name-of-the-father

adj. in the theory of French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan (1901–1981), denoting the stage at which the infant first enters the realm of the Symbolic. The child’s ability to “name the father” as a symbol for the absence of the mother represents his or her first use of symbolization and the first recognition that the father is a rival. See Oedipus complex. See also mirror phase.

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Psychology term of the day

February 2nd 2025

monocular deprivation

the deprivation of light to one eye. Compare binocular deprivation.