Difference between revisions of "Subject"

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subject (sujet)                The term 'subject' is present from the very earliest of
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{{Top}}[[sujet]]{{Bottom}}
  
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Lacan's psychoanalytic writings (see Lacan, 1932), and from 1945               on it
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=====Jacques Lacan=====
 +
The term "[[subject]]" is [[present]] from the very earliest of [[Lacan]]'s [[psychoanalytic]] writings,<ref>{{1932}}</ref> and from 1945 on it occupies a central part in [[Lacan]]'s [[work]].
  
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occupies      a central part in Lacan's work. This is            a distinctive feature of
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This is a distinctive feature of [[Lacan]]'s work, since the term does not constitute part of [[Freud]]'s [[theoretical]] [[vocabulary]], but is more associated with [[philosophical]], [[legal]] and [[linguistic]] [[discourse]]s.
  
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Lacan's work, since the term does not constitute part of Freud's theoretical
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=====Human Being=====
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In [[Lacan]]'s pre-war papers, the term "[[subject]]" seems to mean no more than "human being."<ref>{{Ec}} p. 75</ref>
  
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vocabulary, but is more associated with philosophical, legal and linguistic
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=====Analysand=====
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The term is also used to refer to the [[analysand]].<ref>{{Ec}} p. 83</ref>
  
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discourses.
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=====Three Kinds=====
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In 1945, [[Lacan]] distinguishes between [[three]] kinds of [[subject]].  
  
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      In Lacan's pre-war papers, the term 'subject' seems to mean no more than
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# Firstly, there is the impersonal [[subject]], independent of the [[other]], the pure [[grammatical]] [[subject]], the noetic [[subject]], the "it" of "it is known that."
  
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  'human being' (see Ec, 75); the term is also used to refer to the analysand (Ec,
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# Secondly, there is the anonymous reciprocal [[subject]] who is completely equal to and substitutable for any other, and who recognises himself in equivalence with the other.
  
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83).
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# Thirdly, there is the personal [[subject]], whose uniqueness is constituted by an act of [[self]]-[[affirmation]].<ref>{{Ec}} p.207-8</ref>
  
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      In 1945, Lacan distinguishes between three kinds of subject. Firstly, there is
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It is always this [[third]] [[sense]] of the [[subject]], the [[subject]] in his uniqueness, that constitutes the focus of [[Lacan]]'s work.
  
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  the impersonal subject, independent of the other, the pure grammatical subject,
+
=====Subject and Ego=====
 +
In 1953, [[Lacan]] establishes a [[distinction]] between the [[subject]] and the [[ego]] which will remain one of the most fundamental distinctions throughout the rest of his work.
  
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  the noetic subject, the 'it' of 'it is known that.' Secondly, there is the
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Whereas the [[ego]] is part of the [[imaginary order]], the [[subject]] is part of the [[symbolic]].  
  
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  anonymous reciprocal subject who is completely equal to and substitutable
+
Thus the [[subject]] is not simply equivalent to a [[conscious]] sense of [[agency]], which is a mere [[illusion]] produced by the [[ego]], but to the [[unconscious]]; [[Lacan]]'s "[[subject]]" is the [[subject]] of the [[unconscious]].
  
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  for any other, and who recognises himself in equivalence with the other.
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=====Sigmund Freud=====
 +
[[Lacan]] argues that this distinction can be traced back to [[Freud]]:
  
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Thirdly, there is the personal subject, whose uniqueness is constituted by an
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<blockquote>"[Freud] wrote ''[[Das Ich]] und [[das Es]]'' in [[order]] to maintain this fundamental distinction between the [[true]] [[subject of the unconscious]] and the ego as constituted in its nucleus by a series of [[alienating]] identifications.<ref>{{E}} p.128</ref></blockquote>
  
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  act of self-affirmation (Ec, 207-8). It is always this third sense of the subject,
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Although [[psychoanalytic treatment]] has powerful effects on the [[ego]], it is the [[subject]], and not the [[ego]], on which [[psychoanalysis]] primarily operates.
  
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  the subject in his uniqueness, that constitutes the focus of Lacan's work.
+
=====Alternative Meanings=====
 +
[[Lacan]] plays on the various [[meanings]] of the term "[[subject]]."
  
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      In 1953, Lacan establishes a distinction between the subject and the EGO
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In [[linguistics]] and [[logic]], the [[subject]] of a proposition is that [[about]] which something is predicated, and is also opposed to the "[[object]]."<ref>{{L}} "[[Works of Jacques Lacan|Proposition du 9 octobre 1967 sur le psychanalyste de l'École]]," 1967, ''[[Scilicet]]'', no. 1 ([[1968]]) p. 19</ref>
  
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  which will remain one of the most fundamental distinctions throughout the
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[[Lacan]] plays on the [[philosophical]] nuances of the latter term to emphasise that his [[concept]] of the [[subject]] concerns those aspects of the [[human]] [[being]] that cannot (or must not) be objectified (reified, reduced to a [[thing]]), nor be studied in an '[[objective]]' way.
  
