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Introduccion Clinica Al Psicoanalisis Lacaniano
Book by FINK BRUCE
360 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
186 people are currently reading
2140 people want to read
About the author
Bruce Fink
59 books158 followersBruce Fink is a practicing Lacanian psychoanalyst and analytic supervisor. He trained as a psychoanalyst in France for seven years with and is now a member of the psychoanalytic institute Jacques Lacan created shortly before his death, the École de la Cause freudienne in Paris, and obtained his Ph.D. from the Department of Psychoanalysis at the University of Paris VIII (Saint-Denis). He served as Professor of Psychology from 1993 to 2013 at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and is currently an affiliated member of the Pittsburgh Psychoanalytic Center.
Dr. Fink is the author of six books on Lacan (which have been translated into many different languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, German, Polish, Croatian, Greek, Turkish, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese):
• The Lacanian Subject: Between Language and Jouissance (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995)
• A Clinical Introduction to Lacanian Psychoanalysis: Theory and Technique (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1997)
• Lacan to the Letter: Reading Écrits Closely (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2004)
• Fundamentals of Psychoanalytic Technique: A Lacanian Approach for Practitioners (New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 2007)
• Against Understanding: Commentary, Cases, and Critique in a Lacanian Key, 2 volumes (London: Routledge, 2013-2014)
He has translated several of Lacan’s works, including:
• The Seminar, Book XX (1972-1973): Encore, On Feminine Sexuality: The Limits of Love and Knowledge (New York: Norton, 1998)
• Écrits: A Selection (New York: Norton, 2002)
• Écrits: The First Complete Edition in English (New York: Norton, 2006), for which he received the 2007 nonfiction translation prize from the French-American Foundation and the Florence Gould Foundation
• On the Names-of-the-Father (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013)
• The Triumph of Religion (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013)
• The Seminar, Book VIII: Transference (Cambridge: Polity Press, forthcoming)
He is also the coeditor of three collections on Lacan’s work published by SUNY Press:
• Reading Seminar XI: Lacan’s Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis (1995)
• Reading Seminars I and II: Lacan’s Return to Freud (1996)
• Reading Seminar XX: Lacan’s Major work on Love, Knowledge, and Feminine Sexuality (2002)
He has presented his theoretical and clinical work at close to a hundred different conferences, psychoanalytic institutes, and universities in the U.S. and abroad since 1986.
In recent years, he has authored mysteries involving a character based on Jacques Lacan: The Adventures of Inspector Canal (London: Karnac, 2010, and translated into Finnish). A second volume, Death by Analysis, was published by Karnac in 2013, to be followed by two further mysteries in 2014 (The Purloined Love and Odor di Murderer).
Dr. Fink is the author of six books on Lacan (which have been translated into many different languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, German, Polish, Croatian, Greek, Turkish, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese):
• The Lacanian Subject: Between Language and Jouissance (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995)
• A Clinical Introduction to Lacanian Psychoanalysis: Theory and Technique (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1997)
• Lacan to the Letter: Reading Écrits Closely (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2004)
• Fundamentals of Psychoanalytic Technique: A Lacanian Approach for Practitioners (New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 2007)
• Against Understanding: Commentary, Cases, and Critique in a Lacanian Key, 2 volumes (London: Routledge, 2013-2014)
He has translated several of Lacan’s works, including:
• The Seminar, Book XX (1972-1973): Encore, On Feminine Sexuality: The Limits of Love and Knowledge (New York: Norton, 1998)
• Écrits: A Selection (New York: Norton, 2002)
• Écrits: The First Complete Edition in English (New York: Norton, 2006), for which he received the 2007 nonfiction translation prize from the French-American Foundation and the Florence Gould Foundation
• On the Names-of-the-Father (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013)
• The Triumph of Religion (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013)
• The Seminar, Book VIII: Transference (Cambridge: Polity Press, forthcoming)
He is also the coeditor of three collections on Lacan’s work published by SUNY Press:
• Reading Seminar XI: Lacan’s Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis (1995)
• Reading Seminars I and II: Lacan’s Return to Freud (1996)
• Reading Seminar XX: Lacan’s Major work on Love, Knowledge, and Feminine Sexuality (2002)
He has presented his theoretical and clinical work at close to a hundred different conferences, psychoanalytic institutes, and universities in the U.S. and abroad since 1986.
In recent years, he has authored mysteries involving a character based on Jacques Lacan: The Adventures of Inspector Canal (London: Karnac, 2010, and translated into Finnish). A second volume, Death by Analysis, was published by Karnac in 2013, to be followed by two further mysteries in 2014 (The Purloined Love and Odor di Murderer).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
June 18, 2018
Τι να πει κανεις...
Σίγουρα "βγαίνεις" αλλιώς μετα απο την ανάγνωση ενός τέτοιου βιβλίου.
Μόνιμο εγχειρίδιο ανάλυσης.
Σίγουρα "βγαίνεις" αλλιώς μετα απο την ανάγνωση ενός τέτοιου βιβλίου.
Μόνιμο εγχειρίδιο ανάλυσης.
January 5, 2012
After having a go at Lacan's writings directly- I fell back to the common piece of advice: read about Lacanian theory before you read it directly. Fink's Clinical Introduction was the first text I went to, and found it extremely helpful. Notions that are used in various contexts in other author's works, like the 'Real,''object a,' etc., finally came to life through Fink's focus on their clinical application. For this reason, I can see how this book would also suit the psychoanalytically minded clinical psychologist ,despite only being a student myself; throughout the book, he also compares and contrasts ego-psychology (the prevalent approach in the Anglo-Saxon world) with Lacan's thoery. As Fink explains in the opening pages, Lacan's seminars were meant to be taught, to help practicing clinicians diagnose/treat patients under three structural categories: psychosis, neurosis, and perversion. Understanding these fundamental structural categories in the clinical context, brought the theory back down to earth for me- making other abstract theorists work- like the Lacanian philosopher Slavoj Zizek, more approachable reads as well.
