Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Re: Belated observations about 'objet petit a'
Rusak's post reminded me of my own reservations with the concept. I don't know about you, but I know many people who can't pick out the different tastes of herbs in their food. I cook gourmet food for a variety of people and frequently there's a reaction of 'that something I can't put my finger on'. If the objet petit a is simply something that stands outside our symbolic system, there ought to be near-unlimited amounts of these objet. From fractals to different geological configurations on planets in different solar systems to... the emergent tastes of different herb combinations. While the concept may help us draw attention to the limits of our own symbolic systems, that seems to be all it is. Though I note that this may be an erroneous perception as I am no expert in Zizek/Lacan.
# posted by Jashen @ 10:32 AM 
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If you'd like to see the structural basis for the mechanism of objet a, check out "The Theory of the Partial Drive" in The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis by Lacan. The objet a isnt useful for labelling things as objet a, it is a tool for illustrating the structuring of desire in human activity. The objet a isn't an actual object, its the lack of an object which structures desire in the act of acquiring its representative. This is important because it means that the act of desire is more important than the object of desire. The goal becomes the act and not the object.
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