Toward Levels of the Symbolic

By linking the Lacanian symbolic to the brain, one finds that the logic of symbolic organization applies to more than just language per se. Lacan himself is clear to articulate a particular linguistic organization to the unconscious which is not equated with specific language. Hence, the unconscious is structured like a language. This chapter sketches levels of the symbolic—different domains of brain systems structured like a language—including basic emotions, the motor axis, language motor dynamics, motoric representations, and abstract cognitive control.