Freudian Unconscious Course

This is a free portal to explore the discovery of the Unconscious as first identified by Sigmund Freud, further developed in the formal psychoanalytic theories of Jacques Lacan, and the speculative philosophy of Slavoj Žižek.

Facebook group: The Freudian Unconscious

Professional Endorsements:

“This project is essential and crucial for the future of psychoanalytic theory and the emancipatory drive.” – Slavoj Žižek

“Cadell Last’s work and projects are of extreme significance in the times we live in. They give theory a platform it doesn’t usually get, and establish connections that one would never thought of. All this with great lucidity, intensity and dedication.” – Alenka Zupančič

Student Testimonials:

“One of the most powerful experiences I have had in linking high order philosophy with psychoanalysis. As a psychoanalytic psychotherapist, I cannot emphasize enough how this course has helped with my own self-understanding and consequently clinical thinking.” – Roshanak Vahdani, Jungian psychotherapist

“As a student in philosophy, I gained a lot from engaging with this course. It must not be underestimated how valuable this kind of work can be, working with others in thinking and writing about pressing contemporary issues, tarrying with the negative within and without, and in improving one’s understanding of both personal and professional interests. I would never have gained as much as I did reading Freud and Lacan, had I not had the opportunity to learn with Last. Last provides quality material with care, and I have great faith in his project.” -Mika Leinonen, undergraduate philosopher (with focus on Aristotle and Hegel)

“It has been a precious and invaluable experience studying under Cadell Last. I have benefitted greatly from first-hand experience of his generous, personal, intellectual guidance. His course is organized, rigorous and packed full of relevant information, and his personal attention [in the Facebook group] is beyond expectations. I have studied at numerous Universities at Post Graduate level and Cadell’s courses have provided me with the best readings and opportunities of learning more than any other that I have completed.” -Megan Lorrayne, psychotherapist and health coach

“A rival to the best college courses and professors, Cadell’s class will introduce the professional and the novice to a subtle, nuanced, and philosophically interested dive into the Freudian universe. His personal and passionate style has made accessible an entire intellectual realm that proves to have real implications for your intellectual, professional, and most personal development.” – Jacob Weiss, U.S. military and aspiring scholar

“[This is] about as clear an introduction as you can get to the whole loaf of Freud, lovingly baked for our contemporary context. The material discussed continues to challenge and motivate me, and I haven’t quite found an area of my life where it wasn’t incredibly relevant!” – Addley Walker, woodland critter

“In these critical transformational times courses like this are vital. Cadell Last’s skilful wizardry at mapping out a road for studying the unconscious is a rare and genius asset right now. His depth of insights are vast and remarkable. The rich content and gems of wisdom he has woven together are a cornucopia of delights. And the inclusive and communal platform is an honour to be a part of. A labyrinth of abundant knowledge to dive into over and again.” -Feebz Luna, mystic

Welcome to the Freudian Unconscious

All video passwords: “freud”

PRE-COURSE INTRODUCTION ZOOM CALLS

MODULE 1: ORIGINAL TRAUMA

The Subject Starts To Speak Its Beginning…

Facebook Introduction: Welcome

In-Itself Level 1.1: Freud

Themes: Origin of Psychoanalysis; Traumatic Experience; Subjectivity

Introduction Video (Original Trauma):

Freudian Readings: [GENERAL PDF] (Download PDF for search function)

The Neuro-Psychoses of Defence (1894)
Further Remarks on the Neuro-Psychoses of Defence (1896)

Module 1 Zoom Call:

In-Itself Level 1.2: Lacan and Žižek

Lecture Video 1 (Freud’s Technique):

Lacanian Readings:

Introduction to the commentaries on Freud’s Papers on Technique. The Seminar of Jacques Lacan Book I: Freud’s Papers on Technique 1953-1954. p. 7-19. [PDF]

Lecture Video 2 (Trauma):

Žižekian Readings:

Malabou, C. 2015. Žižek, Psychoanalysis, and the Apocalypse. In: Repeating Žižek. p. 113-126. [PDF]
Žižek, S. 2008. Descartes and the Post-Traumatic Subject. Filozofski vestnik, XXIX, 2. [PDF]

Bonus Readings:

