The Neuronal Real: Antagonism Immanent to the Brain

If jouissance arises from the point of antagonism within the symbolic, and I claim that jouissance corresponds to (prioritized) surplus affective consciousness, then is it possible to formulate antagonism within the brain? Here, I demonstrate how antagonism is not only immanent to the brain’s inherited structure; it is also necessary for affective consciousness. Consciousness depends on antagonism (the real) immanent to a brain organized as a differential system (the symbolic). This allows me to situate the Lacanian split subject ($), objet a, and das Ding—as well as develop the notion of an emotional system operating in the logic of jouissance: J(E).