The Lacanian Subject

Between Language and Jouissance

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by Bruce Fink

Princeton University Press

Due/Published November 1995, 272 pages, cloth

ISBN 0691037604

This book presents the radically new theory of subjectivity found in the work of Jacques Lacan. Against the tide of post-structuralist thinkers who announce "the death of the subject," Bruce Fink explores what it means to come into being as a subject where impersonal forces once reigned, to subjectify the alien roll of the dice at the beginning of our universe, and to make the knotted web of our parents' procreative desires our own. Lucidly guiding readers through the labyrinth of Lacanian theory - unpacking such central notions as the Other, object a, the unconscious as structured like a language, alienation and separation, the paternal metaphor, jouissance, and sexual difference - Fink demonstrates in-depth knowledge of Lacan's theoretical and clinical work. Indeed, this is the first book to appear in English that displays a firm grasp of both the theory and practice of Lacanian psychoanalysis, the author being one of the only Americans to have undergone full training with Lacan's school in Paris.