symbolic

is (if viewed through the game of chess) the rules, the formal symbolic standpoint whereby the 'knight' is defined only by the moves this figure can make.

For Lacan, the reality of human beings is constituted by three mutually entangled levels: the Symbolic, the Imaginary, and the Real. This triad can be nicely illustrated by the game of chess. The rules one has to follow in order to play it are its symbolic dimension: from the purely formal symbolic standpoint, 'knight' is defined only by the moves this figure can make. This level is clearly different from the imaginary one, namely the way different pieces are shaped and characterized by their names (king, queen, knight), and it is easy to envision a game with the same rules, but with a different imaginary, in which this figure would be called 'messenger' or 'runner' or whatever. Finally, real is the entire complex set of contingent circumstances which affect the course of the game: the intelligence of the players, the unpredictable intrusions that may disconcert one of the players or directly cut the game short. (zizek : 'how to read lacan : 9)

is a structural object. It is a third order and the the first criterion of structuralism.

The first criterion of structuralism, however, is the discovery and recognition of a third order, a third regime: that of the symbolic. The refusal to confuse the symbolic with the imaginary, as much as with the real, constitutes the first dimension of structuralism. In this case again, everything began with linguistics: beyond the word in its reality and its resonant parts, beyond images and concepts associated with words, the structuralist linguist discovers an element of quite another nature, a structural object. (Deleuze 'desert islands' 2002: 171)

is a structuralist principle that serves a differentiating role, in contrast to the imaginary which plays an assimilating, reflecting, doubling and duplicating role.

As we saw, there was a first difference between the imaginary and the symbolic... the differentiating role of the symbolic, in opposition to the assimilating and reflecting role, doubling and duplicating, of the imaginary. (Deleuze 'desert islands' structuralism: : 185)

is all about desire, bound up inextricably with the play of language once we enter it. The real, by contrast, concerns need (and the unquenchable nature of satisfaction) and the imaginary concerns demand).

Whereas the Real concerns need and the Imaginary concerns demand, the symbolic is all about desire, according to Lacan. (For more on desire, see the next module.) Once we enter into language, our desire is forever afterwards bound up with the play of language. (NET)

is concerned with the subject whereas the imaginary is concerned with the ego.

the ego is imaginary, whereas the subject is linked by Lacan to the symbolic'

is linguistic, not psychological. When canned laughter in the t.V. Does the laughing for me, or when greeting practices does the harmony for me, I don't have to go to the trouble of mobilizing inner states.

This brings us to the next feature of the symbolic order: its non-psychological character. When I believe through another or have my beliefs externalized in the ritual I mechanically follow, when I laugh the TV set emanating canned laughter or do the work of mourning through weepers, I accomplish a task concerning my inner feelings and beliefs without really mobilizing these inner states. Therein resides the enigmatic status of what we call 'politeness': when, upon meeting an acquaintance, I say 'Glad to see you! How are you today'', it is clear to both of us that, in a way, I do not mean it seriously (if my acquaintance suspects that I am really interested, he may even be unpleasantly surprised, as though I were aiming at something too intimate and of no concern to me or, to paraphrase the old Freudian joke, 'Why are you saying you're glad to see me, when you're really glad to see me''). (Zizek 'how to read lacan' : 27)

is made possible because of one's acceptance of the name-of-the-father, those laws and restrictions that control both one's desire and the rules of communication. Through recognition of the name-of-the-father, one is able to enter into a community of others.

The symbolic is made possible because of your acceptance of the Name-of-the-Father, those laws and restrictions that control both your desire and the rules of communication. Through recognition of the Name-of-the-Father, you are able to enter into a community of others. The symbolic, through language, is 'the pact which links. . . subjects together in one action. The human action par excellence is originally founded on the existence of the world of the symbol, namely on laws and contracts' (Freud's Papers 230). The symbolic order works in tension with the imaginary order and the Real. It is closely bound up with the superego and the phallus. See the Lacan module on the structure of the psyche.' (NET)

is made possible because of your acceptance of the name-of-the-father, those laws and restrictions that control both your desire and the rules of communication.

The symbolic is made possible because of your acceptance of the Name-of-the-Father, those laws and restrictions that control both your desire and the rules of communication: 'It is in the name of the father that we must recognize the support of the symbolic function which, from the dawn of history, has identified his person with the figure of the law' (ecrits 67). Through recognition of the Name-of-the-Father, you are able to enter into a community of others. The symbolic, through language, is 'the pact which links. . . subjects together in one action. The human action par excellence is originally founded on the existence of the world of the symbol, namely on laws and contracts' (Freud's Papers 230). (NET)

symbolic, n.Definitions

symbolic