Lacan and Philosophy. A Commentary

As the last among a series of respondents, I am faced with a certain loneliness that fosters the illusion of intellectual freedom, which does not necessarily imply scientific ease. This position may have influenced my current response to the lectures of conference’s organisers Prof. Ruth Ronen and Prof. Shirley Sharon-Zisser, at the conclusion of this most serious and impressive event. They have honoured me by expressing a desire, a desire that I respond to each of their lectures, suggesting that the role of the desire-complex in the academic field also be put up for inquiry (the desire-complex in this context is to be understood as the never-ending manoeuvrings of academic scholars with their pre-sonal desire, always logically preliminary to their scientific work but constrained by their bureaucratic responsibilities).…