Signifiers and Acts: Freedom in Lacan's Theory of Subjectivity

Agency via speech: A Lacanian perspective on the process toward agency in psychoanalytic therapy.

“…(Lacan, 1969(Lacan, -1970(Lacan, /2007 Throughout the seminar, knowledge in terms of "savoir" is represented by S 2 , the symbol for the battery of signifiers. This makes sense, knowing "savoir" relates directly to the signifier, which is always conceived as plural given its hyperreferential structure; any signifier always necessarily refers to another signifier and so forth (Miller, 2021a;Pluth, 2007). In his earlier work, Lacan conceptualizes the battery of signifiers as language or "the site of knowledge," an already constituted field of signs that pre-exists our entrance into the world (Lacan, 1957(Lacan, /2006a(Lacan, , 1953(Lacan, /2006b.…”

“…This namely implies that the subject cannot be reduced to language. Jouissance as part of the real, which is characterized by the impasses and impossibilities of the symbolic order, makes room for a subject beyond symbolic determination (Pluth, 2007).…”

“…Since jouissance takes place beyond the pleasure principle, "the best way to see it is probably as an excessive, unbearable 'tension' for which the language of pleasure and displeasure is not adequate" (Pluth, 2007, p. 75). Despite being translated as "enjoyment," one must be cautious not to equate it with pleasure (Pluth, 2007). Rather, it can be understood as both an enjoyable and distressing experience.…”

“…In other words: the bodily, traumatic eruptions of jouissance are from early on named by others (e.g., caregivers) and as such attached to signifiers. This entails that from early on signifiers are linked to enjoyment, which takes place beyond the production of meaning (Pluth, 2007). One can for instance notice how "dirty" words-think of pee wee humor in early life-are charged with a "pleasure," an excess of enjoyment that cannot be explained by communicative purposes.…”

“…Building on J.-A. Miller (2006) and Pluth (2007), we believe that in psychoanalysis agency can be enhanced by loosening the subject from particular (master) signifiers that are charged with jouissance and therefore determine the subject in question (J.-A. Miller, 2006).…”