Anguish and fantasy in the new symbolic order: considerations on contemporary malaise

Abstract

This work sought to investigate how anguish and fantasy are articulated in the new symbolic order, characterized by the rise of the object a to the social zenith in contemporary times, from the perspective of Lacanian psychoanalysis. To this end, we carried out an in-depth bibliographical review of the concepts of anguish and fantasy in the work of Sigmund Freud and in the teaching of Jacques Lacan, seeking to understand how these concepts are articulated. Next, we look at the concept of the a-object, which is fundamental to understanding the effects on the subjective constitution of subjects related to its heyday in contemporary times. In the last topic, we present an overview of the differences in the ways in which malaise manifests itself in contemporary times in relation to the Freudian description, focusing in particular on the increase in anguish and the fall of fantasy. We conclude by presenting a clinical case, establishing how fantasy can deal with this addictive anguish characteristic of the era of the non-existent Other.