Lacan offers an interesting analysis of hesitation. Logical time is divided into three "moments".
1. the instant of seeing 2. the [[time for understanding 3. the moment of concluding]] (<ref>[[French]]: ''[[temps]]'')
One of the most distinctive features of [[Lacanian psychoanalysis]] is [[Lacan illustrates this with a story of three prisoners. The prison governor shows them three green discs and two red ones. Then he puts a green disc on each prisoner]]'s back. Each can see the disc on the other two prisoners' backs. The first one approach to deduce the colour questions of the disc on his own back will be granted his freedom[[time]].
The correct deduction appears to depend on Broadly speaking, [[Lacan]]'s approach is characterised by two important innovations: the hesitation concept of the group. "If I had a red disk[[logical time]], then each of and the other prisoners would not hesitate to deduce immediately that he was green. Since neither has done so, I must also have a green diskstress on [[retroaction]] and [[anticipation]]."
Delay, doubt, hesitation, procrastination, the ability to make nothing happen (ungeschehenmachen) - these characteristic features of decision-making are grounded by Lacan in the phenomenology of obsessional neurosis.== Logical time ==
For a detailed discussionIn his paper entitled '[[Logical time]]' .<ref>1945</ref>, see John Forrester, The Seductions [[Lacan]] undermines the pretensions of Psychoanalysis: Freud, Lacan [[logic]] to [[timelessness]] and Derrida (Cambridge 1990), Chapter 8. The prisoner story can be found on p178 ff[[eternity]] by showing how certain logical calculations include an inescapable reference to a [[temporality]]. ==time==time (temps) One of the most distinctive features of Lacanian psycho-
analysis However, the kind of [[temporality]] involved is Lacan's approach not specificiable by reference to questions the clock, but is itself the product of timecertain logical articulations. Broadly speaking, Lacan's
approach is characterised by two important innovations: the concept This distinction between [[logical time]] and [[chronological time]] underpins [[Lacan]]'s whole [[theory of logicaltemporality]].
The fact that [[logical time]] is not [[objective]] does not mean that it is simply a question of [[subjective]] [[feeling]]; on the contrary, and as the stress on retroaction and anticipationadjective '[[logical]]' indicates, it is a precise [[dialectical]] [[structure]] which may be formulated rigorously in [[mathematical]] [[terms]].
In the 1945 paper, [[Lacan]] argues that [[logical time]] has a [[tripartite]] [[structure]], the three moments of which are:
# the instant of [[seeing]];
# the time for [[understanding]];
# the moment of concluding.
e Logical time In his paper entitled 'Logical time' (1945)By means of a sophism, the problem of the [[three prisoners]], [[Lacan under-]] shows how these three moments are constructed not in terms of objective chronometric units but in terms of an [[intersubjective]] [[logic]] based on a tension between waiting and haste, between [[hesitation]] and u[[rgency]].
mines [[Logical time]] is thus "the pretensions of logic to timelessness and eternity by showing how[[intersubjective]] [[time]] that [[structure]]s [[human]] [[action]]."<ref>{{E}} p.75</ref>
certain [[Lacan]]'s notion of [[logical calculations include time]] is not just an inescapable reference to a temporalityexercise in logic; it also has practical consequences for psychoanalytic treatment.
HoweverThe most famous of these consequences, the kind historically speaking, has been [[Lacan]]'s use of [[sessions of temporality involved is not specificiable variable duration]] ([[French]]: sÈances scandÈes</ref>, which was regarded by reference tothe [[International Psycho-Analytical Association]] ([[IPA]]) as sufficient grounds for excluding him from membership.
the clockHowever, but to focus exclusively on this particular [[practice]] is itself to miss various other interesting clinical dimensions of the product theory of certain [[logical articulationstime]], such as the way in which [[Lacan]]'s concept of "[[the time for understanding]]" can throw light on the [[Freud]]ian concept of [[working-through]].<ref>See Forrester, 1990: ch. 8. This</ref>
[[Lacan]]'s concept of [[logical time]] anticipates his incursions into [[Saussure]]an [[linguistics]], which is based on the distinction between logical time the [[diachronic]] (or temporal) and chronological time underpins Lacan'sthe [[synchronic]] (atemporal) aspects of [[language]].
whole theory of temporalityHence [[Lacan]]'s increasing stress, beginning in the 1950s, on [[synchronic]] or [[timeless]] [[structure]]s rather than on [[developmental]] '[[stages]]'.
