Abstract
The present contribution aims to discuss the function that the notion of trait acquires in the psychoanalytic discourse, at first in Freud and then in Lacan. This notion looks pivotal for a psychoanalytic theory on the subject of the unconscious. At the same time, its articulation displays a remarkable originality that can contribute to philosophical reflections on the topic of cultural traits.
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Notes
- 1.
The possibility to deduce an ontology from a psychoanalytic approach, and especially from Lacan – who was probably the most inclined to open a dialogue with philosophy – is highly problematic. This project was addressed by Jacques-Alain Miller himself in his latest seminars, well aware of Lacan’s fundamental lesson according to which “The gap of the unconscious may be said to be pre-ontological […] it is neither being, nor non-being, but the unrealized” (Lacan 1978: 29–30).
- 2.
Connection: Section 10.3 postulates that traits, to be cultural, must be unconscious, meaning not planned and repeated out of control.
- 3.
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Italian to English translation by Pietro Bianchi.
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Bonazzi, M. (2016). The Unary Trait of Psychoanalysis. Identification, Transmission, Generation. In: Panebianco, F., Serrelli, E. (eds) Understanding Cultural Traits. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24349-8_6
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