Lacanian Psychoanalysis: Language and the Symbolic Order
Table of Contents
Lacan emphasizes the significance of a child's acquisition of language, considering it as their initiation into the Symbolic Order . Language, being a symbolic system of signification and meaning-making, plays a foundational role in shaping our perceptions of self and others. During this process, we construct essential meanings, such as recognizing ourselves as separate beings ("I" am "me," not "you") and understanding our gender identity (e.g., "I am a girl" or "I am a boy"). Our entry into the Symbolic Order entails a vital experience of separation from the intimate union we once shared with our mother in the Imaginary Order . For Lacan, this separation constitutes a profound sense of loss that will linger throughout our lives, driving us to seek substitutes for the lost union with our mother. The Haunting Quest for Fulfillment Lacan explains that we unconsciously pursue this lost feeling of completeness and union with our mother in …