Readings of Jean Laplanche in Process

Bryan Batista-Thomas works full-time in private practice.

'The psychoanalysts who speak in this book, most of them, knew Laplanche personally and worked with him. They have become recognized authors around the world. The sum of their contributions gives an idea of the tremendous potential for renewal of psychoanalytic thought enabled by the reference to the General Theory of Seduction developed by Laplanche in his tireless discussion with the work and thought of Freud.'Christophe Dejours, M.D., full member of the French Psychoanalytic Association, president of the Scientific Council of the Jean Laplanche Foundation-Institut de France'This timely and necessary volume is an essential contribution to contemporary psychoanalytic thought. Through a series of compelling interviews with leading international scholars, it explores and expands Laplanche’s groundbreaking ideas on seduction, translation, and the unconscious. The contributors highlight the clinical, theoretical, and ethical significance of his work, while also situating it within today’s cultural and global context. Accessible yet profound, the volume invites clinicians, students, and researchers to rediscover Laplanche’s insights and to pursue new directions in psychoanalytic thought. A rich and necessary resource, it keeps his legacy alive for contemporary practice.'Virginia Ungar, M.D., Past IPA President'In this polyphonic volume, Bryan Batista-Thomas gathers leading psychoanalysts from across the globe to probe and expand Jean Laplanche’s audacious reimagining of Freud. Alive with energy and insight, the collection reminds us that the work of tracing Laplanche’s legacy is not merely unfinished but gathering force—continuing to provoke and inspire.' Patricia Gherovici, Ph.D., psychoanalyst and author of Transgender Psychoanalysis'In this lively and immensely edifying book, Bryan Batista-Thomas has asked a diverse and sophisticated group of ten prominent psychoanalyst scholars to think about what constitutes a Laplanchean style of psychoanalysis. As the interviewees grapple with the clinical and theoretical implications of Laplanche’s work, the reader is privy to their own styles of de-translation, translation, closure, and compromise formation. In turn, the serious reader of Laplanche is provoked to think in their own style, keeping these questions open, as they should be.'Elaine P. Zickler, Ph.D., L.C.S.W., Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia'By posing a cognate series of questions to a geographically and intellectually diverse group of psychoanalysts, Bryan Batista-Thomas draws out the full scope of Laplanche’s thinking. The book’s interview format facilitates an admirable resistance to synthesis—a refusal of settled positions—that comports with Laplanche’s thoroughgoing skepticism toward the settled and the centered. I learned a great deal from this book and recommend it highly.'Tim Dean, Frank Hodgins Chair in American Literature, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

• 1. Lorenza Escardó Zaldo 2. Udo Hock 3. Maria Teresa de Melo Carvalho 4. Dominique Scarfone 5. Luiz Carlos Tarelho 6. José Carlos Calich 7. Isabelle Gernet 8. Nicolas Evzonas 9. Avgi Saketopoulou 10. Afterword - Hélène Tessier