Anxiety Between Desire and the Body

Book excerpt: This book provides a unique analysis of Lacan’s conception of anxiety as presented in one of his most fascinating seminars, Seminar X. The seminar took place in the lead up to Lacan’s infamous excommunication from the IPA. Revisiting Freud’s work on the topic, Lacan conceives anxiety in an "anxiety chart" which includes adjacent terms such as inhibition, embarrassment, and turmoil. He sees desire as the kernel of anxiety, before turning attention to the body. Anxiety Between Desire and the Body: What Lacan Says in Seminar X is written from the perspective of the analytical experience, its logic, and its surprising discoveries. It will be of great interest to students of Lacanian psychoanalysis, as well as philosophers interested in Lacan’s work.