The fact that logical Thus when [[Lacan]] uses the term '[[time ]]', it is usually to be understood not objective does not mean that it is simply as a fleeting [[diachronic]] moment but as a [[structure]], arelatively [[stable]] [[synchronic]] [[state]].
question Similarly, when he speaks of subjective feeling; on "the contrarythree [[times]] of the [[Oedipus complex]], as " the adjective 'ordering is one of [[logical']] priority rather than of a [[chronological]] sequence.
indicates, it [[Change]] is not seen as a precise dialectical gradual or smooth move along a continuum, but as an abrupt shift from one discrete [[structure which may be formulated rigor-]] to another.
ously [[Lacan]]'s emphasis on [[synchronic]] or [[timeless]] [[structure]]s can be seen as an attempt to explore [[Freud]]'s statement about the non-[[existence]] of [[time]] in mathematical termsthe [[unconscious]]. In the 1945 paper, Lacan argues that logical time
has a tripartite structureHowever, [[Lacan]] modifies this with his proposal, in 1964, that the three moments [[unconscious]] be characterised in terms of which are: (i) the instant a [[temporal]] movement ofopening and closing.<ref>{{S11}} p.143, 204</ref>
seeing; ==Retroaction and anticipation==Other forms of [[psychoanalysis]], such as [[ego-psychology]] are based on a linear concept of [[time]] (ii) as can be seen, for example, in their stress on a linear sequence of [[development]]al [[stage]]s through which the time for understanding[[child]] [[naturally]] passes; (iiisee [[development]]) the moment of concluding. By
means of [[Lacan]], however, completely abandons such a sophism (the problem linear notion of [[time]], since in the three prisoners) Lacan shows how[[psyche]] [[time]] can equally well act in reverse, by [[retroaction]] and [[anticipation]].
these three moments are constructed not in terms of objective chronometric=== Retroaction===[[French]]: ''[[après coup]]''
units but in terms of an intersubjective logic based on a tension between[[Lacan]]'s term ''[[après coup]]'' is the term used by [[French]] [[analysts]] to translate [[Freud]]'s [[Nachtr‰glichkeit]] ('[[deferred action]]')
waiting and hasteThese terms refer to the way that, in the [[psyche]], [[present]] [[event]]s affect [[past]] events a posteriori, between hesitation since the [[past]] [[exist]]s in the [[psyche]] only as a set of [[memories]] which are constantly being re[[work]]ed and urgency[[reinterpreted]] in the light of [[present]] experience. Logical time is thus 'the
intersubjective time What concerns [[psychoanalysis]] is not the real [[past]] sequence of events in themselves, but the way that structures human action' (E, 75)these events [[exist]] now in [[memory]] and the way that the [[patient]] reports them.
Thus when [[Lacan]] argues that the [[aim]] of [[psychoanalytic treatment]] is 'the complete reconstitution of the [[subject]]'s notion of logical time [[history]],"<ref>{{S1}} p.12</ref>, he makes it clear that what he means by the term "[[history]]" is not just an exercise in logic; it also hassimply a real sequence of [[past]] events, but "the present synthesis of the past."<ref>{{S1}} p.36</ref>
practical consequences for psychoanalytic treatment<blockquote>"[[History]] is not the past. The most famous of [[History]] is the [[past]] inso far as it is [[historicised]] in the [[present]]."<ref>{{S1}} p.12</ref></blockquote>
these consequencesHence the [[pregenital]] [[stage]]s are not to be seen as real events chronologically prior to the [[genital]] [[stage]], historically speaking, has been Lacan's use but as forms of sessions[[demand]] which are [[project]]ed [[retroactively]] onto the [[past]].<ref>{{E}} p.197</ref>
[[Lacan]] also shows how [[discourse]] is [[structure]]d by [[retroaction]]; only when the last [[word]] of variable duration the [[sentence]] is uttered do the initial [[word]]s acquire their [[full]] [[meaning]] (Frsee [[punctuation]]). sÈances scandÈes), which was regarded by the<ref>{{E}} p.303</ref>
International Psycho-Analytical Association (IPA) as sufficient grounds for==Anticipation==
excluding him from membership. HoweverIf [[retroaction]] refers to the way the [[present]] affects the [[past]], [[anticipation]] refers to focus exclusively on thisthe way the [[future]] affects the [[present]].
particular practice is Like [[retroaction]], [[anticipation]] marks the [[structure]] of [[speech]]; the first [[word]]s of a [[sentence]] are ordered in [[anticipation]] of the [[word]]s to miss various other interesting clinical dimensions ofcome.<ref>{{E}}, 303</ref>
In the theory of logical time[[mirror stage]], such as the way in which Lacan's concept [[ego]] is [[construct]]ed on the basis of 'the[[anticipation]] of an imagined [[future]] [[wholeness]] which never, in fact, arrives.
time for understanding' can throw light on The [[structure]] of [[anticipation]] is best illustrated [[linguistically]] by the Freudian concept of workingfuture-perfect tense.<ref>{{E}}, 306</ref>
through. (See Forrester[[Anticipation]] also plays an important role in the [[tripartite]] [[structure]] of [[logical time]]; the moment of concluding "is arrived at in haste, 1990: chin [[anticipation]] of [[future]] [[certainty]]. 8"<ref>{{Ec}} p.)209</ref>
Lacan's concept of logical time anticipates his incursions into Saussurean
linguisticsThe notion of time in psychoanalysis intersects several other concepts such as repetition, which is based on the distinction between regression, fixation, and rhythm, though Freud also discussed the diachronic (oridea of time directly.