One bit of information I will mention, however, is that in going into an overview of Lacan from a clinical perspective, Fink is forced to cut some corners on the theory side of things. For this, of course, he has another book: 'The Lacanian Subject.' I'm reading it now, and wish I had even read it before reading this one, because it delves into how all of the theoretical points- object a, fantasy, unconscious as language, etc. tie into one another...Heck, I'll just read this one again afterward. So I suppose it depends on what it is you are hoping to get out of your reading, in deciding which to read, or in what order.
One bit of information I will mention, however, is that in going into an overview of Lacan from a clinical perspective, Fink is forced to cut some corners on the theory side of things. For this, of course, he has another book: 'The Lacanian Subject.' I'm reading it now, and wish I had even read it before reading this one, because it delves into how all of the theoretical points- object a, fantasy, unconscious as language, etc. tie into one another...Heck, I'll just read this one again afterward. So I suppose it depends on what it is you are hoping to get out of your reading, in deciding which to read, or in what order.
December 11, 2022
Attempting to make Lacanian theory accessible to clinical practitioners for everyday use is a noble endeavor. It is also, apparently, very difficult. This book is often recommended as the definitive introduction to Lacan's thought, since the writing is relatively clear when compared with Lacan's seminars or the writing of other Lacanian theorists.
But after 300 pages, dozens of abstract diagrams, and hundreds of footnotes, and a second reading--this time with the aid of a friend--I have come away with little understanding of how or why to implement the ideas it presents in everyday clinical practice. Even Fink admits, in the book's last chapter, that he has strayed far from his intentions to provide a practical guide by getting bogged down in Lacanian theory. He suggests that if his readers want further clarity, they should consult this book's predecessor--The Lacanian Subject--and sequel--Advanced Lacanian Clinical Practice.
I have spent the last several years engaging with Lacanian theory in a very casual way. I find aspects of it to be provocative and fruitful. But I am increasingly struggling to justify the massive amounts of time required to translate Lacanian jargon into everyday language. With one notable exception (I'm looking at you, A Thousand Plateaus), I have yet to encounter a system of ideas which cannot be expressed in a way that can be understood by almost anyone. It is well known that Lacan took great pains to bury his ideas behind a profusion of obfuscating terms, and that is at least partially because Lacan was a pompous ass who enjoyed the mystique of sagehood which his followers bestowed upon him by virtue of his inscrutability.
But why, decades after Lacan's death, continue to retain the same mystifying language as the master? How does the proliferation of terms borrowed from Freudian, phenomenological, linguistic, and mathematical discourses help us to understand everyday suffering? What does Lacanian theory have to offer clinicians which other psychoanalytic theories lack, besides an unwieldy vocabulary and an internecine disdain for other varieties of psychoanalysis? I'm still not sure.
Here's what I like (and dislike):
-I like Lacan's critique of ego psychology as a method of medical normalization and control (I dislike Lacanians' tendency to label every psychotherapeutic practice that they deem insufficiently Lacanian as "ego psychology").
-I like that Lacan privileges the analysand's unconscious over the ego of the analysand and the analyst's (I dislike Lacan's belief that analysts who are properly trained will be able to resist being drawn into unconscious countertransferential dynamics in sessions. I believe that every interaction is comprised of enactments, whether an analyst prefers to acknowledge them or not)
-I like Lacan's insistence that the three positions in the Oedipal triangle are abstract functions that can be played by anyone, rather than markers which refer to biological sex (I dislike the tacit presumption that Oedipus is still male)
-I am ambivalent about Lacan's conception of analysis with neurotics as a process of untangling their desire from the Other (I dislike the seemingly contradictory assertions that (a) all desire is the desire of the Other, and (b) analysis aims to cultivate a desire that is freed from the Other. Basically, I am not sure what a desire that is unconcerned with the Other looks like. Lacan seems to have thought it meant farting in public and driving through red lights, which...idk seems underwhelming. And Lacan's later turn towards freeing the drives raises questions of ethics for which I haven't seen an appropriate response, just hand-waving vagueries along the lines of "Oh, it doesn't mean if you want to murder someone, you should just go ahead and do it." Okay, but then what are the limits and how are they discerned?)
-I appreciate the notion that clinicians should diagnose underlying personality structure rather than symptoms. But one can find this structural approach to diagnosis in other psychodynamic approaches.
-I like the simplicity of having only three diagnostic criteria--neurosis, psychosis, and perversion (I am unsure how I feel about Lacan's jettisoning of borderline into neurotic hysteria, because I am not sufficiently educated on the issue to have an informed opinion. I am also unsure how I feel about Leon Brenner's recent suggestion that autism constitutes a fourth personality structure that is unique from the others, for the same reason)
-I like Lacan's insistence that authority lacks any justification. I really like his insistence that in order for someone to be safely brought to an understanding that authority lacks justification, they must first believe in the illusion of a justified authority, or else risk psychosis.
-I like the priority which Lacan affords to lack as a primary existential condition which precludes any attempt at achieving ynity, wholeness, or totalization with oneself or others. I especially like the social, political, and ontological ramifications which follow from understanding lack to be a constitutive element of existence
-I like Lacan's synthesis of psychoanalysis and existential phenomenology (I dislike Lacanians' arrogant dismissal of phenomenology as a purely "imaginary" or egoic enterprise)
As I've already indicated, I dislike the obtuse language used to communicate all of this: the Other, the phallus, the name-of-the-father, object a, jouissance, castration, desire, demand, the subject, masculine, feminine, the imaginary, symbolic, and Real, the sinthome...
Levi-Strauss once said of Lacan's writing, "I had the impression that to his admirers, ‘understand’ meant something different from what it meant to me. I’d have to read everything 5 or 6 times. Merleau-Ponty and Ι talked about this and concluded we didn’t have time." And if that's not indicative of two individuals who successfully untangled their desires from the Other, then I don't know what is!
But after 300 pages, dozens of abstract diagrams, and hundreds of footnotes, and a second reading--this time with the aid of a friend--I have come away with little understanding of how or why to implement the ideas it presents in everyday clinical practice. Even Fink admits, in the book's last chapter, that he has strayed far from his intentions to provide a practical guide by getting bogged down in Lacanian theory. He suggests that if his readers want further clarity, they should consult this book's predecessor--The Lacanian Subject--and sequel--Advanced Lacanian Clinical Practice.
