Talk:Sliding of the signified

Certainly. Below is a **complete MediaWiki/Wikipedia-style encyclopedia entry** on **"Sliding of the Signified"**, written for a **psychoanalysis-focused encyclopedia**, with accurate in-text references using `` formatting, and a properly formatted references section at the end. All sources are **real**, verifiable, and correctly cited.

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1. Sliding of the Signified

The **sliding of the signified** (*glissement du signifié*) is a concept introduced by **Jacques Lacan** in psychoanalytic theory to describe the **instability of meaning** in language and the unconscious. Derived from **structural linguistics**, particularly the work of **Ferdinand de Saussure**, the term refers to the way in which **signifiers** (words, sounds, or symbols) are not fixed to stable **signifieds** (concepts or meanings), but instead **float**, shift, and **slide** along a chain of other signifiers, displacing meaning in the process.

In psychoanalysis, the "sliding of the signified" highlights the **inherent ambiguity and deferral of meaning** in both conscious and unconscious speech. Rather than a one-to-one correspondence between word and meaning, Lacan posits a **differential and relational structure** in which meaning is produced only **through difference** and is always **partial, deferred, or elusive**.

The concept is central to Lacan’s theory of the **unconscious structured like a language**, and plays a crucial role in psychoanalytic interpretation, where the symptom, dream, or slip of the tongue is understood to derive its meaning from the **play of signifiers**, not from referential stability.

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1. 1. Origins in Structural Linguistics

Lacan’s theory builds upon **Saussure’s** foundational distinction between the **signifier** (the sound-image) and the **signified** (the concept). Saussure emphasized that the relationship between the two is **arbitrary** and that meaning in language arises not from a positive essence but from **differences between signs**.

Lacan radicalizes this idea by asserting that **signifiers can never be anchored to a fixed signified**, and that meaning **slides along a chain of signifiers**, always **deferring closure**. He writes:

> “It is in the chain of the signifier that the meaning ‘insists,’ but that none of the chain’s elements ‘consists’ of the signification in itself.”

This fundamental insight displaces traditional views of language as a transparent medium for communication, replacing them with a view of language as a **network of differences**, where **meaning is produced through absence**, substitution, and sliding.

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1. 1. The Sliding of the Signified in Lacanian Theory

1. 1. 1. Signifier Over Signified

In Lacan’s reformulation of Saussure’s linguistic model, the standard Saussurean diagram:

``` signifier

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signified ```

is inverted to prioritize the **signifier** over the **signified**, represented as:

``` S - s ```

This inversion indicates the **primacy of the signifier** in structuring meaning. The **bar** (the line separating S from s) represents the **resistance or impossibility of full signification**. As a result, **meaning is never fully present**; it is always **split, deferred, and sliding**.

1. 1. 1. The Chain of Signifiers

Lacan’s model of the **“signifying chain”** posits that each signifier points not to a fixed meaning but to another signifier. Meaning is produced **metonymically**—through **contiguity**, substitution, and displacement along the chain. In his words:

> “A signifier is that which represents a subject for another signifier.”

Because there is no ultimate or final signifier that guarantees meaning (what Lacan refers to as the **"quilting point"** or **point de capiton**), the **signified constantly slides**, undermining any stable or univocal interpretation.

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1. 1. Clinical and Psychoanalytic Implications

1. 1. 1. The Unconscious Structured Like a Language

Lacan’s dictum that **“the unconscious is structured like a language”** relies heavily on the sliding of the signified. Unconscious formations—such as dreams, slips of the tongue, and symptoms—function according to **linguistic mechanisms** like **metonymy** and **metaphor**, both of which depend on **substitution and displacement**.

Because the unconscious speaks in **signifiers**, and because these signifiers never refer to a stable signified, **interpretation** in psychoanalysis does not aim to **uncover a hidden truth** behind the words, but to **trace the effects of the signifier’s movement** across speech.

1. 1. 1. Symptom as Sliding Meaning

Symptoms are understood in Lacanian psychoanalysis as **signifying formations** that **condense multiple signifiers**. The **meaning of a symptom** is not fixed, but slides along the signifying chain. This makes interpretation an open-ended process, where each reading opens up further **associations**, rather than providing closure.

In this sense, the **sliding of the signified** reflects the way symptoms **resist being pinned down** to one definitive meaning. Each interpretation shifts the symptom’s significance, showing that **meaning is always produced through relation, not revelation**.

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1. 1. Point de Capiton (Quilting Point)

To account for moments when meaning appears temporarily stabilized, Lacan introduces the concept of the **point de capiton** or **quilting point**—the point at which the signifier and signified are momentarily "stitched" together, halting the slide.

This point is **not inherent** in the structure of language but is imposed through **ideology**, **fantasy**, or **authority**. For example, names, roles, and identities can act as quilting points that momentarily **anchor the chain of signifiers**, giving the illusion of stable meaning.

Nonetheless, even these quilting points are **contingent and reversible**, meaning that the **sliding of the signified remains the fundamental condition of meaning**.

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1. 1. Theoretical and Cultural Impact

1. 1. 1. Influence on Post-Structuralism

The sliding of the signified is closely related to **Jacques Derrida’s** concept of **différance**, which similarly stresses the **deferral** and **differentiation** of meaning in language. While Derrida focuses on **writing**, and Lacan on **speech and the unconscious**, both thinkers critique the idea of **self-present meaning**.

This concept has had significant influence on **literary theory**, **semiotics**, **feminist theory**, and **cultural studies**, where it challenges the assumption of **fixed or essential meanings** in identity, gender, and discourse.

1. 1. 1. Political and Ideological Use

Lacan’s theory also allows for a critique of **ideology**, in which dominant discourses attempt to halt the sliding of the signified by imposing stable meanings—e.g., what it means to be "man," "woman," "citizen," or "foreigner." Psychoanalytic theory emphasizes that these signifiers **never fix meaning entirely**, and that **subjectivity always exceeds** ideological determination.

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1. 1. Related Concepts

• Signifier
• Signified
• Point de capiton
• Unconscious structured like a language
• Metonymy
• Desire (psychoanalysis)
• Object a
• Fantasy (psychoanalysis)
• Ideology (psychoanalysis)

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1. 1. References

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1. 1. Further Reading

• Lacan, Jacques. *Écrits: A Selection*. Trans. Alan Sheridan. New York: W. W. Norton, 1977.
• Lacan, Jacques. *The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis*. Trans. Alan Sheridan. New York: W. W. Norton, 1977.
• Evans, Dylan. *An Introductory Dictionary of Lacanian Psychoanalysis*. London: Routledge, 1996.
• Derrida, Jacques. *Of Grammatology*. Trans. Gayatri Spivak. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1976.

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1. 1. Categories

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Let me know if you’d like a companion article on **Point de Capiton**, **Metaphor and Metonymy**, or **Unconscious and Language** to cross-link within the encyclopedia.