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A review by ms_castalian
Introducing Lacan: A Graphic Guide by Darian Leader
3.0
Lovely illustrations and a very, very hearty attempt at probably one of the most challenging thinkers to summarize.
Also, summary is no good when the basic concepts themselves leave you scratching your head. For example, the name of the basic distortion that exists in language is... the phallus?!? But why?!?
Perhaps could have benefited from an anchoring in a general summary of the psychoanalytic tradition / conversation around Lacan as many of his references seemed outdated to a contemporary reader, or at least arbitrary — Oedipus, Joyce, Greek Tragedy...
Final note — near the end of the graphic guide the author seems to want to insist that Lacan’s work was very clinically relevant. It began to feel less like a summary and more like a defence, which is okay, but “the best argument against something is a poor argument for it.”
Also, summary is no good when the basic concepts themselves leave you scratching your head. For example, the name of the basic distortion that exists in language is... the phallus?!? But why?!?
Perhaps could have benefited from an anchoring in a general summary of the psychoanalytic tradition / conversation around Lacan as many of his references seemed outdated to a contemporary reader, or at least arbitrary — Oedipus, Joyce, Greek Tragedy...
Final note — near the end of the graphic guide the author seems to want to insist that Lacan’s work was very clinically relevant. It began to feel less like a summary and more like a defence, which is okay, but “the best argument against something is a poor argument for it.”