ABSTRACT
Lacan stresses that when the symbol and the symptom are found separate, this is an effect of the discourse of the master. The discourse of the master is precisely that which says: form a circle, in the name of the law. The sinthome comes from the true hole rather than the false hole associated with the Symbolic or that appears between the Symbolic and the Imaginary or between the symbol and the symptom. In this seminar, Lacan speaks of the false hole and true holes in topological terms. Lacan also makes the subtle point of distinguishing between sound or phonation and signification. Lacan then distinguishes the pleasure that truth produces from the jouissance produced by the Real. Lacan argues for a different understanding that distinguishes sadomasochism in the case from the idea of the son submitting to a powerful imaginary father.
