Sexual Difference as Antinomy and Antagonism

Abstract

The formulae of sexuation represent a vital component of Lacan’s later theory, but, like his later work, they are also notorious for their inscrutability. This paper will explore the epistemological and ontological implications of the formulae by considering both a Kantian and Hegelian interpretation. The paper first of all glosses the formulae themselves, and presents a conventional clinical interpretation, and then goes on to consider the formulae as representing a logical antinomy (the Kantian perspective) and an ontological antagonism (dialectical/Hegelian).