#027 – From Symbolic to Real

#027 - From Symbolic to RealJune 16, 2020

Transcript:

Today we are transforming a faulty quote by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson into a productive conversation and workshop opportunity about symbols, narratives and theory of change. My name is Camille, you’re listening to Cosmic Dynamics, 5 minute of exploration on art, change, and the music of the universe. Boris Johnson argued in an op-ed for The Daily Telegraph that the debate over monuments to problematic historical figures that is currently roiling the UK glosses over the real issue of racism in contemporary society. “We need to attack the substance of the problem, not the symbols,” he said. That’s the art piece of the day by the way, by word artist Boris Johnson. Ok Beyond the joke, this is a typical narrative strategy often used in politics: Protecting the symbols, and playing the “either or” situation.  “We need to attack the substance of the problem, not the symbols” he said. Even intuitively we can say the answer is probably in both… right? We intuitively know that the symbolic matters. If you don’t address the symbols first, you can’t build new structures. I will quote the great French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan who showed us that the symbolic, through language and narratives, is "the pact which links subjects together in one action. The human action par excellence is originally founded on the existence of the world of the symbol, namely on laws and contracts" (Freud’s papers 230, by J. Lacan) Most social movements have always understood that symbols matter very much. The problem is always in building new structures in the real… the real is where we generally fail. Psychoanalytically speaking, the failure to build something in the real, means we continue to desire that something. That desire itself could be a way to avoid coming in contact with the real because it does not want to achieve the object of desire, it wants to reproduce itself. This is the constant struggle with social and environmental movements. Moving beyond new narratives, beyond the symbols, establishing new structures that work in the real is extremely difficult because of how our mind tricks us. How do we do that? How do we come in full contact with the real?  More and more funders of social movements ask for a theory of change. A methodology you might have heard of. How will the actions you propose result in outcomes that create a pathway to a new normal? It’s a start… indeed. Right now, although this podcast is real, I am failing to move into the real of what I am talking about, moving beyond the symbolic of these words. It’s the symptomatic Instagram post with the hashtag of the moment that makes you feel active on the social cause. Ok, going beyond that. Entering the real, in our specific case would be for instance… inviting experts and relevant actors to a theory of change workshop where we deconstruct this fundamental step to a new structural reality. So that’s what we are going to do, I am announcing it right now. Done! And to make it even more real, we will ensure the conversation outcomes lead to new tangible decisions for each participant. From the symbolic dimension of this episode to new tangible structural decisions. Are you in? You can show your interest at hello@cosmic.show. We’ll also send an announcement to those of you receiving our mail updates. Stay tuned.

Note: This is not Boris Johnson, this is Jacques Lacan. Both talk about symbols. At very different levels and with very different intentions though 🙂

We are organising a workshop on theory of change and this tricky maneuver of moving from symbolic actions to establishing new societal “structures”, in the context of social and environmental movements. You can indicate your interest at hello@cosmic.show

This episode features soundtracks by @sirwas & @neilcowleymusic


Cosmic Dynamics is also available on Spotify & on podcast apps.

Thank you for tuning in.🎧

Camille

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