Birth of the Other

Book excerpt: Originally published as Naissance de l' Autre (1980), Birth of the Other offers a rare look at language acquisition from a Lacanian perspective. In 1951-52 Rosine Lefort conducted the treatment of two largely preverbal children, guiding them through psychoanalysis and meticulously documenting their activities. Lefort has applied her subsequent training in Lacanian theory to these early case notes, which provide remarkably lucid examples of exceedingly difficult concepts. This exceptional work thus clarifies many misconceptions about psychoanalytic theory, furnishes unique insight into what Lacan calls the "time of analysis," and grants a clearer understanding of the relationship between language and the unconscious. "Anyone interested in Lacan's psychoanalytical theories should not fail to read these revealing clinical studies by one of Lacan's most authoritative and lucid interpreters." -- Herman Rapaport, author of Between the Sign and the Gaze