Difference between revisions of "Seminar IV"

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[[Image:Sem4.jpg|thumb|right|'''Livre IV: La relation d'objet et les structures freudiennes'''.]]
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{{SeminarsNavBar|RightPrevLink=Seminar III|RightPrevText=Seminar III|RightNextLink=Seminar V|RightNextText=Seminar V}}
  
‘’’Le séminaire, Livre IV: La relation d'objet et les structures freudiennes’’’. 1956-1957  
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{| align="center" style="width:600px; border:1px solid #aaa;text-align:left; line-height:2.0em; padding-left:10px;"
Lacan confronts the theory of [[object relations]] defended by the ‘’[[Société Psychanalytique de Paris]]’’: [[Freud]] did not bother about the [[object]], he cared about "the lack of the object."  
+
| style="width:100px;text-align:left; line-height:2.0em; padding-left:10px;"| 1956 - 1957
This lack has nothing to do with [[frustration]].
+
| style="width:100px;text-align:left; line-height:2.0em; padding-left:10px;"| [[Seminar IV]]
It is a matter of a [[renunciation]] that involves the [[law]] of the [[Father]]: "...between the mother and the child, Freud introduced a third and imaginary term whose signifying role is a major one: the [[phallus]]."  
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| style="width:300px;text-align:left; line-height:2.0em; padding-left:10px;"| ''[[Seminar IV|La relation d'objet et les structures freudiennes]]''<BR><big>[[Seminar IV|The Object Relation]]</big>
The study is based on the function of the object in [[phobia]] and in [[fetishism]] (Freud's ‘’[[Little Hans]]’’, ‘’[[A Child is Being Beaten]]’’).
+
|}
In his analysis of Little Hans, Lacan states that [[anxiety]] arises when the [[subject]] is poised between the [[imaginary]] preoedipical triangle and the Oedipical [[quaternary]]: Hans' real penis makes itself felt in infantile masturbation. Anxiety arises since he can now measure the difference between that for what he is loved (his position as imaginary phallus) and what he really has to give (his insignificant real organ). The [[subject]] would have been rescued from anxiety by the castrating intervention of the real [[father]], but the father fails to separate the child from the [[mother]] and thus Hans develops a [[phobia]] as a substitute for this intervention.
 
It is not Hans' separation from the mother which produces anxiety, but failure to separate from her.  [[Castration]], far from being the main source of anxiety, is what actually saves the subject from it.
 
  
We find [[imaginary]] solutions to the [[gap]] (‘’béance’’) produced by the appearance of the [[phallus]] "as that which is lacking in the mother, in the mother and the child, and between the mother and the child," because the [[father]] alone is the bearer or possessor of the phallus.  
+
[[Image:3076203.RS500x500.jpg|border|300px|right]]
Lacan establishes three modes of rapport to this object: [[frustration]] (the imaginary damage done to a real object, the penis as organ), [[deprivation]] ( the real lack or hole created by the loss of a symbolic object, the phallus as [[signifier]]), [[castration]] (the symbolic debt in the register of the [[law]] and the loss of the phallus as [[imaginary]] object).  
 
The [[mother]] falls from "the Symbolic to the Real" while the objects, through the mediation of the phallus, fall from "the Real to the Symbolic."
 
The fall of the mother leads to the structuring preference for the father.
 
