The conception of the mirror phase which i introduced at our last congress, thirteen years ago, has since become more or less established in the practice of the french group. T he conception of the mirror phase which i introduced at our last congress, years ago, has since become more or less established in the practice of the french group. This is a summary of the version of lacan s paper presented in the norton anthology of theory and criticism, 2001. The argument which he goes on to develop is far from being merely an incidental fragment of his work. Lacans reinterpretation of freud, with the central focus on language, brought about a poststructuralist turn to psychoanalytic theory. Lacan calls this stage of child development the mirror stage 1285. This is the first of two articles looking at the theory of the mirror stage in lacans work. As raymond tallis has accurately written, the theory of the mirror stage is regarded as the cornerstone of lacan s oeuvre. The conception of the mirrorphase which i introduced at our last congress, years ago, has since become more or less established in the. He presented a paper on the mirror stage on august 3, 1936, at a conference of the international psychoanalytical association in marienbad.
Initially, lacan proposed that the mirror stage was part of an infants development from 6. Theresa thompson english 7010 spring 2011 jacques lacan. Lacan can account for this through his analysis of the mirror stage. This is the first of two articles looking at the theory of the mirror stage in lacan s work. In this clear, wideranging primer, lionel bailly demonstrates how lacan s ideas are still vitally relevant to contemporary issues of mental health treatment. The mirror stage as formative of the function 79 metaphors for which arise spontaneously, as if deriving from the subjects very symptoms, to designate the mechanisms of obsessive neurosis.
In the first place, it has historical value as it marks a decisive turningpoint in the mental development of the child. Mirror stage 27f relies on the comparison of the child and the spectator as similarly positioned, and the standard interpretation of lacan s early conception of the gaze as subjective mastery over the imaginary realm and investment of the viewer in the screen image. The mirror stage as formative of the function of the i as revealed in psychoanalytic experience. In the early stages of his career, from 192653, lacan progressed from conventional psychiatric treatment to gradual inclusion of clinical psychoanalysis. This experiment inverts lacan s emphasis on the operations and agents of subjectivity and looks at the components of framing that can be found in the media film, theater, literature, architecture, etc. My intention in this article is to evaluate lacan s theory of the mirror stage in accordance with current philosophy of mind theories and findings from the field of psychology. His books and ideas had a significant impact on critical theory, literary theory, philosophy, sociology, feminist theory, film theory and clinical psychoanalysis. Doc summary of lacans the mirror stage as formative of. To stay at this more general metapsychological level for a little while longer, lacan eventually forges, partly on the basis of the mirror stage, a distinction between the ego moi and the subject sujet, a word freighted with philosophical baggage lacan knowingly adds this word and its philosophical vocabulary to analytic discourse. Lacanian psychoanalysis literary theory and criticism. Lacans concept of mirror stage literary theory and criticism.
Dec 20, 2019 lacan, jacques, lo stadio dello specchio come formatore della funzione lacan, jacques, il seminario, ed. This imago is shown in shakespeares play richard ii in act 4 scene 1 where he smashes the mirror, a representation of him losing his kingship which was his ideal self. Pdf my intention in this article is to evaluate lacans theory of the mirror stage in accordance with current philosophy of mind theories and findings. Published in 1936, the mirror stage was lacan s first formal contribution to the field of psychoanalysis. The mirror stage entails a libidinal dynamism ecrits 2 caused by the young childs identification with his own image what lacan terms the ideali or ideal ego. The mirror phase was defined in 1936 by jaques lacan, a postfreudian psychoanalyst, who explained how the imaginary misrecognition situates the agency of the ego, before its social determination, in a fictional direction. Published in 1936, the mirror stage was lacans first formal contribution to the field of psychoanalysis. In the second place, it typifies an essential libidinal relationship with the bodyimage. Its also essential reading for anyone interested in lacan due to the prevalence of the mirror stage s concepts found throughout his entire oeuvre.
