A Journey into the Unconscious, Language, and the Philosophical Needs of Humanity
Trust, Honesty, and the Fluctuations of Meaning
What is trust? Is it anything more than an invisible contract formed between subjects? We might assume that trust has an objective reality, but from a psychoanalytic perspective, what we experience as trust is nothing more than a representation of past wounds on a social level.
Freud, in his analysis of the id and superego, considered trust to be the result of repression and internalization of social norms. He believed that honesty is a concept shaped by the prohibitions of the superego. However, Lacan takes this idea further, demonstrating that trust is, in fact, born from the subject’s endless desire to fill the "lack."
In other words, we trust the other not because we are certain of their truth, but because we need to believe that the other can fill the emptiness we feel within ourselves.
Science and Logic; Why Do We Need Them?
We live in a world of signs. Everything we see, touch, and understand is, in fact, the result of a mental process shaped within the framework of language and semiotics. But if everything we perceive is merely an interpretation of reality, how can we trust science and logic?
Science, in its essence, is a mental construct that attempts to bring order to our illusions. From Lacan's perspective, science, like language, has a symbolic structure that keeps us in an illusion of control. But does scientific logic transcend this illusion?
This is where psychoanalysis emerges as an analytical method. Unlike science, which seeks to explain phenomena through fixed laws, psychoanalysis aims to uncover what remains hidden from science: fantasies, repressed desires, and unconscious conflicts.
Reality or Fantasy?
Humanity has always sought to find "truth." However, psychoanalysis suggests that truth is nothing but an imaginary structure. Lacan states: "Truth itself is nothing but a fantasy." We do not experience life as it truly is but rather as our unconscious represents it.
For example, the concept of love has always been praised in culture and art, but in reality, is love anything more than an unconscious desire to find a reflection of ourselves in another? Freud viewed love as a projection of repressed desires, while Lacan placed it in the realm of the "imaginary," where we attempt to conceal our inner lacks through another.
Why Should We Reconsider Psychoanalysis?
Psychoanalysis is not only a therapeutic method but also a philosophical tool for a deeper understanding of ourselves. We live in a world filled with social and semantic conventions. But to what extent do these conventions align with our true nature?
As Lacan says: "Man is a prisoner of language." What we think about ourselves is nothing more than a product of language and social structures. In this context, psychoanalysis seeks to lift the veil of illusion and confront us with our unconscious truth.
If we wish to understand the truth, we must learn to distance ourselves from our illusions. Psychoanalysis, not as an exact science but as a method for deeper analysis of the mind and existence, can open a new window toward understanding ourselves and the world.