  
Lacan muses about the way in which "the feminine object conceives the object relation." Lacan talks of motherhood, [[love]], a case of feminine homosexuality (Freud's 1920) in which he sees a type of relation to lack and to the father. A
+
[[Lacan]] confronts the [[theory]] of [[object]] relations defended by the <i>[[Société Psychanalytique de Paris]]</i>: [[Freud]] did not bother [[about]] the object, he cared about "the [[lack]] of the object." This lack has [[nothing]] to do with [[frustration]]. It is a matter of a [[renunciation]] that involves the law of the [[Father]]: "...between the [[mother]] and the [[child]], Freud introduced a [[third]] and [[imaginary]] term whose signifying [[role]] is a major one: the [[phallus]]." The study is based on the function of the object in [[phobia]] and in [[fetishism]] (Freud's <i>Little [[Hans]]</i>, <i>A Child is [[Being]] Beaten</i>). In his [[analysis]] of <i>[[Little Hans]]</i>, Lacan states that [[anxiety]] arises when the [[subject]] is poised between [[the imaginary]] preoedipical [[triangle]] and the Oedipical [[quaternary]]: Hans' [[real]] [[penis]] makes itself felt in [[infantile]] [[masturbation]]. Anxiety arises since he can now measure the [[difference]] between that for what he is loved (his [[position]] as [[imaginary phallus]]) and what he really has to give (his insignificant real [[organ]]). [[The Subject|The subject]] would have been rescued from anxiety by the [[castrating]] [[intervention]] of the real father, but the father fails to [[separate]] the child from the mother and thus Hans develops a phobia as a [[substitute]] for this intervention. It is not Hans' [[separation]] from the mother which produces anxiety, but failure to separate from her. [[Castration]], far from being the main source of anxiety, is what actually saves [[The Subject|the subject]] from it.
s to the phallus and sexual difference, Lacan argues that in order to assume castration every child must renounce the possibility of being the phallus of the mother; this "rapport to the phallus is established without regard to the anatomical difference of the sexes."  
+
 
The [[renunciation]] of [[identification]] with the [[imaginary phallus]] paves the way for a rapport with the symbolic phallus which is different for the sexes: the male has the symbolic phallus, i.e. "he is not without having it" - woman does not. Yet the male can only lay claim to the symbolic phallus if he assumes castration, i.e. to give up being the imaginary phallus. Further, the woman's lack of symbolic phallus is in itself a kind of possession.  
+
We find imaginary solutions to the gap (<i>béance</i>) produced by the [[appearance]] of the phallus "as that which is [[lacking]] in the mother, in the mother and the child, and between the mother and the child," because the father alone is the bearer or possessor of the phallus. Lacan establishes [[three]] modes of rapport to this object: frustration (the imaginary damage done to a real object, the penis as organ), [[deprivation]] ( the real lack or [[hole]] created by the [[loss]] of a [[symbolic]] object, the phallus as [[signifier]]), castration ([[the symbolic]] debt in the [[register]] of the law and the loss of the phallus as imaginary object). The mother falls from "[[the Symbolic]] to [[the Real]]" while the [[objects]], through the mediation of the phallus, fall from "the Real to the Symbolic." The fall of the mother leads to the [[structuring]] preference for the father. Lacan muses about the way in which "the [[feminine]] object conceives the [[object relation]]." Lacan talks of [[motherhood]], [[love]], a [[case]] of feminine [[homosexuality]] (Freud's 1920) in which he sees a type of relation to lack and to the father.
 +
 
 +
As to the phallus and [[sexual]] difference, Lacan argues that in [[order]] to assume castration every child must [[renounce]] the possibility of being the phallus of the mother; this "rapport to the phallus is established without [[regard]] to the [[anatomical]] difference of the [[sexes]]." The renunciation of [[identification]] with the imaginary phallus paves the way for a rapport with the symbolic phallus which is different for the sexes: the [[male]] has the symbolic phallus, i.e. "he is not without having it" - [[woman]] does not. Yet the male can only lay [[claim]] to the symbolic phallus if he assumes castration, i.e. to give up being the imaginary phallus. Further, the woman's lack of symbolic phallus is in itself a kind of possession.
  
 
===The Real Phallus===
 
===The Real Phallus===
Lacan uses the term penis to denote the biological organ and reserves the term phallus to denote the imaginary and symbolic functions of this organ.
 
However, he does not always maintain the usage.
 
This argues that the distinction between penis and phallus is somewhat unstable and that "the phallus concept is the site of a regression towards the biological organ" (David Macey).
 
The penis has an important role to play in the Oedipus complex. It is via this organ that the child's sexuality is felt in masturbation.
 
The intrusion of the real in the imaginary preoedipical triangle transforms the triangle from something pleasurable to something which provokes anxiety.
 
