法:objet petit a
虽然这一术语有的时候也在英文中译作“object little a”,但是拉康则坚称它应当始终不做翻译,“因而可以说是获得了一个代数学符号的地位”(Sheridan, 1977: xi; 见:代数学[ALGREBRA]).
符号a (法文“autre”即“小他者”一词的第一个字母)是最早出现在拉康著作中的几个代数学符号之一,它在1955年联系于L图式 (SCHEMA L)被首度引入。该符号总是小写字母且以斜体印刷,以表明它指代的是小他者,与表示大他者的大写字母“A”相对立。不同于代表着某种根本的且不可化约的相异性的大他者,小他者是“根本不是另一个人的他者,因为它在本质上与自我配对,处在一种始终是自反性且可互换的关系之中”(S2,321)。因而,在L图式中,a与a'便不加区分地指代自我 (EGO)与相似者 (COUNTERPART)/镜像 (SPECULAR IMAGE), 而且明显是属于想象秩序。
在1957年,当拉康引入幻想的数元 (8◇)的时候,a便开始被构想为欲望的对象。这是想象性的部分对象 (PART-OBJECT), 即被想象为可分离于身体其余部分的一个元素。至此,拉康便在欲望的对象与镜像之间做出了区分,前者写作,而后者现在则被他用符号i (a)来表示。
在1960一1961年度的研讨班上,拉康将对象小a链接于他摘自柏拉图《会饮篇》的术语“agalma”(即“神像”,这一希腊文术语具有某种荣耀、某种祭祀用品、某种给予神灵的祭品,或是一小尊神像的意思)。正如“神像”是隐藏在相对不起眼的盒子里的一个珍贵的对象,因此对象小α也是我们在小他者身上所寻找的那一欲望的对象 (S8,177).
从1963年开始,a便渐渐获得了一些实在界的内涵,尽管它从未丧失其想象性的地位:拉康在1973年仍然说它是想象的(S20,77)。从此时起,a便开始表示那种永远无法获得的对象,它其实是促成欲望的原因 (CAUSE), 而非欲望所趋向的对象;这就是为什么拉康现在把它称作欲望的“对象因”(object-cause)。对象小a即把欲望调动起来的任何对象,尤其是界定冲动的那些部分对象。冲动并不试图抵达对象小a,而是环绕着它运转 (S11,179)。对象小a既是焦虑的对象,又是最终不可化约的力比多储备 (Lacan, 1962-3:1963年1月16日的研讨班)。它在拉康有关治疗的概念中扮演着一个越来越重要的角色,分析家在治疗中必须将自己定位为对象小α的假相,即化身为分析者欲望的原因。
在1962一1963年度与1964年度的两期研讨班中,对象小a被定义为某种残留物、剩余物 (法:reste), 即在实在界中引入象征界而残留下来的剩余。这在1969一1970年度的研讨班上得到了进一步的发展,拉康在那里详细阐述了他的四大话语 (DISCOURSES)的公式。在主人话语中,一个能指试图为所有其他能指代表主体,但总是会不可避免地产生某种剩余;此种剩余即对象小,它既是一种剩余意义,又是一种剩余享乐 (法:plus-de-jouir)。这个概念受到了马克思的剩余价值概念的启发,是虽然没有任何“使用价值”,但仅仅为了享乐的利益而留存的享乐的过剩。
在1973年,拉康又把对象小a联系于假相 (SEMBLANCE)的概念,宣称a是一种“存在的假相”(semblance of being)(S20,87)。在1974年,他则将其置于博洛米结的中心,处在三大秩序 (实在界、象征界与想象界)全部相交的交界。
This term has sometimes been translated into English as 'object (little) a', but Lacaninsisted that it should remain untranslated,'thus acquiring, as it were, the status of analgebraic sign' (Sheridan, 1977: xi; see ALGEBRA).
The symbol a (the first letter of the word autre, or 'other') is one of the first algebraicsigns which appears in Lacan's work, and is first introduced in 1955 in connection withSCHEMA L.It is always lower case and italicised to show that it denotes the little other, in opposition to the capital 'A'of the big Other. Unlike the big Other, which represents aradical and irreducible alterity, the little other is'the other which isn't another at all, sinceit is essentially coupled with the ego, in a relationship which is always reflexive,interchangeable' (S2,321). In schema L, then, a and a'designate indiscriminately theEGOand the COUNTERPART/SPECULAR IMAGE, and clearly belongto theimaginary order.
In 1957, when Lacan introduces the matheme of fantasy, (⑧◇a), a begins tobeconceived as the object of desire. This is the imaginary PART-OBJECT, an elementwhich is imagined as separable from the rest of the body. Lacannow begins todistinguish between a, the object of desire, and the specular image, which he nowsymbolises ifa).
In the seminar of 1960-1, Lacan articulates the objet petit a with the term agalma (aGreek term meaning a glory, an ornament, an offering to the gods, or a little statue of agod) which he extracts from Plato's Symposium. Just as the agalma is a precious objecthidden inside a relatively worthless box, so the objet petit a is the object of desire whichwe seek in the other (S8,177).
From 1963 onwards, a comes increasingly to acquire connotations of the real, although it never loses its imaginary status; in 1973 Lacan can still say that it isimaginary (S20,77). From this point on, a denotes the object which can never beattained, which is really the CAUSE of desire rather than that towards which desire tends; this is why Lacan now calls it 'the object-cause'of desire. Objet petit a is any objectwhich sets desire in motion, especially the partial objects which define the drives. Thedrives do not seek to attain the objet petit a, but rather circle round it (S11,179). Objet petit a is both the object of anxiety, and the final irreducible reserve of libido (Lacan, 1962-3: seminar of 16 January 1963). It plays an increasingly important part in Lacan'sconcept of the treatment, in which the analyst must situate himself as the semblance ofobjet petit a, the cause of the analysand's desire.
In the seminars of 1962-3 and of 1964, objet petit a is defined as the leftover,theremainder (Fr. Reste), the remnant left behind by the introduction of the symbolic in thereal. This is developed further in the seminar of 1969-70, in which Lacan elaborates hisformulae of the four DISCOURSES. In the discourse of the master, one signifier attemptsto represent the subject for all other signifiers, but inevitably a surplus is alwaysproduced; this surplus is objet petit a, a surplus meaning, and a surplus enjoyment (Fr. Plus-de-jouir). This concept is inspired by Marx's concept of surplus value; a is theexcess of jouissance which has no 'use value', but persists for the mere sake ofenjoyment.
In 1973, Lacan links objet petit a to the concept of SEMBLANCE, asserting that a is asemblance of being' (S20:87). In 1974 he places it at the centre of the Borromean knot, at the place where the three orders (real, symbolic and imaginary) all intersect.