Module Outline (Updated March 2015)
SUBJECTIVITY, LANGAUGE, AND THE OTHER: LACAN AND LEVINAS
Sigmund Freud is famous for his introduction of a new concept of the 'Unconscious' into European thought. However, ever since Freud's day there have been major controversies concerning the nature and status of the unconscious. Beginning with a consideration of Freud's theory of the unconscious and some of the problems it raises, we will move on to the work of the major French psychoanalyst, Jacques Lacan. We will seek to explore and understand the motivation for his reformulation of the notion of the unconscious in terms of the division of the speaking subject, viewed as always already caught up in a semi-opaque web of intersubjective relations. We will then go on to investigate the (in some ways) strikingly similar and (in other ways) dramatically different conception of subjectivity, intersubjectivity and language to be found in the work of the great twentieth century ethical philosopher Emmanuel Levinas. Although Levinas was close contemporary of Lacan, and both were teaching at the same time in Paris, no personal dialogue was ever initiated. Our aim will be to construct such a dialogue, seeking to understand what is a stake, philosophically, ethically and psychoanalytically, in the way these two thinkers understand language, subjectivity, and the status of the Other.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should have:
A good understanding of the problems addressed by the psychoanalytic concept of the unconscious, as first formulated by Freud;
A good understanding of the crucial contributions of Jacques Lacan to post-Freudian psychoanalytic theory;
An awareness of the significant theoretical and philosophical differences between Freud and Lacan;
A good understanding of controversial aspects of Lacan's theory, and some awareness of critical responses to that theory;
A good understanding of the central conceptions of the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas;
An awareness of the advantages and problems of Levinas's philosophical method;
An ability to identify and explore significant parallels and divergences between the thought of Emmanuel Levinas and that of Jacques Lacan, and to explain what is at stake philosophically in these parallels and divergences.
By the end of the module, students should also have acquired a set of transferable skills, and in particular be able to:
Define the task in which they are engaged and exclude what is irrelevant;
Seek and organise the most relevant discussions and sources of information;
Process a large volume of diverse and sometimes conflicting arguments;
Compare and evaluate different arguments and assess the limitations of their own position or procedure;
Write and present verbally a succinct and precise account of positions, arguments, and their presuppositions and implications;
Be sensitive to the positions of others and communicate their own views in ways that are accessible to them;
Think 'laterally' and creatively - see interesting connections and possibilities and present these clearly rather than as vague hunches;
Maintain intellectual flexibility and revise their own position if shown wrong;
Think critically and constructively.
SUBJECTIVITY, LANGAUGE, AND THE OTHER: LACAN AND LEVINAS
Sigmund Freud is famous for his introduction of a new concept of the 'Unconscious' into European thought. However, ever since Freud's day there have been major controversies concerning the nature and status of the unconscious. Beginning with a consideration of Freud's theory of the unconscious and some of the problems it raises, we will move on to the work of the major French psychoanalyst, Jacques Lacan. We will seek to explore and understand the motivation for his reformulation of the notion of the unconscious in terms of the division of the speaking subject, viewed as always already caught up in a semi-opaque web of intersubjective relations. We will then go on to investigate the (in some ways) strikingly similar and (in other ways) dramatically different conception of subjectivity, intersubjectivity and language to be found in the work of the great twentieth century ethical philosopher Emmanuel Levinas. Although Levinas was close contemporary of Lacan, and both were teaching at the same time in Paris, no personal dialogue was ever initiated. Our aim will be to construct such a dialogue, seeking to understand what is a stake, philosophically, ethically and psychoanalytically, in the way these two thinkers understand language, subjectivity, and the status of the Other.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should have:
A good understanding of the problems addressed by the psychoanalytic concept of the unconscious, as first formulated by Freud;
A good understanding of the crucial contributions of Jacques Lacan to post-Freudian psychoanalytic theory;
An awareness of the significant theoretical and philosophical differences between Freud and Lacan;
A good understanding of controversial aspects of Lacan's theory, and some awareness of critical responses to that theory;
A good understanding of the central conceptions of the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas;
An awareness of the advantages and problems of Levinas's philosophical method;
An ability to identify and explore significant parallels and divergences between the thought of Emmanuel Levinas and that of Jacques Lacan, and to explain what is at stake philosophically in these parallels and divergences.
By the end of the module, students should also have acquired a set of transferable skills, and in particular be able to:
Define the task in which they are engaged and exclude what is irrelevant;
Seek and organise the most relevant discussions and sources of information;
Process a large volume of diverse and sometimes conflicting arguments;
Compare and evaluate different arguments and assess the limitations of their own position or procedure;
Write and present verbally a succinct and precise account of positions, arguments, and their presuppositions and implications;
Be sensitive to the positions of others and communicate their own views in ways that are accessible to them;
Think 'laterally' and creatively - see interesting connections and possibilities and present these clearly rather than as vague hunches;
Maintain intellectual flexibility and revise their own position if shown wrong;
Think critically and constructively.