Restoring the Dignity of the Semblant
Tammy Weil
In his text, “A Fantasy,”[1] Jacques-Alain Miller suggests a fantasy of hypermodern discourse of civilization that, contrary to the master discourse, is no longer the other side of psychoanalysis, but is its accomplishment. While in civilization the different elements are scattered, in pure psychoanalysis they are organized into a discourse. In both the analyst’s and the hypermodern discourse of civilization, the object a is placed as the agent. In civilization the object rises to the social zenith without limit, whereas in psychoanalytic discourse, the structure of the discourse places object a as a semblant.
In democracies currently struggling with fascist trends all over the world, we encounter this phenomenon, that of trying to break the semblant away from the structure of a discourse. Politicians who manipulate the doublure quality of the semblant, which on the one hand, keeps us close to the thing that cannot be named, but on the other hand hides the real, create a rivalry of truths as a means of accumulating power and promoting personal interests.
Far-right parties use democratic concepts to promote undemocratic trends. They frequently claim to represent the rights of a persecuted minority, allegedly denied by the left with the support of legal and media systems. In Israel, where in the last election an extreme right-wing government came to power, a proposal was made to amend the “discrimination law” under the guise of liberalism, according to which “a physician will not be obliged to provide treatment if it contradicts his religious belief.”[2]
The cry of the left for a danger to democracy, its difficulty in comprehending the preference to be rejected from the benefits of democracy, is met by opponents with feelings of alienation and a claim of arrogance.
In his article, “Milanese Intuitions,”[3] J.-A. Miller indicates that in the present moment of civilization, it is not the desire of the Other that is so present, but rather the insistence of his political demand, in the form of values upon which one’s welfare is dependent. He sees in this an indication for the analyst to be in a position of reserve in respect to these master signifiers.
Since Lacan’s formula “the unconscious is politics” is valid, according to J.-A. Miller, only from the moment the Other of civilization is divided, false usage of democratic principles makes it difficult to expose the hidden truth of racism, without finding the one who would be willing to tell the truth: “I am lying.” [4]
Using Lacan’s formula, Miller indicates the political usage of intersubjective communication, namely that one never receives a message other than the one he has sent. This will enable us to bet on an effect of the division of the Other and of truth, which may restore the object’s dignity as a semblant.
References
[1] Lecture given at the IVth WAP Congress in 2004. Original French text established by M. Kusnierek, published as “Une fantasie” in Mental, 15, February 2005, pp. 7-8. Available at https://londonsociety-nls.org.uk/The-Laboratory-for-Lacanian-Politics/Some-Research-Resources/Miller_A-Fantasy.pdf
[2] https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/bjhw11qsts
[3] Miller, J.-A., “Intuitions milanaises,” Mental, 11, Analysis in the Age of Globalization, 2002, pp. 9-16, available online: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d52d51fc078720001362276/t/5e286d343aa56f615cb39b4c/1579707700527/20020512+%26+22+Miller_Milanese-Intuitions-1-2.pdf
[4] Lacan, J., The Seminar of Jacques Lacan, Book XI, The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis, tr. A. Sheridan, W. W. Norton & Co., New York/London, 1998, p. 139.