Psychology After the Unconscious: From Freud to Lacan (Psychology After Critique) - Softcover

'This series is the comprehensive resource we have been waiting for to enable new generations of budding psychologists, and all those who concern themselves with how we might live, to find their way to a just appreciation of what it might be to understand the myriad ways a human being can be a person among persons.' – Rom Harré, Linacre College, University of Oxford, UK, and the Psychology Department, Georgetown University, USA

‘This volume of Ian Parker’s work is a treasure trove for researchers, not only in psychoanalysis and psychology, but in other disciplines such as philosophy and social, as well as cultural theory. With his knack for combining clarity and profound insight, Parker casts further light on both Freud and Lacan’s rich legacy, and ensures that even someone who is no stranger to psychoanalysis would be informed and enlightened.’ – Bert Olivier, Department of Philosophy, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa

'This book provides a refreshing reading of how Freud and Lacan conceptualize the unconscious. Ian Parker carefully examines original texts and discusses them through a critical lens, elucidating theoretical underpinnings of key psychoanalytic constructs. The author carefully explains what these important constructs imply for clinical practice.'  – Stijn Vanheule, Department of Psychoanalysis and Clinical Consulting, Ghent University, Belgium

Ian Parker has been a leading light in the fields of critical and discursive psychology for over 25 years. The Psychology After Critique series brings together for the first time his most important papers. Each volume in the series has been prepared by Ian Parker and presents a newly written introduction and focused overview of a key topic area.

Psychology After the Unconscious is the fifth volume in the series and addresses three central questions:

• Why is Freud’s concept of the unconscious important today?
• Does language itself play a role in the creation of the unconscious?
• How does Lacan radicalize Freud’s notion of the unconscious in relation to cultural research?

The book provides a clear explanation of Freudian and Lacanian accounts of the unconscious. It also highlights their role in offering a new way of describing, understanding and working with the human subject in clinical settings and in cultural research. Part One shows how the unconscious is elaborated in Freud’s early case studies in Studies on Hysteria, while Part Two focuses on Lacan’s re-working of the unconscious and its relationship to language and culture in his influential public seminars. The book also provides access to key debates currently occurring in Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalysis, exploring both the clinical dimension and the consequences for psychological and cultural research.

Psychology After the Unconscious is essential reading for students and researchers in psychology, psychosocial studies, sociology, social anthropology and cultural studies, and to psychoanalysts of different traditions engaged in academic research. It will also introduce key ideas and debates within critical psychology to undergraduates and postgraduate students across the social sciences.