The Crux of the Matter: Lacan’s Dialectical Materialism of the Signifier

Abstract

Is the signifier real? Is it ontologically different from matter? How does one affect the other? This article examines the particular materialism developed by Lacan via his references to machines and apparatuses, flows and power plants, cars and signifier highways. By situating Lacan’s materialism in a broader historical context and philosophical debate, this article argues for the distinctly dialectical character of Lacan’s conception. As such, Lacan’s notion of the signifier as twisted matter resonates with the conception of the subject articulated by proponents of German idealism (such as Hegel and Hölderlin) and—more importantly—serves to illuminate and extend both Marx’s understanding of capital as an “automatic subject” and Sohn-Rethel’s notion of “real abstraction.”

Keywords:

• Automatic subject Keyword: Automatic subject
• capitalism Keyword: capitalism
• Dialectical materism Keyword: Dialectical materism
• Marxism Keyword: Marxism
• Real abstraction Keyword: Real abstraction
• signifier Keyword: signifier

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Rights: In Copyright