temporal) and He began by emphasizing the synchronic (atemporal) aspects [[atemporality]] of language. Hence Lacan's[[unconscious]] [[processes]]:
increasing stressThe [[unconscious]] ignores [[time]], beginning and he suggested that the origin of the representation of [[time]] could be found in the 1950sdiscontinuous relation the [[preconscious]]-[[conscious]] [[system]] maintained with the [[external]] [[world]], on synchronic or timelesS STRUCTURESthe [[time]] dimension then being associated with acts of [[consciousness]].
rather than on developmental 'stages'==Hesitation==[[Lacan]] offers an interesting analysis of [[hesitation]]. Thus when Lacan uses the term 'time',
it [[Logic]]al time]] is usually to be understood not as a fleeting diachronic divided into three "[[moment but as a]]s".
structure, a relatively stable synchronic state. Similarly, when he speaks # [[the instant of 'seeing]]# [[thetime for understanding]]# [[the moment of concluding]]
three times of the Oedipus complex', the ordering is one of logical priority
rather than ==Three Prisoners==[[Lacan]] illustrates this with a story of a chronological sequence[[three prisoners]]. Change is not seen as a gradual or
smooth move along a continuum, but as an abrupt shift from one discreteThe prison governor shows them three green discs and two red ones.
structure to anotherThen he puts a green disc on each prisoner's back.
LacanEach can see the disc on the other two prisoners's emphasis on synchronic or timeless structures can be seen as anbacks.
attempt The first one to explore Freud's statement about deduce the non-existence colour of time in thedisc on his own back will be granted his freedom.
unconsciousThe correct deduction appears to depend on the hesitation of the group. However, Lacan modifies this with his proposal, in 1964, that the
unconscious be characterised in terms "If I had a red disk, then each of the other prisoners would not hesitate to deduce immediately that he was green. Since neither has done so, I must also have a temporal movement of opening andgreen disk."
closing (Sll==Pathology==Delay, 143doubt, 204)hesitation, procrastination, the ability to make nothing happen .<ref>ungeschehenmachen</ref> - these characteristic features of decision-making are grounded by Lacan in the phenomenology of obsessional neurosis.
e Retroaction and anticipation Other forms of psychoanalysis, such as ego-psychology are based on For a linear concept of time (as can be seendetailed discussion, for example, in their stress on a linear sequence of developmental stages through which the childaaturally passes; see DEVELOPMENT). LacanJohn Forrester, however, comple- tely abandons such a linear notion The Seductions of timePsychoanalysis: Freud, since in the psyche time can equally well act in reverse, by retroaction and anticipation. e Retroactiom(Fr. aprËs coup) Lacan's term aprËs coup is the term used by French analyts to translate Freud's Nachtr‰glichkeit (which the Standard Edition renders 'deferred action'). These terms refer to the way that, in the psyche, presentevents affect past events a posteriori, since the past exists in the psyche only as a set of memories which are constantly being reworked and reinterpreted in the light of present experience. What concerns psychoanalysis is not the real past sequence of events in themselves, but the way that these events exist now in memory and the way that the patient reports them. Thus when Lacan argues that the aim of psychoanalytic treatment is 'the complete reconstitution ofthe subject's history' (Sl, 12), he makes it clear that what he means by the term 'history' is not simply a real sequence of past events, but 'the present synthesis of the past' (Sl, 36)Derrida . 'History is not the past. History is the past in so far as it is historicised in the present' (Sl, 12). Hence the pregenital stages are not to be seen as real events chronologically prior to the genital stage<ref>Cambridge 1990</ref>, but as forms of DEMAND which are projected retroactively onto the past (E, 197). Lacan also shows how discourse is structured by retroaction; only when the last word of the sentence is uttered do the initial words acquire their full meaning (E, 303) (see PUNCTUATION). ï Anticipation If retroaction refers to the way the present affects the past, anticipation refers to the way the future affects the present. Like retroaction, anticipation marks the structure of speech; the first words of a sentence are ordered in anticipation of the words to come (E, 303). In the mirror stage, the ego is constructed on the basis of the anticipation of an imagined future wholeness (which never, in fact, arrives)Chapter 8. The structure of anticipation is best illustrated linguistically by the future-perfect tense (E, 306). Anticipation also plays an important role in the tripartite structure of logical time; the moment of concluding' is arrived at in haste, in anticipation of future certainty (Ec, 209).==def== TimeThe notion of time in psychoanalysis intersects several other concepts such as repetition, regression, fixation, and rhythm, though Freud also discussed the idea of time directly. He began by emphasizing the atemporality of unconscious processes: The unconscious ignores time, and he suggested that the origin of the representation of time could prisoner story can be found in the discontinuous relation the preconscious-conscious system maintained with the external world, the time dimension then being associated with acts of consciousnesson p178 ff. He related the
[[Category:Psychoanalysis]]