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  rest of his work. Whereas the ego is part of the imaginary order, the subject is
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<blockquote>"What do we call a subject? Quite precisely, what in the [[development]] of objectivation, is [[outside]] of the object."<ref>{{S1}} p. 194</ref></blockquote>
  
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  part of the symbolic. Thus the subject is not simply equivalent to a conscious
+
=====Language=====
 +
References to [[language]] come to dominate [[Lacan]]'s concept of the [[subject]] from the mid-1950s on.  
  
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  sense of agency, which is a mere illusion produced by the ego, but to the
+
He distinguishes the [[subject]] of the [[statement]] from the [[subject]] of the [[enunciation]] to show that because the [[subject]] is essentially a [[speaking]] [[being]] (''[[parlêtre]]''), he is inescapably [[divided]], [[castrated]], [[split]].
  
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unconscious; Lacan's 'subject' is the subject of the unconscious. Lacan argues
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In the early 1960s [[Lacan]] defines the [[subject]] as that which is represented by a [[signifier]] for [[another]] [[signifier]]; in other [[words]], the [[subject]] is an effect of [[language]].<ref>{{Ec}} p. 835</ref>.
  
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  that this distinction can be traced back to Freud: '[Freud] wrote Das Ich und
+
=====Philosophy and Law=====
 +
Besides its [[place]] in [[linguistics]] and [[logic]], the term "[[subject]]" also has [[philosophical]] and [[legal]] connotations.
  
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  das Es in order to maintain this fundamental distinction between the true
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In [[philosophical]] [[discourse]], it denotes an [[individual]] [[consciousness|self-consciousness]], whereas in [[legal]] [[discourse]], it denotes a person who is under the [[power]] of another (e.g. a person who is subject to the sovereign).
  
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subject of the unconscious and the ego            as constituted in its nucleus by       a
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The fact that the term possesses both these meanings means that it perfectly illustrates [[Lacan]]'s [[thesis]] about the determination of [[consciousness]] by the [[symbolic order]].
  
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  series of alienating identifications' (E, 128). Although psychoanalytic treat-
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<blockquote>"The subject is a subject only by virtue of his subjection to the field of the Other."<ref>{{S2}} p. 188</ref></blockquote>
  
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  ment has powerful effects on the ego, it is the subject, and not the ego, on
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The term also functions in [[legal]] [[discourse]] to designate the support of [[action]]; the [[subject]] is one who can be held [[responsibility|responsible]] for his [[act]]s.
  
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    which psychoanalysis primarily operates.
+
=====Descartes's ''Cogito''=====
 +
The [[philosophical]] connotations of the term are particularly emphasised by [[Lacan]], who [[links]] it with [[Descartes]]'s [[philosophy]] of the ''[[cogito]]'':
  
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      Lacan plays on the various meanings of the term 'subject'. In linguistics and
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<blockquote>in the term ''subject'' . . . I am not designating the [[living]] substratum needed by this phenomenon of the subject, nor any sort of substance, nor any being possessing [[knowledge]] in his pathos  .  . . nor even some incarnated [[logos]], but the [[Cartesian]] subject, who appears at the [[moment]] when [[doubt]] is recognised as [[certainty]].<ref>{{S11}} p. 126</ref></blockquote>
  
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logic, the subject of a proposition is that about which something is predicated
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=====Subject of the Unconscious=====
 +
The fact that the [[symbol]] of the [[subject]], '''S''', is a homophone of the [[Freud]]'s term ''[[Es]]'' ('[[Id]]') illustrates that for [[Lacan]], the true [[subject]] is the [[subject]] of the [[unconscious]].
  
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(see Lacan, 1967: 19), and is also opposed to the 'object'. Lacan plays on the
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In 1957 [[Lacan]] strikes through this [[symbol]] to produce the [[symbol]] '''$''', the "[[subject|barred subject]]," thus illustrating the fact that the [[subject]] is essentially [[divided]].
  
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philosophical nuances of the latter term to emphasise that his concept of the
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=====See Also=====
 +
{{See}}
 +
* [[Analysand]]
 +
* ''[[Cogito]]''
 +
||
 +
* [[Enunciation]]
 +
* [[Ego]]
 +
||
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* [[Language]]
 +
* [[Law]]
 +
||
 +
* [[Linguistics]]
 +
* [[Philosophy]]
 +
||
 +
* [[Split]]
 +
* [[Statement]]
 +
||
 +
* [[Symbol]]
 +
* [[Unconscious]]
 +
{{Also}}
  
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subject concerns those aspects of the human being that cannot (or must not) be
+
=====References=====
−
 
+
<div style="font-size:11px" class="references-small">
−
objectified (reified, reduced to a thing), nor be studied in an 'objective' way.
 
