Difference between revisions of "Repetition"

From No Subject - Encyclopedia of Psychoanalysis
Jump to: navigation, search
(The LinkTitles extension automatically added links to existing pages (<a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://github.com/bovender/LinkTitles">https://github.com/bovender/LinkTitles</a>).)
(Tags: Mobile edit, Mobile web edit)
 
(32 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
 +
{{Top}}répétition{{Bottom}}
  
repetition (rÈpÈtition)               Freud's most important discussion of the repeti-
+
=====Sigmund Freud=====
 +
====="Compulsion to Repeat"=====
 +
For [[Freud]], the "[[repetition|compulsion to repeat]]" -- also referred to as the "[[repetition|repetition compulsion]]" (''[[Wiederholungszwang]]'') -- is related to the '''[[death drive]]''' and the ''[[desire]] to [[return]] to an inorganic [[state]]''.
  
tion compulsion (Wiederholungszwang) occurs in Beyond the Pleasure Prin-
+
The "[[repetition|compulsion to repeat]]" refers to the tendency of the [[patient]] to expose himself again and again to a distressing or painful [[situation]], although he has [[memory|forgotten]] of [[scene|origins]] of the [[repetition|compulsion]].
  
ciple (1920g) where he links it to the concept of the DEATH DREVE. Freud posited
+
[[Psychoanalytic treatment]] involves an effort to break the cycle of [[repetition]] by helping the [[patient]] [[memory|remember]].
  
the existence of a basic compulsion to repeat in order to explain certain clinical
+
=====Jacques Lacan=====
 +
[[Lacan]] expands upon [[Freud]]'s [[concept]] of the "[[repetition|compulsion to repeat]]" in various ways.
  
data: namely, the tendency of the subject to expose himself again and again to
+
He borrows the term "'''[[repetition|automatisme de répétition]]'''" ("[[repetition|repetition automatism]]") from [[French]] [[psychiatry]]<ref>[[Lacan]]'s tendency to use "'''[[repetition|automatisme de répétition]]'''" as a [[translation]] of [[Freud]]'s ''[[Wiederholungszwang]]'' is a reminder of how much he owes to the [[French]] [[school]] of [[psychiatry]] in which he was first trained.</ref> to refer to the ''[[repetition|compulsive repetition]] or [[repetition|reproduction]] of an [[complex|internalized social structure]] which the [[subject]] '''repeatedly''' and '''compulsively''' re-enacts.''.
  
distressing situations. It is a basic principle of psychoanalysis that a person is
 
  
only condemned to repeat something when he has forgotten the origins of the
+
While [[Lacan]] never completely abandons the term ''[[repetition|automatisme de répétition]]'', in the 1950s he increasingly uses the term "[[repetition|insistence]]" ([[French]]: ''[[instance]]'') to refer to the [[repetition|repetition compulsion]].
  
compulsion, and that psychoanalytic treatment can therefore break the cycle of
+
[[Lacan]] also defines [[repetition]] as the "'''[[insistence of the letter]]'''" (''[[l'instance de la lettre]]''), that is, as ''the [[repetition|compulsive repetition]] of certain '''[[signifier]]s''' or '''[[letter]]s''' despite the [[subject]]'s [[consciousness|conscious attempts]] to [[repression|repress]] [[them]]''.
 +
 +
<blockquote>"[[Repetition]] is fundamentally the [[insistence]] of [[speech]]."<ref>{{S3}} p. 242</ref></blockquote>
  
repetition by helping the patient remember (see [[Acting Out]]).
+
=====Resistance=====
 +
Certain [[signifier]]s insist on returning in the [[life]] of the [[subject]], despite the [[resistance]]s which block them.  
  
      In Lacan's pre-1950s work, the concept of repetition is linked with that of
+
In [[schema L]], [[repetition]] / [[insistence]] is represented by the axis '''A-S''', while the axis '''''a''-''a'''''' represents the [[resistance]] (or "inertia") which opposes [[repetition]].
  
the COMPLEX - an internalised social structure which the subject repeatedly and
+
=====''Jouissance''=====
 +
In the 1960s, [[repetition]] is redefined as the [[return]] of ''[[jouissance]]'', an [[excess]] of [[enjoyment]] which [[return]]s again and again to [[transgress]] the limits of the [[pleasure principle]] and seek [[death]].<ref>{{S17}} p. 51</ref>
  
compulsively re-enacts. At this time Lacan often translates Freud's Wiederho-
+
=====Transference=====
 +
The [[repetition|compulsion to repeat]] is often [[acting out|acted out]], the [[repetition|repetition compulsion]] manifests itself, in the [[transference]], whereby the [[analysand]] repeats in his [[relationship]] to the [[analyst]] certain attitudes which characterised his earlier relationships with his [[parents]] and [[others]].  
  
