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Lacan To The Letter: Reading Ecrits Closely

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As an undergraduate philosophy student, I'll never forget the day I stumbled across Fink's "Clinical Introduction to Lacanian Psychoanalytic Theory." I remember reading the first couple of pages and being immediately sucked in. People come to therapy not because they want to rid themselves of their symptoms - they come to therapy, rather, because they can't get themselves to stop wanting to keep their symptoms! I was amazed at the profundity of this Lacanian insight. I knew I had to read on. So, this past year I picked up the Ecrits and Fink's commentary on it. Lacan's writing is nigh unto impossible to get through; but Fink's "Lacan to the Letter" is, again, some of the easiest reading I've ever done - and it blows my mind! For some of the most readable commentary on Lacan, you can't go wrong with Bruce Fink. What appeals to me the most, I think, about Lacan, is reading him as a philosopher, as someone who talks about the human condition - not so much as a "psychologist", but as a thinker who is doing a complex and amazing philosophical anthropology. He (accurately) shows how tied up with speech and language the being of the human being is. Lacanian theory astutely points out that we do not have a self outside of our linguistic contacts and exchanges with others, and of course, these exchanges largely shape how everyone, ultimately, thinks and feels about him or herself. Anyhow, if you are interested in knowing why people are crazy, healthy, or what the real (scandalous and negligible) difference between the two are, check this out. Fink offers clear readings of Lacan's phenomenological and anthropological explanations that shed light on the unconscious aspects of our being in ways that no biological-reductionistic or cognitive-behavioral approach ever could.

Bruce Fink, with his books The Lacanian Subject and Clinical Introduction to Lacanian Psychoanalysis, has established his reputation as the premiere commentator of Lacan. Fink is the quitessential "subject supposed to know," if there ever was one (other than the unconscious that is). This book only furthers this reputation, bringing together six beautifully written essays. Fink is a practising and a training analyst and this background gives his commentary a force of clarity and groundedness that is missing in much of the literature on Lacan. It is because he grounds his readings of Lacan in practical situations that lends his books to first timers AND long time readers. His command of Lacan's text is second to none, and therefore a first timer can put (or, transfer) their trust that Fink is guiding them through to the truth of Lacan.

It is this same brilliant reputation that also makes Fink's writing often seem secondary. As if they were mere explanations of Lacan's difficult texts. Like the biblical John the Baptist who was only the herald of the coming messiah, whose sandal lace he was unwrothy to tie, Fink always seems to position himself as the lone voice crying in the Freudian field, calling all who will hear to repent and return to the letter of Lacan's text. This is certainly true of Fink's earlier works. But this book has a different force behind it. Don't get me wrong: these are rigorous commentaries on Lacan's texts. But somehow, through some kind of magic, Fink is able to push commentary to the limit such that it emerges as an original voice itself. In other words, Fink here speaks as Fink. The herald cannot tie even his own lace as it were! This is why I especially recommend this book to long time readers of Lacan and of Fink. In this book, you get something that approximates a Finkian psychoanalysis. The highlight is Chapter 3 on The Letter--a brilliant piece of writing that sounds all by itself.

In the era where deconstructing the ambiguous meaning of a text seems the hegemony, it is quite refreshing to see someone practising COMMENTARY. That is, the practice of unpacking what is actually in the letter. Commentary, it seems to me, is much more interesting than interpretation or, what is now referred to as, "reading."

Lacan once said that commenting on a text is like analysis. Then, it is no wonder that Fink, an accomplished analyst, can present a beautiful piece of commentary such as this!

Another excellent book from Fink.

In particular, it was truly rewarding to read Fink's detailed exposition of Lacan's critique of ego-psychology and his instructive breaking down of the rather overwhelming graph of desire.

What's more, lots of other details fell into place, such as the lack in the Other S(A/) and the notion of separation (as opposed to alienation). Indeed, this book clarifies why the Lacanian subject finds itself between language and jouissance, cf. the title of Fink's first book (I have to admit I wasn't quite sure after having read his book about the Lacanian subject).

Overall, everything Fink has written is highly recommended. Fink is without a doubt my number one reference when it comes to clinical psychoanalysis and the registers of the imaginary and the symbolic. As regards the symbolic/real-connection, it still seems that one has to turn to Zizek & the eccentric Slovenians.

I've read two of Bruce Fink's wonderful books on Lacan so far, and now "Lacan to the Letter" makes three. I bought a selection of introductory texts in hopes of getting something of a handle on Lacanian theory. I found that with most books, they made sense, but I would soon hit a wall and the author would essentially ask me to take his or her word for it. Fink takes the reader much closer, showing the power of Lacanian theory in a much more meaningful sense.

Lacan's work is difficult for a number of reasons: first, we have three main stages where terms change meaning; second, Lacan requires a significant amount of interpretation; and third, Lacan's ambiguities require that the reader synthesize many of his ideas to understand any single idea. Fink provides cogent interpretations and analysis, but even more so, he gives us a good model for our own interpretations. He is very clear in explaining how he arrived at the conclusions he draws.

The highest compliment I can offer is this: I can now read Lacan directly with a reasonable level of understanding. Ultimately, the goal of a book like this is to help us understand Lacan's own writing so that we can use his ideas for our work. After "Lacan to the Letter," I pulled my copy of "Ecrits" off the shelf, selected an essay, and was surprised to see it come to life in a totally new way.

This is not "Lacan for Dummies" and although the writing style is clear and direct, the ideas are very complex and will make some demands on the reader. Fink is a great teacher, but he will not spoon-feed you knowledge. However, as long as you are willing to roll up your sleeves and really get into some heavy theoretical discussion, you'll love this book. I might recommend reading "The Lacanian Subject" (also by Fink) before this book, but only because it's a little more comprehensive and gives a great overview of Lacanian theory. But when you're done with that, pick up "Lacan to the Letter" and go even deeper.