ABSTRACT
In this chapter we will see how Lacan’s work moved away from the strict linguistic and Structuralist terminology of the 1950s to elaborate a theory of the subject in terms of unconscious desire and the drive. In order to help you understand Lacan’s reconceptualization of such psychoanalytic concepts as the phallus, the father and the superego, we will first see how he reformulated the central concept of Freudian psychoanalysis, the Oedipus complex. For Lacan, the phallus is not to be equated with the penis, and as a signifier it performs a different function in each of the three orders: the imaginary, the symbolic and the real. Similarly, the father is a signifier or a metaphor rather than an actual person. As we will see, the ‘Name-of-the-Father’ is a signifier that breaks the mother/child couple and introduces the child into the symbolic order of desire and lack. Through the function of the father in the Oedipus complex the superego is formed. The superego is the result of the internalization of the father and Lacan had a very innovative understanding of the role of the father and the superego. After giving an account of each of these ideas in turn we will see how the fundamental paradoxicality of psychoanalytic concepts can help us understand social phenomena such as racism and anti-Semitism.