Drawing on work in physiology and animal psychology, lacan proposes that human infants pass through a stage in which an external image of the body reflected in a mirror. Introduction to jacques lacan, module on psychosexual development. The mirror stage is based on the belief that infants recognize themselves in a mirror literal or other symbolic contraption which induces apperception the turning of oneself into an object that can be viewed by the child from outside themselves from the age of about six months. Although alienation is an essential characteristic of all subjectivity, psychosis represents a more extreme form of alienation. In order to recognize myself, i have to be separate from my self. The essay was reprinted in the french publication of ecrits in 1966. Lacan believes that this stage is a part of a machinelike process of our psychological growth that reinforces his belief in paranoiac knowledge 1286, which is to say that he believes the formation of self that we experience while looking in a mirror is part of. File type pdf my teaching jacques lacan my teaching jacques lacan psychotherapy jacques lacan jacques lacan was frances most famous psychoanalyst, who. Introduction to jacques lacan, module on psychosexual development 2.
The idea of the mirror stage is an important early component in lacan s reinterpretation of the work of freud. Lacan s mirror stage can be understood as an ironic version of this theology. Scribd is the worlds largest social reading and publishing site. Delivered on july 17, 1949, in zurich at the sixteenth. Mirror stage artikel zum spiegelstadium bei no subject encyclopedia for lacanian psychoanalysis. Jacques lacan the mirror stage in this video, i explore the theory behind psychoanalyst jacques lacan s the mirror stage. Mirror stage and instance of the letter the mirror stage the. In 1936 lacan delivered at the 14th international psychoanalytic. Jacques lacan has 105 books on goodreads with 24126 ratings. Defending lacan from his numerous detractors, past and present, bailly guides the reader through lacan s canon, from lobjet petit a to the mirror stage. Lacan s early theory, including the mirror stage, centers on the imaginary register. Introduction to jacques lacan, module on psychosexual. Notes on the 2 versions 1936 and 1949 of lacan s mirror. Lacans ideas about the formation of the i developed over time in conjunction with his other elaborations of freudian theory.
Introduction to lacan s theory of anxiety as the sensation of the desire of the other, through the story of the praying mantis and the example of phobia. But were i to build on these subjective data alonewere i to so. I am led, therefore, to regard the function of the mirror stage as a paaicular case of the function. Jun 10, 2016 jacques lacan was frances most famous psychoanalyst, who came up with the intriguing concept of the mirror phase. The presence of jacques lacans mirror stage and gaze in. Free download jacques lacan e lo stadio dello specchio. The career of jacques lacan is one of the most remarkable phenomena in twentieth century intellectual history. In reading the following 1936 notes, it is good to keep in mind that in his 1938 article lacan identifies three family complexes each of which is the trace of a psychical crisis. Like the real, lacan stressed the ongoing nature of the mirror stage throughout our lives as we constantly strive for this ideali. What lacan means by the mirror stage english literature essay. This occurrence between the child, the childs reflection and his progression is what lacan calls the mirror stage.
Lacan, jacques internet encyclopedia of philosophy. Translated by alan sheridan with a foreword by malcolm bowie. I think it nevertheless worthwhile to bring it again to your attention, especially today, for the light that it sheds on the formation of the i as we experience it in psychoanalysis. Apr 22, 2016 home literary criticism lacans concept of mirror stage. This is usually seen as the main text on the mirror stage theory, but there. Lacans article the mirror stage as formative of the i 1936, 1949 lays out the parameters of a doctrine that he never foreswore, and which has subsequently become something of a poststructuralist mantra. In this video, i explore the theory behind psychoanalyst jacques lacan s the mirror stage. Extimacy lacan coined the term extimacy to designate the nature of this alienation, in which alterity inhabits the innermost core of the subject. Lacan s conception of the mirror stage has been called his most famous and significant contribution to the field of psychoanalysis. He has translated several of lacan s works into english. The mirror stage as formative of the function of the i. Jacques lacan the mirror stage as formative in the. Jacques lacan jacques lacan19011981\the mirror stage as.
