Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Psychoanalysis: Lacan's Mirror Stage

One thing that I felt wasn't covered sufficiently by Lacan was the formation of the ego in situations lacking a mirror. Of course, one who hasn't seen their reflection would eventually develop a sense of self due to "social determination," but would they be lacking some sort of essential formative step in the development of self-awareness? Or would their sense of self awareness be more accurate due a lack of the "statue in which man projects himself" or the "phantoms that dominate him." This is to say, what exactly would the effects be if a man were to never see a reflection of his own image? It would be extremely interesting to compare the resulting egos of people exposed and unexposed to images of themselves.

Lacan's theory manages to explain one potential aspect of the development of ego, but also explains a common human obsession, which is that of the "double." Our society has a slight fascination with twins and the concept of a "doppelganger." Dostoyevsky was particularly attracted to the concept of the doppelganger, writing a book called "The Double" in which a man is forced to face his evil counterpart. Even Madonna has featured the concept of an evil twin in her "Die Another Day" music video. These doppelgangers may represent evil due to the sense of competition and fragmentation Lacan claims we feel at the first exposure to a mirror. Twins most likely baffle people due to their similarity and must be interesting to study, as they are able to see a three dimensional image of their own likeness.

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