Slip

The verb 'slip' (French:glisser) (and its corresponding noun, 'slippage' (French:glissement)) is used by Lacan is describe the unstable relationship between the signifier and the signified.

The term thus emphasises the different ways in which Saussure and Lacan conceive of signification.

For Saussure, signification was a stable bond between signifier and signified, but for Lacan it is an unstable, fluid relationship.

Lacan argues that it is impossible to establish a stable one-to-one link between signifiers and signifieds.

He symbolises this impossibility by inscribing a bar between them in the Saussurean algorithm.

The signified slips and slides under the bar of the Saussurean algorithm in a continuous movement, a movement which is only temporarily detained by the points de capiton.

In the case of psychosis, the slippery movement of signification is endless, and stable meanings dissolve altogether.

See Also

• Signifier
• Signified
• Signification
• Bar
• Point de capiton
• Meaning