Lacanian Subject

This text presents the theory of subjectivity found in the work of Jacques Lacan. Against the tide of post-structuralist thinkers who announce the "death of the subject", the book explores what it means to come into being as a subject where impersonal forces once reigned, subjectify the alien roll of the dice at the beginning of our universe, and make our own the knotted web of our parent's desires that led them to bring us into the world. Guiding readers through the labyrinth of Lacanian theory - unpacking such central notions as the Other, object "a", the unconscious as structured like and language, alienation and separation, the paternal metaphor, jouissance and sexual difference - the author demonstrates in-depth knowledge of Lacan's theoretical and clinical work. Fink leads the reader step by step into Lacan's conceptual system to explain how one comes to be a subject, the analytic techniques employed to foster subjectification (punctuation, the "short session" and oracular speech) and the conditions responsible for the failure to become a subject - leading to psychosis.