ABSTRACT
The subject defends itself against something Real in the body by means of the Other, understood as both other and language. This defense takes off in a primary form that determines the subject's psychic structure-that is, how the subject functions in language. The secondary defense is a subsequent self-protective elaboration in the Imaginary, where the material that is warded off is attributed to the Other. The primary defense lies on the border between the verbal and what is preverbal, and determines the structure of the subject. The clinical distinction between primary and secondary defense is illustrated through the different kinds of anxiety. Primary repression involves an automatic, even traumatic anxiety based on the fact that something cannot be symbolically processed. Secondary repression involves a signal anxiety, on the grounds that something should not be verbalized anymore. The signifiers are indeed processed, albeit defensively. This chapter deals with normal development and the focuses on pathogenesis.
