Another take on science....

[Kenneth MacKendrick]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Neil McLaughlin" <nmclaugh@mcmaster.ca>

> ... I really don't fully understand the Lacanian perspective... What can
we get from Lacan, that we could not get from Fromm, say?

Hi Neil,

Kind of an unfair question isn't it? Almost like saying, "What can we get
from Levi-Strauss, that we could not get from Husserl?"

If you're looking for something accessible and relevant to the interests of
the FS, I'd recommend Yannis Stavrakakis, Lacan and the Political (1999).
I'd also recommend Zizek, but if you already have doubts then it will likely
do nothing more than turn you off. Zizek is a demanding read, and generally
requires a fair bit of background knowledge to follow... and you have to
have a high tolerance for references to popular culture (Hitchcock in
particular) scattered throughout commentary on Kant, Schelling, Hegel, and
Paul (just for starters).

The problem I generally find with criticism of Lacan and the "new Lacanians"
(including thinkers such as Zizek, Salecl, and Copjec) is that the bulk of
them reveal a blatant and irresponsible unfamiliarity with his work and
thought. I don't quite understand the desire to ruthlessly criticize
something that one really knows so little about and something that one isn't
interested in knowing anything about ... I guess I kind of understand it,
but I don't really see why it should be encouraged. In any event, if one is
sympathetic to a theorist like Z. Bauman, then I don't really see why the
Lacanian material should offend, as long as you happen to be predisposed
towards psychoanalysis. It won't persuade you of anything if you aren't. You
really must like Freud as a prerequisite (I hope someone is chuckling).
Sure, Lacan gets associated with postmodernism, but so does the FS and that
doesn't seem to bother the FSers all that much... something that is usually
resolved by saying "the FS anticipated the postmodern critique several
decades earlier..." (as if that means something). One could just as easily
say "Lacan anticipated the postmodern critique... and avoided all of its
problems." But I guess we get to say whatever we want.

Oh yeah, whose postmodernism are we talking about? I get confused easily.

futures past,
ken