lungszwang      as automatisme de rÈpÈtition,       a term borrowed from French
+
[[Freud]] establishes an important distinciton between the [[repetition|compulsive repetition]] of [[material]] that has not been mastered or [[understood]], and the [[recollection]], verbalization and [[working]]-through characteristic of the [[talking cure]].
  
psychiatry (Pierre Janet, GaÎtan Gatian de ClÈrambault).
+
[[Lacan]] lays great emphasis on this [[symbolic]] aspect of [[transference]], distinguishing it from the [[imaginary]] [[dimension]] of [[transference]] (the [[affect]]s of [[love]] and [[hate]]).<ref>{{S8}} p.204</ref>
  
      While Lacan never completely abandons the term automatisme de rÈpÈti-
+
However, [[Lacan]] points out that although the [[repetition|repetition compulsion]] manifests itself perhaps most clearly in the [[transference]], it is not in itself limited to the [[transference]]; in itself, "the concept of repetition has [[nothing]] to do with the concept of transference."<ref>{{S11}} p. 33</ref>
  
tion, in the 1950s he increasingly uses the term 'insistence' (Fr. instance) to
+
[[Repetition]] is the general characteristic of the [[signifying chain]], the manifestation of the [[unconscious]] in every [[subject]], and [[transference]] is only a very special [[form]] of [[repetition]] (i.e. it is [[repetition]] within [[psychoanalytic treatment]]), which cannot simply be equated with the [[repetition|repetition compulsion]] itself. <ref>{{S8}} p. 208</ref>
  
refer to the repetition compulsion. Thus repetition is             now defined    as the
+
<blockquote>It is quite common, for example, to hear it said that the [[transference]] is a form of [[repetition]].  I am not saying that this is untre, or that there is not an element of [[repetition]] in the [[transference]]. I am not saying that it is not on the basis of his [[experience]] of the [[transference]] that [[Freud]] approached [[repetition]].  What I am saying is that the concept of [[repetition]] has nothing to do with the concept of [[transference]]. Because of this confusion, I am obliged to go through this explanation at the outset, to lay down the necessary [[logical]] steps.  For to follow [[chronology]] would be to encourage the ambiguities of the concept of [[repetition]] that derive from the fact that its discovery took [[place]] in the course of the first hesistant steps necessitated by the experience of the [[transference]]."<ref>{{S11}} p. 33</ref></blockquote>
  
insistence of the signifier, or the insistence of the signifying chain, or the
+
==See Also==
 +
{{See}}
 +
* [[Death]]
 +
* [[Death drive]]
 +
||
 +
* [[Drive]]
 +
* ''[[Jouissance]]''
 +
||
 +
* [[Signifying chain]]
 +
* [[Subject]]
 +
||
 +
* [[Symbolic]]
 +
* [[Transference]]
 +
||
 +
* [[Treatment]]
 +
* [[Unconscious]]
 +
{{Also}}
  
insistence of the letter (l'instance de la lettre); 'repetition is fundamentally
+
==References==
 +
<div style="font-size:11px" class="references-small">
 +
<references/>
 +
</div>
 +
{{OK}}
 +
[[Category:Practice]]
 +
[[Category:Treatment]]
  
the insistence of speech' (S3, 242). Certain signifiers insist on returning in
+
__NOTOC__
 
 
the life of the subject, despite the resistances which block them. In scHEMA L,
 
 
 
repetitionlinsistence is represented by the axis A-S, while the axis a-a'
 
 
 
represents the resistance (or 'inertia') which opposes repetition.
 
 
 
      In the 1960s, repetition is redefined as the return of jouissance, an excess of
 
 
 
enjoyment which returns again and again to transgress the limits of the
 
 
 
  PLEASURE PRINCIPLE and seek death (S17, 51).
 
 
 
      The repetition compulsion manifests itself in analytic treatment in the
 
 
 
TRANSFERENCE, whereby the analysand repeats in his relationship to the analyst
 
 
 
certain attitudes which characterised his earlier relationships with his parents
 
 
 
and others. Lacan lays great emphasis on this [[Symbolic]] aspect of transference,
 
 
 
distinguishing it from the [[Imaginary]] dimension of transference (the affects of
 
 
 
love and hate) (S8, 204). However, Lacan points out that although the
 
 
 
repetition compulsion manifests itself perhaps most clearly in the transfer-
 
 
 
  ence, it is not in itself limited to the transference; in itself, 'the concept of
 
 
 
repetition has nothing to do with the concept of transference' (Sll, 33).
 
