DeepSummary
In this episode of Rev Left Radio, Todd McGowan returns as a guest to discuss the French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist Jacques Lacan. McGowan provides an overview of Lacan's life, his relationship to Freud and the tradition of psychoanalysis, and his key contributions to the field, such as bringing in philosophy, semiotics, and a focus on the social dimension to psychoanalysis.
McGowan delves into several of Lacan's core concepts, including desire, lack, the unconscious, the symbolic, the real, the objet petit a, and jouissance. He explains how these ideas relate to contemporary society, capitalism, and Marxist thought, drawing parallels between psychoanalytic theory and political analysis.
The conversation also touches on Lacan's intellectual relationship with figures like Sartre and Jung, his obscure writing style, and criticisms of his work. McGowan provides insights into how Lacan's ideas have been applied to leftist thought, particularly through the work of Slavoj Žižek, and the relevance of psychoanalysis for understanding ideology and the revolutionary project.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Jacques Lacan was a influential French psychoanalyst who built upon and reinterpreted the work of Sigmund Freud.
- Lacan introduced concepts like desire, lack, the unconscious, the symbolic, the real, the objet petit a, and jouissance to psychoanalytic theory.
- Lacan's ideas emphasize the social dimension of psychoanalysis and the role of language and structure in shaping subjectivity.
- Lacan's work has been criticized for its obscure writing style and lack of scientific rigor, but has also been influential in leftist political thought.
- Thinkers like Slavoj Žižek have applied Lacanian concepts to analyze ideology, capitalism, and the revolutionary project.
- Lacan's concepts like the real and jouissance offer insights into understanding disruptive events, desire, and enjoyment in contemporary society.
- Lacan's intellectual relationships with figures like Sartre, Jung, and the 1968 student protests in Paris highlight tensions between his work and political movements.
- While controversial, Lacan's contributions have had a lasting impact on psychoanalysis, critical theory, and political philosophy.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “And what's interesting about this, he does this all the time. He's disingenuous because he does actually say at one point earlier in his thought. The unconscious is language. But then he says later, I never have said the unconsciousness is language. It's structured like.“ by Todd McGowan
- “I don't think that's, that's too far off, actually. I think that's pretty good. Like openness to the disruption of the real, an ability to. A willingness, ability to see that disruptiveness and to see the way in which that disruptiveness isn't abnormal, but is the constitutive dimension of. It has a constitutive dimension of normality itself.“ by Todd McGowan
- “So I think that there's a, there's a kind of divide about how you take that comment about, you know, your, this revolutionist hysterical.“ by Todd McGowan
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Episode Information
Revolutionary Left Radio
Revolutionary Left Radio
7/11/22
Todd McGowan returns to the show, this time to discuss the French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist Jacques Lacan. Breht and Todd explore many of his core concepts, his relation to Freud and Freud’s theory, his politics, his contributions to psychology, how his insights can useful for us today, and so much more.
Check out Todd's podcast “Why Theory?” on your preferred podcast app!
Previous episdoes with Todd:
https://revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn.com/capitalism-and-desire-in-dialogue-with-psychoanalysis
https://revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn.com/hegel
Outro music: "Cold Blood" by Josiah and the Bonnevilles
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