Lacan
uses the term "Displacement" to a great extent along the lines of
Freud's formulation of the concept. According to Freud, displacement is one of
the forms in which the unconscious dissociates one issue of mental content from
one thought to another by way of association. According to Freud, displacement
is usually manifested in dreams but also in speech.
Lacan,
being engaged with language and believing the mind to be functioning as language,
compared displacement with the literary function of metonymy – a contextual relation
between one signifier and another in the chain of signification (or signifying
chain).
Some additional books to help you better your understanding of Lacan's theory and terminology:
