Wittgenstein and Lacan at the Limit Meaning and Astonishment
This book brings together the work of Ludwig Wittgenstein and Jacques Lacan around their treatments of ‘astonishment,’ an experience of being struck by something that appears to be extraordinarily significant. Both thinkers have a central interest in the
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WITTGENSTEIN AND LACAN AT THE LIMIT Meaning and Astonishment
Wittgenstein and Lacan at the Limit
Maria Balaska
Wittgenstein and Lacan at the Limit Meaning and Astonishment
Maria Balaska University of Hertfordshire Hertfordshire, UK
ISBN 978-3-030-16938-1 ISBN 978-3-030-16939-8 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16939-8 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2019 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover image: Landscape, by Péris Iérémiadis This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
The essence of discourse is prayer E. Levinas
To my parents, Olympia and Giorgos Στους γονείς μου, Γιώργο και Ολυμπία
Preface
My aim is not to compare Jacques Lacan and Ludwig Wittgenstein. Rather, I use their work to address a challenge that arises in our lives with language, the challenge of bringing language to bear on certain experiences that seem to resist meaning. One such experience that resists meaning is what I here call an experience of astonishment and this is where this book’s journey commences. My focus will be the dissatisfaction with meaning that is generated when one attempts to articulate such experiences in language, and the concomitant realization that meaning is contingent, or groundless. Both Lacan and Wittgenstein have a story to tell about this. Their stories, as presented here, are stories about the challenges that the groundlessness of meaning can present, the temptations to avoid these challenges, and the significance that they have for one’s ethical life. Of course, when one brings two stories or thinkers together there is a temptation to compare them, and one could even take the mere fact that they are brought together as a sign of comparison. But th
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