Formalisms
Schemas
The diagrams, formulas, and structural notations through which Lacan thinks. Each entry presents the formalism, what it does theoretically, and where it appears in the corpus.
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borromean-knot
Borromean Knot (*nœud borroméen*) Three rings interlocked such that *if any one is cut, all three fall apart.* Lacan's late-career model of how the [[Real]], [[Symbolic]], and […
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cross-cap
Cross-cap A topological figure related to but more complex than the [[Möbius Strip]]. The cross-cap is a *closed* one-sided surface (the projective plane) — formed by attaching …
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formulas-of-sexuation
Formulas of Sexuation The most-cited and most-misunderstood diagram in late Lacan. Two columns of quantifier-logic formulas describing two ways of being a [[Subject]] under the …
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four-discourses
Four Discourses The four formal structures Lacan identifies as exhaustive of "social link." Each discourse is a fixed positional formula — the same four letters (**S₁**, **S₂**,…
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graph-of-desire
Graph of Desire A four-stage diagram building from the simplest possible model of [[Signification]] to a fully articulated map of how [[Desire]], [[Demand]], the [[The big Other…
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i-schema
I Schema (*Schéma I*) The [[R Schema]] *deformed* by [[Foreclosure]] of the [[Name of the Father]] — Lacan's diagram of the structure of [[Psychosis]]. In ordinary (neurotic) s…
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l-schema
L Schema (*Schéma L*) A four-corner diagram showing how the [[Subject]]'s relation to the [[The big Other|Other]] is *blocked* and *deflected* by the [[Imaginary]] axis between …
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mathemes
Mathemes — notation key Lacan called his algebraic-looking notations *mathemes* (*mathème*, on the model of *philosophème*). They are not equations in any working mathematical s…
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möbius-strip
Möbius Strip A topological figure with one side and one edge. Lacan uses it to formalize the *unity-in-twist* of categories that classical thought treats as opposed: inside / ou…
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r-schema
R Schema (*Schéma R*) The [[L Schema]] elaborated into a fuller picture of how *reality* (the field of ordinary phenomenal experience) is *constructed* over the [[Real]] by the …