Object small a

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The object small a ( fr. Objet petit a ) is a central component of the psychic in Jacques Lacan's theory . It is not to be confused with the “ big other ”, the little other or the object of desire. Object small a denotes an object that is essentially inaccessible.

Imaginary object

The object small a belongs to the realm of the imaginary (cf. Seminar XX , p. 77), even if Lacan placed it in the center of his Borromean ring from 1974, i.e. in the place of the psychic where the imaginary , the symbolic, is and overlap the real . (Dylan Evans: Dictionary of Lacanian Psychoanalysis , p. 206)

Want and desire

The basic requirement for understanding the object small a is Lacan's conception of the subject as the bearer of an irreducible defect. This deficiency begins with the birth, which the child throws out of the preconscious perfection of its embryonic existence, which automatically satisfies all needs (Lacan therefore also speaks of a “prematurity of birth” in humans), and is reinforced by its second great separation, the Separation from the symbiosis with the mother (breast). It is also separated and alienated from its mirror image, which it faces in the mirror stage . Since then the subject has been incomplete, which is why it always longs to become complete and its lack, its void in the subject, to be filled with objects. The object lowercase a as the “reason of desire” functions as a drive and trigger for the subject's actions. But ultimately the deficiency cannot be eliminated, the object remains inaccessible.

Illusion and phantasm

The phantasm structures desire by creating an imaginary frame (“scenario”) that is filled with objects of desire. Basically everything can become an object of desire, provided it fits into the personal phantasm: desire is structured metonymically , i.e. H. it can move from one object to the next. Which objects the subject ( unconsciously ) chooses, which objects it directs its desires, depends solely on the psychological disposition of the subject, which of course can change in different phases of life and situations.

Object and fear

In Lacan's Seminar X (“L'angoisse”, Die Angst , 1962–63) the object small a is presented in four stages: the breast , the poo , the look , the voice . According to Lacan, it always indicates fear . The axioms of fear presented in this seminar are:

  • "Fear is what does not deceive."
  • "Fear is not without an object."

Enjoyment and added value

The object small a is related to Marx's concept of surplus value and is also constructed according to its model (cf. Žižek : Mehr-Enjoy , p. 7). Lacan also describes it as “rest” and “excess”, as added value in terms of meaning and pleasure (French “plus-de-jouir”). The object lowercase a "is the surplus value of enjoyment ( jouissance ), which has no use value , but only exists for pleasure." (Evans: Dictionary of Lacanian Psychoanalysis , p. 206)

MacGuffin

Slavoj Žižek , a pupil of Lacan, connects your symptom like yourself with Lacan's object small a with Alfred Hitchcock's concept of MacGuffin . The MacGuffin is in itself a completely meaningless object - a pure pretext that triggers a (film) action. A vivid example of a MacGuffin is the suitcase that is carried around in Pulp Fiction . It is the cause of the whole story - but at no point in the film does the viewer find out what the suitcase is all about, and basically this knowledge is also meaningless for the film. Other MacGuffins include the secret plan in The 39 Steps or the whistled melody in A Lady Goes Away .

See also

literature

  • Jacques Lacan: The Seminar, Book X: The Fear. Turia + Kant 2010, ISBN 978-3-85132-555-3 .
  • Jacques Lacan: Seminar XI. The four basic concepts of psychoanalysis (1964). Quadriga, Berlin / Weinheim 1996.
  • Jacques Lacan: Seminar XX. Encore (1972-73). Quadriga, Berlin / Weinheim 1991.
  • Jacques Lacan: Le seminaire livre X: L'angoisse (1962-63). Seuil, Paris 2004.
  • Dylan Evans: Dictionary of Lacanian Psychoanalysis . Turia + Kant, Vienna 2002.
  • Slavoj Žižek: Love your symptom like yourself! Jacques Lacan's Psychoanalysis and the Media . Merve, Berlin 1991.
  • Slavoj Žižek: Enjoy more. Lacan in popular culture . Turia + Kant, Vienna 1992.

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