Beyond stochastic parrots: Lacanian reflections on LLMs as superior masters of the symbolic
Synthese June 11, 2026 Lorenzo Magnani
Large Language Models (LLMs) are exceptionally skilled at manipulating language and symbols, making them superior masters of the Symbolic register in Lacanian psychoanalysis. However, because they lack a body and subjective experience, they have no access to the Imaginary or the Real, and are fundamentally incapable of lack, desire, or genuine creativity. The paper argues that LLMs operate as closed, pre-packaged cognitive systems, effective only for locked symbolic tasks, and lack the dissipative openness needed to confront the Real. Intelligence is redefined as managing lack and desire, not benchmark performance. Ethical warnings about over-reliance on LLMs and recommendations for hybrid designs informed by psychoanalysis conclude the argument.