 
 
Repetition is the general characteristic of the signifying chain, the manifesta-
 
 
 
tion of the unconscious in every subject, and transference is only a very special
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
form of repetition (i.e. it is repetition within psychoanalytic treatment),
 
 
 
which cannot simply be equated with the repetition compulsion itself (S8,
 
 
 
208).
 

Latest revision as of 22:09, 20 May 2019

French: répétition
Sigmund Freud
"Compulsion to Repeat"

For Freud, the "compulsion to repeat" -- also referred to as the "repetition compulsion" (Wiederholungszwang) -- is related to the death drive and the desire to return to an inorganic state.

The "compulsion to repeat" refers to the tendency of the patient to expose himself again and again to a distressing or painful situation, although he has forgotten of origins of the compulsion.

Psychoanalytic treatment involves an effort to break the cycle of repetition by helping the patient remember.

Jacques Lacan

Lacan expands upon Freud's concept of the "compulsion to repeat" in various ways.

He borrows the term "automatisme de répétition" ("repetition automatism") from French psychiatry[1] to refer to the compulsive repetition or reproduction of an internalized social structure which the subject repeatedly and compulsively re-enacts..


While Lacan never completely abandons the term automatisme de répétition, in the 1950s he increasingly uses the term "insistence" (French: instance) to refer to the repetition compulsion.

Lacan also defines repetition as the "insistence of the letter" (l'instance de la lettre), that is, as the compulsive repetition of certain signifiers or letters despite the subject's conscious attempts to repress them.

"Repetition is fundamentally the insistence of speech."[2]

Resistance

Certain signifiers insist on returning in the life of the subject, despite the resistances which block them.

In schema L, repetition / insistence is represented by the axis A-S, while the axis a-a' represents the resistance (or "inertia") which opposes repetition.

Jouissance

In the 1960s, repetition is redefined as the return of jouissance, an excess of enjoyment which returns again and again to transgress the limits of the pleasure principle and seek death.[3]

Transference

The compulsion to repeat is often acted out, the repetition compulsion manifests itself, in the transference, whereby the analysand repeats in his relationship to the analyst certain attitudes which characterised his earlier relationships with his parents and others.

Freud establishes an important distinciton between the compulsive repetition of material that has not been mastered or understood, and the recollection, verbalization and working-through characteristic of the talking cure.

Lacan lays great emphasis on this symbolic aspect of transference, distinguishing it from the imaginary dimension of transference (the affects of love and hate).[4]

However, Lacan points out that although the repetition compulsion manifests itself perhaps most clearly in the transference, it is not in itself limited to the transference; in itself, "the concept of repetition has nothing to do with the concept of transference."[5]

Repetition is the general characteristic of the signifying chain, the manifestation of the unconscious in every subject, and transference is only a very special form of repetition (i.e. it is repetition within psychoanalytic treatment), which cannot simply be equated with the repetition compulsion itself. [6]

It is quite common, for example, to hear it said that the transference is a form of repetition. I am not saying that this is untre, or that there is not an element of repetition in the transference. I am not saying that it is not on the basis of his experience of the transference that Freud approached repetition. What I am saying is that the concept of repetition has nothing to do with the concept of transference. Because of this confusion, I am obliged to go through this explanation at the outset, to lay down the necessary logical steps. For to follow chronology would be to encourage the ambiguities of the concept of repetition that derive from the fact that its discovery took place in the course of the first hesistant steps necessitated by the experience of the transference."[7]

See Also

References

  1. Lacan's tendency to use "automatisme de répétition" as a translation of Freud's Wiederholungszwang is a reminder of how much he owes to the French school of psychiatry in which he was first trained.
  2. Lacan, Jacques. The Seminar. Book III. The Psychoses, 1955-56. Trans. Russell Grigg. London: Routledge, 1993. p. 242
  3. Lacan, Jacques. Le Séminaire. Livre XVII. L'envers de la psychanalyse, 19669-70. Ed. Jacques-Alain Miller. Paris: Seuil, 1991. p. 51
  4. Lacan, Jacques. Le Séminaire. Livre VIII. Le transfert, 1960-61. Ed. Jacques-Alain Miller. Paris: Seuil, 1991. p.204
  5. Lacan, Jacques. The Seminar. Book XI. The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis, 1964. Trans. Alan Sheridan. London: Hogarth Press and Institute of Psycho-Analysis, 1977. p. 33
  6. Lacan, Jacques. Le Séminaire. Livre VIII. Le transfert, 1960-61. Ed. Jacques-Alain Miller. Paris: Seuil, 1991. p. 208
  7. Lacan, Jacques. The Seminar. Book XI. The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis, 1964. Trans. Alan Sheridan. London: Hogarth Press and Institute of Psycho-Analysis, 1977. p. 33