The most important legacy Freud leaves for us is the power of knowledge which renovates constantly the way in which the psyche is put into question. Lacan’s rereading of Freud’s works lies in his affirmation that psychoanalysis is a prospective theory; nonetheless, this theory, which should revolutionize human knowledge and practices, is based on an unstable foundation. Therefore, Lacan’s theoretical work could be described as a reconstruction of Freud’s centennial theory. However, such a reconstruction becomes a complete renovation of the Freudian foundation. This book not only aims to elucidate Lacan’s theoretical concepts, but it also observes how Lacan injects a new life into psychoanalysis.
This book makes a great contribution to a foundation of the Lacanian studies. It discusses the major concepts of Lacan’s seminars, which first begin in 1950s and continue to emerge more than twenty years, and it also attempts to explicate the Lacanian subjectivity in an aid of his cross-era discourses. The author uses “a gleam in eternal night” as a metaphor to suggest that Lacan’s unfinished project examines the shadows cast by our time. In a sense, reading Lacan is not to pursue the truth, but to generate thoughts on humanity and clinical practices in the search for shadows. Only if we read Lacan in a comprehensive way can we realize why a gleam brings about the profound academic influence.