THE DESIRE TO LEARN AND THE DESIRE TO TEACH: CONVERGENCES BETWEEN PSYCHOANALYSIS AND EDUCATION

Abstract

This article analyzes the intersections between Psychoanalysis and Education through the categories of the desire to learn and the desire to teach, seeking to understand how these dimensions contribute to the constitution of the educational relationship. The study is justified by the relevance of broadening the understanding of teaching and learning processes beyond strictly cognitive and methodological approaches, considering the subjective and unconscious dimensions that permeate the educational act (Voltolini, 2011; Villela, 2015). The objective is to analyze the contributions of Psychoanalysis to understanding desire as a structuring element of learning, teaching, and the teacher–student relationship. This is a bibliographic study with a qualitative approach, developed through the deductive method and guided by exploratory objectives (Perovano, 2016). The theoretical framework is based on the contributions of Lacan (1964/2001), Voltolini (2011), Alves and Sommerhalder (2010), Gagliotto et al. (2013), De Sousa and Dias (2014), Lemos (2007), Silva (2003), Assis and Oliveira (2003), and Arrivabene and De Souza Junior (2025), among other scholars who discuss the interface between Psychoanalysis and Education. The analysis of the theoretical framework revealed that the desire to learn and the desire to teach are relational processes produced through the interaction between teacher, student, and knowledge, being shaped by transference, identificatory processes, and experiences of recognition. Furthermore, it was found that the ethical position adopted by the teacher toward knowledge fosters the constitution of the student as a desiring subject, thereby expanding the possibilities for meaningful learning (Lacan, 1964/2001; Arrivabene; De Souza Junior, 2025). It is concluded that Psychoanalysis offers significant contributions to the understanding of educational practice by demonstrating that teaching and learning go beyond the mere transmission of content, constituting experiences of subjective formation in which desire occupies a central role in human development (Voltolini, 2011).