−
 
 
−
'What do we call        a subject'? Quite precisely, what in the development of
 
−
 
 
−
objectivation, is outside of the object' (Sl, 194).
 
−
 
 
−
    References to language come to dominate Lacan's concept of the subject
 
−
 
 
−
from the mid-1950s on. He distinguishes the subject of the statement from the
 
−
 
 
−
subject of the ENUNCIATION to show that because the subject is essentially a
 
−
 
 
−
speaking being (parlÍtre), he is inescapably divided, castrated, SPLIT. In the
 
−
 
 
−
early 1960s Lacan defines the subject as that which is represented by a signifier
 
−
 
 
−
for another signifier; in other words, the subject is an effect of language (Ec,
 
−
 
 
−
835).
 
−
 
 
−
    Besides its place in linguistics and logic, the              term 'subject' also has
 
−
 
 
−
philosophical and legal connotations. In philosophical discourse, it denotes
 
−
 
 
−
an individual self-consciousness, whereas in legal discourse, it denotes                a
 
−
 
 
−
person who is under the power of another (e.g. a person who is subject to
 
−
 
 
−
the sovereign). The fact that the term possesses both these meanings means
 
−
 
 
−
that it perfectly illustrates Lacan's thesis about the determination of conscious-
 
−
 
 
−
ness by the symbolic order; 'the subject is a subject only by virtue of his
 
−
 
 
−
subjection to the field of the Other' (S2, 188, translation modified). The term
 
−
 
 
−
also functions in legal discourse to designate the support of action; the subject
 
−
 
 
−
is one who can be held responsible for his AcTs.
 
−
 
 
−
      The philosophical connotations of the term are particularly emphasised by
 
−
 
 
−
Lacan, who links it with Descartes's philosophy of the COGITO:
 
−
 
 
−
      in the term subject . . . I am not designating the living substratum needed by
 
−
 
 
−
      this phenomenon of the subject, nor any sort of substance, nor any being
 
−
 
 
−
      possessing knowledge in his pathos  .  . . nor even some incarnated logos, but
 
−
 
 
−
      the Cartesian subject, who appears at the moment when doubt is recognised
 
−
 
 
−
      as certainty.
 
−
 
 
−
                                                                                                            (S11, 126)
 
−
 
 
−
      The fact that the symbol of the subject, S, is a homophone of the Freud's
 
−
 
 
−
term Es (see ID) illustrates that for Lacan, the true subject is the subject of the
 
−
 
 
−
unconscious. In 1957 Lacan strikes through this symbol to produce the symbol
 
−
 
 
−
S, the 'barred subject', thus illustrating the fact that the subject is essentially
 
−
 
 
−
divided.
 
−
 
 
−
== def ==
 
−
The term ‘subject’ is present from the very earliest of Lacan’s psychoanalytic writings, and from 1945 on it occupies a central part in Lacan’s work.
 
−
This is a distinctive feature of Lacan’s work, since the term does not constitue part of Freud’s thoeretical vocabulary, but is more associated with philosopical, legal and linguistic discourses.
 
−
 
 
−
 
 
−
 
 
−
 
 
−
== References ==
 
 
<references/>
 
<references/>
 +
</div>
  
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[[Category:Lacan]]
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[[Category:Jacques Lacan]]
 +
[[Category:Subject]]
 
[[Category:Terms]]
 
[[Category:Terms]]
 
[[Category:Concepts]]
 
[[Category:Concepts]]
 +
[[Category:Dictionary]]
 
[[Category:Psychoanalysis]]
 
[[Category:Psychoanalysis]]
 +
 +
__NOTOC__

Latest revision as of 23:58, 20 May 2019

French: [[sujet]]
Jacques Lacan

The term "subject" is present from the very earliest of Lacan's psychoanalytic writings,[1] and from 1945 on it occupies a central part in Lacan's work.

This is a distinctive feature of Lacan's work, since the term does not constitute part of Freud's theoretical vocabulary, but is more associated with philosophical, legal and linguistic discourses.

Human Being

In Lacan's pre-war papers, the term "subject" seems to mean no more than "human being."[2]

Analysand

The term is also used to refer to the analysand.[3]

Three Kinds

In 1945, Lacan distinguishes between three kinds of subject.

