Research Progress
Last updated: February 8, 2026
Timeline Overview
| Phase | Deliverable | Weeks | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | Lacanian Specification | 1–8 | In progress |
| 1.2 | Computational Specification | 3–8 | Not started |
| 1.3 | Formal Mapping | 9–10 | Not started |
| 2.1 | Literature Review | 3–10 | Not started |
| 2.2 | Objection Engagement | 11–13 | Not started |
| 3.1 | Psychoanalytic Predictions | 11–24 | Not started |
| 3.2 | Computational Illumination | 17–24 | Not started |
| 3.3 | The Question of Lack | 19–28 | Not started |
| 4 | Manuscript Draft | 25–34 | Not started |
| 5 | Collaboration & Review | 31–38 | Not started |
Phase 1 — Theoretical Reconstruction (Weeks 1–10)
1.1 Lacanian Specification
Status: In progress Target: Weeks 1–8 Deliverable: Specification document
- Read primary sources (Instance of the Letter, Rome Discourse, Seminar III, XI, XX, Jakobson, Saussure, Freud Ch. 6)
- “The Instance of the Letter in the Unconscious” (Lacan, 1957) — 15 properties extracted with source citations and preliminary operationalizations
- “The Function and Field of Speech and Language” (Lacan, 1953)
- Seminar III: The Psychoses (Lacan, 1955–56)
- Seminar XI: Four Fundamental Concepts (Lacan, 1964)
- Seminar XX: Encore (Lacan, 1972–73)
- Jakobson, “Two Aspects of Language” (1956)
- Saussure, Course in General Linguistics (1916)
- Freud, Interpretation of Dreams Ch. 6 (1900)
- Read secondary sources (Fink, Milner, Borch-Jacobsen, Laplanche)
- Extract 10–15 structural properties as testable propositions — 15 properties identified from first source
- Define each property with source text and operationalization criteria — definitions and source texts complete for all 15; operationalizations marked preliminary pending computational specification (Phase 1.2)
1.2 Computational Specification
Status: Not started Target: Weeks 3–8 (overlapping with 1.1) Deliverable: Specification document
- Read primary sources (Vaswani et al., Elhage et al., Olsson et al., Templeton et al., Geva et al., logit lens, tuned lens)
- For each Lacanian property: identify computational correlate, disanalogy, and evidence criteria
1.3 Formal Mapping
Status: Not started Target: Weeks 9–10 Deliverable: Correspondence table
- Build correspondence table with ratings for each mapping
- Specify evidence that would change each rating
Phase 2 — Literature Review & Positioning (Weeks 3–13)
2.1 Literature Review
Status: Not started Target: Weeks 3–10 Deliverable: Annotated bibliography
- Survey 6 domains of existing work
- Identify the specific gap this project fills
2.2 Objection Engagement
Status: Not started Target: Weeks 11–13 Deliverable: Objections document
- Develop strongest-form versions of 4 major objections
- Write response strategies for each
Phase 3 — Empirical & Formal Analyses (Weeks 11–28)
3.1 Psychoanalytic Predictions
Status: Not started Target: Weeks 11–24 Deliverable: Prediction results
- Prediction 1: Hallucinations as formations of the unconscious
- Prediction 2: Retroactive meaning-making (quilting point)
- Prediction 3: Return of the repressed via superposition
- Prediction 4: Structural resistance at conflict points
- Prediction 5: Distinct signatures of metaphor vs. metonymy
3.2 Computational Illumination
Status: Not started Target: Weeks 17–24 Deliverable: Reverse analysis results
- Analysis 1: Structure of superposition and condensation logic
- Analysis 2: Attention flow on psychoanalytically rich material
- Analysis 3: Locating the point de capiton computationally
3.3 The Question of Lack
Status: Not started Target: Weeks 19–28 Deliverable: Lack analysis
- Analyze embedding space topology for structuring absences
- Measure the token representation residual
- Examine model behavior at representational failure points
Phase 4 — Manuscript (Weeks 25–34)
Status: Not started Deliverable: Manuscript draft
- I. Introduction — The Convergence
- II. The Unconscious as Formal System
- III. The Transformer as Signifying Machine
- IV. The Mapping
- V. Predictions and Tests
- VI. The Subject and Its Absence
- VII. Lack in the Machine
- VIII. Implications and Limitations
Phase 5 — Collaboration & Review (Weeks 31–38)
Status: Not started Deliverable: Reviewer feedback & revision log
- Recruit mechanistic interpretability researcher
- Recruit Lacanian theorist
- Recruit philosopher of mind
- Adversarial review cycle
- Revise manuscript based on reviews