LACANIAN PSYCHOANALYSIS- THE ROLE OF SOCIETY ON SUBJECT FORMATION

by Gustave Doré

Experiments of infants during their early years carried out by French psychologist Henri Wallon have shown that the identification of self-image is acquired from self-reflective channels, instead of inborn.[1] In other words, the biological situation where young children are unconscious of themselves until having to react to external stimuli predestines subjectivity will form under the effects of language, symbols, laws, etc. Based on empirical evidence and theories from French psychoanalysis, Lacan proposes people’s sense of self as imaginary and highly social-based. As individuals in human society inevitably engage in social interaction, ideas are delivered through language, while language also blocks essentially direct communication between subjects.[2] The subject’s idea is conveyed to an imaginary other; likewise, the recipient’s response is emitted to the imaginary subject in the recipient’s mind. After receiving feedback from the other, the subject’s speech returns to the suppositive subject, defined as ego by Lacan, implying a conversation with oneself (l’intrasubjectivité in academic terms).[3] It’s worth noting that “ego” in this context is an approximate “sense of self”. Though the whole process seems to happen in one’s envision, the construction of the fictional subject in one’s mind is permeated by ubiquitous and underlying socio-cultural factors.[4] The media that people rely on to interact is language in the first place. However, speech possesses meaning unless one is clear about the meaning behind the letters, articulations, and pronunciation, or it is equivalent to the babbling of small children. The symbolic aspect of language suggests the meaning behind it arises from and is regulated by cultural and social backgrounds. Given the symbolic dimension and pervasive use of language, linguistic Saussure claims language to be shared by the community, while Lacan supplements rules and structures of language as transindividual and exceeding human control.[2,5] With this in mind, language as a system of signs governed by socio-cultural norms operates in people’s psyche regardless of whether people are aware. Depicted in the people’s continuous process of subject formation, a sense of self under the impact of culture creates a socially acceptable, regulated, and neat image, combining fantasies of subjects that don’t necessarily exist. Lacan defines symbolic order, the structure of language, and societal rules and norms that govern and shape human subjectivity as the big Other.[6] The indeterminate image of self is constantly reshaped with the remodel of the desire to accommodate society as one interacts with the big Other. Desire can be the yearning for the other, the pursuit of self-identity, and fulfillment in Lacan’s sense.[7] Nevertheless, pursuing desire is perpetually incomplete because the objects of desire inherently exceed language; they are not propelled by specific needs but are constructed and molded by the culture and language of the subject. Granted, it’s through language that individuals associate desires with social norms and cultural values, absence or substitution of meaning in language restricts the expression of desire.[8] With the presence of desire, subjects seem to fall into an irresolvable loop, where desire points to the external, referring to things in subjects’ envision that would make them more complete if possessed. As one imagines oneself, one can never truly become that image. To form a subject is to constantly envision oneself as being a more coherent "oneself" – as an existence that one is not currently. Social norms and cultural values (the big Other) exert influence on personal desire, while desire fitfully reconstructs the ego of subjects, implying the indirect role of society on the formation of subjectivity.

Despite the previous belief that psychoanalysis theories do not apply to social sciences, for example, misunderstanding the subject and society, a study by Derek Hook and Calum Neill argues for more utilization of Lacanian notions.[9] The relevance and significance of integrating Lacanian psychoanalytic theory, particularly concepts of subjectivity, into various fields such as social sciences, cultural studies, and contemporary social theory is justified. Multiple feasible themes are explored to call for a more interdisciplinary approach to studying human subjects. Sociological studies have demonstrated that social factors indirectly reinforce ego perception. Contradicting the traditional view of the true self: an innate essence of a person, researchers gradually draw their attention toward the contribution of social interaction on the sense of self (ego).[10] The study by Namkje Koudenburg et al. investigates how it contributes to self-concept clarity and personal identity strength.[11] Experiments comparing the effects of introspection with one-way communication are first carried out by assigning participants to write diaries or write letters to someone important. The measurements are obtained by comparing the values on the “Self-Concept Clarity Scale” and entries of participants’ evaluations of identity. This study is replicated with improvements such as adding dyadic interaction and using an online format. The third study sets up face-to-face settings with friends versus strangers to improve the validation of the conclusion. Based on studies conducted, research concludes sense of self is fostered by meaningful social experiences and relationships, especially where people develop shared identity.

