ABSTRACT
In his well-known studies on identity, Erikson (1968) defi ned identity as the individual’s “link” with the unique values of his/her people. Erikson’s defi nition of individual identity is consistent with the Freudian concept of the ego-ideal that Lacan (1961) has written as: I(O). It is also well known within psychoanalysis that parents transmit cultural values to their children in the form of the psychical agency that Freud called the ego-ideal. What connects the individual to social values is a social trait or link that has been implanted or transplanted into the heart of subjectivity. The relationship between the unary trait, the ego-ideal, and what Lacan calls the Name of the Father will be explored further on in this chapter.
