Love: what psychoanalysis teaches us

“Love is giving that which you don’t have, to somebody who doesn’t want it” is Lacan’s famous maxim about love.

In this video I attempt to provide a simple and accessible introduction to the basic Lacanian arguments about love and how it relates to the psychoanalytic theory of lack.

Thanks for watching.
If you’d like to support my work please consider becoming a patron. Thank you!

#lacan #love #zizek #philosophy

[julianphilosophy]

Thanks for watching! If you’d like to support my work please consider becoming a patron. Thank you!

[NateKosub]

Julian my man, I recently started looking into Lacan and can’t fwd it to your patreon because I live in the penny ghetto. The little bit I have looked into was that Lacan believed that it was impossible to apply psychoanalysis to individuals from Japan. The full quote I believe is “ no one who dwells in the Japanese language has a need to be psychoanalysed “.

[makskauzny]

These mean so much to me, thank you for making them. Your work is a constant presence in my life and it is very much appreciated, even though I do not always understand everything as someone who is not educated in philosophy

[conforzo]

Julian if you did a video lecture series on Ecrits it would be amazing! Could be for patrons, but still.

[greensleevez]

"Talking about love is like dancing about architecture." – Joan in Playing by Heart.

[hewasfuzzywuzzy]

The easiest way for me to visualize and contextualize Lancan's understanding and theorizing of love is: the movie Groundhog Day. I say this and really got that after watching the movie. And then finding this video, again and waiting to watch it for the first time; after watching the movie.

It took Phil (Bill Murray's character) decades or possibly centuries to see the love in himself and to see himself through Rita's eyes (Andie McDowell's character).

The movie Groundhog Day doesn't fully explain love or Lacan's theory of love. But it did and still does make it easier to follow. It is though in many ways an example of sacrifice, risk or gamble, and discovery—in discovering who you really are and who or what you want to be. And how you want to be seen, remembered (presently and afterwards) and how you want to love and be loved.

[latedinn]

julian i am so thankful for your contributions to us! keep going! i love all of them

[JustinianH]

Great content as always, hey, I was wondering if you have deleted some videos recently? I was looking for one on Borges and the idea of beauty that you did some time ago, and I couldn't find it. I thought that was a good video...

[bramus]

Thank you for explanations, but if you videos include subtitles I'll understand better what you tell because I am not English-speaker. Anyway, you do good work.

[Anna.Violin]

Love your videos!
Could you please do a video on the concept that ‘the women doesn’t exist’ by lacan?
Thank you for the amazing content!

[bertjunrieQ]

I suddenly remember when Zizek said in one of his talks: "What I like about love is not that I love you all. F*ck you, I don't love you all! I just love one and all of you can go to hell... I want to celebrate division, one-sidedness, imbalance and so on." Thank you for putting the context. Now I understood more what Zizek mean by that.

[yazanasad]

Love as showing vulnerable, as you are (lacking in terms not ideal state). Not as an idea.

Giving away who you once were to be a new identity with other half.

Love as narcissism (Layla and Majnun) we think other person is not lacking and has authentic core (and then see as lacking in oneself). These two lacks bring people together positively (feel more close through gaze of other half).

Lack filled in (two hands holding).

Love one person against someone else.

[JoshJustifies]

One hang-up I have been having with Lacanian psychoanalysis is how one should consider the potentially conflicting symptomatic imperatives of one's love for their partner and their life's work. This is a situation that I have been pondering for a while as it is personally relevant to me. If say, I was a young college student with a partner who lives in the area and whom I was beginning to love very deeply, and upon graduating soon, I could much more significantly pursue my life's work away from the college than nearby it. Where should a compromise be made between these two conflicting symptoms?

[myselfapretend]

Just found myself breaking off a three year relationship. This is very....timely?

[Life_Of_Mine_]

Hi Mr. Medeiros, unlike Lacan's psychoanalysis, what do you think of Foucalt's theory of sexuality... I remember you once saying that you were Foucaltian... It would be an interesting video to compare both intellectual's works on sexuality...

[hangingthief]

Very interesting, what if, at the end you give nothing upon the realization that what desire lacks is nothing.

[zestinii]

Hey Julian - in one of your lectures from the past you mentioned a short story about a boy that falls in love with a girl at first sight proceeding to confess himself to her only to find out she is deaf - what is the name of the short story and who is the author?

[totonow]

Want to send money but there is no dollar icon...?

[ludlowaloysius]

are you related to @Memeanalysis ? you look like him.

[mohamadalamin]

Can you provide the references to read more?