What the subject desires is not the object as such (sex, money, gadgets, art, sports etc.), but the objet a, the element in the object that the subject ‘believes’ to satisfy its desire. Objet a is always more than any concrete object itself.
lacan-psychoananalysisaspraxis:
Thus, language brings with it the world of meaning and alienates the subject from its real being. Desire is formed in the discourse of the Other. Objet petit a, the object-cause of desire, emerges when the child is separated from the mother, and thus the objet a can be understood as a remainder of the illusion of the full jouissance. By attaching itself to objet a, the subject attaches itself to the illusion of one’s coherence. What the subject desires is not the object as such (sex, money, gadgets, art, sports etc.), but the objet a, the element in the object that the subject ‘believes’ to satisfy its desire. Objet a is always more than any concrete object itself. Desire as such has no substantial consistency. Thus, objet a links the body to the symbolic. Desire and the subject are the results of language, and if the primary split would be overcome, that would be the end of desire and the subject.
Jaana Pirskanen - The Other and the Real. How Does Judith Butler’s Theorizing of the Subject and Contingency Differ from the New Lacanian Thought?. 2008.
(via objetpetita)
please be aware that sexual activity can be used as a form of self harm. be safe and self loving and make sure you are doing things for the right reasons because it is a very dangerous and scary habit to fall into
(via fag)
