"How to Read Lacan" is from a "How to Read" series, where "Each author has selected ten or so

short extracts from a writer's work and look at them in detail as a way of revealing their central
ideas and thereby opening doors onto a whole world of thought." The expert Guide in this case is
Slavoj Zizek, and he uses an introduction and seven chapters, each of which focus on an idea by
Lacan. It is my first exposure to Lacan, and to Zizek too in the process, both of whom, I
stumbled upon reading a review by Deepthi Kumara Gunarathne, which he wrote for the
collector's edition of K.K. Saman Kumara's " ".

In the introduction, Zizek highlights Lacan's stance of "Return to Freud". Zizek warns us that
this as "not understand this return as a return to what Freud said, but to the core of the Freudian
revolution of which Frued himself was not fully aware". He further elaborates a fundamental
view of Lacan, which I copy in verbatim, "In Lacan's view, pathological formations like
neuroses, psychosis and perversions have the dignity of fundamental philosophical attitude
towards reality - When I suffer obsessional neurosis, this 'illusion' colours my entire relationship
to reality and defines the global structure of my personality.... for Lacan, the goal of
psychoanalytic treatment is not the patient's well being, successful social life or personal
fulfillment, but to bring the patient to confront the elementary coordinates and deadlocks of his
or her desire" Zizek explains that such imaginary symbols such as "triad of imaginary, symbols
and Real", are implicitly present in Freud even if Freud didn't understand them as such.

The first chapter is titled "Empty Gestures and Performatives: Lacan confronts the CIA plot".
Here he elaborates on how the idea of the Big Other works on the subject, a properly virtual,
insubstantial subjective presupposition. Zizek explains the notion of empty gestues - gestures or
offers that are meant to be rejected, yet, if not made amount to a breach in the code of behaiour.
Another interesting insight is the irreducible gap between the enunciated content, and the act of
human speech; what is implied, what is told and what is not told outright for the path of
normalcy to continue.

The Second Chapter titled, "The Interpassive Subject: Lacan turns a Prayer Wheel", he begins by
analysing such norms as chorus singing in Greek Tragedies, Hired Weepers at deaths and Canned
Laughter on TV comedies, and what that is meant to do, for the audience. This discussion then
progresses to various actions that we make ourselves endure, since we belong to a community.
There is a very powerful passage here about religion here, which I copy in verbatim:

"With regard to religion, we no longer 'really believe', we just follow (various) religious rituals
and behaviours as part of a respect for the 'lifestyle' of the community we belong to (non-
believing Jews may obey kosher rules 'out-of-respect for tradition'). 'I do not really believe in it.
It is just part of my culture' seems to be the predominant mode of the displaced belief,
characteristic of our times.'Culture' is the name for all those things we practice without really
believing in them, without taking them qute , seriously. This is why we dismiss fundamentalist
believers as 'barbarians', as anti-cultural, as a threat to culture - they dare to take their beliefs
seriously."

In the chapter titled "To Fantasy: Lacan with eyes wide shut", Zizek begins with an analysis of
what man desire and how is is structured by the "decentralised" Big Other - "the subject desires
only in so far as it experiences the Other itself as desiring, as the site of an unfathomable desire,
as if an opaque desire is emanating from him or her. Not only does the other address me with an
enigmatic desire, it also confronts me with the fact that I myself do not know what I really desire,
with the enigma of my own desire." For Lacan, fantasy provides an answer to the enigma of the
Other's desire. Here Zizek describes in detail how fantasy can best be explained using sexual
intimacy, since that is the domain in "which we get closest to the intimacy of another human
being, totally exposing ourselves to him or her." The mismatch of fantasy and how it is
something to dream of, but what one usually flees from at the point of its realisation.

Chapter 4: Troubles with the Past: Lacan as a viewer of Alien

Here Lacan introduces the Lamella, an imaginary organ which gives body to Libido, something
similar to Freud's 'partial' object and which Zizek draws comparison with the Grin of the
Cheshire cat, which survives its' disappearance."The Lamella inhabits the intersection of the
Imaginary and the Real." The aelien referred in the title is drawn in comparison to the Alien. This
chapter in particular, appears to be a relatively challenging Read.

Chapter Five is titled "Ego ideal and Super Ego: Lacan as a viewer of Casablanca". Here, Zizek
speaks of one of the most important concepts that Lacan introduced - "jouissance" -translators of
Lacan often leave it in French in order to render palpable its excessive, properly traumatic
character. In this chapter Zizek discusses three of Frued's important terms - ideal ego, ego-ideal
and superego. Zizek then goes on to elaborate how Lacan introduced these terms.

Ideal Ego- The way I would like to be; the way I would like others to see me.

Ego Ideal- The Agency whose gaze I try to impress with my ego image, the Big Other who
watches over me and impels me to give my best.

Super Ego- Is the same agency in its vengeful, sadistic, punishing aspect.
The rest of the chapter is dedicated to describing this, with such examples of Kuttz of
Apocalypse Now, A Few Good Men and Vice President Dick Cheney's admission, that 'a lot of
what needs to be done have, will have to be done quietly without any discussion', when defeating
terrorists.