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Unconscious As Socially Mediated
- Lacan reframes Freud by socializing the unconscious, moving it from a private basement to a mediated social space.
- The phrase 'structured like a language' signals this shift but also invites misunderstanding about Lacan as a structuralist.
Alternative Lacanian Phrases Matter
- Lacan later offers alternative formulations like 'the unconscious is the other's desire' to avoid structuralist readings.
- Those alternatives foreground desire and reduce the risk of interpreting Lacan as a linguistics determinist.
Freud's Negative Definition
- Freud defines the unconscious negatively as what cannot be assimilated to consciousness, tied to primary processes and drives.
- Ryan Engley frames this opposition as desire versus will, showing how the unconscious distorts conscious intentions.