How does Lacanian analysis address the question of mysticism ?
Lacan himself posed the question of mysticism not only by referring to the occident – through Angelus Silesius, Meistre Eckhart, St. Theresa, etc. – but in reference to the oriental practice of Buddhism and Taoism. This much said, in recognizing that this domain cuts through the field of psychoanalysis, Lacan had taken enough precautions not to confuse the theory and practice of psychoanalysis with either. Unfortunately, it has become all too tempting for some to promote various blends of mysticism and ‘New Agism’ in the name of Lacanian scholarship and therapy. Yet, the question of the element of mysticism in analytic discourse – most notably in those schools following Jung – cannot be explored solely in terms of its relation to the paradigm of the ‘mystic’, but must include the question of what it is to ‘step-back’ from Western Philosophy, Religion, and Values, without adopting the spiritual attitudes or discourse of the mystic (to which Lacan attributes a hysterical structure** see
