Jacques Lacan

Charles Shepherdson (SUNY, Albany)
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Jacques Lacan (1901-1981) was a French psychoanalyst who initially trained in psychiatric medicine, and eventually became one of the most important figures in the history of psychoanalytic theory. His impact has been felt across a broad range of disciplines, from feminist philosophy and film theory to the spheres of literature, politics, and cultural studies. A dramatic personage with enormous intellectual energy, Lacan maintained friendships and theoretical engagements with a wide variety of people, from the artists André Breton and Salvador Dali, to the philosophers Georges Bataille, Raymond Queneau, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and such historians of thought as Alexandre Kojève and Alexandre Koyré who transformed the intellectual landscape in France in the 1930s. In the years…

3400 words

Citation: Shepherdson, Charles. "Jacques Lacan". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 March 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2587, accessed 19 March 2024.]

2587 Jacques Lacan 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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