Jacques Lacan

Jacques Lacan (1901-1980) is undoubtedly the central figure of psychoanalysis in the second half of the 20th century. He not only revolutionized the psychoanalytic practice, but in his return to Freud, he also deployed a global reinterpretation of the entire structural linguistics and semiotics. This reinterpretation changed the entire field of the scientific debate and some of his formulas (The unconscious is structured like a language, Desire is the desire of the Other, etc) acquired an almost iconic status. The least one can say about Lacan is that nobody was undisturbed or unaffected by his work: even those who passionately oppose him have to take a stance towards him. The influence of Lacan's work is widespread. It gave rise to passionate discussions not only in France, but also in the UK and US, Germany, Italy, Latin America, Japan and Eastern Europe, stretching beyond the field of psychoanalysis itself, to philosophy, the social sciences and cultural studies.