The question posed by Oedipus is where the real phallus is located, the answer to the riddle is that it is located in the real father.
 
  
=== The Imaginary Phallus ===
+
Lacan uses the term penis to denote the [[biological]] organ and reserves the term phallus to denote the imaginary and symbolic functions of this organ. However, he does not always maintain the usage. This argues that the [[distinction]] between penis and phallus is somewhat unstable and that "the phallus [[concept]] is the site of a [[regression]] towards the biological organ" (David Macey). The penis has an important role to play in the [[Oedipus]] [[complex]]. It is via this organ that the child's [[sexuality]] is felt in masturbation. The intrusion of the real in the imaginary preoedipical triangle transforms the triangle from something pleasurable to something which provokes anxiety. The question posed by Oedipus is where the real phallus is located, the answer to the riddle is that it is located in the real father.
In the distinction between penis and phallus, the latter refers to an imaginary object. The imaginary phallus is perceived by the child as an object of the mother's desire, as that which she desire ahead of the child, thus the child seeks to identify with this object. The Oedipus and the castration complex imply the renunciation of the attempt to be the imaginary phallus.  
 
  
=== The Symbolic Phallus ===
+
===[[The Imaginary]] Phallus===
The phallus which circulates between mother and child posits the first dialectic in the child's life which, though imaginary, frames the symbolic. An imaginary element is mobilized - the phallus becomes an imaginary signifier. The phallus is a symbolic object; it is a signifier. The doctrine becomes systematized in ‘’Les formations de l'inconscient’’. In the 1960s the phallus is described as "the signifier of the desire of the Other" and the signifier of ''[[jouissance]]''. Also the notion of ‘’[[objet a]]’’, the cause of [[desire]], will be added to that of the phallus.  
+
In the distinction between penis and phallus, the latter refers to an imaginary object. The imaginary phallus is perceived by the child as an object of the mother's [[desire]], as that which she desire ahead of the child, thus the child seeks to [[identify]] with this object. The Oedipus and the [[castration complex]] imply the renunciation of the attempt to be the imaginary phallus.<br><br>
  
==Lectures==
+
===The Symbolic Phallus===
{{See}}
+
The phallus which circulates between mother and child posits the first [[dialectic]] in the child's [[life]] which, though imaginary, frames the symbolic. An imaginary element is mobilized - the phallus becomes an imaginary signifier. The phallus is a symbolic object; it is a signifier.
* [http://www.ecole-lacanienne.net/stenos/seminaireIV/1956.11.21.pdf 21 novembre 1956]
 
* [http://www.ecole-lacanienne.net/stenos/seminaireIV/1956.11.28.pdf 28 novembre 1956]
 
* [http://www.ecole-lacanienne.net/stenos/seminaireIV/1956.12.05.pdf 05 décembre 1956]
 
* [http://www.ecole-lacanienne.net/stenos/seminaireIV/1956.12.12.pdf 12 décembre 1956]
 
* [http://www.ecole-lacanienne.net/stenos/seminaireIV/1956.12.19.pdf 19 décembre 1956]
 
{{Also}}
 
  
 +
The [[doctrine]] becomes systematized in <i>Les [[formations]] de l'[[inconscient]]</i>. In the 1960s the phallus is described as "the signifier of the desire of the [[Other]]" and the signifier of <i>[[jouissance]]</i>. Also the [[notion]] of <i>[[objet a]]</i>, the [[cause]] of [[desire,]] will be added to that of the phallus.
  
