Lacan

Jacques Lacan (1901–1981) was a French psychiatrist and psychoanalyst whose work reshaped psychoanalytic theory in the late 20th century. Building on Freud, he stressed the primacy of language, the structure of the unconscious as a system of signifiers, and the role of social symbolism in the formation of subjectivity.

Central to Lacan's thought are the mirror stage, an early moment in which the infant forms its sense of self through identification with an image, and the triad Imaginary, Symbolic, and Real. The Imaginary governs images and illusion; the Symbolic governs language, law, and social structures; the Real designates what escapes symbolization. The subject is thus split and continually desiring what remains inaccessible.

Key notions include the Name-of-the-Father, which introduces the child into the Symbolic order; the object petit a, the unattainable cause of desire; and the idea that desire is structured by language and lack. Lacan is also known for the maxim “There is no sexual relationship” (il n’y a pas de rapport sexuel), signaling a gap between social rapport and actual sexual exchange.

Publications and influence: Ecrits (1966) and The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis (1973) compile his theories; his seminars from the 1950s through the 1970s were published posthumously. Lacan's approach has influenced philosophy, literary theory, film studies, and critical theory, provoking ongoing debate and critique within and beyond psychoanalysis.