Considerations about the notion of proper name in Lacan

between the signifier and the letter

Abstract

The aim of this article is to investigate how Lacan addresses the notion of proper name within the Identification theme. According to Lacan, a proper name is not defined as the designation of a particular element. Neither it is understood as a signifier of a special combination of sounds. Instead, it is intimately linked to the phenomenon of writing and to the notion of the letter as a support for the signifier. This study argues that the identification to the proper name includes the need for an act of reading capable of implying in one taking a subjective position. It is important to highlight that the language structuring the proper name cannot be reduced to a representational function, since it acquires the very status of an act.