 +
==English==
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
| [[Author]](s)
 +
| Title
 +
| Publisher
 +
| Year
 +
| Pages
 +
| [[Language]]
 +
| Size
 +
| Extension
 +
| colspan="5" |Mirrors
 +
|-
 +
|[[Jacques Lacan]]
 +
|El Seminario de [[Jacques lacan|Jacques Lacan]]: La Relacion de Objeto The Seminary of [[Jacques lacan|Jacques Lacan]]: The Relation of Object (Spanish Edition)
 +
|Ediciones Paidos Iberica
 +
|1995
 +
|172
 +
|Spanish
 +
|2 Mb
 +
|pdf
 +
|[http://library1.org/_ads/E6C6A1126E00DEA1C7D998DB231C18BE 1],[http://libgen.io/get.php?md5=E6C6A1126E00DEA1C7D998DB231C18BE 2], [http://b-ok.cc/md5/E6C6A1126E00DEA1C7D998DB231C18BE 3], [http://libgen.me/item/detail/id/460792 4], [http://bookfi.net/md5/E6C6A1126E00DEA1C7D998DB231C18BE 5]
 +
|}
  
==See Also==  
+
==French==
[[From The Function of the Veil]] (IX in Seminar 4, The Object Relation) <http://personal.bgsu.edu/~dcallen/fetish.html>
+
{| class="wikitable floatright" width="600" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" align="left" bgcolor="#ffffff" style="line-height:2.0em; padding-left:30px; background:#ffffff; text-align:center;"
==Bibliography==
+
|-
‘’’Le séminaire, Livre IV: La relation d'objet et les structures freudiennes’’’. French: (texte établi par Jacques-Alain Miller), Paris: Seuil, 1994. English: unpublished.  
+
| bgcolor="#ffffff" width="150px" style="padding-left:10px" | Date
 +
| bgcolor="#ffffff" width="150px" style="padding-left:10px" | PDF
 +
| bgcolor="#ffffff" width="300px" style="padding-left:10px" | Title
 +
|-
 +
| colspan="4" style="text-align:center" | Theorie du [[manque]] d'objet
 +
|-
 +
| bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding-left:15px" |  21 novembre 1956
 +
| [https://mega.nz/#!LCRxUYpD!KOQ6R1iBgF_n6CxUZxlYogkaRv1FDIfmxyiqtk4VXGY link]
 +
| Introduction
 +
|-
 +
| bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding-left:15px" |  28 novembre 1956
 +
| [https://mega.nz/#!ibZDBQDA!68ve20TqXGtCc4hWx5xlGbZk34ula1O56ofzEny3CTc link]
 +
| Les trois formes du manque d'objet
 +
|-
 +
| bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding-left:15px" |  5 décembre 1956
 +
| [https://mega.nz/#!rCAnGCDT!dZiEAFtlVOFA7meWNZWYxcs12DETNhp1-HZkjlO_zLY link]
 +
| Le [[signifiant]] et le Saint-Esprit
 +
|-
 +
| bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding-left:15px" |  12 décembre 1956
 +
| [https://mega.nz/#!ybATCY7Y!bzg6S7tG8Js4yIEIMaDIcMo21OKqIYr_-VS1mJdip9k link]
 +
| La [[dialectique]] de la frustration
 +
|-
 +
| bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding-left:15px" |  19 décembre 1956
 +
| [https://mega.nz/#!KaJTxYLI!1KoVgUGSn8SK6Gqjp8K9YuwBIwdRd8TVzVqx8E39Vbk link]
 +
| De l'[[analyse]] comme Bundling, et ses conséquences
 +
|-
 +
| colspan="4" style="text-align:center" | Les voies perverses du desir
 +
|-
 +
| bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding-left:15px" |  9 janvier 1957
 +
| [https://mega.nz/#!7WIHhAKJ!zxcIQBgMTHi3X9mfQN4F2bTEbw_3Ik9bMRJpiM3g8H4 link]
 +
| Le primat du phallus et la jeune homosexuelle
 +
|-
 +
| bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding-left:15px" |  16 janvier 1957
 +
| [https://mega.nz/#!CbAHzSJC!FZfArmSweGOJ2jn_Mqca0uEvHto2esbG9v0l9Q3Vzso link]
 +
| On bat un [[enfant]] et la jeune homosexuelle
 +
|-
 +
| bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding-left:15px" |  23 janvier 1957
 +
| [https://mega.nz/#!HPYTkC7K!8DV1URWb7amerln7qfJBS1hU3OKBBc4OX2wU6IZQzn0 link]
 +
| [[Dora]] et la jeune homosexuelle
 +
|-
 +
| colspan="4" style="text-align:center" | L'objet fetiche
 +
|-
 +
| bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding-left:15px" |  30 janvier 1957
 +
| [https://mega.nz/#!vbAVVCZI!aFxuZ5VQASTYu1G_j4ydO7U9zP1w2R35oG9odu7l5lE link]
 +
| La [[fonction]] du voile
 +
|-
 +
| bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding-left:15px" |  6 février 1957
 +
| [https://mega.nz/#!OXYTTCJT!VbJHBqxeZTtA7po9Udx5lux-o23_jFx1LRI1i8hnWTM link]
 +
| [[L'identification]] au phallus
 +
|-
 +
| bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding-left:15px" |  27 février 1957
 +
| [https://mega.nz/#!nOJFlYjC!Dy9eMS6_tnO1Hi_s4n4_y6JUWLr5es6WMMXPs0VVo_U link]
 +
| Le phallus et la mère inassouvie
 +
|-
 +
| colspan="4" style="text-align:center" | La [[structure]] des mythes dans l'observation de la [[phobie]] du petit Hans
 +
|-
 +
| bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding-left:15px" |  6 mars 1957
 +
| [https://mega.nz/#!uTQDGAYQ!0MNSxj9NqmNIaf0qXNT2dGS1l9YTxVQaQnExgA8Bl7M link]
 +
| Le [[complexe]] d'oedipe
 +
|-
 +
| bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding-left:15px" |  13 mars 1957
 +
| [https://mega.nz/#!LHYDRSiI!RTi8UnMr_0wNV3IR4azF5W-H_PdP1liDIGys8D2lTpo link]
 +
| Du [[complexe de castration]]
 +
|-
 +
| bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding-left:15px" |  20 mars 1957
 +
| [https://mega.nz/#!bPQTgI7L!yIGksYw-yyuNdBpVvvmK24ye5s2F-Zy7m3vrkRwbOeo link]
 +
| Le signifiant dans le [[Réel]]
 +
|-
 +
| bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding-left:15px" |  27 mars 1957
 +
| [https://mega.nz/#!HbYDWaYS!bb1Ew-YdGXsI1iKTNrz0fd9kXyXQOBsP0iyQVbf7Glc link]
 +
| A quoi sert le mythe
 +
|-
 +
| bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding-left:15px" |  3 avril 1957
 +
| [https://mega.nz/#!mHRRlYpT!iy56p9dqqP_2mHfSsq-FtqaRjcJOnePHWq47vvab8a8 link]
 +
| Comment s'analyse le mythe
 +
|-
 +
| bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding-left:15px" |  10 avril 1957
 +
| [https://mega.nz/#!GDJFjYiJ!_HoFVKdcKOg5ryzBGEDNq66aUvkXx3R5PjjuKap0LYg link]
 +
| Le signifiant et le mot d'esprit
 +
|-
 +
| bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding-left:15px" |  8 mai 1957
 +
| [https://mega.nz/#!jLYx0A6T!Xs9hiF--bLs-8xFnNM2w8kjoSoJoJsUPwew5Nv-QU2k link]
 +
| Circuits
 +
|-
 +
| bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding-left:15px" |  15 mai 1957
 +
| [https://mega.nz/#!PHYRzIiI!mmwfLfcIitW3JbSao-TRazYdN6JawMnaODiN7ZzGTJc link]
 +
| Permutations
 +
|-
 +
| bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding-left:15px" |  22 mai 1957
 +
| [https://mega.nz/#!TfB3gADb!ZAGc9uFfx0yKD7_s1rn1adqIU9mHp_8lRLOrcq6RDSU link]
 +
| Transformations
 +
|-
 +
| bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding-left:15px" |  5 juin 1957
 +
| [https://mega.nz/#!6aQlRKAQ!lRr6p2q488fw2RRWSAwR8ZJNQ6dlQarII-ly6rZywZg link]
 +
| Les culottes de la mère et la carence du [[père]]
 +
|-
 +
| bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding-left:15px" |  19 juin 1957
 +
| [https://mega.nz/#!HLY3Taqb!ahLoVFNAArSpvQsotkJO4XVRF8RcVXxws3M5AA5_CgU link]
 +
| Essai d'une logique de caoutchoue
 +
|-
 +
| bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding-left:15px" |  26 juin 1957
 +
| [https://mega.nz/#!KLZxgApS!v1r5nR084RQKoCWTuBOtMu0Y-fCpOygx1gURTPbZtLM link]
 +
| "Me donnera sans [[femme]] une progéniture"
 +
|-
 +
| colspan="4" style="text-align:center" | Envoi
 +
|-
 +
| bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding-left:15px" |  3 juillet 1957
 +
| [https://mega.nz/#!DaQTxaJa!5k9oQC-KyHnDSXtnoTM538q0HdDPWOQqeThVaRqQYPY link]
 +
| De Hans-le-fétiche à Léonard-en-miroir
 +
|}
  
