The article refers to Lacan's distinction between two forms of discourse - the discourse of the university and the one of the analyst -, to observe the place occupied in each of them by knowledge. Regarding the former knowledge is the dominant agent. As to the second, knowledge is unconscious. The consequences of this formulation are examined concerning both psychoanalytical practice and the academic teaching of psychoanalysis. A conflict that must be taken into consideration each time the two types of knowledge are faced with each other is pointed out. Not taking into account this conflict is to refuse to accept the disturbing effects that the supposition of an unconscious knowledge implies. The article concludes by pointing to the necessity of the supposition of unconscious knowledge whenever suffering and anxiety are at stake.
university discourse; analyst discourse; academic knowledge; unconscious knowledge; conflict