Six Moments in Lacan

Many first-time readers of Jacques Lacan come to his work via psychology, a discipline that Lacan was notoriously antagonistic toward. Six Moments in Lacan takes up the dual challenge of introducing Lacanian psychoanalysis to an audience interested in psychology, while also stressing the fundamental differences between the two disciplines. Punctuated by lively examples, Six Moments in Lacan demonstrates the distinctive value of Lacanian concepts in approaching afresh topics such as communication, identity, otherness and inter-subjectivity. Avoiding the jargon and wilful obscurity that so often accompanies expositions of Lacans psychoanalytic theories, this book puts Lacanian ideas to work in practical and illuminating ways. A handful of concepts, draw from distinct moments in Lacans teaching, are contextualized and explained, and applied to the task of exploring the psychological and unconscious dimensions of everyday life. Notions such as the big Other, full versus empty speech, logical time, imaginary and symbolic identification, and the idea of the master signifier are brought to life via popular cultural references. Revitalizing several Freudian and Lacanian concepts for everyday use, Six Moments in Lacan asks and answers a series of compelling questions: Why is it that each instance of speech implies a listener? Why is the notion of subjectivity inadequate when it comes to the trans-subjective nature of language? Is it possible to elaborate a non-psychological theory of identification? Why is a Lacanian approach to the subject so at odds with models proposed by psychology? Six Moments in Lacan provides an accessible and highly engaging introduction to Lacan and Lacanian psychoanalysis, aimed at early practitioners and students in psychoanalysis, psychotherapy and those studying upper undergraduate and postgraduate level psychology.