Imaginary
| French: imaginaire |
| German: Imaginäre |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Theoretical context | |
| Clinical relevance | |
| Relations and influence | |
| Cross-references | |
| Key texts | Écrits, Seminar I |
| Core concepts | Identification, Méconnaissance, Ego |
| Related registers | Symbolic, Real |
| Function in analysis | Structures ego identifications and narcissistic fantasy |
| Pathologies involved | Narcissistic neurosis, Paranoia |
| Mechanisms | Specular identification, Aggressivity |
| Influenced by | Sigmund Freud, Gestalt psychology |
| Influenced fields | Film theory, Cultural studies |
| Related concepts | Mirror stage, Objet petit a |
| Related figures | Jacques-Alain Miller, Bruce Fink |
| See also | Lacan's Registers, Borromean knot |
The Imaginary is one of the three fundamental registers in the psychoanalytic theory of Jacques Lacan, alongside the Symbolic and the Real. It refers to the domain of images, illusions, and identifications, and plays a crucial role in the formation of the ego through identification with a specular image—most famously conceptualized in Lacan's theory of the mirror stage. The Imaginary is characterized by the interplay of semblance and misrecognition (méconnaissance), and is foundational to the subject's alienation in their own image and in their relation to the Other.
Lacan's theorization of the Imaginary evolves across his work, beginning with his re-reading of Sigmund Freud and his early interest in gestalt psychology, and later becomes integrated into a more complex topology involving language, structure, and desire.
Historical Development
Freudian Foundations
Although the term "Imaginary" is not explicitly used by Freud, Lacan retroactively locates the roots of the Imaginary in Freud’s early theories of narcissism and the formation of the ego. In On Narcissism (1914), Freud describes how the ego is constituted through identifications with images and external objects[1]. Lacan reformulates these processes as fundamentally imaginary in nature, placing emphasis on the image-based structuring of the ego.
Early Lacanian Use
Lacan first systematically develops the concept of the Imaginary in his 1936 paper on the mirror stage, presented at the International Psychoanalytical Congress in Marienbad, and elaborated further in his 1949 essay, The Mirror Stage as Formative of the I Function[2]. Here, the Imaginary is the register in which the child comes to identify with their specular image, misrecognizing it as a unified, whole self, which conceals the underlying fragmentation of the body (corps morcelé).
Core Characteristics of the Imaginary
The Register of the Image
The Imaginary is the realm of images, likeness, and dual relations. It operates through specular and mimetic structures, and is not governed by the logic of difference and signification that characterizes the Symbolic[3]. Lacan associates the Imaginary with the narcissistic illusion of wholeness, coherence, and control.
Identification and Misrecognition
Central to the Imaginary is the process of identification, particularly as it occurs in the mirror stage. The child’s identification with their mirror image inaugurates the ego, but this identification is inherently a méconnaissance—a misrecognition that alienates the subject from its fragmented body and situates them in an image of unity that is fundamentally illusory[2].
Duality and Rivalry
The Imaginary is also the register of dual relations, rivalry, and aggression. In the dyadic relation between ego and image (or ego and another ego), the other is perceived either as a mirror or a rival. This dual structure is key to Lacan’s analysis of human conflict and competition, especially in early developmental stages.
The Mirror Stage
The mirror stage is the founding moment of the Imaginary order. Occurring typically between six and eighteen months of age, the child recognizes its reflection in the mirror as a coherent whole. This moment initiates the constitution of the ego, as the child identifies with the image as "I"—an alienating process that sets up a split between the organism and its self-image[2].
This misrecognition (méconnaissance) forms the basis of all ego-identifications and inaugurates a tension between the image and the fragmented body. The mirror stage marks the entry into the Imaginary and prepares the subject for entry into the Symbolic through the mediation of the Name-of-the-Father.
The Imaginary and the Ego
In Lacanian theory, the ego is not the seat of rational mastery (as in Ego psychology) but a surface effect of imaginary identifications. The ego is constructed through a succession of misrecognized images and is, therefore, fundamentally alienated and defensive[3].
This has major implications for clinical psychoanalysis, where Lacan warns against therapeutic approaches that reinforce ego identifications, advocating instead for the analyst to work through the Symbolic and to operate from the position of the objet petit a.
Imaginary, Symbolic, Real: The Tripartite Schema
Lacan’s major theoretical innovation lies in his tripartite model of the psyche, composed of the Imaginary, Symbolic, and Real registers. These three orders interrelate structurally, topologically, and dynamically.
While the Imaginary deals with images and identifications, the Symbolic concerns language, law, and social structure, and the Real refers to what is outside of symbolization and image altogether—what resists integration into either of the other two registers[4].
Lacan illustrates the interdependence of the registers with the Borromean knot, a topological figure where the severing of one ring unravels the whole. The Imaginary cannot be fully understood apart from its relation to the Symbolic and the Real.
Clinical Implications
In psychoanalytic treatment, Imaginary formations manifest in transference, narcissistic identifications, resistance, and fantasy. Lacanian analysts work to dissolve Imaginary fixations by facilitating the subject’s traversal of fantasy and promoting access to the Real via the Symbolic[5].
Over-identification with the Imaginary can lead to various neurotic and psychotic formations, depending on the subject’s relation to the Symbolic and the foreclosure or absence of key structural elements like the Name-of-the-Father.
Imaginary and Modern Culture
Lacan’s concept of the Imaginary has been influential in cultural theory, media studies, and philosophy. The dominance of image and spectacle in contemporary society (as theorized by figures such as Jean Baudrillard and Guy Debord) echoes the Imaginary’s grip on the subject. Identification with idealized images in mass media replicates the structure of the mirror stage on a cultural scale.
Critiques and Revisions
Some critics argue that Lacan’s emphasis on the Imaginary leads to an overly pessimistic view of subjectivity as inherently alienated. Others, particularly post-Lacanians, have sought to rethink the Imaginary in more dynamic or politically engaged terms.
However, Lacan himself continuously revised the status of the Imaginary, especially in his later seminars, where it is no longer opposed to the Symbolic but understood as structurally interwoven with it.
See Also
References
- ↑ Freud, S. (1914). On Narcissism: An Introduction. Standard Edition, Vol. 14.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lacan, J. (2006). Écrits. Trans. Bruce Fink. New York: W.W. Norton.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Fink, B. (1995). The Lacanian Subject: Between Language and Jouissance. Princeton University Press.
- ↑ Leclaire, S. (1990). Psychoanalyzing: On the Order of the Symbolic. Stanford University Press.
- ↑ Evans, D. (1996). An Introductory Dictionary of Lacanian Psychoanalysis. Routledge.
Further reading
- Lacan, J. (2006). Écrits. Trans. Bruce Fink. New York: W.W. Norton.
- Fink, B. (1995). The Lacanian Subject: Between Language and Jouissance. Princeton University Press.
- Evans, D. (1996). An Introductory Dictionary of Lacanian Psychoanalysis. Routledge.
- Nobus, D. (1998). Key Concepts of Lacanian Psychoanalysis. Rebus Press.
- Ragland, E. (1995). Jacques Lacan and the Philosophy of Psychoanalysis. University of Illinois Press.
- Leclaire, S. (1990). Psychoanalyzing: On the Order of the Symbolic. Stanford University Press.
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