I have spent the last several years engaging with Lacanian theory in a very casual way. I find aspects of it to be provocative and fruitful. But I am increasingly struggling to justify the massive amounts of time required to translate Lacanian jargon into everyday language. With one notable exception (I'm looking at you, A Thousand Plateaus), I have yet to encounter a system of ideas which cannot be expressed in a way that can be understood by almost anyone. It is well known that Lacan took great pains to bury his ideas behind a profusion of obfuscating terms, and that is at least partially because Lacan was a pompous ass who enjoyed the mystique of sagehood which his followers bestowed upon him by virtue of his inscrutability.
But why, decades after Lacan's death, continue to retain the same mystifying language as the master? How does the proliferation of terms borrowed from Freudian, phenomenological, linguistic, and mathematical discourses help us to understand everyday suffering? What does Lacanian theory have to offer clinicians which other psychoanalytic theories lack, besides an unwieldy vocabulary and an internecine disdain for other varieties of psychoanalysis? I'm still not sure.
Here's what I like (and dislike):
-I like Lacan's critique of ego psychology as a method of medical normalization and control (I dislike Lacanians' tendency to label every psychotherapeutic practice that they deem insufficiently Lacanian as "ego psychology").
-I like that Lacan privileges the analysand's unconscious over the ego of the analysand and the analyst's (I dislike Lacan's belief that analysts who are properly trained will be able to resist being drawn into unconscious countertransferential dynamics in sessions. I believe that every interaction is comprised of enactments, whether an analyst prefers to acknowledge them or not)
-I like Lacan's insistence that the three positions in the Oedipal triangle are abstract functions that can be played by anyone, rather than markers which refer to biological sex (I dislike the tacit presumption that Oedipus is still male)
-I am ambivalent about Lacan's conception of analysis with neurotics as a process of untangling their desire from the Other (I dislike the seemingly contradictory assertions that (a) all desire is the desire of the Other, and (b) analysis aims to cultivate a desire that is freed from the Other. Basically, I am not sure what a desire that is unconcerned with the Other looks like. Lacan seems to have thought it meant farting in public and driving through red lights, which...idk seems underwhelming. And Lacan's later turn towards freeing the drives raises questions of ethics for which I haven't seen an appropriate response, just hand-waving vagueries along the lines of "Oh, it doesn't mean if you want to murder someone, you should just go ahead and do it." Okay, but then what are the limits and how are they discerned?)
-I appreciate the notion that clinicians should diagnose underlying personality structure rather than symptoms. But one can find this structural approach to diagnosis in other psychodynamic approaches.
-I like the simplicity of having only three diagnostic criteria--neurosis, psychosis, and perversion (I am unsure how I feel about Lacan's jettisoning of borderline into neurotic hysteria, because I am not sufficiently educated on the issue to have an informed opinion. I am also unsure how I feel about Leon Brenner's recent suggestion that autism constitutes a fourth personality structure that is unique from the others, for the same reason)
-I like Lacan's insistence that authority lacks any justification. I really like his insistence that in order for someone to be safely brought to an understanding that authority lacks justification, they must first believe in the illusion of a justified authority, or else risk psychosis.
-I like the priority which Lacan affords to lack as a primary existential condition which precludes any attempt at achieving ynity, wholeness, or totalization with oneself or others. I especially like the social, political, and ontological ramifications which follow from understanding lack to be a constitutive element of existence
-I like Lacan's synthesis of psychoanalysis and existential phenomenology (I dislike Lacanians' arrogant dismissal of phenomenology as a purely "imaginary" or egoic enterprise)
As I've already indicated, I dislike the obtuse language used to communicate all of this: the Other, the phallus, the name-of-the-father, object a, jouissance, castration, desire, demand, the subject, masculine, feminine, the imaginary, symbolic, and Real, the sinthome...
Levi-Strauss once said of Lacan's writing, "I had the impression that to his admirers, ‘understand’ meant something different from what it meant to me. I’d have to read everything 5 or 6 times. Merleau-Ponty and Ι talked about this and concluded we didn’t have time." And if that's not indicative of two individuals who successfully untangled their desires from the Other, then I don't know what is!
April 18, 2021
I’m always looking for books that might improve my poor understanding of Lacan, and was told that this, despite not directly being the philosophical ‘Lacan’ that influenced so many French thinkers of the last century, was a good introduction that would help that understanding. The advice was spot on, and I got a much clearer on terms like imaginary, symbolic, and real; clear enough to move onto other texts in the future. This is obviously going to be a lifelong project. A good introduction!
December 27, 2013
surprisingly clear, though at times it did feel like someone dumped a vial of acid on my brain, i could actually feel it in there bubbling and burning, not an altogether unpleasant experience however. gotta say it lost me a little bit with all the "mathemes." couldn't figure out what i was supposed to do with them. multiply? divide? just stare at them?? what? they didn't seem to express anything more than the accompanying descriptions which stated what they supposedly stated. the good thing of course is that i'm not a clinical psychoanalyst or in fact any kind of psychoanalyst so nobody's gonna get their mind broken due to my ignorance. but the general impression this book left with me was "this is all quite fascinating and perhaps in some sense true (who knows?), but how the hell can it ever actually succeed in helping anyone?" it just seemed like everything was absolutely impossible and any shift or movement in the analysand's psyche would just shove everything around and cause some other problem. even fink's case studies (though there aren't many of them) all seemed to end in defeat, with the analysand quitting (and often moving to another country).
i'll probably read it again, though. the burning sensation is starting to fade.
i'll probably read it again, though. the burning sensation is starting to fade.
December 29, 2008
So, you are interested in the psychoanalytic theory of Jacques Lacan are you? Then I am happy to tell you that this book-- perhaps more than any other I have found-- will help you to get a grasp on what is sometimes incredibly opaque and a maddingly complex/ convoluted theoretical model. This is brilliant and essential reading.
This book discusses Lacanian theory as a clinical practice-- taking it out of the abstract philsophical realm to explain how it is practically applied in the field, which is a truly unique endeavor. By showing us how it is practically applied, we get a better grasp on how his theory works in "everyday life." This work introduces us to the praxis of Lacanian theory. It talks, for instance, at length and coherantly about the differences between "neurotics," "psychotics," and "perverts:" how they are diagnosed and how they are treated. The appendices includes a list of terms (buttonholes, fundamental fantasy, etc) and a list of books and lectures where Lacan and Freud discuss these terms.
