Lacan's Logic of Subjectivity: a Walk on the Graph of Desire

by Mattias Desmet

nan

Genres: Psychology, Psychoanalysis, Nonfiction

484 pages, Paperback

Published February 5, 2019

About the author

Mattias Desmet is Professor in Clinical Psychology at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at Ghent University, Belgium. Desmet is also the author of Lacan's Logic of Subjectivity. A Walk on the Graph of Desire (2019)

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lacanian theory is known to be fairly inaccessible to those unfamiliar with psychoanalytic theory. This book is a great starting point for those wishing to immerse themselves in Lacanian theory as Mattias Desmet is capable of untangling the writings of Lacan in a clear and comprehensive manner.

That being said, I have 2 main critical comments regarding this book. (1) In one of the first chapters, Desmet aims to illustrate the shortcomings of the dominant mechanistic world view by drawing on quantum mechanics. These examples are needlessly complex, and might give the reader the impression that the remainder of book will be as hard and challenging to understand (which it is not). The same shortcomings can also be illustrated with examples directly related to the field of psychology. For example, the inability of research to find a unequivocal, biological cause of psychological disorders. The needless complexity of this chapter might scare potential readers away. (2) The author fails to shed a more modern light on psychoanalytic theory. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes when gender and gender roles were addressed in this book in the most stereotypical manner. It is true that Freud and Lacan had old fashioned ideas about the matter, but psychoanalytic theory has grown since then. Nevertheless, this book fails to show this and adds to the impression that psychoanalytic theory is still nothing more than the ideas of 2 old, white men, which is a shame.

Overall, I liked this book and would definitely recommend it to those looking for an introduction in psychoanalytic theory.

[Don Christian]

Excellent book on philosophy, rationality, reason, and religion. Desmet gained some notoreity during the COVID pandemic for applying Lacan's Logic to current events, and to knowing the unknowable. This is relevant because COVID forced so many people to confront the possibility of a premature death. What then is the meaning of their life up to this point? Is that all? This serious moment of reflection caused deeply-held beliefs to conflict with their rational knowledge as they "followed the science" toward unpleasant conclusions. This is highly relevant even today.

[Ambreros · Rating 4 out of 5]

Examen voor binnen twee weken maar de psyche en werking van de psychoanalytische therapie was goed uitgelegd 😝.

[Odamé · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5!! Lacan heeft gans mijn visie rond het subjectieve (mensen, relaties en interacties in het algemeen) verandert <3

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The next best thing to spending twenty years of your life untangling the impossible writings and seminars of Lacan himself.

[Marth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zeer interessante en bruikbare theorie

[Eden Lekens · Rating 3 out of 5]

17/20 voor gehaald dus big fan