On a reform in its hole : 3rd February 1969 : Jacques Lacan
by Julia Evans on February 3, 1969
Le Monde had asked Lacan to write an editorial about the University reform that had been put forward by Edgar Faure in the wake of the tumultuous events of May 1968. This written article, D’une réforme dans son trou, was supposed to appear in the “Libres Opinions” [Free opinions] section of Le Monde of 3rd February 1969, but was never published.
Patrick Valas has published Jacques Lacan’s original manuscript of this article on his website here.
Jacques Lacan refers to this text in Seminar XVII : 10th June 1970 : Notes & references Seminar XVII: Psychoanalysis upside down/The reverse side of psychoanalysis: 1969-1970 : from 26th November 1969: Jacques Lacan or here : p168 of Russell Grigg’s translation :
pIV 6 of Cormac Gallagher’s translation : Let us now ask ourselves the question of how this society described as capitalist, can afford the luxury of allowing a relaxation of the University discourse. This discourse is, however, only one of these transformations that I have been presenting to you all along. It is the quarter turn as compared to the discourse of the Master. Hence the question which is worth the effort to envisage: by embracing this relaxation, which, it has to be said, is offered, are we not going to fall into a trap? This is not a new idea. It so happens that I wrote a small article on the university reforms, which I had been explicitly invited to write for a newspaper, the only one to have a reputation for balance and honesty, called Le Monde. They had been very insistent that I write this little page about the reorganisation of psychiatry, about the reforms. Now despite this insistence it is quite striking that this little article, which I will publish sometime later, was not allowed through. It was entitled D’une réforme dans son trou, A reform in a hole. It was precisely a question of putting up with this whirlwind hole, to take a number of measures about the University. And, good God, to referring correctly to the terms of certain fundamental discourses, you might have certain scruples, let us say about acting, yhou might look twice before jumping in to profit from the lines that are opening up. It is a responsibility to carry dead meat into these corridors!
English Translation
– Subtitles:
The reform in psychiatry and “scientific” emotion
The disjunction between neurology and psychiatry
On a cut-rate knowledge
On a hole and the little pile that opens it up, just as it closes it up
The turmoil of May and its May-mory [Maimoire] in the capitalist subject
– Translated by John Hollander
Published in Journal of the Circle for Lacanian Ideology Critique 8 (2015) ; p14-21
Available from Richard G. Klein’s site, www.Freud2Lacan.com, or here
7th December 2018 : To request a copy of any text whose weblink does not work, contact Julia Evans: je.lacanian@icloud.com : For fuller details, see Notice : Availability of texts from LacanianWorks by Julia Evans or here
Practicing Lacanian Psychoanalyst in Earl’s Court, London
Further posts:
Lacanian Transmission here
Some Lacanian history here
Of the clinic here
Topology here
By Sigmund Freud here
Notes on texts by Sigmund Freud here
By Jacques Lacan here
Notes on texts by Jacques Lacan here
Jacques Lacan in English or here
Translation Working Group here
Use of power here
