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In [[Freud]]'s work, [[sublimation]] is a process in which the [[libido]] is channelled into apparently non-sexual activities such as artistic creation and intellectual work.
[[Sublimation]] thus functions as a socially acceptable escape valve for excess sexual energy which would otherwise have to be discharged in socially unacceptable forms (perverse behavior) or in [[neurotic]] [[symptom]]s.
The logical conclusion of such a view is that complete [[sublimation]] would mean the end of all [[perversion]] and all [[neurosis]].
However, many points remain unclear in [[Freud]]'s account of [[sublimation]].
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[[Lacan]]s takes up the concept of [[sublimation]] in his [[seminar]] of 1959-60.
He follows [[Freud]] in emphasizing the fact that the element of social recognition is central to the concept, since it is only insofar as the [[drive]]s are diverted towards this dimension of shared social values that they can be said to be sublimated.<ref>{{S7}} p.144</ref>
It is this dimension of shared social values which allows [[Lacan]] to tie in the concept of [[sublimation]] with his discussion of [[ethics]].<ref>{{S7}} p.144</ref>
However, [[Lacan]]'s account of [[sublimation]] also differes from [[Freud]]'s on a number of points.
