Talk:Jouissance
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[edit] Typo
There's a typo in the word movement toward the end of the article ;)
[edit] Definition
Certainly as regards the meaning of the word jouissance in the work of Lacan, who is cited in the text, the current wiki-definition leaves something to be - as it were - desired.
Any definition of the term Jouissance as used by Lacan highlights the fact that 'the subject' in Lacan is not to be understood as another way of saying 'the individual', the 'person', the 'citizen', or you, me or him.
The main thing worth pointing out is that jouissance (& there's no good reason not to translate it as 'enjoyment' but keep reading) is an enjoyment for the subject (as distinct from the individual). And, while the enjoyment of the subject might be felt as agreeable or delightful by the individual, certainly as far as Lacan is concerned, this enjoyment (of the subject) is also experienced by the individual as anything from persistantly irritating to keenly agonising.
This is absolutely consistent with Freud: In the case of 'The Rat Man' there is a crucial episode where the Rat Man, after much hesitation, describes the image of the appalling torture that he is obsessed with and which relentlessly forces its way into his consciousness (I won't describe it here since it's not impossible for kids to read this page). Freud notices that, while the Rat Man is horrified and disgusted by the image of which he speaks, he is also - and unmistakably - excited by it.
So 'jouissance' may be fun, but it may also - and the sense is better conveyed I think - be understood as an excitation around which the subject is constructed and towards which the individual may feel both longing or loathing.
--Peter Owen 20:39, 2 December 2005 (UTC)
