Manifestations of structuralism and its impact on psychoanalysis according to Jacques Lacan

Abstract

This research aims to uncover the impact of structuralism on psychoanalysis and highlight its manifestations in contemporary psychoanalysis, with Jacques Lacan being considered one of its pioneers. He gained renown for his innovative reinterpretation of Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis, critiquing contemporary psychoanalytic theories that had misinterpreted the writings of the founding figure of psychoanalysis, because it excluded the role of language, which cannot be separated from the human and psychological world, in particular, and proceeded to reestablish the concepts of psychoanalysis based on the discoveries of structural linguistics and anthropology. However, Lacan didn't stop there. He served as a philosopher who evaluated everything critically. He corrected Freud's most important ideas and introduced fundamental modifications to the essence of classical psychoanalytic theory. He acknowledged that the unconscious has a structure similar to that of language, and this perspective had a significant impact on the components of the unconscious and much of his research.