I really appreciate your talking about death drive because some of the leaders in psychoanalysis are saying it’s “ridiculous” or mistaken (conflating it with aggression) - I think you are wise to decouple this from politics, because individual psychology and politics are really two different things
I thought enjoyment was a subconscious process, but the example Todd gives of suffering at the gym which I can relate to, seems to be taking place at a conscious level and is very intentional. A drug addict who is consciously seeking pleasure, is subconsciously enjoying the self destructive aspect of his predicament. He is not consciously aware of this particular expression of the death drive.
I think the enjoyment at the gym that he refers to as arising from suffering can still be considered unconscious. For most, when they go to the gym, they aim to reach some x weight or amount of muscle. Then, once having met that x goal, a person will usually realize that that is not *it* and will now have y goal. A person will constantly go to the gym because consciously they want to increase muscle mass, lose weight, and so on. But, ultimately, the enjoyment of going to the gym is the suffering it causes, how it makes you lose sleep when you wake up for it at 5am, and so on.
@@amarmujezinovic That reminds me of when Peter Rollins, another Lacanian who knows Todd's work well, was talking about the film The Killer, about a hitman ( Michael Fassbender) who late in the film when confronting an enemy assassin (Tilda Swinton) realizes he is in the business for the kill and not the money.
Enjoyment = the demand on the mind to perform work (consciousness) vs homeostasis - neuropsychoanalyist Panksepp referred to it as “satisfaction” in his affective drive theory
Sartre and Freud are certainly valuable to understanding Lacan. However, many other important thinkers helped form Lacan's thought. For instance, I would argue Bataille's ideas are much more central to Lacan than Sartre's are. Furthermore, many other aspects of Lacan's thought are entirely too unique and challenging to grapple with to call his work a cakewalk. Certainly, though, learning someone like Sartre would be valuable!
I really appreciate the enthusiastic tone driven by curiosity and joy...on both your parts.
This is a really good interview with Todd. Nice job on getting him to run through the gamut of core Lacanian concepts so succinctly.
Thank you! Btw, I'm a big fan of your stuff; thank you for your incredibly helpful medium!
@@amarmujezinovic Thank you! It’s very cool to hear that!
I really appreciate your talking about death drive because some of the leaders in psychoanalysis are saying it’s “ridiculous” or mistaken (conflating it with aggression) - I think you are wise to decouple this from politics, because individual psychology and politics are really two different things
I thought enjoyment was a subconscious process, but the example Todd gives of suffering at the gym which I can relate to, seems to be taking place at a conscious level and is very intentional. A drug addict who is consciously seeking pleasure, is subconsciously enjoying the self destructive aspect of his predicament. He is not consciously aware of this particular expression of the death drive.
I think the enjoyment at the gym that he refers to as arising from suffering can still be considered unconscious. For most, when they go to the gym, they aim to reach some x weight or amount of muscle. Then, once having met that x goal, a person will usually realize that that is not *it* and will now have y goal. A person will constantly go to the gym because consciously they want to increase muscle mass, lose weight, and so on. But, ultimately, the enjoyment of going to the gym is the suffering it causes, how it makes you lose sleep when you wake up for it at 5am, and so on.
@@amarmujezinovic That reminds me of when Peter Rollins, another Lacanian who knows Todd's work well, was talking about the film The Killer, about a hitman ( Michael Fassbender) who late in the film when confronting an enemy assassin (Tilda Swinton) realizes he is in the business for the kill and not the money.
Enjoyment = the demand on the mind to perform work (consciousness) vs homeostasis - neuropsychoanalyist Panksepp referred to it as “satisfaction” in his affective drive theory
GOOD VIDEO AMAR THANK YOU TODD MCGOWAN FOR COMING ON HAHA
Lacan = Sartre + Freud. Actually better off studying the first two beforehand. Then Lacan is a cake walk.
Sartre and Freud are certainly valuable to understanding Lacan. However, many other important thinkers helped form Lacan's thought. For instance, I would argue Bataille's ideas are much more central to Lacan than Sartre's are. Furthermore, many other aspects of Lacan's thought are entirely too unique and challenging to grapple with to call his work a cakewalk. Certainly, though, learning someone like Sartre would be valuable!