Full and Empty Speech (3 of 5) : The unconscious in speech

How do we access the unconscious in speech Well, every statement exists within a horizon of associated yet differing formulations. Any statement can thus be said to bring with it a matrix of alternative hearings. Bearing this in mind allows us to approach Bill Clinton s famous denial I did not have sexual relations with that woman in a variety of different ways. Acting the role of Clinton s analyst, we intervene in his statement, experimenting with different ways of hearing and thus interpreting the prospective unconscious aspects his statement. I did is perhaps one way of hearing the unconscious dimension of I did not. Following the same logic we consider a series of responses did SHE have sexual relations with you and with THAT woman, with others ) that play up the unspoken unconscious potentialities within Clinton s statement. To engage a patient at the level of the signifier (to put it La