The work of Jaques Lacan, eminent French psychoanalyst and influential thinker (1901-1981), is recognized as being of vital importance to psychoanalysts, philosophers, and all those concerned with the the study of man and language. Its value is not limited to the field of psychoanalysis alone, but provides the basis for a new philosophy of man and a new theory of discourse. It is, however, notoriously difficult for the non-specialist reader to come to terms with Lacan's reading of Freud and his investigations of the unconscious. Until now, there has been no satisfactory general introduction to Lacan, and this first general exposition of his work, translated and revised from the French edition, is designed to provide the conceptual tools which will enable the reader to study Lacan using the original texts.
Biography
Anika Lemaire is a psychology graduate of the University of Louvain, Belgium. Her book, Jacques Lacan, was first published in French in 1970, and has since been translated into Spanish, Italian and Japanese as well as English.
One of the best academic introductions to Lacan's discourse. - Eugen Baer, Structuralist Review
Not the charlatan he is sometimes designated, but someone to be reckoned with. I would reverse the usual prescription and suggest starting with the exposition and criticism fist, and only then proceeding to Lacan's own text, start with Anike Lemaire. - Anthony Storr, Sunday Times
