Tracing this text’s historical root

Jacques Lacan delivered a paper entitled ‘Le stade du miroir’ at the fourteenth International Psychoanalytical Congress, held at Marienbad in August 1936 under the Chairmanship of Ernest Jones. Contrary to what is stated in Écrits (1966), Jacques Lacan never submitted it for publication. There is no paper by Lacan in the International Journal of Psychoanalysis, IJP 1937, though reference is made to Lacan’s presentation. [See Mirror Stage – 16th June 1936 (Paris), 3rd August 1936 (Marienbad), 1938, 17th July 1949 (Zurich), 1966 : Jacques Lacan on this site /4 Jacques Lacan (August 1938)]. In the Bibliographical Note, Écrits October 1966, see below, it is stated that this text was worked on in Marienbad August 1936 to Noirmoutier December 1936. It was published in 1936. Thus, it seems that this text was directly developed from the unpublished paper given at Marienbad. It forms part of the development of ‘Le stade du mirroir comme formateur de la fonction du Je’, published in Écrits October 1966. This version of the ‘Mirror Stage’ was delivered at the sixteenth International Psychoanalytical Congress, in Zurich on July 17, 1949. It was published in the ‘Revue française de psychanalyse: no 4: October-December 1949: p449-55. Julia Evans (August 2024)

Beyond the “Reality Principle “

This text was written in Marienbad and Noirmoutier between August and October 1936. It was published in a special issue on Freudian studies of Evolution Psychiatrique 3 (1936): 67—86. [From p864 of Bruce Fink’s translation, ‘Bibliographical references in Chronological Order’, Écrits October 1966]

Published P58-74 of Bruce Fink’s translation, Écrits, Jacques Lacan, The first complete edition in English : translated by Bruce Fink : W.W. Norton & Co : 2002. See Écrits : October 1966 : Jacques Lacan. See this site /4 Jacques Lacan (19661001 or Index of Jacques Lacan’s texts)

Download Bruce Fink’s translation at www.LaanianWorksExchange.net /Lacan (August 1936)

Commentary

-Chapter 3 ‘Beyond the Reality Principle’ (1936) : p63-76 of ‘The works of Jacques Lacan – an introduction’ : 1986 : Bice Benvenuto & Roger Kennedy. See this site /5 Other Authors A-Z (Benvenuto or Index of Other Authors’ texts). Download Chapter 3 at www.LacanianWorksExchange.net /Lacan (August 1936) or /Other Authors A-Z (Benvenuto)

Quote from p65 of Bice Benvenuto & Roger Kennedy (1986), ‘Freud’s reality principle was described in detail in the essay ‘Formulations on the two principles of mental functioning’ (1911), and in the book ‘Beyond the Pleasure Principle’ (1920). ‘

Two Principles of Mental Functioning : 1911: Sigmund Freud, SE XII p213–226, published bilingual at www.freud2lacan.com / Freud: The Metapsychological Papers, Papers on Technique and others (Two Principles of Mental Functioning)

Beyond the Pleasure Principle : 1920g : Sigmund Freud, SE XVIII p1-64, published bilingual at www.Freud2Lacan.com /homepage (BEYOND THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE)

Citations

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– The Body in the Teaching of Jacques Lacan : May 1984 : Colette Soler. See this site /5 Other Authors A-Z (Soler or Inder of other Authors’ texts)

Quote from Colette Soler, Instead, I will come back to this: that reality is not a primary given, it is already, I will use this term, a superstructure; that is to say that the relations which define the signifying structure are already inscribed in it, inhabit it, as Lacan says. That means that there is a beyond of reality. This theme of a beyond, as you know, is the title of an article by Lacan called “Beyond the reality principle”.[2] He did not take it very far. He said so himself when he presented that selection of his writings. But he took up the theme much later in an article in Scilicet 1, which is called, “La psychanalyse dans ses rapports à la réalité” [Psychoanalysis and its relations to reality], at the French Institute in Milan.[3] In this article, he takes up the expression of “beyond the reality principle” to say that what is beyond the reality principle is science.

p9, p2, Footnote 2 : article by Lacan called “Beyond the reality principle” : J. Lacan, “Au-delà du principe de la réalité”, Écrits, French edition, pp. 73-92. (this text)

Footnote 3 : On Psychoanalysis within [dans] its Relationships with Reality (Milan) : 18th December 1967 : Jacques Lacan. See this site /4 Jacques Lacan (19671218)

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– Cited in Chapter Two – The Mirror Stage (1936), p49 of ‘The works of Jacques Lacan – an introduction’ : 1986 : Bice Benvenuto & Roger Kennedy, see this site /5 Other Authors A-Z (Benvenuto or Index of Other Authors’ texts), ‘The preconscious is quite distinct from the unconscious. Preconscious content differs from those of the unconscious in that they are in principle accessible to consciousness, e.g., as memories that are available to consciousness but not actually yet conscious. The preconscious and the conscious are governed by the secondary process, which coincides with waking thought, judgement, reasoning and controlled action. In the primary process psychical energy flows freely, while in the secondary process energy is much more bound and flows in a more controlled way. Satisfaction is postponed, allowing for an assessment of external circumstances. This corresponds to the –reality principle’, a concept discussed by Lacan with a new emphasis in his paper ‘Beyond the reality principle’ (1936) which we will describe in the next chapter.’

[Download Chapter 2 at www.LacanianWorksExchange.net /Lacan (Mirror Stage – 1936) or /Other Authors A-Z (Benvenuto)]

Taken from notes published at The Project (Entwurf) for a Scientific Psychology : 23rd & 25th September & 5th October 1895 : Sigmund Freud. See this site /3 Sigmund Freud (19050923 or Index of Sigmund Freud’s texts)

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