Despise Super-Ego Injunctions
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"That's a pretty big super-ego injunction"
Tonight I'd like to talk about super-ego injunctions, or the Should. What Should one do?
Well, it doesn't matter. Moving on, there are many things that we are already supposed to do, and much of them we don't much want to do.
From going to work to paying bills to getting gas, there are many demands that are foisted upon us in the world.
However, we feel like we have no choice. We have to go to work or we have to do the laundry... Or we have to continue this boring conversation, or we have to hang out with this person so we have a friend, or we have to respect pushy people for being pushy.
Let's turn this around: We should go to work, we should do the laundry, we should continue this boring conversation, we should hang out with this person to have a friend, and we should respect pushy people for being pushy (while their pushiness gives you even more of a demand).
http://www.lacanonline.com/index/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/In-Your-More-Than-You-Seminar-XI1.png
There's no reason philosophically one should do any of those things. These are all super-ego injunctions. When most people think of the Freudian term super-ego they think of the conscience. Honestly it's not that at all. There are so many small things our super-egos tell us we "should" do.
It's better for both of us to get out of this boring conversation, but we can't because talking is a super-ego injunction.
Being polite to people is a super-ego injunction, being mad at people is a super-ego injunction, being horny for a super-ego injunction is a super-ego injunction and it being assumed that you're interpellated for Star Wars is a super-ego injunction.
The most punk thing I've done in my life so far is decide that having friends is a super-ego injunction. I feel bad for people with friends.
In other words, clever audience, I hate super-ego injunctions.
The only thing I like is being annoying (like at a sleep-over) and talking about doing things like watching Jurassic Park or playing video games, but not actually doing them. That would be a pretty big super-ego injunction. The annoying thing is just to ward off other super-ego injunctions.
The picture above shows Lacan's diagram for transference. One of the aims of psychoanalytic transference is to give the customer room to not have a super-ego injunction, or relieve them from demand. Once they do that, they can link the part of their being that they identify with with their desire.
You probably don't need a psychoanalyst. After a while you start to feel relaxed and imaginative. The reproduction of capitalism is a pretty big super-ego injunction but you'll get through. It feels so good when you're not supposed to do anything. Most people have so many demands and will never feel comfortable.
Genuine desire unhinged from demand is, I believe, one of the paths to mysticism. But maybe that's just a pretty big super-ego injunction.
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@Takamba said
"Obviously, you're the type who super-ego injunction hate super-ego injunctions the way you do. Also, the irony is too funny, so maybe you super-ego injunction go into comedy: The Punk Mystic! (kicking dogma in the balls!)"
I laughed so hard at this.
But yes, your hate is indeed a super-ego injunction.