Lacan on Love

An Exploration of Lacan's Seminar VIII, Transference

Bruce Fink

$113.95

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Polity Press
04 December 2015

Psychoanalytical theory (Freudian psychology)

Quintessentially fascinating, love intrigues and perplexes us, and drives much of what we do in life. As wary as we may be of its illusions and disappointments, many of us fall blindly into its traps and become ensnared time and again. Deliriously mad excitement turns to disenchantment, if not deadening repetition, and we wonder how we shall ever break out of this vicious cycle.

Can psychoanalysis – with ample assistance from philosophers, poets, novelists, and songwriters – give us a new perspective on the wellsprings and course of love? Can it help us fathom how and why we are often looking for love in all the wrong places, and are fundamentally confused about “what love really is”?

In this lively and wide-ranging exploration of love throughout the ages, Fink argues that it can. Taking within his compass a vast array of traditions – from Antiquity to the courtly love poets, Christian love, and Romanticism – and providing an in-depth examination of Freud and Lacan on love and libido, Fink unpacks Lacan’s paradoxical claim that “love is giving what you don’t have.” He shows how the emptiness or lack we feel within ourselves gets covered over or entwined in love, and how it is possible and indeed vital to give something to another that we feel we ourselves don’t have.

This first-ever commentary on Lacan’s Seminar VIII, Transference, provides readers with a clear and systematic introduction to Lacan’s views on love. It will be of great value to students and scholars of psychology and of the humanities generally, and to analysts of all persuasions.

By: Bruce Fink
Imprint: Polity Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 236mm, Width: 158mm, Spine: 23mm
Weight: 585g
ISBN: 9781509500499
ISBN 10: 1509500499
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 04 December 2015
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , A / AS level , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Bruce Fink is a practicing Lacanian psychoanalyst and analytic supervisor. He is a foremost commentator on Lacan and has translated a number of Lacan’s works into English, including Écrits and Transference.

Reviews for Lacan on Love: An Exploration of Lacan's Seminar VIII, Transference

"""Lacan on Love is not only an invaluable aid for those embarking on the study of Lacan's seminar on transference, but also essential reading for anyone interested in the question of love and human passion. Drawing on a wide range of literary and cultural references, Bruce Fink guides the reader with clarity, precision and insight in this perceptive and thought-provoking book."" Darian Leader, psycholanalyst ""Love, it turns out, has a history. And Lacan on Love beautifully traces that history through the lens of Lacan’s seminar on transference, combining an adventurous cultural investigation of ‘love in the western world’ with actual field notes concerning the way we love now. Bruce Fink takes on our most tired and our most treasured clichés about love and subjects them all to rigorous analysis, producing insights that are anything but expected."" Jessica Rosenfeld, Washington University in St. Louis ""Clinicians and all of those with an interest in Lacan should be thankful for Fink and his ability to distill Lacan’s often complex formulations into easy-to-understand terms. Lacan on Love is a welcome addition to his continuing project to help Lacan take his rightful place in the English-speaking world as a major figure in psychoanalysis."" Pyschology Today"