Commentary on the text About my conception of the Self, by Jean Laplanche

Abstract

This paper is a commentary on Jean Laplanche’s note written between the years 1990-1991, in which he seeks to situate his students at the time regarding their positions on the concept of Ego, which he had studied extensively since 1970. The economic point of view is highlighted as a central role in the Ego’s function and in this scenario, referencing its concept of translation activity. Laplanche’s statement about the metonymic and metaphorical derivations of the Ego is discussed, as well as their relationship with the connection of drives. The role of sexualization on the initial Ego-instance, in the transformation into the I-individual, is also discussed. A proposition of differentiation of nomenclature between the Ego-instance and the I-individual is brought to establish the differentiation between a primitive, punitive and accusatory Superego and a Superego resulting from the action of the translation activity. Initial answers to the three questions that end Laplanche’s text on the Id, the ego ideal, the ideal Ego and the Superego are introduced.