Derrida Vis-a-vis Lacan: Interweaving Deconstruction and Psychoanalysis

480 Pages·2008·10.2 MB·English

by  Andrea Hurst

ANDREA HURST
Derrida Vis-à-vis Lacan
Interweaving Deconstruction
and Psychoanalysis
FORDHAM UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York m 2008
Copyright © 2008 Fordham University Press
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy,
recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior
permission of the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hurst, Andrea (Andrea Margaret)
Dernda vis-à-vis Lacan : interweaving deconstruction and psychanalysis /
Andrea Hurst. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 978-0-8232-2874-4 (cloth : alk. paper) —
ISBN 978-0-8232-2875-1 (pbk. alk. paper)
1. Derrida, Jacques. 2. Lacan, Jacques, 1901-1981. 3. Psychoanalysis.
4. Deconstruction. I. Title.
B2430.D484H87 2008
150.19' 52—dc22 2008004258
Printed in the United States of America
10 09 08 5 4 3 2 1
First edition
To Bert
The wind in my sails

Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction: "For the Love of Lacan" /
PART 1. FROM TRANSCENDENTALS
TO QUASI-TRANSCENDENTALS 15
1 The "Ruin" of the Transcendental Tradition 19
2 Freud and the Transcendental Relation 46
3 Derrida: Differance and the "Plural Logic of the Aporia" 72
PART 2. DERRIDA READING FREUD:
THE PARADOXES OF ARCHIVIZATION * 113
4 The Im-Possibility of the Psyche 119
5 The Death Drive and the Im-Possibility of Psychoanalysis 146
6 Institutional Psychoanalysis and the Paradoxes
of Archivization 183
PART 3. INTERWEAVING 207
7 The Lacanian Real 213
Sexual Difference 237
Feminine Sexuality 261
PART 4. LACAN AND THE "PLURAL LOGIC
OF THE APORIA" 283
The Transcendental Relation in Lacanian Psychoanalysis 291
The Death Drive and Ethical Action 318
The "Talking Cure": Language and Psychoanalysis 348
Conclusion: To Do Justice to Lacan 373
Notes 387
Bibliography 439
Index 449
Contents
Acknowledgments
This study grew out of an exchange of ideas with Bert Olivier, who was
wrestling with Lacanian psychoanalytic theory while I was similarly en­
gaged with Derrida's quasi-transcendental thinking. It was he who first
suggested to me that there were moments in Lacan's writing that readily
agreed with the logic of Derrida s thinking and that a deeper study of an
accord between them held promise. There were, of course, many mo­
ments when I cursed him for ever having tempted me along this tortuous
path, and perhaps many more when he cursed himself for having ex­
changed the patient ear of his understanding interlocutor, lover, and hik­
ing partner for the unsympathetic, self-involved, and distant creature
facing the computer screen. Nevertheless, through the inevitable ups and
downs, he has been, as always, the relentlessly persistent, if restless—being
of romantic temperament—wind in my sails. It is with my deepest thanks
that I have dedicated this text to Bert, without whom there would be for
me the paralyzing bliss of a calm life.
There are more people than it is possible to mention who deserve my
thanks and appreciation, but first and foremost I am greatly honored to
have had John Caputo, Joan Copjec, and Thomas Busch as constant com­
panions, although they may not always have been consciously aware of
their extensive spectral travels to distant African shores. I am particularly
grateful for the gift from both Jack Caputo and Joan Copjec of a fair,
balanced, and open-minded hearing. As lovers of Derrida and Lacan re­
spectively they represent the antagonistic discourses that I have tried to
XI
bring into conversation, yet both have reaffirmed in their practice the
quintessential philosophical attitude inscribed in Aristotle's insistence that
his love for philosophy supersedes his love for Plato.
I would like to express my gratitude to the intellectual community at
Villanova University, and particularly the philosophy department, for ex­
tending the gift of learning across international borders. Here I would
specially like to thank Farhang Erfani, not only for some illuminating dis­
cussions concerning politics but also for his hospitality and continuing
friendship. Finally, a special word of acknowledgment and thanks to my
family and friends who have had to put up with egregious neglect for far
too long.
xii ■ Acknowledgments
Derrida Vis-à-vis Lacan