Ordinary Unhappiness 132: Laplanche Part One: Sexuality and Subjectivity feat. Danielle Drori
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Feb 7, 2026 Danielle Drory, Associate Faculty at the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research and psychoanalyst in training, introduces Jean Laplanche and his revision of Freud. They trace Laplanche’s biography and intellectual disputes. Short takes cover his lexicon work, the generalized seduction idea, enigmatic transmissions, and how these reshape thinking about development, language, and clinical practice.
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Childhood Gap Between Words And Meaning
- Danielle recounts childhood moments where she 'called out' her mother and sensed a gap between what was said and what was meant.
- She links that gap to Laplanche's idea of adults sending enigmatic messages the child can't fully decode.
Trauma Often Works In Two Moments
- Laplanche frames trauma and change as often occurring in two moments: initial event and later revaluation (après‑coup).
- This shifts how we think about time, trauma, and why some events only later become decisive.
Close Reading Reveals Freud's Shifts
- The Language of Psychoanalysis is halfway between dictionary and encyclopedia and traces how Freud's terms change over time.
- That close reading lets Laplanche both clarify Freud and coin terms to solve Freud's unresolved problems.
