Abstract
This article approaches Lacan’s reception of Charlotte Bühler’s concept of transitivism in the formulation of his theory of the mirror-stage between 1936 and 1949 in order to show how notions from the developmental psychology of the time were used in the construction of his thought. Bühler’s specific contribution is argued to have been decisive both in the early formulation of the mirror-stage and in its subsequent development, culminating in the 1949 version, already closer to structuralist anti-psychologism. The rejection of a psychological interpretation of psychoanalytic concepts is shown to be unable of being regarded an original characteristic of Lacan’s theory, appearing only at later stages of its development.
Keywords:
Jacques Lacan; Charlotte Bühler; transitivism; imaginary order; mirror stage