For those interested in Lacanian theory-- an essential text.
This book discusses Lacanian theory as a clinical practice-- taking it out of the abstract philsophical realm to explain how it is practically applied in the field, which is a truly unique endeavor. By showing us how it is practically applied, we get a better grasp on how his theory works in "everyday life." This work introduces us to the praxis of Lacanian theory. It talks, for instance, at length and coherantly about the differences between "neurotics," "psychotics," and "perverts:" how they are diagnosed and how they are treated. The appendices includes a list of terms (buttonholes, fundamental fantasy, etc) and a list of books and lectures where Lacan and Freud discuss these terms.
For those interested in Lacanian theory-- an essential text.
September 25, 2022
considering returning to goodreads. ive read a bunch of stuff since I last updated this, but I won't go back and add any of it. i haven't synthesized anything from what I've read into writing (I haven't written at all, for that matter) and I figure I ought to.
I recently read The Body Keeps the Score, which is loaded up with empirical data from all the institutions that we all generally trust and comfortably site. it's not that the book is against Freud (I believe he is mentioned throughout, and never disparagingly, to my memory) but is far from a theoretical North Star of the text. in fact, my suspicion is that contemporary therapeutic neuroscience shares Chomsky's views on Lacan and any other reanimations Freud (which is what I take Lacan's main project to be, vis-a-vis revitalizing the id in opposition to the prioritizing the ego.)
so as someone who greatly benefited from reading TBKTS personally, and has benefited from many hours of therapy myself, I can't help but take in a clinical introduction to Lacan as an opportunity for comparison with whatever other theoretical structures I've found from whatever kind of therapy I've been doing. it's from listening to people like me, after all, that Lacan would credit any of his insights.
one interesting point to focus in on is each therapy's take on language. in TBKTS, Kolk has an entire chapter (and continuous references throughout) dedicated to the primacy of converting one's trauma into a narrative/language/context: that is, from the real (real=trauma) into the symbolic, in Lacanese (I think?) giving the patient a certain level of agency, overcoming their past and present helplessness through juicing up the ego/symbolic plane of subjectivity to organize what, for Lacan, would be a priori beyond (beneath?) representation. this seems to be an intractable difference.
language, for Lacan, is not an strata by which thorough our rational structures we become free. in fact, language is useful insofar as it's a strata for irrational, subconscious, accidental slippage into the symbolic. this doesn't at all reduce language in importance in analysis. more broadly, language for Lacan is merely the space of revealed repression from the subject to the Other: "In the end, it is not the different sites of the return of the repressed--in one's thoughts or in one's body, both dominated by language, thus both the 'locus of the Other...'' (Fink, 115) The 'quilting point' between meaning and language for Lacan is always only the paternal metaphor, which is the socially generated (yet, for now, absolute) referent to ground signifier and the signified: there is no other metaphor. whereby the unconscious peers through language, the parental metaphor situates such punctures.
thus, freedom for Lacan is transgressing the fundamental fantasy: no longer seeking the possibility of de-castration (jouissance) through the Other's retribution, and that perhaps the Other's desire (the believed cause of castration) was always a mere assumption. the analysand uncovers that the Other has no hold on them, and they no longer seek enjoyment by means of the Other's demands/desires, or even their own. the problem of satisfaction (the initial inertia towards analysis) is overcome through rejecting desire and "living out the drives" (Lacan, Seminar XI)
the ego/superego and the reality, demands, desires etc. it constructs is only ever an obstruction. it is a violence against satisfaction. the drives break through in language, which makes it useful, but any further function of language is bound to create reliance on the Other for satisfaction.
I have criticisms with Lacan (most of them arising from the structuralist schema (is this not a whole new Big Other?), the unbridled trust in the parental metaphor, the possibility of an unconditioned, pure drive to begin with) which really only reach the status of various confusions. however, I'm only working with the very surface of his ideas, and I have certainly no criticisms of Fink and this book. it's far and away the closest I've ever gotten to getting a starting foothold on Lacan, and for that I'm grateful.
I recently read The Body Keeps the Score, which is loaded up with empirical data from all the institutions that we all generally trust and comfortably site. it's not that the book is against Freud (I believe he is mentioned throughout, and never disparagingly, to my memory) but is far from a theoretical North Star of the text. in fact, my suspicion is that contemporary therapeutic neuroscience shares Chomsky's views on Lacan and any other reanimations Freud (which is what I take Lacan's main project to be, vis-a-vis revitalizing the id in opposition to the prioritizing the ego.)
so as someone who greatly benefited from reading TBKTS personally, and has benefited from many hours of therapy myself, I can't help but take in a clinical introduction to Lacan as an opportunity for comparison with whatever other theoretical structures I've found from whatever kind of therapy I've been doing. it's from listening to people like me, after all, that Lacan would credit any of his insights.
one interesting point to focus in on is each therapy's take on language. in TBKTS, Kolk has an entire chapter (and continuous references throughout) dedicated to the primacy of converting one's trauma into a narrative/language/context: that is, from the real (real=trauma) into the symbolic, in Lacanese (I think?) giving the patient a certain level of agency, overcoming their past and present helplessness through juicing up the ego/symbolic plane of subjectivity to organize what, for Lacan, would be a priori beyond (beneath?) representation. this seems to be an intractable difference.
language, for Lacan, is not an strata by which thorough our rational structures we become free. in fact, language is useful insofar as it's a strata for irrational, subconscious, accidental slippage into the symbolic. this doesn't at all reduce language in importance in analysis. more broadly, language for Lacan is merely the space of revealed repression from the subject to the Other: "In the end, it is not the different sites of the return of the repressed--in one's thoughts or in one's body, both dominated by language, thus both the 'locus of the Other...'' (Fink, 115) The 'quilting point' between meaning and language for Lacan is always only the paternal metaphor, which is the socially generated (yet, for now, absolute) referent to ground signifier and the signified: there is no other metaphor. whereby the unconscious peers through language, the parental metaphor situates such punctures.
thus, freedom for Lacan is transgressing the fundamental fantasy: no longer seeking the possibility of de-castration (jouissance) through the Other's retribution, and that perhaps the Other's desire (the believed cause of castration) was always a mere assumption. the analysand uncovers that the Other has no hold on them, and they no longer seek enjoyment by means of the Other's demands/desires, or even their own. the problem of satisfaction (the initial inertia towards analysis) is overcome through rejecting desire and "living out the drives" (Lacan, Seminar XI)
the ego/superego and the reality, demands, desires etc. it constructs is only ever an obstruction. it is a violence against satisfaction. the drives break through in language, which makes it useful, but any further function of language is bound to create reliance on the Other for satisfaction.
