Psychoanalysis and Philosophy in Berlin
One of the most common polemics against Lacan's teaching concerns his style. And indeed, there are many things to say about Lacan's pedagogical approach. One thing is that its performativity makes reading the transcription of Lacan's seminars very difficult. When sitting in his seminar, a smile, a shout, a hand gesture, all could contextualize what… Continue reading Lacan’s Janusism and the Deaf Cricket
While Lacan's demeanor, and the general atmosphere in his seminars at the Sainte-Anne hospital, can be said to characterize a zoo, it is Lacan's explicit reference to animals that will be our main interest today. Being a loving dog owner himself (naming his beloved dog Justine after the eponymous sex slave of the Marquis de… Continue reading Lacan and his Animals
Leo Kanner, an American psychologist, was one of the first practitioners to differentiate what we know today as "autism" from the field of childhood psychosis. Assessing a variety of characteristics in the behaviour of his autistic patients, he went on to identify two main behavioural categories - aloneness, and sameness. Aloneness is characterised by Kanner as… Continue reading Autistic Sameness: Lacan with Amanda Baggs
Only a week ago, in Berlin, Germany, the memory of those devastated by the gruesome and calculated extermination carried out by the Germany of National-Socialism has been commemorated. As in every international Holocaust remembrance day, I come to ponder the memory we are commemorating. For most of us have not witnessed, nor survived, nor fought against,… Continue reading Pain, Memory, and Commemoration
What do we know of Oedipus? We know he was a tragic hero in Greek mythology. We know he unavoidably fulfilled a prophecy that brought him to kill his father and marry his mother, eventually bringing destruction to his city and family. We also know that Freud used the myth of Oedipus to convey some… Continue reading The Significance of the Phallus
Babies and cats are spoiled and selfish creatures. That is why, whenever I am faced with my cat's selfish narcissistic tendencies, I ask myself - "can these creatures even have the capacity to love?" Faced with this predicament, while taking into account that babies and cats are also quite silly creatures, I find myself truly doubting… Continue reading Demand (minus – ) Need (equals = ) Desire
Leon Brenner 