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The unconscious is affect sticking to phonology: Considerations on the role of articulation

par Bazan, Ariane
Référence Psycho-analytische perspektieven, 20, 4, page (579-590)
Publication Publié, 2002

Article révisé par les pairs

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Résumé :

In this article a sound neurodynamic framework is proposed for the Freudo-Lacanian linguistically structured unconscious in terms of ‘affect sticking to phonology’ as well as for the particular importance of articulation in the processing of affect. First, the idea is defended that the phonological structure of language can act as a ‘carrier’ of affect, independent from its associated semantics. The affect-phonology linking can be considered as a conditioning mechanism at the level of the reptilian limbic system, whereas semantics is accorded after a disambiguation process at the level of the analytical, modern neocortex. While in this disambiguation alternative semantic contents, which are irrelevant in the given context, are inhibited, the affective arousal associated with these alternatives, is not. The origin of the excitation or anxiety is therefore not grasped, or is falsely and rationally attributed to the active semantics. These are the so-called Freudian false connections. Second, the idea is defended that articulation act as a scansion process that cuts the massive affective charge into a sequentially fragmented motor output and that the psychological gain in this translation is understood in terms of controllability, organisation and (topographical) representation.