Objet petit a

The object a ( fr. objet petit a), or other small small is a central component of the psyche in the theory of Jacques Lacan. It is not to be confused with "A", the " big Other ". With a small object an object of desire, thus a ( Freudian terminology) is called " libidinous occupied " object, which is, however, essentially unattainable.

Imaginary object

The object petit a part of the area of the imaginary (cf. Seminar XX, p 77 ), even if Lacan puts it in 1974 in the middle of his Borromean knot, so to that place of the psyche in which the Imaginary, the Symbolic and the real overlap. ( Dylan Evans: Dictionary of Lacanian Psychoanalysis, p 206)

Prerequisite for understanding the small object a is Lacan's conception of the subject as a carrier of an irreducible defect. This deficiency begins at birth, which throws out the child out of all the needs of automatically satisfying, preconscious perfection of his embryonic life ( Lacan therefore speaks of a " prematurity of birth" in humans), and becomes more intense by his second great division, the separation from the symbiosis with the mother ( breast ). Also from its mirror image, which is facing the mirror stage, it is isolated and alienated. The subject has since been incomplete, which is why it always sought out to be complete and to replenish his lack his gap in the subject through objects. The object petit a as the " reason of desire" acts as a driver and trigger the actions of the subject. But the lack is ultimately not canceled, the object remains unattainable.

Illusion and phantasm

The phantasm structured desire by forming an imaginary frame ( "Scenario " ), which is filled with objects of desire. Basically, anything can be the object small a, provided it fits into the personal phantasm: The desire is metonymically structured, ie it can migrate from one object to another. Which objects the subject ( unconsciously) chooses which objects it addresses his desire, depends solely on the mental disposition of the subject, which may of course change in different life stages and situations. However, it must always be unattainable, that is, form an empty core, around which the phantasms of the subject can span.

Object and anxiety

In Lacan's Seminar X ( " L' angoisse " Fear, 1962-63 ), the object is a small paraded into five levels: the chest, the Kothäufchen, the phallus, the look, the voice. After Lacan indexed always a fear. The results presented in this seminar axioms of anxiety are:

• "Fear is what does not deceive. "
• "Fear is not without an object. "

Enjoy and value

The object petit a is related to the Marxian notion of surplus value and also after whose constructed ( cf. Žižek: Multi -Enjoy, p.7). Lacan describes it as " radical" and " surplus", as an added value and importance of desire (French "plus -de- jouir "). The object petit a " is the added value of Pleasure ( jouissance ) that has no practical value, but exists only for the pleasure. " ( Evans: Dictionary of Lacanian Psychoanalysis, p 206)

MacGuffin

In love Slavoj Žižek, a student of Lacan, connects your symptom as thyself Lacanian object petit a with Alfred Hitchcock's concept of the MacGuffin. The MacGuffin in itself is a completely meaningless object - a mere pretext that triggers a (film) action. An illustrative example of a MacGuffin is approximately the case, which is carried around in Pulp Fiction. It is the occasion of the whole story - the audience learns, however, at no point in the film, what it actually does with the suitcase up, and basically, this knowledge is also meaningless for the film. Other MacGuffins are about the secret plan in The 39 Steps or the whistled melody disappears into a lady.