Knowledge v. Meaning

Introducing Seminar XXI

Last week, I recorded three introductory lectures on Seminar XXI and shared them with everyone who’s registered for our new series on this key text in Lacanian psychoanalysis — and all in fiery anticipation of our first online discussion, which is set to start on Friday, the 14th, at 10am PST.

Lecture 1 is named for the riddle with which Seminar XXI begins: “Knowledge v. Meaning.” Lecture 2 takes its title from Lacan’s claim that we are all, like Freud before us, “Dupes of the Real.” And Lecture 3 is designed to recall what’s at stake for Lacan in all of this: “Thirdness.”

Here’s the opening riff in Lecture 1, just to give you a sense of where Lacan begins Seminar XXI — and where we’ll almost certainly begin on Friday: