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This volume started as a dissertation written between September 1999 and April 2000 in the philosophy department at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. So, I would like to begin by thanking the two co-directors of my dissertation, Edward S. Casey and Slavoj Žižek. Ed’s insights , support, and friendship have been invaluable to me. And, without Slavoj, this project simply wouldn’t be what it is—my very way of thinking about philosophy and psychoanalysis is profoundly and immeasurably indebted to him. I am also grateful to the other members of my dissertation committee for their advice and assistance: Kelly Oliver, Hugh Silverman , and Beverly Haviland. In addition, I would like to thank those people at Stony Brook who were, for me, an important part of my experience there—especially Talia Welsh. Richard G. Klein played a crucial role in the genesis of this book. He provided me with all of the unpublished manuscripts by Lacan cited here; what’s more, over the course of our many phone conversations the past few years, he has become both a friend and an indispensable interlocutor. Also, I appreciate Anthony Steinbock giving me the opportunity to publish this volume with the Studies in Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy series at Northwestern University Press. Since August of 2002, Emory University and the Emory Psychoanalytic Institute have provided me with a wonderful environment in which to continue my research activities amidst a unique community of exciting and engaging minds, minds fiercely devoted to furthering the development of psychoanalytic ways of thinking in relation to various disciplines. I have already learned an enormous amount from my colleagues and friends at Emory, and I look forward to further collaboration with them. I would like to thank—this list is far from exhaustive—Cathy Caruth, Rudolf Makkreel, Elissa Marder, Claire Nouvet, Robert A. Paul, Walter Reed, Beth Seelig, and Cynthia Willett, among others, for their generous support (for having brought me to Emory and for having made possible the continuation of my work, both as a scholar and as a teacher, at the interstices of philosophy and psychoanalysis). Acknowledgments xxv The selfless emotional backing and intellectual influence provided by my family encouraged me to pursue my philosophical interests and enabled me to continue with this work even when faced with various adversities . On so many levels, I owe a great deal to them, more than I can enumerate. I can’t thank them enough. Modified versions of portions of this volume have appeared in several different journals: Anamorphosis (“Experiential Origin, Symbolic Destiny: Serge Leclaire’s Letter and the Negotiation Between Phenomenology and Structuralism,” no. 3, 2000), Lacanian Ink (“The Forced Choice of Enjoyment : Jouissance between Anticipation and Actualization,” The Symptom, volume II, Spring/Summer 2002), and The Letter: Lacanian Perspectives on Psychoanalysis (“In Language More Than Language Itself: Reconsidering the Significance of Structuralism in Lacanian Thought,” no. 25, Summer 2002). I appreciate the editors allowing these portions to reappear here. xxvi A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S ...

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