  1. Firstly, there is the impersonal subject, independent of the other, the pure grammatical subject, the noetic subject, the "it" of "it is known that."
  1. Secondly, there is the anonymous reciprocal subject who is completely equal to and substitutable for any other, and who recognises himself in equivalence with the other.
  1. Thirdly, there is the personal subject, whose uniqueness is constituted by an act of self-affirmation.[4]

It is always this third sense of the subject, the subject in his uniqueness, that constitutes the focus of Lacan's work.

Subject and Ego

In 1953, Lacan establishes a distinction between the subject and the ego which will remain one of the most fundamental distinctions throughout the rest of his work.

Whereas the ego is part of the imaginary order, the subject is part of the symbolic.

Thus the subject is not simply equivalent to a conscious sense of agency, which is a mere illusion produced by the ego, but to the unconscious; Lacan's "subject" is the subject of the unconscious.

Sigmund Freud

Lacan argues that this distinction can be traced back to Freud:

"[Freud] wrote Das Ich und das Es in order to maintain this fundamental distinction between the true subject of the unconscious and the ego as constituted in its nucleus by a series of alienating identifications.[5]

Although psychoanalytic treatment has powerful effects on the ego, it is the subject, and not the ego, on which psychoanalysis primarily operates.

Alternative Meanings

Lacan plays on the various meanings of the term "subject."

In linguistics and logic, the subject of a proposition is that about which something is predicated, and is also opposed to the "object."[6]

Lacan plays on the philosophical nuances of the latter term to emphasise that his concept of the subject concerns those aspects of the human being that cannot (or must not) be objectified (reified, reduced to a thing), nor be studied in an 'objective' way.

"What do we call a subject? Quite precisely, what in the development of objectivation, is outside of the object."[7]

Language

References to language come to dominate Lacan's concept of the subject from the mid-1950s on.

He distinguishes the subject of the statement from the subject of the enunciation to show that because the subject is essentially a speaking being (parlêtre), he is inescapably divided, castrated, split.

In the early 1960s Lacan defines the subject as that which is represented by a signifier for another signifier; in other words, the subject is an effect of language.[8].

Philosophy and Law

Besides its place in linguistics and logic, the term "subject" also has philosophical and legal connotations.

In philosophical discourse, it denotes an individual self-consciousness, whereas in legal discourse, it denotes a person who is under the power of another (e.g. a person who is subject to the sovereign).

The fact that the term possesses both these meanings means that it perfectly illustrates Lacan's thesis about the determination of consciousness by the symbolic order.

"The subject is a subject only by virtue of his subjection to the field of the Other."[9]

The term also functions in legal discourse to designate the support of action; the subject is one who can be held responsible for his acts.

Descartes's Cogito

The philosophical connotations of the term are particularly emphasised by Lacan, who links it with Descartes's philosophy of the cogito:

in the term subject . . . I am not designating the living substratum needed by this phenomenon of the subject, nor any sort of substance, nor any being possessing knowledge in his pathos . . . nor even some incarnated logos, but the Cartesian subject, who appears at the moment when doubt is recognised as certainty.[10]

Subject of the Unconscious

The fact that the symbol of the subject, S, is a homophone of the Freud's term Es ('Id') illustrates that for Lacan, the true subject is the subject of the unconscious.

In 1957 Lacan strikes through this symbol to produce the symbol $, the "barred subject," thus illustrating the fact that the subject is essentially divided.

See Also
References
  1. ↑ Lacan, Jacques. De la psychose paranoiaque dans ses rapports avec la personalité, Paris: Navarin, 1975. [1932].
  2. ↑ Lacan, Jacques. Écrits. Paris: Seuil, 1966. p. 75
  3. ↑ Lacan, Jacques. Écrits. Paris: Seuil, 1966. p. 83
  4. ↑ Lacan, Jacques. Écrits. Paris: Seuil, 1966. p.207-8
  5. ↑ Lacan, Jacques. Écrits: A Selection. Trans. Alan Sheridan. London: Tavistock Publications, 1977. p.128
  6. ↑ Lacan, Jacques. "Proposition du 9 octobre 1967 sur le psychanalyste de l'École," 1967, Scilicet, no. 1 (1968) p. 19
  7. ↑ Lacan, Jacques. The Seminar. Book I. Freud's Papers on Technique, 1953-54. Trans. John Forrester. New York: Nortion; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. p. 194
  8. ↑ Lacan, Jacques. Écrits. Paris: Seuil, 1966. p. 835
  9. ↑ Lacan, Jacques. The Seminar. Book II. The Ego in Freud's Theory and in the Technique of Psychoanalysis, 1954-55. Trans. Sylvana Tomaselli. New York: Nortion; Cambridge: Cambridge Unviersity Press, 1988. p. 188
  10. ↑ 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. 126


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