Lacan, J. 1966. Overture to this Collection. In: Écrits. p. 3-5. [PDF]
Žižek, S. 2007. Introduction. In: How to Read Lacan. p. 1-6. [PDF]

Module 1 Personal and Professional Worksheets:

Personal: Egoic substitution as a present non-sexual idea taking the place of a past sexual idea (summary, plus questions)

Blanks for your use:

Professional: Philosophical status of primordial trauma in the present moment (summary, plus questions)

Blank for your use:

Facebook reflection: Module 1 (personal, professional)

Module 2: Metaphysics & Dreams

In-Itself Level 2.1: Freud

Themes: Wish Fulfilment; Dream Processes; Un-Conscious Reality

Introduction Video (Metaphysics):

Introduction Video (Dreams):

Freudian Readings: [GENERAL PDF] (Download PDF for search function)

Chapter 3: A Dream is the Fulfilment of Wish (In: The Interpretation of Dreams (1900))
Chapter 7: The Psychology of Dream Processes (F): The Unconscious and Conscious – Reality (In: The Interpretation of Dreams (1900))
On Dreams (1901a)

Module 2 Zoom Call:

In-Itself Level 2.2: Lacan and Žižek

Lecture Video 1 (Metapsychology):

Lacanian Readings:

3. Beyond the “Reality Principle” In: Écrits, p. 73-92. [PDF]
I. Psychology and metapsychology. The Seminar of Jacques Lacan Book II: The Ego in Freud’s Theory and in the Technique of Psychoanalysis 1954-1955. p. 3-12. [PDF]

Lecture Video 2 (Mediation):

Žižekian Readings:

Žižek, S. 2003. Science: Cognitivism with Freud. In: Organs without Bodies: Deleuze and Consequences. p. 111-148. [PDF]
Johnston, A. 2014. Chapter 6 – In Nature More Than Nature Itself: Žižek Between Naturalism and Supernaturalism. In: Adventures in Transcendental Materialism. p. 139-164. [PDF]

Bonus Reading:

Freud, S. 1900. The Interpretation of Dreams. [Full Text]

Bonus Video:

Module 2 Personal and Professional Worksheets:

Personal: Individual adventure traversing classical versus psychoanalytic metaphysics

Blank for your use:

Professional: Philosophical status of ontology and epistemology in the light of unconscious subjective mediation

Blank for your use:

Facebook reflection: Module 2 (personal, professional)

MODULE 3: SEXUALITY

In-Itself Level 3.1: Freud

Themes: Aberrations-Perversions; Infantile Sexuality; Puberty Transformation

Introduction Video (Sexuality):

Freudian Readings: [GENERA L PDF] (Download PDF for search function)

Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality (1905d)

Module 3 Zoom Call:

In-Itself Level 3.2: Lacan and Žižek

Lecture Video 1 (On Women and Men):

Lacanian Readings:

Chapter XIII: The hysteric’s question (II): What is a woman? The Seminar of Jacques Lacan Book III: The Psychoses 1955-1956. p. 173-182. [PDF]
24. Signification of the Phallus In: Écrits, p. 575-584. [PDF]

Lecture Video 2 (Sexual Difference as Real):

Žizekean Readings:

Žižek, S. 2012. Part I – Sexual Difference in the Disenchanted Universe; Part II – The Real of Sexual Difference. In: Chapter 11: The Non-All, or, the Ontology of Sexual Difference. In: Less Than Nothing. p. 739-756. London: Verso. [PDF]
Zupančič, A. 2017. Introduction and Conclusion: From Adam’s Navel to Dream’s Navel. In: What Is Sex? p. 1-4; 141-143. [PDF]

Bonus Readings:

Freud, S. 1910b. Fifth Lecture. In: Five Lectures on Psychoanalysis.
Zupančič, A. 2017. What Is Sex? [Full-Text] [PDF]

Bonus Video:

Module 3 Personal and Professional Worksheets:

Personal: Egoic sexual knot between the double pressure of the id’s wishes and the superego’s rules

Blank for your use:

Professional: Real structure of sexual difference at the intersection of the symbolic-imaginary-real

Blank for your use:

Facebook reflection: Module 3 (personal, professional)

