The subject, the symbolic and nature

  • Peter Hudson University of the Witwatersrand
Keywords: Descartes, subject, drive, epigenesis, weak nature, symbolic

Abstract

This article identifies the standard conception of the relationship between Nature and the Symbolic and contrasts it with that developed by the neuro-sciences, epigenetics and psychoanalysis. These latter develop a conception of nature as neither a self-sufficient totality that renders the human sciences redundant, nor as the merely passive substrate of the Symbolic. Here Nature requires “completion” by the Symbolic and vice-versa.  In conclusion, the implications of this new articulation (of Nature and the Symbolic) for the status of the subject are addressed.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Peter Hudson, University of the Witwatersrand

Department of Political Studies
University of the Witwatersrand
Johannesburg

Published
2018-08-16
How to Cite
Hudson, P. (2018). The subject, the symbolic and nature. PINS-Psychology in Society, 56(1), 85-90. https://doi.org/10.17159/2309-8708/2018/n56a5
Section
Articles