Object relations (279)
+
French versions of [[Jacques Lacan|Lacan's]] [[Seminars]] Source: http://ecole-lacanienne.net
 +
* [[:File:Seminaire_04.pdf|Download]]
 +
<BR><pdf width="450px" height="600px">File:Seminaire_04.pdf</pdf>
  
[[Category:Works]]
+
<!-- 1956-1957
[[Category:Jacques Lacan]]
+
<b>Le séminaire, Livre IV: La relation d'[[objet]] et les [[structures]] freudiennes.</b><br>
[[Category:Sigmund Freud]]
+
[[French]]: (texte établi par Jacques-[[Alain]] [[Miller]]), [[Paris]]: Seuil, 1994.<br>
 +
[[English]]: unpublished. -->
 +
[[Category:Seminars]] [[Category:Jacques Lacan]]
 +
__NOTOC__ __NOAUTOLINKS__

Latest revision as of 16:12, 30 June 2019

Seminar III Seminar V


1956 - 1957 Seminar IV La relation d'objet et les structures freudiennes
The Object Relation
3076203.RS500x500.jpg

Lacan confronts the theory of object relations defended by the Société Psychanalytique de Paris: Freud did not bother about the object, he cared about "the lack of the object." This lack has nothing to do with frustration. It is a matter of a renunciation that involves the law of the Father: "...between the mother and the child, Freud introduced a third and imaginary term whose signifying role is a major one: the phallus." The study is based on the function of the object in phobia and in fetishism (Freud's Little Hans, A Child is Being Beaten). In his analysis of Little Hans, Lacan states that anxiety arises when the subject is poised between the imaginary preoedipical triangle and the Oedipical quaternary: Hans' real penis makes itself felt in infantile masturbation. Anxiety arises since he can now measure the difference between that for what he is loved (his position as imaginary phallus) and what he really has to give (his insignificant real organ). The subject would have been rescued from anxiety by the castrating intervention of the real father, but the father fails to separate the child from the mother and thus Hans develops a phobia as a substitute for this intervention. It is not Hans' separation from the mother which produces anxiety, but failure to separate from her. Castration, far from being the main source of anxiety, is what actually saves the subject from it.

We find imaginary solutions to the gap (béance) produced by the appearance of the phallus "as that which is lacking in the mother, in the mother and the child, and between the mother and the child," because the father alone is the bearer or possessor of the phallus. Lacan establishes three modes of rapport to this object: frustration (the imaginary damage done to a real object, the penis as organ), deprivation ( the real lack or hole created by the loss of a symbolic object, the phallus as signifier), castration (the symbolic debt in the register of the law and the loss of the phallus as imaginary object). The mother falls from "the Symbolic to the Real" while the objects, through the mediation of the phallus, fall from "the Real to the Symbolic." The fall of the mother leads to the structuring preference for the father. Lacan muses about the way in which "the feminine object conceives the object relation." Lacan talks of motherhood, love, a case of feminine homosexuality (Freud's 1920) in which he sees a type of relation to lack and to the father.

