Difference between revisions of "Quaternary"
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| − | In 1955, Lacan goes on to compare psychoanalytic treatment to bridge, "a game for four players."<ref>{{E}} p.139, 229-230</ref> | + | In 1955, [[Lacan]] goes on to compare [[psychoanalytic treatment]] to bridge, "a game for four players."<ref>{{E}} p.139, 229-230</ref> |
| − | In the same year, he describes a quaternary made up of a | + | In the same year, he describes a [[quaternary]] made up of a [[triad]]ic [[structure]] plus a fourth element (the [[letter]]) which circulates among these three elements.<ref>{{L}} 1955a</ref> |
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| − | Other important [[quaternary]] [[structure]]s which appear in Lacan's work are [[schema L]] (which has four nodes), the four partial drives and their four corresponding [[part-object]]s, and the [[four discourses]] (each of which has four symbols assigned to four places). | + | Other important [[quaternary]] [[structure]]s which appear in [[Lacan]]'s work are [[schema L]] (which has four nodes), the four partial drives and their four corresponding [[part-object]]s, and the [[four discourses]] (each of which has four symbols assigned to four places). |
| − | [[Lacan]] also enumerates four "fundamental concepts of psychoanalysis"<ref> | + | [[Lacan]] also enumerates four "fundamental concepts of psychoanalysis"<ref>{{L}} 1964a</ref> and speaks of the [[sinthome]] as a fourth ring which prevents the other three rings in the [[borromean knot]] (the three orders of the [[real]], the [[symbolic]] and the [[imaginary]]) from becoming separated. |
Revision as of 00:21, 18 August 2006
"quaternary" (Fr. quaternaire)
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A quaternary is a structure which comprises four elements.
Although Lacan's rejection of dualistic schemas in favour of an emphasis on the triangular structure of the symbolic involves a predominance of triadic schemes in his work, Lacan also insists on the importance of fourfold schemes:
A quadripartite structure has, since the introduction of the unconscious, always been required in the con- struction of a subjective ordering.[1]
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The emphasis on the quaternary first comes to the fore in Lacan's work inthe early 1950s, and is perhaps due to the influence of Claude LÈvi-Strauss, whose work on the structure of the avunculate shows that the basic unit of kinship always involves a minimum of four terms.[2]
Thus, in a 1953 paper which deals with the neurotic's 'individual myth' (another reference to Levi-Strauss), Lacan remarks that "there is within the neurotic a quartet situation,"[3] and adds that this quartet can demonstrate the particularities of each case of neurosis more rigorously than the traditional triangular thematisation of the Oedipus complex.[4]
He concludes that "the whole oedipal schema needs to be re-examined."[5]
Thus, in addition to the three elements of the Oedipus complex (mother, child, father), Lacan often speaks of a fourth element; sometimes he argues that this fourth element is death,[6] and at other times he argues that it is the phallus.[7]
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In 1955, Lacan goes on to compare psychoanalytic treatment to bridge, "a game for four players."[8]
In the same year, he describes a quaternary made up of a triadic structure plus a fourth element (the letter) which circulates among these three elements.[9]
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Other important quaternary structures which appear in Lacan's work are schema L (which has four nodes), the four partial drives and their four corresponding part-objects, and the four discourses (each of which has four symbols assigned to four places).
Lacan also enumerates four "fundamental concepts of psychoanalysis"[10] and speaks of the sinthome as a fourth ring which prevents the other three rings in the borromean knot (the three orders of the real, the symbolic and the imaginary) from becoming separated.
References
- ↑ Lacan, Jacques. Écrits. Paris: Seuil, 1966. p. 774
- ↑ Levi-Strauss, 1945
- ↑ Lacan, Jacques. 1953b: 231
- ↑ Lacan, Jacques. 1953b:232
- ↑ Lacan, Jacques. 1953b: 235
- ↑ Lacan, Jacques. 1953b: 237; S4, 431
- ↑ Lacan, Jacques. The Seminar. Book III. The Psychoses, 1955-56. Trans. Russell Grigg. London: Routledge, 1993. p.319
- ↑ Lacan, Jacques. Écrits: A Selection. Trans. Alan Sheridan. London: Tavistock Publications, 1977. p.139, 229-230
- ↑ Lacan, Jacques. 1955a
- ↑ Lacan, Jacques. 1964a
