The Unconscious as Space: From Freud to Lacan, and Beyond

The Unconscious as Space explores the experience of being and the practice of psychoanalysis by thinking of the unconscious in mathematical terms.

Anca Carrington introduces mathematical models of space, from dimension theory to algebraic topology and knot theory, and considers their immediate psychoanalytic relevance. The hypothesis that the unconscious is structured like a space marked by impossibility is then examined. Carrington considers the clinical implications, with particular focus on the interplay between language and the unconscious as related topological spaces in which movement takes place along knot-like pathways.

The Unconscious as Space will be of appeal to psychotherapists, psychoanalysts and mental health professionals in practice and in training.

Anca Carrington is a London-based psychoanalyst with a particular interest in Lacanian analysis, and an associate member of the Centre for Freudian Analysis and Research. In her previous career she worked in spatial analysis and remains interested in the application of mathematical thinking to the field of psychoanalysis.