ABSTRACT
Meaning depends on the interplay of symbols. One way of understanding symbols is to see them as effects produced by relations between signifiers and signifieds. Symbols of self contribute to the construction of meaning by positioning core conscious self-images in relation to the flow of experience. Following a basic psychoanalytic assumption, the role of desire in the symbolic determination of meaning must be emphasized. Symbols, such as 'daddy and me making cookies', thus derive part of their meaning through a connection with the movement of desire in an interpersonal context in connection with an internalized interaction pattern. In the analysis of capitalist modernization, it is tempting to draw a parallel between the predominance of cognitive-instrumental rationality and the socio-cultural reinforcement of desymbolization. The narcissistic personality style is but one of many styles that can be linked to a general process of defensive desymbolization. Desire is especially salient in the symbolic processes of early childhood.