MODULE 4: LANGUAGE

In-Itself Level 4.1: Freud

Themes: Jokes, Primal Words, Lies

Introduction Video (Language):

Freudian Readings: [GENERAL PDF] (Download PDF for search function)

II – The Technique of Jokes (In: Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious (1905c))
III – The Purpose of Jokes (In: Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious (1905c))
The Antithetical Meaning of Primal Words (1910e)
Two Lies Told by Children (1913g)

Module 4 Zoom Call:

In-Itself Level 4.2: Lacan and Žižek

Lecture Video 1 (Speech and the Symbolic):

Lacanian Readings:

12. The Function and Field of Speech and Language in Psychoanalysis (1953) In: Écrits, p. 197-268. [PDF]

Lecture Video 2 (Suture):

Žižekian Readings:

Žižek, S. 2012. Part X – From Differentiality to the Phallic Signifier. In: Chapter 9: Suture and Pure Difference. In: Less Than Nothing. p. 582-597. London: Verso. [PDF]

Bonus Readings:

Freud, S. 1911. The Significance of Sequences of Vowels.
Lacan, J. 1955-56. Metaphor and metonymy (II): Signifying articulation and transference of the signified. The Seminar of Jacques Lacan Book III: The Psychoses 1955-1956. p. 222-230. [PDF]

Module 4 Personal and Professional Worksheets:

Personal: Symbolic materiality of intense emotional real constituting story of the origin (blank for your use):

Professional: Ontology of suture, or: universality, subjectivization, and temporalization of the signifying chain (blank for your use):

Facebook reflection: Module 4 (personal, professional) (not available)

Module 5: NEGATIVITY

In-Itself Level 5.1: Freud

THEMES: Incest, Transference, Debasement

Introduction Video (Negativity):

Freudian Readings: [GENERAL PDF] (Download PDF for search function)

Chapter 1: The Horror of Incest. (In: Totem and Taboo (1912-1913))
The Dynamics of Transference (1912c)
On the Universal Tendency to Debasement in the Sphere of Love (1912d)

Module 5 Zoom Call:

In-Itself Level 5.2: Lacan and Žižek

Lecture Video 1 (Negativity and Lack):

Lacanian Readings:

16. Response to Jean Hyppolite’s Commentary on Freud’s “Verneinung” [Negation] (1953) In: Écrits, p. 318-333. [PDF]
On a Lack that is Irreducible to the Signifier. The Seminar of Jacques Lacan Book X: Anxiety 1962-1963. p. 131-146. [PDF]

Lecture Video 2 (Self-Relating Negativity):

Žižekian Readings:

Žižek, S. 2012. Part 3 – Varieties of Self-Relating Negation. In: Chapter 7: The Limits of Hegel. In: Less Than Nothing. p. 473-480. London: Verso. [PDF]
Dolar, M. 2013. The Atom and the Void. Filozofski vestnik, XXXIV, p. 11-26. [PDF]

Bonus Reading:

Freud, S. 1915d. Repression.

Bonus Video:

Module 5 Personal and Professional Worksheets:

Personal: Ego (imaginary) tools-mechanisms for resisting underlying lack (blank for your use):

Professional: One as a fall: ancient and modern; imaginary cover of lack versus symbolic recognition of lack

Blanks for your use:

Facebook reflection: Module 5 (personal, professional)

MODULE 6: DRIVE AND IMMORTALITY

In-Itself Level 6.1: FREUD

THEMES: Repetition, Death Drive, Immortality

Introduction Video (Drive):

Introduction Video (Immortality):

Freudian Readings: [GENERAL PDF] (Download PDF for search function)

Section V (In: Beyond the Pleasure Principle (1920))
Section VI (In: Beyond the Pleasure Principle (1920))

Module 6 + 7 Zoom Call:

In-Itself Level 6.2: Lacan and Žižek

Lecture Video 1 (Libidinal Drive):

Lacanian Readings:

14. The Partial Drive and its Circuit. The Seminar of Jacques Lacan Book XI: The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis 1973. p. 174-186. [PDF]
15. From Love to the Libido. The Seminar of Jacques Lacan Book XI: The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis 1973. p. 187-202. [PDF]

Lecture Video 2 (Repetition):

Žižekian Readings:

