provide her with a Symbolic substitute, she later turns her resentment against the father when he    fails to provide her with the desired child.
      Freud argues that penis envy persists into adulthood, manifesting itself both    in the desire to enjoy the penis in sexual intercourse, and in the desire to have a    child (since the father has failed to providÈ her with a child, the Woman turns    to another man instead). Lacan argues that even when the Woman has a child,    this does not spell the end of her sense of privation. Her desire for the phallus    remains unsatisfied, no matter how many children she has. The mother's basic    dissatisfaction (S4, 194) is perceived by the child from very early on; he  realizes that she has a desire that aims at something beyond her relationship      with him - the Imaginary phallus. The child then seeks to fulfil her desire by identifying with the Imaginary phallus. In this way, the privation of the mother is responsible for introducing the dialectic of desire in the child's life for the first time.

def

The concept of privation is essential for Freud. In The Future of An Illusion (1927c), he writes: "For the sake of a uniform terminology we will describe the fact that an instinct cannot be satisfied as a 'frustration,' the regulation by which this frustration is established as a 'prohibition' and the condition which is produced by the prohibition as a 'privation"' (p. 10). Later in the same essay, he defines more specifically the drive-wishes that result from privation: incest, the pleasure in and wish to murder, and cannibalism.

References