Reading Comprehension

The extent to which French psychiatrist Jacques Lacan has had a significant impact on the modern field of psychoanalysis has been the subject of some debate. Harvard University professor and clinical psychologist Annie Rogers seeks to distill Lacan's opaque concepts into theories that can be applied practically in psychotherapy. In her analysis, Rogers claims that Lacan's contributions have been both undervalued and misconstrued. She concedes that Lacan's unique, idiosyncratic linguistic style has led to the dismissal of his writings by many psychoanalysts. Doubt about Lacan's authority is compounded by the fact that most respected psychoanalysts give credence to formal clinical case studies-scholarly work that Lacan's writings fail to reference. Still, Rogers credits Lacan with uncovering the methods by which the unconscious manifests itself through language. She has applied Lacanian theory in her practice of psychotherapy to treat victims of abuse.

Dylan Evans, a psychoanalyst who argues that Lacan's theories lack a sound scientific basis, has concluded that the application of Lacanian thought is more detrimental than it is beneficial to patients of psychotherapy. Evans' concern is Lacan's definition of "The Real"; this definition, according to Evans, inhibits patients from reaching a true understanding of themselves. Evans contends that Lacan's definition of The Real as "the impossible" (something that is both unimaginable and unattainable) is injurious, as it divorces the idea of conventional reality from The Real. Evans eventually asserts that the very entrance into language, the attempt to state The Real in words, signifies an irrevocable separation from The Real itself and is therefore impractical for the purposes of psychotherapy. Evans found that his patients experienced anxiety as a result of their inability to mentally differentiate between the real and the imaginary-a distinction which, owing to the limitations of language, can never be realized through conversation.

Despite the fact that Lacan's ideas are not always met with unqualified approval, it is true that Lacan was the first to suggest that knowledge is constructed on the basis of linguistic structures that organize not only our conscious, but also our unconscious lives. Evans' criticism of Lacan is challenged by Rogers' ability to effectively translate and apply the distinctive logic of Lacan's thinking to achieve successful results. Still, Rogers deviates slightly from Lacan, who was a Freudian thinker, in that her application of Lacanian thought undercuts Freud's emphasis on the bodily causes of behavior. Rogers instead focuses on the ways in which a human subject can use language to understand his or her relationships with others.


The passage suggests that which of the following statements is true?


(A) Rogers respected but ignored Evans' ideas about the application of Lacanian theories in psychotherapy.

(B) Clinical psychologists should use Lacanian theories to treat victims of abuse with psychotherapy.

(C) The use of conversation in psychotherapy renders Lacan's theories impractical in that they induce anxiety in the patient.

(D) Rogers neglected the Freudian aspects of Lacanian theory in her use of psychotherapy.

(E) Psychoanalysts use formal clinical case studies in order to gain respect in the psychological community.