Žižek, S. 2012. Part 5 – Aufhebung and Repetition. In: Chapter 7. The Limits of Hegel. In: Less Than Nothing. p. 491-496. [PDF]
Žižek, S. 2012. Part 6 – From Repetition to Drive. In: Chapter 7. The Limits of Hegel. In: Less Than Nothing. p. 496-504. [PDF]
Žižek, S. 2012. Part 3 – Desire, Drive, Deleuze, Lacan. In: Chapter 8. There is a Non-Relationship. In: Absolute Recoil. p. 235-239. [PDF]

Bonus Readings:

Lacan, J. 32. On Freud’s “Trieb” [Drive] and the Psychoanalyst’s Desire.(1964) In: Écrits, p. 722-725. [PDF]
Žižek, S. 2007. Troubles with the Real: Lacan as a Reader of Alien. In: How to Read Lacan. p. 61-78. [PDF]

Bonus Video:

Module 6 Personal and Professional Worksheets:

Personal: Repetition beyond (death) the pleasure principle (world)

Blank for your use:

Professional: Symbolic castration (world) to the real drive (death)

Blank for your use:

Facebook reflection: Module 6 (personal, professional)

Module 7: SOCIETY

The Contradiction Between Individual and Society

In-Itself Level 7.1: Freud

THEMES: Civilization, Social Suffering, Intellectual Sublimation

Introduction Video (Society):

Freudian Readings: [GENERAL PDF] (Download PDF for search function)

Chapter III (In: Civilization and Its Discontents (1930))

(Zoom call for Module 7 coupled with Zoom call for Module 6, see above).

In-Itself Level 7.2: Lacan and Žižek

Lecture Video 1 (Subjective Subversion):

Lacanian Readings:

Lacan, J. 30. The Subversion of the Subject and the Dialectic of Desire in the Freudian Unconscious. (1960) In: Écrits, p. 671-702. [PDF]

Lecture Video 2 (King + Rabble & Sex):

Žižekian Readings:

Žižek, S. 2012. Interlude 3 – King, Rabble, War… and Sex. In: Less Than Nothing. p. 417-453. [PDF]

BONUS READINGS:

Lacan, J. XIII. The death of God. The Seminar of Jacques Lacan Book VII: The Ethics of Psychoanalysis 1959-60. p. 167-178. [PDF]
Lacan, J. II. The master and the hysteric. The Seminar of Jacques Lacan Book XVII: The Other Side of Psychoanalysis 1969-70. p. 29-38. [PDF]

Module 7 Personal and Professional Worksheets:

Personal: External transindividual unconscious

Blank for your use:

Professional: Contemporary realm of the four discourses:

Blank for your use:

Facebook reflection: Module 7 (personal, professional)

Module 8: Truth and Creation

Cultivating Embodied Relation to the Hole

In-Itself Level 8.1: Freud

THEMES: Temporality, Culture, Religion

Introduction Video (Truth):

Introduction Video (Creation):

Freudian Readings: [GENERAL PDF] (Download PDF for search function)

Chapter I—III (In: The Future of an Illusion (1927))

Module 8 Zoom Call:

In-Itself Level 8.2: Lacan and Žižek

Lecture Video 1 (Knowledge and Truth):

Lacanian Readings:

Lacan, J. 33. Science and Truth. (1965-66) In: Écrits, p. 726-745. [PDF]
Lacan, J. Knowledge and truth. The Seminar of Jacques Lacan Book XX: On Feminine Sexuality, The Limits of Love and Knowledge 1972-73. p. 83-103. [PDF]

Lecture Video 2 (Den + Objet a):

ŽiŽekian Readings:

Žižek, S. 2014. From Here to Den. In: Absolute Recoil. p. 244-264. [PDF]

BONUS READINGS:

Freud, S. 1927. The Future of an Illusion. [Full-Text]
Lacan, J. IX. On creation ex nihilo. The Seminar of Jacques Lacan Book VII: The Ethics of Psychoanalysis 1959-60. p. 115-127. [PDF]
Žižek, S. 2012. Y’a de Den. In: The Ontology of Quantum Physics. In: Less Than Nothing. p. 950-961. [PDF]

Module 8 Personal and Professional Worksheets: