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L'étourdit: A Bilingual Presentation of the Second Turn, Second Part: The Discourse of the Analyst

The Letter, Issue 45, Autumn 2010, Pages 1 - 16


L’étourdit by Jacques Lacan

A Bilingual Presentation of the Second Turn, Second Part [1]

Translated by Cormac Gallagher

Second turn, second part: the discourse of the analyst

Chapter 2: The discourse of the analyst


1. The psychoanalytic group is impossible (31a-32c)

I have the task of clearing the way for the status of a discourse, there where I locate that there is…something of discourse: and I locate it from the social bond to which are submitted the bodies that labitent[2] this discourse.


My undertaking appears hopeless (is so by that very fact, this is the result of hopelessness) because it is impossible that psychoanalysts should form a group.


Nevertheless, the psychoanalytic discourse (this is me clearing the way) is precisely the one that can establish a social bond cleansed of any group- necessity.


Since people know that I do not mince my words when it is a matter of putting into relief an appreciation which, though deserving a stricter approach must do without it, I would say that I measure the group-effect by the amount of imaginary obscenity it adds to the effect of discourse.


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