An Introductory Dictionary of Lacanian Psychoanalysis

by Dylan Evans

This introduction provides a unique source of reference for psychoanalysts in training and in practice. Placing Lacan's ideas in their clinical context, the dictionary is also an ideal companion for readers in other disciplines.

Genres: Psychoanalysis, Psychology, Philosophy, Reference, Nonfiction, Theory

264 pages, ebook

First published May 1, 1996

About the author

Dylan Evans is the founder of Projection Point, the global leader in risk intelligence solutions. He has written several popular science books, including Risk Intelligence: How to Live with Uncertainty (2012), Emotion: The Science of Sentiment (2001) and Placebo: The Belief Effect (2003), and in 2001 he was voted one of the twenty best young writers in Britain by the Independent on Sunday. He received a PhD in Philosophy from the London School of Economics in 2000, and has held academic appointments at King's College London, the University of Bath, the University of the West of England, and University College Cork, and the American University of Beirut.

Reviews

[Nathaniel · Rating 1 out of 5]

No one needs this book. It does not do a good job of summarizing or defining Lacanian concepts--Mr. Evans wrote this book as an inexperienced student, and his general lack of understanding of Lacanian theory is obvious on most pages. The whole idea of an introductory dictionary is a pretty foolish endeavour in the first place. I would point anyone instead towards the brilliantly pellucid Lacanian introductions by Bruce Fink.
PLUS, Mr. Evans has since renounced Lacanian psychoanalysis, as you can read on his website, and now concerns himself with (I kid you not), researching "the possibility of robots acquiring emotions." How fitting. What a tool.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Same problem as the Lacanian Subject, or any introductory book on Lacan, the clear organization of a complex and often polyvalent work, to borrow Lacan’s words, will always involve an interpretation. And you can see where the incongruencies or made-up explanations are. Not a bad thing in itself, but it does show the nature of the secondary literature for these theoretical works.

[Peter Mathews · Rating 2 out of 5]

The back of my copy of Dylan Evans's book features snippets of glowing reviews from Malcolm Bowie, David Macey, and Slavoj Žižek, all leading figures in the field of Lacan studies.

Looking through the book itself - I'm not going to read a damned dictionary from cover to cover - shows that Evans has done his homework. There are useful explanations of the various key Lacanian terms, with genealogies that show how they have changed over time.

Nonetheless, I can't help but wonder what the point of a work like this might be. I suppose if I were really stuck on a technical point, I might look up this dictionary, but that would hardly be a common occurrence. I'd be better off consulting Lacan's work, or reading an explanation in one of the gazillion other "introduction to Lacan" books that already exists.

On the whole, then, this is not a bad book, just one that seems rather unnecessary.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly useful for anyone regularly reading literature that constantly refers to Lacan, but yet who doesn't want to read all of Lacan's work to understand it. (Time is just too precious for that.)

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really thorough explanation of concepts and terms found throughout Lacan's seminars. I recommend it to anyone who loves Lacan but struggles with him as much as I do.

[Ross Mcelwain · Rating 5 out of 5]

"No one needs this book" - lol (re 'Nathaniel''s review).

[Niousha mokhtari · Rating 5 out of 5]

یکی از بهترین مرجع های لکان خوانی که در کنار هرنوع مطالعه ی مربوط به لکان باید مورد استقاده قرار بگیرد.. در مواجهه با این کتاب از ابتدا با انتها خواندن به کارتان نمی ‌آید به شیوه خود سوسور و به شیوه زنجیره های دال ها باید ابتدا واژه ای را انتخاب بکنید آنگاه دال ها خود شما ره به دنبال خود می‌کشانند.
برای فهم متن سحت لکان قطعا نیاز به مرجع هست. متاسفانه ترجمه های زیادی از لکان به فارسی نداریم اما قطعا بعد از تالیف های کرامت موللی انتخاب بعدی دیلن اونز است.

[Elnaz Nazari · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s actually pretty helpful, but you have to read it or at least have it with yourself while reading another book on Lacan. I got help from it while reading The Lacanian Subject by Bruce Fink, both of them are really helpful and full of valuable information.

[Roberto Yoed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Page 59: extimacy.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

An essential resource, well annotated and far less dry than it could have been.

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re interested in Lacan and his Lacanianisms, this will be extremely valuable.

[Blaze-Pascal · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a good reference book... but I will not give it more than 2 stars because booo Dylan Evans.

[laura]

nose la verdad me vuelvo loca pero me ha servido bastante

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think Evans does a pretty decent job summerizing most of Lacan's theories, buzz words and vocabulary. I use this right along side any essay/book that touches on, battles with, mis-states Lacanian theories. For example, just recently I needed it while trying to follow Helene Cixous' argument in "The Laugh of the Medusa" -- she rakes Lacan (and for that matter Freud) over the coals for the "phallocentricity" of their formulation of sexual difference -- i.e. that a woman defines herself as "lacking" the phallas (imaginary or otherwise.) As Cixous was tossing around buzz words, I was busy paging through Evans' book to get back in touch with the basic Lacan -- it really helped me dive back into the theory I had been away from for a while.