I have criticisms with Lacan (most of them arising from the structuralist schema (is this not a whole new Big Other?), the unbridled trust in the parental metaphor, the possibility of an unconditioned, pure drive to begin with) which really only reach the status of various confusions. however, I'm only working with the very surface of his ideas, and I have certainly no criticisms of Fink and this book. it's far and away the closest I've ever gotten to getting a starting foothold on Lacan, and for that I'm grateful.
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September 10, 2023only actually comprehensible book on lacan i could find. interesting ideas when applied philosophically or more generally, but NOT CLINICALLY. kind of hilarious that according to lacan, if you're schizophrenic, it's cause your dad didn't forbid your desires enough.
September 25, 2009
Not quite finished with this yet, but I have to give it props for managing to achieve the seeming impossible and deliver a lucid and easily comprehensible overview of Lacan. I suppose it helps that Fink is dealing with most of Lacan's notions in expressly clinical terms. Unfortunately, this does mean that while the book is great for providing insights into the operations of the human mind, it makes it a bit less useful as a critical tool for a guy who just wants to write a damned essay.
It's also a bit of a worry in that the book has given me several psychotherapy-themed nightmares.
It's also a bit of a worry in that the book has given me several psychotherapy-themed nightmares.
November 1, 2023
Fink describes Lacan’s theories and clinical strategies clearly. Since it’s a book that’s set out to do that, I can’t fault it for achieving its aims. Fink’s case examples go into greater depth than you see in other analysis books, and they’re all fascinating. He’s a great writer.
That said, this was my introduction to Lacan, and I think I hate him.
That said, this was my introduction to Lacan, and I think I hate him.
March 2, 2025
Literally it’s been two years but I finally finished this book. Fantastic stuff. I populated every page’s margins with tons of notes, I reread multiple sections to understand later ones, and I scribbled over ever diagram, but I finally think I have an actual grasp on the material, though of course I will have to reread it a few times for me to reach for it instinctively. Fink’s approach is rigorous but readable and I definitely want to read more of his work on extending Lacan’s writings. I felt very seen a few times reading this, but mostly I just felt fascinated and compelled by the structures detailed within. I felt genuinely compelled to write my own understandings of the text within the book itself, just to map everything out, and I challenge anyone to not feel similarly. Upon finishing the chapter on perversion I literally raised by hands in the air in the coffeeshop, as if I had run a race or climed a mountain. Hell yeah.
January 9, 2015
Jacques Lacan is often confusedly lumped in with "post-structuralism", but Fink here presents Lacanian psychoanalysis at its most rigorously structuralist. The author expresses some misgivings on this account, recognizing that he is in sense converting Lacan's "anti-system" into a kind of clean-cut doctrine, arguably contrary to the deliberately obscurantist (more, obstructionist) spririt of Lacan's "elusive/allusive/illusive" work.
But truly, Fink's book is an outstanding accomplishment and an invaluable resource for Americans interested in the work of Lacan. Americans interestd in psychoanalysis have long not had access to quality translations of Lacan's work and encounter much difficulty studying him in rigorous academic environments -he's simply not taught outside of the humanities; when American students do get taught anything about Lacan, it's in decidedly non-clinical contexts which of course hijack and re-purpose his work in a way that only replicates his notorious reputation.
This is a sequel or compliment to Fink's first book (The Lacanian Subject), in that it takes Lacan's absolutely stunning theoretical contributions and shows how they are actually put into practice. The illustrative value of this project can hardly be overstated. From Lacan's provocative theory of psychosis, to the beautiful symmetry of the twin neuroses hysteria and obsession, I'd wager that very few books out there can give you a better handle on Lacan than this book.
Thus, I cannot recommend this book highly enough for people serious about learning about Lacan. The real Lacan. He wasn't a philosopher, he wasn't a social critic or a poet or an essayist; he was a clinical psychoanalyst. It is only in this context that his work can be truly understood and appreciated, insofar as understanding Lacan is possible to begin with.
This is a medium-difficulty book on Lacan I'd say. I'd suggest Lionell Bailly's Lacan: An Introduction and then Fink's The Lacanian Subject first. The dense and extensive endnotes in this book cite Lacanian Subject constantly, so it's better to read that one first rather than getting mere hints of the book's more broad theoretical discussions.
Forget Zizek. Read Fink.
But truly, Fink's book is an outstanding accomplishment and an invaluable resource for Americans interested in the work of Lacan. Americans interestd in psychoanalysis have long not had access to quality translations of Lacan's work and encounter much difficulty studying him in rigorous academic environments -he's simply not taught outside of the humanities; when American students do get taught anything about Lacan, it's in decidedly non-clinical contexts which of course hijack and re-purpose his work in a way that only replicates his notorious reputation.
This is a sequel or compliment to Fink's first book (The Lacanian Subject), in that it takes Lacan's absolutely stunning theoretical contributions and shows how they are actually put into practice. The illustrative value of this project can hardly be overstated. From Lacan's provocative theory of psychosis, to the beautiful symmetry of the twin neuroses hysteria and obsession, I'd wager that very few books out there can give you a better handle on Lacan than this book.
Thus, I cannot recommend this book highly enough for people serious about learning about Lacan. The real Lacan. He wasn't a philosopher, he wasn't a social critic or a poet or an essayist; he was a clinical psychoanalyst. It is only in this context that his work can be truly understood and appreciated, insofar as understanding Lacan is possible to begin with.
This is a medium-difficulty book on Lacan I'd say. I'd suggest Lionell Bailly's Lacan: An Introduction and then Fink's The Lacanian Subject first. The dense and extensive endnotes in this book cite Lacanian Subject constantly, so it's better to read that one first rather than getting mere hints of the book's more broad theoretical discussions.
