New Remarks on the Passage to the Act: Lacan and the Lacanians

New Remarks on the Passage to the Act considers what happens when psychoanalysis and the social sciences are called on to help modern societies overwhelmed by unexplained violence.

Jean Allouch examines key events – the crimes of the Papin sisters, Lacan’s case of Aimée and the murder of Hélène Rytmann by Louis Althusser – and unpacks the concept of the "passage to the act". The book assesses these classic cases, resorting to contemporaneous studies and literature, particularly discussing Marguerite Duras’ novel L’Amante Anglaise. The book also considers modern acts of terrorism.