Scott Alexander (reading by Solenoid Entity / Astral Codex Ten podcast host)

At the top is the text-completed graph.

Scott's writing continues.

Also, all of this is a metaphor for language somehow, or maybe just literally the same thing as language.

Sorry, I don't make the rules.

3.

Okay, that's Lacanian philosophy in a nutshell.

What about the clinical psychoanalysis?

The Lacanian tradition evolved in parallel to the normal person, real-world DSM tradition of psychiatric diagnosis.

Lacanianism admits three diagnoses.

Psychotic, neurotic, subtypes hysteric, obsessive, phobic, and pervert.

Although the book isn't super clear on this, I don't think normal healthy person is an option.

Most successful people without obvious psych problems are some flavor of neurotic.

Fink makes a big deal about how, unlike the symptom-based DSM diagnoses, these diagnoses involve deep understanding of the underlying pathology.

And that deep understanding is, how did the paternal function resolve your Oedipus complex?

Remember the paternal function is when your father, or some stand-in, says that your desire for your mother is kind of creepy, and instead of doing that, you should follow the rules and be an upstanding member of society instead.

Fink says that this function is strongest if you had a good father, and weaker if your father was absent or abusive.

Psychosis is when you don't get the paternal function at all.

Lacanian psychotics aren't necessarily crazy all the time.

They might lead normal or even successful lives.

Lacan thinks this is kind of a sham.