Psychoanalysis at its Limits by Anthony Elliott Charles Spezzano

Author:Anthony Elliott, Charles Spezzano [Anthony Elliott, Charles Spezzano]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781138353749
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2019-02-14T00:00:00+00:00

The Postmodern Condition of Symbolic-Order Identity

Master Signifiers

The postmodern condition has radically altered the status of both the master signifiers and the knowledge systems that we rely on for the Symbolic-order dimension of our identities. More specifically, the postmodern condition has destabilized both signifiers and systems of knowledge, and as a result, these two pillars no longer offer the support to identity that they once did. The destabilization of master signifiers is a consequence of our being inundated with a multitude of competing and mutually contradictory master signifiers (i.e., values and ideals), and as a result, it is much harder - and perhaps also less necessary - for us than it is for subjects in traditional societies to settle on a stable and coherent set of master signifiers to constitute our ego ideal in which to ground ourselves from one situation to the next. As Walter Truett Anderson (1990: 257) observes, 'For most of us, one-dimensional social identities are not what they used to be. ... They are simply not adequate to our self-concepts or to the situations in which we function. ... More and more, we find it suitable to identify ourselves with more than one term. Multiple identity becomes a common feature of postmodern life.'

The primary reason for the destabilization is our massive exposure to others, which saturates us with competing and even mutually contradictory master signifiers, in the form of values, goals and ideals. Kenneth Gergen (1991: xi, 61) describes this social saturation as follows:

In the process of social saturation, the numbers, varieties, and intensities of relationship increasingly crowd the days. ... An array of technological innovations has led to an enormous proliferation of relationships. ... As a result of advances in radio, telephone, transportation, television, satellite transmission, computers, and more, we are exposed to an enormous barrage of social stimulation. Small and enduring communities, with a limited cast of significant others, are being replaced by a vast and ever-expanding array of relationships. ... A century ago, social relationships were largely confined to the distance of an easy walk. Most were conducted in person, within small communities: family, neighbors, townspeople. ... From birth to death one could depend on relatively even-textured social surroundings. Words, faces, gestures, and possibilities were relatively consistent, coherent, and slow to change. ... But as a result of the technological developments just described, contemporary life is a swirling sea of social relations.

This saturation of social relationships destabilizes our master signifiers in two ways. First, as Gergen (1991: 74) notes, we internalize master signifiers embodied in many of the people we come into contact with: 'As others are incorporated into the self, their tastes, goals, and values also insinuate themselves into one's being':

As we incorporate others into ourselves, so does the range of proprieties expand - that is, the range of what we feel a 'good,' 'proper,' or 'exemplary' person should be. Many of us carry with us the 'ghost of a father,' reminding us of the values of honesty and hard work, or a mother challenging us to be nurturing and understanding.

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