Is life but a Pascalian dream? A commentary on Lacan’s louvain lecture

by | Vol 36 (2) 2018

This article provides a detailed commentary on Lacan’s statement that “death belongs to the realm of faith” and relates it to a dream discussed briefly yet repeatedly in his work. This nightmare by one of his patients is qualified by Lacan as ‘Pascalian’, which allows for a discussion that takes into account Pascal’s famous pensée on ‘the wager’ and Lacan’s analysis of it in Seminar XVI. From this, the conclusion is drawn that the life of the conscious individual may be experienced as finite and mortal, but the life of the subject (of the unconscious) is immortalized by an infinite, repetitive signifying order. This idea is further explored via both Pascal’s argument that life is something one can wager and the Lacanian notion of object a.

Related articles

  • Oedipus, Freud's dream

    It is argued that Freud's analysis of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex should be read in the context of his Interpretation of Dreams. There it figures in the chapter on typical dreams of the death of beloved persons, dreams from which Freud infers a murderous desire directed to the father. Later, Freud admitted that this view involved his own reaction to the death of his father. For Freud, the latter constitutes the most importance experience in a man's life. From then onwards…

  • A life in portraits: Lucian Freud’s visual autobiography

    Portrait painter Lucian Freud made intimate and autobiographical art. He painted his loved ones in the familiar setting of his studio and personal space. By choosing the same subjects over and over again, he created series of paintings: a series of lovers, of children, of his mother, of animals and pets and a series of self-portraits. The portraits can be seen as excerpts from a diary and records of the different relationships he maintained during his life. He also established…

  • Life Behind Bars: Psychoanalysis and Forensic Practice

    This article outlines the possibility of a psychoanalytic clinic within a forensic setting. It is difficult to provide treatment within a judicial discourse, which leaves no room for the subject of the patient but only for their status as defined by the law and its enforcement. However, psychoanalysis can still provide an opening for the patient to speak despite this prevailing discourse. The singular position of the analyst will be especially crucial. Firstly, transference as working tool is actively used…