Difference between revisions of "Torus"
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In its simplest form, it is a ring, a three-dimensional object formed by taking a cylinder and joining the two ends together. | In its simplest form, it is a ring, a three-dimensional object formed by taking a cylinder and joining the two ends together. | ||
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[[Lacan]]'s first reference to the [[torus]] dates from 1953,<ref>E, 105</ref> but it is not until his work on [[topology]] in the 1970s that it begins to figure prominently in his work. | [[Lacan]]'s first reference to the [[torus]] dates from 1953,<ref>E, 105</ref> but it is not until his work on [[topology]] in the 1970s that it begins to figure prominently in his work. | ||
The [[topology]] of the [[torus]] illustrates certain features of the [[structure]] of the [[subject]]: | The [[topology]] of the [[torus]] illustrates certain features of the [[structure]] of the [[subject]]: | ||
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One important feature of the [[torus]] is that its centre of gravity falls outside its volume, just as the centre of the [[subject]] is outside himself; he is [[decentred]], excentric. | One important feature of the [[torus]] is that its centre of gravity falls outside its volume, just as the centre of the [[subject]] is outside himself; he is [[decentred]], excentric. | ||
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Another property of the [[torus]] is that "its peripheral exteriority and its central exteriority constitute only one single region."<ref>E, 105</ref> | Another property of the [[torus]] is that "its peripheral exteriority and its central exteriority constitute only one single region."<ref>E, 105</ref> | ||
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==See Also== | ==See Also== | ||
* [[borromean knot]] | * [[borromean knot]] | ||
Revision as of 07:13, 4 August 2006
The torus (French: tore) is one of the figures that Lacan analyses in his study of topology.
In its simplest form, it is a ring, a three-dimensional object formed by taking a cylinder and joining the two ends together.
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Lacan's first reference to the torus dates from 1953,[1] but it is not until his work on topology in the 1970s that it begins to figure prominently in his work.
The topology of the torus illustrates certain features of the structure of the subject:
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One important feature of the torus is that its centre of gravity falls outside its volume, just as the centre of the subject is outside himself; he is decentred, excentric.
Another property of the torus is that "its peripheral exteriority and its central exteriority constitute only one single region."[2]
This illustrates the way that psychoanalysis problematises the distinction between 'inside' and 'outside.' (see extimacy).
