A new book uses Žižek’s and Lacan’s philosophies to examine how Indian social reality is constructed
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Every society is fundamentally a linguistic community. The collective consciousness that unites its members is a product of the Symbolic and the Imaginary. The wounds inflicted by the big Other are healed by imaginary fantasies such as “heaven”. All things recognised by collective consciousness, including these fantasies, are experienced as reality by members of that society. This is social reality – the perceived and lived world.
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The fact that the earth revolves around the sun is scientifically proven knowledge. However, in a society that believes in astrology, even though this knowledge may exist at the conscious level, it does not necessarily become part of its social reality. People in such a society continue to be influenced by a traditional symbolic order, which includes the myths and symbols of astrology.
As the world changes, humans acquire ever-new meanings, making their lives a series of continuous rebirths. Everything we see and touch turns into signs, which, in turn, touch and reshape us. This dynamic relationship between us and our world is what defines our humanity.
Imagination plays a crucial role in sustaining this relationship. Fantasies of the Imaginary help us overcome the prohibitions of the big Other and reclaim lost pleasures. These fantasies endow everything with meaning and...