The Title of the Letter - A Reading of Lacan

This book is a close reading of Jacques Lacan's seminal essay, "The Agency of the Letter in the Unconscious or Reason Since Freud, " selected for the particular light it casts on Lacan's complex relation to linguistics, psychoanalysis, and philosophy. It clarifies the way Lacan renews or transforms the psychoanalytic field, through his diversion of Saussure's theory of the sign, his radicalization of Freud's fundamental concepts, and his subversion of dominant philosophical values. The authors argue, however, that Lacan's discourse is marked by a deep ambiguity: while he invents a new "language," he nonetheless maintains the traditional metaphysical motifs of systemacity, foundation, and truth.

About the author

Jean-Luc Nancy and Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe are Professors of Philosophy at the University of Strasbourg, France. They are the authors of The Literary Absolute, also published by SUNY Press. Nancy is also the author of The Inoperative Community. Lacoue-Labarthe authored Typography. François Raffoul is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. David Pettigrew teaches philosophy at Southern Connecticut State University.

Product details

• Authors: Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe, Jean-Luc Nancy
• Assisted by: David Pettigrew (Translation), Francois Raffoul (Translation), François Raffoul (Translation)
• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 28.04.1992
• EAN: 9780791409619
• ISBN: 978-0-7914-0961-9
• No. of pages: 183
• Series: Suny Series on the Presidency: Suny Series on the Presidency; Suny Contemporary Continental
• Subjects: Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Philosophy: antiquity to present day; Philosophie, PHILOSOPHY / General, Psychology, PSYCHOLOGY / Movements / Psychoanalysis