φ > [(-φ) > a] > d

Lectures on Seminar XI Underway!

Last week’s opening session on Seminar XI was lit — and never more so than when we caught sight of the Unbegriff at the center of Lacan’s project:

Why the German here, you ask? For the French, of course! The Unbegriff at the limit of the unconscious is not a non-concept, as the German would have us think, but, instead, the concept of a “no” (non) with the linear form and incisional function of a split, a stroke, a furrow — in short, a 1 (un).

Hence, the title of this post — or at least it’s central terms: [(-φ) > a]. In (-φ), we see the unary incision of the non-of-the-father. One. And in a, we see the opening left behind by this primordial cut. Zero. Which is why the Unbegriff at the limit of the unconscious, according to Lacan, is ultimately “the concept of lack.”

Suffice it today, I can’t wait to see where we go next week! Link below to join in the discussion:

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