Forget Zizek. Read Fink.
November 11, 2024
"This is the Lacan who demonstrates the extent to which we are subjugated by signifiers, by the discourse of our parents that determines our fate, and declares that through analysis we must come to accept that we are mortified by language, and thus, in a sense, the living dead (our bodies are overwritten, and we are inhabited by language that lives through us). We must subjectify that mortal fate, make it our own; we must assume responsibility for the roll of the dice at the beginning of our universe our parents' desire that brought us into being bringing ourselves into being where their desire had served as cause of our own."
March 28, 2022
Leitura essencial para quem tem dúvidas nos conceitos fundamentais da psicanálise lacaniana. Pra compreender melhor, é preciso ter uma certa base, mas nada de extremamente aprofundado. Esclareci várias dúvidas sobre as estruturas, sobre o Real, Imaginário, Simbólico e sobre a atuação do analista na clínica. Não gostei apenas de certos conceitos antiquados, como "a maioria dos homens são obsessivos" e "a maioria das mulheres são histéricas".
February 27, 2023
Deals little with clinical practice, despite the billing. What is here on clinical practice illustrates (to me anyway) that what is useful in Lacanian clinical technique is not distinctive to it, and that what is distinctive to Lacanian technique is not clinically helpful. Sadly, it's liable to be clinically harmful, particularly if used to treat the relational trauma that lies behind 90-95% of the presentations psychotherapists actually encounter. Also underscores that Lacanian technique—at least here, per Fink—is robustly, and arguably irredeemably, structurally misogynist. Boo.
July 6, 2025
No me he leído las notas por la pereza de interrumpir la lectura a cada rato.
No sé si buena introducción porque no he leído a Lacan, desde luego creo que buen punto de partida de cara a confirmarlo o negar lo leído con el propio Lacan después.
Se explica bien y se entiende todo lo posible y tiene ideas sugerentes para la clínica por eso 5 estrellas.
No sé si buena introducción porque no he leído a Lacan, desde luego creo que buen punto de partida de cara a confirmarlo o negar lo leído con el propio Lacan después.
Se explica bien y se entiende todo lo posible y tiene ideas sugerentes para la clínica por eso 5 estrellas.
October 27, 2019
μια εξαιρετική εισαγωγή πάνω στο έργο του Λακάν..
σαφώς υπάρχει μια επανερμηνεια όπως στις περισσότερες περιπτώσεις τέτοιων βιβλίων αλλά ευτυχώς ο Fink δεν υποπίπτει σε πλήρη παρερμηνεία
σαφώς υπάρχει μια επανερμηνεια όπως στις περισσότερες περιπτώσεις τέτοιων βιβλίων αλλά ευτυχώς ο Fink δεν υποπίπτει σε πλήρη παρερμηνεία
March 11, 2025
I hereby declare, with unabashed confidence in the unjustified power of superlatives, that this is categorically the greatest concievable introduction to Lacan out there today…
Okay but seriously, garish pronouncements aside, Fink absolutely knocked it out the park with this one. If you have even the slightest curiosity about Lacan and psychoanalysis in general (especially as a concretised, living praxis), look no further.
Okay but seriously, garish pronouncements aside, Fink absolutely knocked it out the park with this one. If you have even the slightest curiosity about Lacan and psychoanalysis in general (especially as a concretised, living praxis), look no further.
April 18, 2015
This book was recommended to me as a good place to begin understanding what Lacan's work is about. Bruce Fink emphasizes that this is merely a survey and is intended to be neither exhaustive nor absolutely objective. This doesn't prevent him from being quite dense at moments, but the book is fascinating, informative and easy to grasp for the most part. Without further experience with Lacan's own writings, what stands out to me is how Fink makes clinical sense of the seemingly nebulous life work of one person. The book succinctly and eloquently progresses through defining the therapeutic relationship and common possible diagnoses of patients. The reader will find him or herself following Lacan's development of the ideas of the subject (meaning psychoanalytic patient) and the structures that create personality and personhood as they evolved through his lifetime. Full of rich footnotes. Compassionate and stimulating. I will most likely read this again.
*******
April, 2015. I read it again! It's worth it!
*******
April, 2015. I read it again! It's worth it!
January 17, 2021
Verrassend heldere en engagerende Amerikaanse introductie op lacaniaanse psychoanalyse. Centraal staat het verlangen van de cliënt - de analysand - dat telkens gestructureerd is binnen de neurose, psychose of perversie. Het is geen theorie in het ijle maar steeds wordt het doel van analyse erbij betrokken. Dit is het bewerken van dit verlangen aan de hand van de taal, en de confrontatie met alle moeilijkheden die hierbij overwonnen moeten worden.
Bruce Fink sluit af door te stellen dat hij het anti-systeem van Lacan gepresenteerd heeft met formele, systematische elementen. Dit is zeer welkom voor wie met de teksten aan de slag wil gaan.
Bruce Fink sluit af door te stellen dat hij het anti-systeem van Lacan gepresenteerd heeft met formele, systematische elementen. Dit is zeer welkom voor wie met de teksten aan de slag wil gaan.
October 24, 2008
Fink manages to make most of Lacan readable, but I'll admit to becoming a bit glassy-eyed by the end.
April 7, 2009
Seeing how Lacanian theory happens in practice makes the finer points of the theory easier to grasp.
November 7, 2014
An excellent introduction to the lacanian clinic. Well rounded and accessible.
October 16, 2018
Really an amazing introduction to Lacan, but certainly not without some of its downsides.
I'm already relatively familiar with Lacanian theory, and it's evident that Fink performs a sort of reduction upon many of the most important concepts in his thought (i.e 'jouissance', 'The Real, the Symbolic, the Imaginary', the Mirror Stage, etc.), but nonetheless, I suppose this can be excused considering that this is, after all, a clinical, not conceptual, introduction to Lacanian psychoanalysis. However, it is definitely showing of Fink's own understanding and brilliance when he is able to reduce complex ideas (at least, for Americans) such as the 'jouissance' into an accessible formulation--when pleasure becomes pain.
