Jouissance and death drive in Lacan's teaching

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the Lacanian notion of jouissance and its connection to the notion of death drive. Our purpose is to highlight the evolution of the articulation between these two notions across Lacan's teaching. When Lacan first gives a theoretical basis to the notion of jouissance, he criticizes the validity of death drive as a concept. Ten years later, death drive is rehabilitated and partially assimilated to jouissance. Between these two moments, jouissance plays a central role in the French psychoanalyst's teaching.