On Zizek's dialectics surplus, subtraction, sublimation Fabio Vighi.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Vighi, Fabio, 1969- author.

Series:

Continuum Studies in Continental Philosophy

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Žižek, Slavoj.

Political science--Philosophy.

Political science.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (196 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

London New York Continuum 2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

On Žižek's Dialectics explores the theoretical and practical potential of the psychoanalytic method deployed by Slavoj Žižek by investigating its epistemological implications within our contemporary capitalist universe. The book begins by evaluating Zizek's account of the capitalist ideology of enjoyment through the analysis of Lacan's critique of Marx's surplus-value. If the originality of Žižek's wager lies in the claim that enjoyment secretly sustains our ideological space, can we think of surplus-jouissance in a way that not only unmasks the ruse of capitalism but also adumbrates the construction of an alternative social space? The answer to this question is developed in the second part of the book. Arguing that the transformative potential of Zizek's epistemology needs to be fully unravelled if it is to avoid the risk of congealing into mere academic exercise, Fabio Vighi attempts to politicise Žižek's groundbreaking critical method by calling upon the necessity to translate its emphasis on the "indigestible" surplus of knowledge into the drive to think the new. Under the current conditions, this creative moment can no longer be delayed.

Contents:

Not only as value, but also as surplus

The will to enjoyment

Jouissance at arms length

From surplus-value to surplus-jouissance

The unbearable lightness of being the proletariat

Karatani's wager

On shame and subversion

From subject to politics

Democracy under duress

Dialectical materialism as parallax

Vicissitudes of subtraction

The invisible rabbit inside the hat

Though this be madness, yet there is method in it?

Introduction

Part I: The enjoyment of capitalism: surplus-jouissance and work

1. The will to enjoyment

2. Jouissance at arm's length

3. From surplus-value to surplus-jouissance

4. The unbearable lightness of being the proletariat

5. Shame, subversion, and manual labour

6. Karatani's wager

Excursus 1: Georges Bataille's potlach and the splendour of rags

Excursus 2: Silvio Berlusconi's enjoyment and related obscenities

Part II: The surplus of thought: epistemology and dialectics

7. From subject to a political subject

8. Democracy under duress

9. Dialectical materialism as parallax

10. The vicissitudes of subtraction

11. The invisible rabbit inside the hat

12. 'Though this be madness, yet there is method in it'

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

ISBN:

9786612647598

9781472547231

1472547233

9781282647596

1282647598

9781441146113

1441146113

OCLC:

646788297