From a clinical standpoint certainly the book performs magnificently. With long sections on the three main diagnostic categories of psychosis, neurosis and perversion (although, one must concede that Fink's chapter on perversion definitely feels more like Fink than it does Lacan, however, it is understandable as neurosis is one of the foremost important issues in psychoanalytic theory, and Lacan formulated an entire Seminar based on psychosis, but never provided the same sort of attention, it seems, to perversion). In any case, Fink's explanation of Lacanian diagnosis and treatment is highly illuminating, and especially his case studies will put Lacan's more difficult and allusive concepts into a concrete setting, helping the reader's comprehension.
Overall, it certainly does deliver what it sets out to--introducing Lacan via clinical practices and anecdotes. It must be said that the more 'philosophical' aspects of Lacan (which, probably, are of more interest to me anyways) are left out, but still provides a strong reading of one of the most challengingly enlightening French psychoanalysts/philosophers in history.
I'm already relatively familiar with Lacanian theory, and it's evident that Fink performs a sort of reduction upon many of the most important concepts in his thought (i.e 'jouissance', 'The Real, the Symbolic, the Imaginary', the Mirror Stage, etc.), but nonetheless, I suppose this can be excused considering that this is, after all, a clinical, not conceptual, introduction to Lacanian psychoanalysis. However, it is definitely showing of Fink's own understanding and brilliance when he is able to reduce complex ideas (at least, for Americans) such as the 'jouissance' into an accessible formulation--when pleasure becomes pain.
From a clinical standpoint certainly the book performs magnificently. With long sections on the three main diagnostic categories of psychosis, neurosis and perversion (although, one must concede that Fink's chapter on perversion definitely feels more like Fink than it does Lacan, however, it is understandable as neurosis is one of the foremost important issues in psychoanalytic theory, and Lacan formulated an entire Seminar based on psychosis, but never provided the same sort of attention, it seems, to perversion). In any case, Fink's explanation of Lacanian diagnosis and treatment is highly illuminating, and especially his case studies will put Lacan's more difficult and allusive concepts into a concrete setting, helping the reader's comprehension.
Overall, it certainly does deliver what it sets out to--introducing Lacan via clinical practices and anecdotes. It must be said that the more 'philosophical' aspects of Lacan (which, probably, are of more interest to me anyways) are left out, but still provides a strong reading of one of the most challengingly enlightening French psychoanalysts/philosophers in history.
March 14, 2025
*This is my generic post for Fink's works.*
I seldomly recommend reading secondary literature on a thinker prior to or during a reading of the primary literature. Fink is the exception. More than that, Fink may be the best thing that ever happened to Lacan in the English world. Fink's style is the opposite of Lacan's; that is, Fink writes so that you can understand what he is saying. Lacan's style has *rightly* alienated people from reading him, which is a shame, as he does have truly brilliant insights into the nature of language and its impact on how we think about ourselves and history (on this point, see my other reviews on Lacan's work).
Most of Fink's writing on Lacan is a commentary on a specific text. You could do worse than read Lacan and Fink in tandem, especially if you're not just reading the Seminars in order. However, if you're looking for an introduction to Lacan, then you should start with "The Lacanian Subject." If you're reading Écrits, then you should read "Lacan to the Letter" alongside it. If you're reading a single Lacan seminar, odds are that Fink has an essay, article, or book on that seminar and if you're confused (you will be), then should consult Fink's work. Once you've read enough Lacan and have read enough Fink, you'll find that the irritating games Lacan plays are now miraculously (almost) legible.
Fink's entire career is dedicated to the sole task of demonstrating how and why Lacan helps us better understand the construction of human subjectivity and how language indelible informs that construction. He has successfully completed this task. May we all tip our hats to the man.
I seldomly recommend reading secondary literature on a thinker prior to or during a reading of the primary literature. Fink is the exception. More than that, Fink may be the best thing that ever happened to Lacan in the English world. Fink's style is the opposite of Lacan's; that is, Fink writes so that you can understand what he is saying. Lacan's style has *rightly* alienated people from reading him, which is a shame, as he does have truly brilliant insights into the nature of language and its impact on how we think about ourselves and history (on this point, see my other reviews on Lacan's work).
Most of Fink's writing on Lacan is a commentary on a specific text. You could do worse than read Lacan and Fink in tandem, especially if you're not just reading the Seminars in order. However, if you're looking for an introduction to Lacan, then you should start with "The Lacanian Subject." If you're reading Écrits, then you should read "Lacan to the Letter" alongside it. If you're reading a single Lacan seminar, odds are that Fink has an essay, article, or book on that seminar and if you're confused (you will be), then should consult Fink's work. Once you've read enough Lacan and have read enough Fink, you'll find that the irritating games Lacan plays are now miraculously (almost) legible.
Fink's entire career is dedicated to the sole task of demonstrating how and why Lacan helps us better understand the construction of human subjectivity and how language indelible informs that construction. He has successfully completed this task. May we all tip our hats to the man.
May 27, 2023
What sets this book apart is its lucid writing style, making complex concepts accessible and engaging. I read this book back in my college days when I wanted to know the role of language (Especially use of profanity) on our unconscious mind.
One of the most profound quotes from the book is, "The unconscious is structured like a language." Emphasizing the importance of exploring the symbolic and linguistic dimensions of the unconscious, which can help us understand the hidden meanings embedded in people's narratives. This book does bring in some of the concepts of Freud's such as structural linguistics, semiotics, and philosophy.
Now moving onto swear words, In Lacanian terms, swear words can be seen as a manifestation of the "Real" — the elusive and unfathomable aspect of existence that escapes symbolization. Swear words often bypass the usual rules and regulations of language, breaking taboos and venturing into forbidden territories. They carry a certain charge, evoking strong emotional responses and stirring up repressed desires and frustrations. What I understood from the book was that swear words can also be seen as a form of jouissance, a concept central to Lacanian psychoanalysis. Jouissance refers to a kind of excessive pleasure or enjoyment. Though this book didn't give me more insights on how profanity can affect our mind. But I literally don't regret reading this masterpiece, which took me into the realms of Lacanian theory and its practical application in the clinical setting.
