Ego

Summary

Dominique Pagani approaches the self (the "moi") from two angles. In a session devoted to Lacan, he describes it as a compromise: a barrier raised between internal and external dangers, comparable to the fence around a property. He points out that a shell that is too thick makes the inside wither1. In his view, the hardness of the armour answers to the fragility of what it protects, and aggressiveness reaches its peak when fear is present2. From a historical perspective, he contrasts Fichte's pure self, which posits itself only by opposing itself to the not-self, that is, to every object, the body included3, with Rousseau's self. The latter is no longer abstract and negative but full, and it enjoys its mere existence4. Finally, he distinguishes three stages: the hateful self of the classical authors, then the Romantic self that speaks of itself in order to speak of everyone, and lastly "I is another"5.

1. 1#6.1 Prelude: Lacan, “Function and field of speech and language”10 Nov 2019 · 1:01:21
2. 2#6.1 Prelude: Lacan, “Function and field of speech and language”10 Nov 2019 · 1:24:55
3. 3#1 Benefits and harms of amnesia…8 Oct 2020 · 21:15
4. 4#1 Benefits and harms of amnesia…8 Oct 2020 · 51:28
5. 5#14 Caves of yesterday and today: from Plato to modernity10 Jun 2022 · 51:03

Summary produced automatically from 5 of the passages below, to be reviewed; the numbers link to the moment in the session.