Another essential element of subjectivity formation and identity construction structuring oneself from the outside, known as the “gaze”, was developed by French Philosophers including Marleau-Ponty, Sartre, Lacan, etc. initially in the twentieth century.[12] As an individual looks from a certain angle in space at a time, the individual receives scrutiny of the external from potentially every angle. In this case, the gaze is not merely a physical act but extends to the dimension of authority exertion, desire, and subjectivity formation. From an existentialist view, Sartre states in his work “Being and Nothingness” that being exposed to the invisible gaze of the other, the subject encounters the presence of the other, as if being reduced to a mere object, rather than being recognized as a subject.[13] This shift happens along with the loss of self-awareness and a feeling of being objectified, which can trigger anxiety. Thus, the individual endures restless torment and objectification. He also points out that the subject being gazed at may modify their behavior and perform in accordance with the possible expectations of others. Just as the personal experience mentioned in his autobiography “Words”, Sartre describes his childhood efforts in acting as a model child to gain the approval of his grandparents, where he writes: “I deceive myself again. I increase my glory by pretending to be in desperate circumstances.”[14] The role of social expectations and roles are therefore crucial in ego formation. 

References:

1.       Wallon, Henri. “The psychological development of the child.” International Journal of Mental Health 1, no. 4 (1972): 29-39.

2.       Lacan, Jacques. 1973. The Seminar of Jacques Lacan: Book XI: The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis. Translated by Alan Sheridan. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.

3.       Lacan, Jacques. 1999. The Seminar of Jacques Lacan: Book XX: Encore, 1972-1973: On Feminine Sexuality, the Limits of Love and Knowledge. Translated by Bruce Fink. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.

4.       Sheikh, Farooq Ahmad. 2017. “Subjectivity, Desire and Theory: Reading Lacan.” Cogent Arts & Humanities 4. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2017.1299565

5.       Saussure, Ferdinand de. 1959. Course in General Linguistics. Edited by Charles Bally and Albert Sechehaye. Translated by Wade Baskin. New York: Philosophical Library.

6.       Lacan, Jacques. 1988. The Seminar of Jacques Lacan: Book I: Freud's Papers on Technique, 1953-1954. Edited by Jacques-Alain Miller. Translated by John Forrester. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.

7.       Lacan, Jacques. 1991. The Seminar of Jacques Lacan: Book VI: Desire and Its Interpretation, 1958-1959. Translated by Bruce Fink. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.

8.       Evans, Dylan. 1996. An Introduction to Lacanian Psychoanalysis. London: Routledge.

9.       Hook, Derek, and Calum Neill. 2008. “Perspectives on ‘Lacanian Subjectivities’.” Subjectivity 24: 247–255. https://doi.org/10.1057/sub.2008.24

10.     Turner, John C., Michael A. Hogg, Penelope J. Oakes, Stephen D Reicher and Margaret Wetherell. “Rediscovering the social group: A self-categorization theory.” Contemporary Sociology 18 (1989): 645.

11.     Koudenburg, Namkje, Jolanda Jetten, Karalyn F. Enz, and S. Alexander Haslam. 2024. "The Social Grounds of Personal Self: Interactions That Build a Sense of ‘We’ Help Clarify Who ‘I’ Am." European Journal of Social Psychology 54: 1153–1167. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.3070

12.     Jay, Martin. Downcast Eyes: The Denigration of Vision in Twentieth-Century French Thought. University of California Press, 1993. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt1ppwvv

13.     Sartre, Jean-Paul. 2003. Being and Nothingness. Translated by Hazel Estella Barnes. 2nd ed. Routledge Classics. London, England: Routledge.

14.     Sartre, Jean-Paul. The Words: The Autobiography of Jean-Paul Sartre. Vintage, 1981.