The immensely influential work of Jacques Lacan challenges readers both for the difficulty of its style and for the wide range of intellectual references that frame its innovations. Lacan's work is challenging too, for the way it recentres psychoanalysis on one of the most controversial points of Freud's theory - the concept of a self-destructive drive or 'death instinct'. Originally published in 1991, Death and Desire presents in Lacanian terms a new integration of psychoanalytic theory in which the battery of key Freudian concepts - from the dynamics of the Oedipus complex to the topography of ego, id, and superego - are seen to intersect in Freud's most far-reaching and speculative formulation of a drive toward death. Boothby argues that Lacan repositioned the theme of death in psychoanalysis in relation to Freud's main concern - the nature and fate of desire. In doing so, Lacan rediscovered Freud's essential insights in a manner so nuanced and penetrating that prevailing assessments of the death instinct may well have to be re-examined. Although the death instinct is usually regarded as the most obscure concept in Freud's metapsychology, and Lacan to be the most perplexing psychoanalytic theorist, Richard Boothby's straightforward style makes both accessible. He illustrates the coherence of Lacanian thought and shows how Lacan's work comprises a 'return to Freud' along new and different angles of approach. Written with an eye to the conceptual structure of psychoanalytic theory, Death and Desire will appeal to psychoanalysts and philosophers alike.

At just the moment when many people are ready to throw Freud on to the ash-heap of intellectual history, "Sex on the Couch "rescues from Freud's theories a fascinating series of reflections on the nature of sexuality and gender.
Richard Boothby presents here a fresh and engaging view of Freud. "Sex on the Couch" offers new insights into our concepts of masculinity and femininity, placing them in relation to Freud's theory of the Life and Death drives. Richard Boothby also engages feminist critiques of Freud, putting forward new and specific responses to questions that have shaped contemporary understanding of feminism and psychoanalysis. Boothby's Freud, far from being passe, is in possession of insights that enrich our understanding of modernity and its distinctive character.
In a refreshingly readable style, Richard Boothby writes here not only for the scholarly reader but for the student and lay reader curious about Freud's theories and their use in contemporary world.

Using Jacques Lacan's work as a key, this groundbreaking work reassesses the philosophical significance of Freud's most ambitious general theory of mental functioning: metapsychology. Richard Boothby forcefully argues that this theory has been misunderstood, and that therefore Freud's impact on philosophy has been unjustly muted. This exciting and brilliant book will have a definitive impact on how psychoanalysis is conceived in relation to philosophy.

The immensely influential work of Jacques Lacan challenges readers both for the difficulty of its style and for the wide range of intellectual references that frame its innovations. Lacan's work is challenging too, for the way it recentres psychoanalysis on one of the most controversial points of Freud's theory - the concept of a self-destructive drive or 'death instinct'. Originally published in 1991, Death and Desire presents in Lacanian terms a new integration of psychoanalytic theory in which the battery of key Freudian concepts - from the dynamics of the Oedipus complex to the topography of ego, id, and superego - are seen to intersect in Freud's most far-reaching and speculative formulation of a drive toward death. Boothby argues that Lacan repositioned the theme of death in psychoanalysis in relation to Freud's main concern - the nature and fate of desire. In doing so, Lacan rediscovered Freud's essential insights in a manner so nuanced and penetrating that prevailing assessments of the death instinct may well have to be re-examined. Although the death instinct is usually regarded as the most obscure concept in Freud's metapsychology, and Lacan to be the most perplexing psychoanalytic theorist, Richard Boothby's straightforward style makes both accessible. He illustrates the coherence of Lacanian thought and shows how Lacan's work comprises a 'return to Freud' along new and different angles of approach. Written with an eye to the conceptual structure of psychoanalytic theory, Death and Desire will appeal to psychoanalysts and philosophers alike.

