ABSTRACT
Many who teach Lacanian theory in university settings in the English-speaking world are obliged to do so from within the discipline of psychology. This immediately poses a significant problem: that of the fundamental incompatibility - the 'non-relation' - between Lacanian psychoanalysis and psychology. The psychological, after all, represents a heterogeneous disciplinary field. There are, arguably, modes of psychology and psycho-therapeutic practice that embrace psychoanalytic ideas and which cannot summarily be categorized as necessarily at odds with Lacanian theory. By continually distinguishing Lacanian notions from similar constructs in psychology, people have a better chance of grasping Lacanian ideas in their distinctiveness. Several qualifications are necessary at the outset of any attempt to introduce Lacanian concepts and link them to another field of conceptualization. This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book begins with a discussion of the concept of 'the big Other' within the context of inter-subjective communication.
