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One hand clapping: the phoneme and the nothing

Boucher, Geoff 2005, One hand clapping: the phoneme and the nothing, Filozofski vestnik, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 83-93.

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Title One hand clapping: the phoneme and the nothing
Author(s) Boucher, Geoff
Journal name Filozofski vestnik
Volume number 26
Issue number 2
Start page 83
End page 93
Publisher Zalozba Z R C
Place of publication Ljubljana, Slovenia
Publication date 2005
ISSN 0353-4510
Keyword(s) Lacan
object (a)
semiotics
desire
Judith Butler
Summary In Écrits, Lacan proposes an “unthinkable list” of objects (a) that includes “the phoneme, the gaze, the voice – the nothing”. While the gaze and the voice have received extensive critical commentary, the phoneme and the nothing have gone practically unnoticed. I propose to theoretically construct the object (a) by means of an explication of Lacan’s enigmatic allusion to the phoneme and the nothing. I contend that the phoneme is the “ur-form” of the object (a), whose ontological status is nothing. As the ur-form of the object (a) (both structurally and genetically), the phoneme exemplifies the primary function of the structural causality of the Lacanian Real within the Symbolic Order, namely, the function of the bar resisting signification between signifier and signified. By developing the concept of the object (a) in relation to linguistics, psychoanalysis can reply to the persistent misunderstanding of Lacan’s position by deconstructive critics, such as Judith Butler.
Notes Reproduced with the kind permission of the copyright owner.
Language eng
Field of Research 220318 Psychoanalytic Philosophy
Socio Economic Objective 970120 Expanding Knowledge in Language, Communication and Culture
HERDC Research category C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal
Copyright notice ©2005, The Author
Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30003464

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