Where to begin1 jane gallop the work of the french psychoanalyst jacques lacan has had a tremendous and unsettling effect on the disciplines known in france as the human sciences, that is, on both what we call the humanities and what we call the social sciences. The mirror stage as formative of the function of the i no. A psychoanalytic reading of frankenstein shows the reader that. One of many of lacans focal points and references throughout the reading is that of the gestalt theory, which has great relevance in accordance to the mirror stage but also challenges its beliefs. Jacques lacan, the mirrorphase as formative of the function. Until 1966, when, at the age of 65, he published his ecrits, very few people outside a small group of parisian intellectuals were aware of his existence. The mirror stage as formative of the function of the i as. Giacomo contri, torino, einaudi, free download lacan on madness madness yes you can t pdf. It happens through the identification with the mirror and with the other.
The imagi the imagi nary is the register of meaning, and all that is known, thought and fantasized, whether. In his paper titled mirror stage 1949, lacan expounds the concept of the mirror stage that occurs between 618 months of a childs development, when the child begins to draw rudimentary distinction between the self and the other, as it encounters its image in the mirror. Lacan explains that the mirror stage is a phenomenon to which i assign a twofold value. Lacans concept of mirror stage by nasrullah mambrol on april 22, 2016 5. For lacan, this act marks the primordial recognition of ones self as i, although at a point before entrance into language and the symbolic order. Jacques marie emile lacan 1901 1981 was a french psychoanalyst and psychiatrist. Robert louis stevenson, jacques lacan, rouben mamoulian, strange case. Congress in marienbad an unpublished paper on the origins of the ego in the mirror phase of. Drawing on work in physiology and animal psychology, lacan proposes that human infants pass through a stage in which an external image of the body reflected in a mirror, or represented to the infant. Where to begin1 jane gallop the work of the french psychoanalyst jacques lacan has had a tremendous and unsettling effect on the disciplines known in france as the human sciences. The cult of lacan freud, lacan and the mirror stage richard webster. For lacan, this act marks the primordial recognition of ones self as i, although at a. Lacans mirror stage terry gamels writing portfolio.
This is intended as an aide for students of literary criticism, to make it easier for them to comprehend a source often considered. This first part looks at the presentation of the mirror stage as we find it in the ecrits, specifically in the 1949 paper, the mirror stage as formative of the function of the i as revealed in psychoanalytic experience. The idea of the mirror stage is an important early component in lacan s critical reinterpretation of the work of freud. This stage, which lacan terms the mirror stage, was a central moment in your development.
To stay at this more general metapsychological level for a little while longer, lacan eventually forges, partly on the basis of the mirror stage, a distinction between the ego moi and the subject sujet, a word freighted with philosophical baggagelacan knowingly adds this word and its philosophical vocabulary to analytic discourse. Pdf is lacans theory of the mirror stage still valid. The mirror stage as formative of the function as revealed in psychoanalytic experience eiga erity. Through the mirror image the child is introduced into the imaginary order. Jacques lacan 19011981 the mirror stage as formative of the function of the i as revealed in psychoanalytic experience delivered at the 16th international congress of psychoanalysis, zurich, july 17, 1949 discussion questions 1. Although it may seem strange at first to analyze mary shelleys frankenstein from a psychoanalytic perspective, the founder of psychoanalysis, sigmund freud, and french psychoanalyst jacques lacan theories of the mirror stage and the oedipal complex enable frankenstein to be read as a novel embracing psychoanalytic theories. Lacan the mirror stage jacques lacan psychoanalysis. Lacan refers to this conference in the first sentence of the essay. Pdf the mirror stage as formative of the function of the i as. It has excited an enormous amount of interest among his followers and the essay he devoted to it was written and. The mirror stage as formative of the function of the i as revealed in psychoanalytic experience by. The key observation of lacans essay concerns the behaviour. Sep 22, 2016 in this video, i explore the theory behind psychoanalyst jacques lacan s the mirror stage. Jacques lacan, the mirror stage free download as pdf file.
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