As to the phallus and sexual difference, Lacan argues that in order to assume castration every child must renounce the possibility of being the phallus of the mother; this "rapport to the phallus is established without regard to the anatomical difference of the sexes." The renunciation of identification with the imaginary phallus paves the way for a rapport with the symbolic phallus which is different for the sexes: the male has the symbolic phallus, i.e. "he is not without having it" - woman does not. Yet the male can only lay claim to the symbolic phallus if he assumes castration, i.e. to give up being the imaginary phallus. Further, the woman's lack of symbolic phallus is in itself a kind of possession.

The Real Phallus

Lacan uses the term penis to denote the biological organ and reserves the term phallus to denote the imaginary and symbolic functions of this organ. However, he does not always maintain the usage. This argues that the distinction between penis and phallus is somewhat unstable and that "the phallus concept is the site of a regression towards the biological organ" (David Macey). The penis has an important role to play in the Oedipus complex. It is via this organ that the child's sexuality is felt in masturbation. The intrusion of the real in the imaginary preoedipical triangle transforms the triangle from something pleasurable to something which provokes anxiety. The question posed by Oedipus is where the real phallus is located, the answer to the riddle is that it is located in the real father.

The Imaginary Phallus

In the distinction between penis and phallus, the latter refers to an imaginary object. The imaginary phallus is perceived by the child as an object of the mother's desire, as that which she desire ahead of the child, thus the child seeks to identify with this object. The Oedipus and the castration complex imply the renunciation of the attempt to be the imaginary phallus.

The Symbolic Phallus

The phallus which circulates between mother and child posits the first dialectic in the child's life which, though imaginary, frames the symbolic. An imaginary element is mobilized - the phallus becomes an imaginary signifier. The phallus is a symbolic object; it is a signifier.

The doctrine becomes systematized in Les formations de l'inconscient. In the 1960s the phallus is described as "the signifier of the desire of the Other" and the signifier of jouissance. Also the notion of objet a, the cause of desire, will be added to that of the phallus.

English

Author(s) Title Publisher Year Pages Language Size Extension Mirrors
Jacques Lacan El Seminario de Jacques Lacan: La Relacion de Objeto The Seminary of Jacques Lacan: The Relation of Object (Spanish Edition) Ediciones Paidos Iberica 1995 172 Spanish 2 Mb pdf 1,2, 3, 4, 5

French

Date PDF Title
Theorie du manque d'objet
21 novembre 1956 link Introduction
28 novembre 1956 link Les trois formes du manque d'objet
5 décembre 1956 link Le signifiant et le Saint-Esprit
12 décembre 1956 link La dialectique de la frustration
19 décembre 1956 link De l'analyse comme Bundling, et ses conséquences
Les voies perverses du desir
9 janvier 1957 link Le primat du phallus et la jeune homosexuelle
16 janvier 1957 link On bat un enfant et la jeune homosexuelle
23 janvier 1957 link Dora et la jeune homosexuelle
L'objet fetiche
30 janvier 1957 link La fonction du voile
6 février 1957 link L'identification au phallus
27 février 1957 link Le phallus et la mère inassouvie
La structure des mythes dans l'observation de la phobie du petit Hans
6 mars 1957 link Le complexe d'oedipe
13 mars 1957 link Du complexe de castration
20 mars 1957 link Le signifiant dans le Réel
27 mars 1957 link A quoi sert le mythe
3 avril 1957 link Comment s'analyse le mythe
10 avril 1957 link Le signifiant et le mot d'esprit
8 mai 1957 link Circuits
15 mai 1957 link Permutations
22 mai 1957 link Transformations
5 juin 1957 link Les culottes de la mère et la carence du père
19 juin 1957 link Essai d'une logique de caoutchoue
26 juin 1957 link "Me donnera sans femme une progéniture"
Envoi
3 juillet 1957 link De Hans-le-fétiche à Léonard-en-miroir

French versions of Lacan's Seminars Source: http://ecole-lacanienne.net