Contents:
Preface; Introduction: Returning to Metapsychology; Recalling Freud's Witch; Reading Lacan; Chapter 1: Toward the Unthought Ground of Thought; Monet's Pursuit of the "Enveloppe"; The World of the Water Lilies; The Class of 1890: Von Ehrenfels, James, Bergson, Nietzsche; Gestalt Psychology and Phenomenology; Heidegger: The Disposition of Being; The Gestaltist Ontology of Merleau-Ponty; The Unthought Ground of Thought in the Freudian Unconscious; Chapter 2: Between the Image and the Word; In the Shadow of the Image; The Unconscious Play of the Signifier; From Image to Sign; The Ratman's Phantasy; The Specimen Dream of Psychoanalysis; The Dream's Solution; Circulation in the Psychic Apparatus; The Metaphoric and Metonymic Poles; Chapter 3: The Freudian Dialectic; The Formative Power of the Image; Imaginary Alienation; Aggressivity and the Death Drive; The Agency of the Death in the Signifier; Language Acquisition and the Oedipus Complex; Psychoanalysis and the Theory of Sacrifice; Toward a Lacanian Theory of Sacrifice; Chapter 4: The Freudian Thing; A Love Triangle; The Thing About the Other; Thing or No-thing; Speaking of the Thing; Freud avec Jakobson; Chapter 5: Figurations of the Objet a; The Object-Cause of Desire; "You don't love me . . . you don't give a shit"; Between the Look and the Gaze; Why One and One Make Four; How the Real World Became a Phantasy; Conclusion

A radical reinterpretation of the origin of religion through a psychoanalytic theorization of the unknown   Renowned psychoanalytic philosopher Richard Boothby puts forward a novel theory of religion inspired by Jacques Lacan’s theory of das Ding, the disquieting, inaccessible dimension of fellow human beings. This notion of an unfathomable excess, originally encountered in the figure of the mother, led Lacan to break with Freud’s formulation of the Oedipus complex and underlies Lacan’s distinctive conception of unconscious dynamics. Leaning on this account, Boothby shows how our sense of the sacred arises from our relation to what we do not know.   Embracing the Void lays out the range of Freud’s attempts at a psychoanalytic theory of religion and then sketches the rough contours of Lacan’s contrasting approach. From there, Boothby offers the theoretical tools for interpreting the religious impulse and analyzes key religious traditions, from ancient Greek polytheism to Judaism and Christianity, and from Hinduism and Buddhism to Islam, finally turning to modern capitalist culture and the seductive deity that dominates it—money. Lucid, accessible, and compelling, the book provides a cogent intervention in one of the psychoanalytic tradition’s most contentious topics and offers a new approach to our understanding of religion.

Title: A Treatise on the Diseases of Cattle, etc.Publisher: British Library, Historical Print EditionsThe British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It is one of the world's largest research libraries holding over 150 million items in all known languages and formats: books, journals, newspapers, sound recordings, patents, maps, stamps, prints and much more. Its collections include around 14 million books, along with substantial additional collections of manuscripts and historical items dating back as far as 300 BC.The GENERAL HISTORICAL collection includes books from the British Library digitised by Microsoft. This varied collection includes material that gives readers a 19th century view of the world. Topics include health, education, economics, agriculture, environment, technology, culture, politics, labour and industry, mining, penal policy, and social order. ++++The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++ British Library Boothby, Richard; 1808. 58 p.; 8 . 10347.f.27.

At just the moment when many people are ready to throw Freud on to the ash-heap of intellectual history, "Sex on the Couch "rescues from Freud's theories a fascinating series of reflections on the nature of sexuality and gender.
Richard Boothby presents here a fresh and engaging view of Freud. "Sex on the Couch" offers new insights into our concepts of masculinity and femininity, placing them in relation to Freud's theory of the Life and Death drives. Richard Boothby also engages feminist critiques of Freud, putting forward new and specific responses to questions that have shaped contemporary understanding of feminism and psychoanalysis. Boothby's Freud, far from being passe, is in possession of insights that enrich our understanding of modernity and its distinctive character.
In a refreshingly readable style, Richard Boothby writes here not only for the scholarly reader but for the student and lay reader curious about Freud's theories and their use in contemporary world.