Abstract
Among the advantages of psychoanalytic theory for rendering a sociohistorical critique of social and political phenomena is the fact that it unavoidably works with ‘quasi-universal’ psychic structures. This means that psychoanalytic theory is predicated on the assumption that the psychic ontogenesis of all human subjects proceeds ‘universally’ via a succession of the ‘same’ structural phases, as exemplified by what Freud dubbed the Oedipus complex, or by what Lacan termed the ‘mirror phase’. ‘Universally’ has to be qualified by the prefix ‘quasi’, however, given humanity’s inescapable subjection to historical processes. Hence, ‘quasi-universal’ indicates that, while all human beings are constituted in terms of similar psychic structures, the functioning of these structures is itself historically reconfigured via changing social, economic and political circumstances. In cultures where there are no mirrors, for example, infants negotiate the ‘mirror phase’ in ways that do not involve mirrors in the literal sense, but the place of which is taken by a different medium of ‘self-reflection’, such as the reflecting surface of water, the ritual assessment of the self by others (‘You are correctly dressed’) and so on. Or, to bring it closer to the contemporary era, the ‘social dialectic’ of secondary identification (e.g. in a school situation) that follows in the wake of the mirror phase is complicated, today, by the ubiquity of the mass media, where thousands of celebrity images offer themselves as sites of identification for subjects. One could also employ the term ‘quasi-transcendental’ to indicate that these (interrelated) psychic structures facilitate certain relational modes and actions (‘universally’) on the part of subjects, but simultaneously comprise the conditions of possibility of their particular embodiment, as well as their distortion and perversion, in their specific articulation in individuals’ lives. Conversely, the historical conditions of individuals’ lives provide the indispensable ‘material’ anchoring points for these quasi-transcendental structures, without which they could not function, or even be said to exist.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Baumer, F. L. (1977). Modern European Thought: Continuity and Change in Ideas, 1600–1950. New York: Macmillan.
BBBEE. Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Legislation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BroadBased_Black_Economic_Empowerment, accessed 13 October 2010.
Bowie, M. (1991). Lacan. London: Fontana Press.
Copjec, J. (2002). Imagine There’s No Woman: Ethics and Sublimation. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Derrida, J. (2003). Autoimmunity: Real and symbolic suicides–A dialogue with Jacques Derrida. In G. Borradori (ed.), Philosophy in a Time of Terror. University of Chicago Press, pp. 85–136.
Foucault, M. (ed.) (1982). I, Pierre Riviere, Having Slaughtered My Mother, My Sister, and My Brother… A Case of Parricide in the 19 th Century, trans. F. Jellinek. London: Bison Books.
Freud, S. (1968). Beyond the Pleasure Principle, SE, vol. 18, pp. 7–64.
Gumede, W. M. (2005). Thabo Mbeki and the Battle for the Soul of the ANC. Cape Town: Zebra Press.
Hardt, M. and Negri, A. (2001). Empire. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Hood, G. (Dir.) (2005). Tsotsi. Miramax Films.
Hurst, A. (2007). Hoe Moet Ons Oor Geweld Dink?, trans. B. Olivier, ‘How Should We Think About Violence?’ Presentation, Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees. Litnet Seminaar-kamer/Seminar Room. www.litnet.co.za/cgi-in/giga.cgi?cmd=cause_dir_news_item&cause_id=1270, accessed 10 November 2009.
Klein, N. (2007). The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. London: Allen Lane.
Kovel, J. (2002). The Enemy of Nature: The End of Capitalism or the End of the World? London and New York: Zed Books.
Krog, A. (1999). Country of My Skull. London: Vintage.
Lacan, J. (1977a). The agency of the letter in the unconscious or reason since Freud. In Écrits: A Selection, trans. A. Sheridan. New York: W. W. Norton, pp. 146–78.
Lacan, J. (1977b). The function and field of speech and language in psychoanalysis. In Écrits: A Selection, trans. A. Sheridan. New York: W. W. Norton, pp. 30–113.
Lacan, J. (1977c). The mirror stage as formative of the function of the I as revealed in psychoanalytic experience. In Écrits: A Selection, trans. A. Sheridan. New York: W. W. Norton, pp. 1–7.
Lacan, J. (1981). The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psycho-Analysis (Seminar XI), trans. A. Sheridan. New York: W. W. Norton.
Lacan, J. (2007). The Other Side of Psychoanalysis (Seminar XVII), trans. R. Grigg. New York: W. W. Norton.
Lee, J. S. (1990). Jacques Lacan. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press.
Olivier, B. (2003). Discourse, agency and the question of evil. South African Journal of Philosophy, 22 (4), 329–48.
Olivier, B. (2004). Lacan’s subject: The imaginary, language, the real and philosophy. South African Journal of Philosophy, 23 (1), 1–19.
Olivier, B. (2005a) Lacan and the question of the psychotherapist’s ethical orientation. SA Journal of Psychology, 35 (4), 657–83.
Olivier, B. (2005b). Nature, capitalism, and the future of humankind. South African Journal of Philosophy, 24 (2), 121–35.
Olivier, B. (2006). Die kompleksiteit van identiteit in demokrasie: Lacan. Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe (Journal of Humanities), 46 (4), 482–97.
Olivier, B. (2007a). ‘Geweld in Suid-Afrika: n psigoanalitiese perspektief’. Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe, 47(4) (Supplement), 46–58.
Olivier, B. (2007b). The question of an appropriate philosophical response to ‘global’ terrorism: Derrida and Habermas. Freiburger Zeitschrift für Philosophie und Theologie, 54 (1/2), 146–67.
Olivier, B. (2007c). Waarom ons vir mekaar n ‘ding’ word. Die Vrye A frikaan, 16 February, p. 16.
Olivier, B. (2007d). Why SA violence turns horrific and brutal. Comment and Analysis, Mail & Guardian Online. www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=303071&area=/insight/insight_comment_and_analysis/, accessed 27 March 2010.
Olivier, B. (2008). Trauma and literature: Derrida, 9/11 and Hart’s The reconstructionist. Journal of Literary Studies, 24 (1), 32–58.
Olivier, B. (2009). That strange thing called ‘identifying’. South African Journal of Psychology, 39 (4), 407–19.
Peter, J.-P. and Favret, J. (1982). The animal, the madman, and death. In M. Foucault (ed.), I, Pierre Riviere, Having Slaughtered My Mother, My Sister, And My Brother… A Case of Parricide in the 19 th Century, trans. F. Jellinek. London: Bison Books, pp. 175–99.
Rossouw, J. (2006a). Misdaad. Die Vrye Afrikaan, 20 October, pp. 1–2.
Rossouw, J. (2006b). Waarom geweld SA oorspoel. Die Vrye A frikaan, 17 November, pp. 1, 14–15.
Theroux, L. (2008/9). Law and Disorder in Johannesburg. BBC Two television documentary.
Ziman, R. (Dir.) (2008). Jerusalema. Muti Films and Moviehouse Entertainment.
Žižek, S. (2000). The Fragile Absolute–or, Why is the Christian Legacy Worth Fighting For? London: Verso.
Žižek, S. (2005). Revenge of global finance. In These Times, 21 May, www.inthesetimes.com/article/2122/, accessed 7 July 2007.
Žižek, S. (2009). Violence: Six Sideways Reflections. London: Profile Books.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2012 Bert Olivier
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Olivier, B. (2012). Violent Crime in Post-Apartheid South Africa. In: Gülerce, A. (eds) Re(con)figuring Psychoanalysis. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230373303_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230373303_11
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-33309-7
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-37330-3
eBook Packages: Palgrave Social Sciences CollectionSocial Sciences (R0)