One of the most profound quotes from the book is, "The unconscious is structured like a language." Emphasizing the importance of exploring the symbolic and linguistic dimensions of the unconscious, which can help us understand the hidden meanings embedded in people's narratives. This book does bring in some of the concepts of Freud's such as structural linguistics, semiotics, and philosophy.
Now moving onto swear words, In Lacanian terms, swear words can be seen as a manifestation of the "Real" — the elusive and unfathomable aspect of existence that escapes symbolization. Swear words often bypass the usual rules and regulations of language, breaking taboos and venturing into forbidden territories. They carry a certain charge, evoking strong emotional responses and stirring up repressed desires and frustrations. What I understood from the book was that swear words can also be seen as a form of jouissance, a concept central to Lacanian psychoanalysis. Jouissance refers to a kind of excessive pleasure or enjoyment. Though this book didn't give me more insights on how profanity can affect our mind. But I literally don't regret reading this masterpiece, which took me into the realms of Lacanian theory and its practical application in the clinical setting.
May 7, 2023
On the pure theoretical part, this book is 5 stars: it really helps to elucidate the mess Lacan did and said in his Seminaries and Écrits.
Now, on the practical side, Fink really takes an analyst posture I could define at best "rude", if not classist:
* "analyst shouldn't be interested in the patients problems" (p. 30). Then why the fuck study and practice psychoanalysis if you aren't going to be interested in helping others. And I know the recommendation can be interpreted to avoid a countertransference, but no, Fink is clear on what he says.
* "there should be interviews to know the economic problems before accepting an analysis" (p.33). I know that in capitalism it is inevitable to not make profit (if you don't assure a salary you literally die), but still, there are way better forms to say it. Fink comes as a plain classist to me in suggesting poor people are "boring" and don't always pay.
* "despite the labour, health and money problems, the analyst should stay unperturbed" (p. 67). Inhumane if you ask me. Doctors and psychoanalysts that normalize poverty, misery and exploitation need a serious tour to a gulag.
And, sadly, many more examples.
Now, on the practical side, Fink really takes an analyst posture I could define at best "rude", if not classist:
* "analyst shouldn't be interested in the patients problems" (p. 30). Then why the fuck study and practice psychoanalysis if you aren't going to be interested in helping others. And I know the recommendation can be interpreted to avoid a countertransference, but no, Fink is clear on what he says.
* "there should be interviews to know the economic problems before accepting an analysis" (p.33). I know that in capitalism it is inevitable to not make profit (if you don't assure a salary you literally die), but still, there are way better forms to say it. Fink comes as a plain classist to me in suggesting poor people are "boring" and don't always pay.
* "despite the labour, health and money problems, the analyst should stay unperturbed" (p. 67). Inhumane if you ask me. Doctors and psychoanalysts that normalize poverty, misery and exploitation need a serious tour to a gulag.
And, sadly, many more examples.
December 2, 2024
I don't understand the point of this existing... I suppose the points made here might not have been quite as clear at time of publication, but at this point this is all strictly idée reçue as far as Lacanian psychoanalytic technique is concerned. I also feel like this mode of exposition is directly in conflict with Lacan's pedagogic technique, and I don't buy the pragmatic argument or the demand for clarity. I completely disagree with the conclusion, though it oddly comes close to being correct. While it is true that the end of analysis involves a move from the pole of desire/law/guilt/superego to that of the drive, the character of the drive is here characterized in relation to objet a, which remains androcentric (this is simply the formula for masculine fantasy!). Instead, we should conceive of this "traversal of the fantasy" as a move from the hysteria of feminine heterosexuality (demanding a new, better master) to Antigone's gesture of the dignity of the singularity of the name, an ethics of the Real which precisely does not reduce the Other to an object, but rather raises the Other into an insubstitutable Principle, an orientation we might dare to call love.
September 4, 2022
I had tried to read Lacan before (Seminar XI, The Four Fundamental Concepts) and found it completely opaque and impenetrable. Well- Bruce Fink to the rescue. Fink's intro is entirely readable, accessible to the non-expert, and really illuminates the clinical practice and theory of psychoanalysis, particularly its Lacanian branch. The first half of the book lays out a brief and summarized account of Lacan's theoretical understanding of desire, Object a, the imaginary/symbolic/real, the-Name-of-the-Father, the three clinical structures, and more. This section is worth the price of the book. The second half of the book gives in depth case studies of the three clinical structures (neurosis, psychosis, and perversion). These later chapters really flesh out psychoanalysis and it's insights at a practical/clinical level- how it works, its goals, etc.
Overall a great book, I have nothing negative to say about it. I'm very excited to read Fink's other work and have his work serve as a foundation for returning to Lacan and other difficult Lacanian texts.
Overall a great book, I have nothing negative to say about it. I'm very excited to read Fink's other work and have his work serve as a foundation for returning to Lacan and other difficult Lacanian texts.
July 30, 2024
This books is VERY good for nonpractioners who are interested in Lacanian theory, and I’ll tell you why. Fink offers in part 2 a number of case histories that illustrate some of the more abstract elements of Lacan’s work concretely. Something like the ultimate consequences of not internalizing the “name of the father” are worked out in real time with real people, which in my opinion brings a lot of Lacan’s theoretical scaffolding down to earth.
I actually would read this book BEFORE you read Fink’s other great introduction to Lacanian theory, called the Lacanian subject. From there, I would read Derek Hook’s “Six Moments in Lacan.” My sense is when you got lost in the abstraction of Lacan’s thinking you can reflect back on this clinical introduction and start to wrap your head around what’s being argued.
I would imagine most nonpractioners find their way to Lacan via Zizek, so if you’re reading “Sublime Object” and you’re feeling lost, follow the path I’ve outlined above and then return to it. I think it will be immensely helpful.
I actually would read this book BEFORE you read Fink’s other great introduction to Lacanian theory, called the Lacanian subject. From there, I would read Derek Hook’s “Six Moments in Lacan.” My sense is when you got lost in the abstraction of Lacan’s thinking you can reflect back on this clinical introduction and start to wrap your head around what’s being argued.
I would imagine most nonpractioners find their way to Lacan via Zizek, so if you’re reading “Sublime Object” and you’re feeling lost, follow the path I’ve outlined above and then return to it. I think it will be immensely helpful.
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