In Jacques Lacan’s psychoanalytic theory, fantasy (düşlem) has a meaning completely different from its everyday usage (daydreaming, escapism, or unreal thoughts). For Lacan, fantasy is not an escape from reality; on the contrary, it is a fundamental structure that establishes and sustains reality itself.
To understand Lacan’s theory of fantasy, it is necessary to examine a few fundamental concepts and the functions of fantasy:
1. The Fundamental Formula of Fantasy
Lacan expresses fantasy with a mathematical formula:
$ ⋄ a
This formula is read as: “The relationship of the barred subject with objet petit a.”
- $ (Barred Subject): The subject who, upon entering language, encounters a feeling of lack (castration) and can never be whole; the split subject.
- a (Objet Petit a – Object Cause of Desire): The piece of “unattainable lack” that the subject has lost and searches for throughout life. It is not the desired object itself, but the cause that brings desire into existence.
- ⋄ (Poinçon): Symbolizes the subject’s desire for this object, their position towards it, and the disconnect between them.
2. Fantasy as the Support of Reality
According to Lacan, the “reality” we perceive is a product of fantasy. The human mind cannot perceive the world as it is (in what Lacan calls the traumatic and chaotic order of the “Real“). Fantasy is like a screen, a cinema screen, drawn over this unbearable and meaningless Real. It offers meaning, coherence, and a tolerable framework to life. If your fantasy collapses, your reality also collapses (this is called anxiety/angst).
3. Fantasy Teaches Us “How” to Desire
Fantasy is a scenario that determines not what we desire, but how we set up the scene of desire. It enables the subject to keep their desire alive. Because, according to Lacan, desire is not about reaching an object, but about continuing to desire. Since desire would extinguish upon reaching the goal (objet petit a), fantasy always keeps this object one step ahead, in an unattainable place.
4. The Response to the Desire of the Big Other (Che Vuoi?)
In Lacanian psychoanalysis, humans are thrown into language and society (The Big Other) from the moment they are born. The subject’s most fundamental question is: “What does the Big Other want from me?” (Che vuoi?). Fantasy is an answer to this terrifying and uncertain question. Since the subject cannot fully know what the Other wants, they construct a scenario (fantasy) in their own mind to complete the Other’s desire and position themselves in an object or role within that scenario.
The Difference Between Fantasy and Daydreaming
In everyday language, we often use the words daydreaming/imagination (hayal) and fantasy (fantezi) interchangeably. However, from the perspective of philosophy, psychology, and especially psychoanalysis (Lacan/Freud), there are very sharp structural and functional differences between these two concepts.
We can clarify the differences under the following main headings:
1. Purpose: Escape from Reality, or Constructing Reality?
Daydreaming: It is generally a conscious act of inactivity or an escape mechanism. When you are bored or overwhelmed by current reality, you daydream to move your mind to a more comfortable space. Thinking “What would I do if I won the lottery?” is a daydream; it is temporary, and when that moment ends, you return to reality.
Fantasy (in a psychoanalytic sense): It is not an escape from reality, but the skeleton that sustains reality itself. Fantasy is our way of making sense of life and making it bearable. Rather than something you consciously “create,” it is an unconscious scenario that shapes your worldview, relationships, and desires. Without fantasy, the world would be a chaotic and meaningless place for you.
2. Position of Desire: Attaining or Sustaining?
Daydreaming: It is directly satisfaction-oriented. In your daydream, you reach a goal, you possess that object, and you experience a temporary gratification in your mind (e.g., “I bought that car and I’m driving it”). Daydreaming completes its function the moment it is achieved (in reality or in the mind).
Fantasy: It is not satisfaction-oriented, but desire-oriented. The primary purpose of fantasy is not to lead you to the desired object, but to prevent your desire from extinguishing, to keep it constantly alive. In the fantasy scenario, the object must always remain somewhat unattainable, missing, or obstructed so that you can continue to desire. Thus, fantasy is the stage for enjoying the act of desiring, not for possessing the object.
3. Level of Consciousness: Who is in Control?
Daydreaming: It is largely conscious and voluntary. You can start daydreaming at your own will, change the course of the daydream, or end it by saying, “Well, back to work.” You are in control.
Fantasy: It is fundamentally unconscious. People are unaware of their fantasies (especially the root fantasies that determine blockages in relationships, career, or life). Recurring cycles such as why you always fall for similar people, or why you always experience the same anxiety in certain situations, are related to your fantasy structure, and you do not consciously “choose” them.
4. Relationship with the Other: Your Own World, or “The Big Other”?
Daydreaming: It is an entirely subjective and individual playground. You write the scenario to your own liking and cast yourself in the lead role.
Fantasy: It is always in relation to the external world, society, language, and parents (i.e., Lacan’s “Big Other“). Fantasy, rather than being something you produce on your own, is a structural response given by your unconscious to the question, “What does the external world want from me, where do I belong in this world?”