In this episode/session of InForm: Seminar, I introduce what I'll be covering in the first season --Lacan's Seminar XI - The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis. I talk about why I picked this, about the difficulty of reading Lacan, and how I plan to offer up my reading of this text.
Show Notes
Notes:
- I'm offering a reading, my reading, not the reading of Seminar XI.
- Lacan's seminar was originally spoken. It was not a written text. So, even though I'm reading a written text, this writing is based on someone speaking extemporaneously. I think this makes it different than a text that someone wrote.
- When Lacan was teaching (i.e., speaking extemporaneously) about psychoanalysis, he would not always talk in a clear line. Instead, he would start making one point and then zig and zag. He would bring up something that occurred to him as he spoke, and he would start to explore "side streets" that branched off from the central thought he had started from.
- Thus, in each session of Lacan's seminar, there are usually several paths (i.e., trains of thoughts) that can be followed.
- In my reading, I've tried to isolate (extract) what I believe is the main train of thought in each section. I try to highlight what I think is the main thought or point and then offer some commentary on it.
- This means I leave lots of interesting content un-highlighted and un-explored.
- What I believe is the main point of a session of Seminar XI is not what another reader (perhaps you) would see as the main point. Be that as it may, it is the choice I made. I sincerely hope that my reading (and the effort to put that reading into writing here) is of use to you.
What is In Form: Seminar ?
InForm: Seminar is an informal and (hopefully!) informative seminar delivered in a podcast format. The content of the seminar will focus on the ongoing process of the formation of an analyst, and on what it is like to live and work analytically. The seminar is delivered by Neil Gorman, who is a practicing Lacanian Analyst and an Associate Professor at the Aurora University School of Education & Social Work.
InForm: Seminar is a companion to the InForm: Podcast, which is a podcast of informal and informative conversations and interviews Neil Gorman does with other members of the analytic community.