Dubbed 'the world's hippest philosopher' by The Telegraph, 'philosophy's answer to Bob Dylan' by The Guardian and an 'intellectual rock star' by The Times Literary Supplement, Slavoj Žižek turns 63 tomorrow (21st March) and so we felt it was only right to celebrate with some of our popular books by and about the man himself.
Whether you're just dipping your toe into his writing or are well-versed and looking for something new to read, we're guaranteed to have something to interest you.
Interrogating the Real and The Universal Exception
By Slavoj Žižek and edited by Rex Butler and Scott Stephens
These two volumes of Žižek's collected works offer a superb introduction to the work of this prolific, controversial and vastly entertaining cultural commentator.
Drawing upon the full range of his prolific output, the articles cover psychoanalysis, philosophy and popular culture, reflecting the remarkable breadth and depth of Žižek's interest in politics, culture and philosophy, and also showcasing his entertaining style. Covering topics as controversial as the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the American-led invasion of Iraq, his celebration of the revolutionary potential of Stalinism, and his critique of Third Way politics, these books allow a full and clear sense of Žižekian philosophy to emerge, derived from Hegelian dialectics, Marxist politics and Lacanian psychoanalysis. At the same time, Žižek’s witty and accessible approach to his subject and his choice of exemplars from pop culture ensure that this is a consistently fresh and surprising body of work.
The books include new prefaces by Žižek himself, as well as an introduction by the editors and a helpful glossary for those coming to Žižek’s work for the first time.
Mythology, Madness, and Laughter: Subjectivity in German Idealism
By Markus Gabriel and Slavoj Žižek
This hugely important book explores some long neglected but crucial themes in German idealism. Markus Gabriel, one of the most exciting young voices in contemporary philosophy, and Slavoj Žižek show how these themes impact on the problematic relations between being and appearance, reflection and the absolute, insight and ideology, contingency and necessity, subjectivity, truth, habit and freedom.
Engaging with three central figures of the German idealist movement, Hegel, Schelling and Fichte, Gabriel and Žižek, who here shows himself to be one of the most erudite and important scholars of German idealism, ask how it is possible for Being to appear in reflection without falling back into traditional metaphysics. By applying idealistic theories of reflection and concrete subjectivity, including the problem of madness and everydayness in Hegel, this crucial book aims to reinvigorate a philosophy of finitude and contingency, topics at the forefront of contemporary European philosophy.
Hegel's Rabble: An Investigation into Hegel's Philosophy of Right
By Frank Ruda, with a preface by Slavoj Žižek
In Hegel’s Rabble, Frank Ruda identifies and explores a crucial problem in the Hegelian philosophy of right that strikes at the heart of Hegel’s conception of the state. This singular problem, which Ruda argues is the problem of Hegelian political thought, appears in Hegel’s text only in a seemingly marginal form under the name of the “rabble”: a particular side-effect of the dialectical deduction of the necessity of the existence of state from the contradictory constitution of civil society. Working out from a thorough analysis of this problem and drawing on contemporary discussions in the work of such thinkers as Alain Badiou, Jean-Luc Nancy and Slavoj Žižek, the book proceeds to re-examine and reconstruct Hegel’s entire political project. Ruda goes on to argue that only by re-thinking this problem of ‘the rabble’ in Hegel’s thought – the only problem Hegel is able to neither resolve nor sublate – can the early Marxian conception of ‘the proletariat’ be properly understood.
Žižek: A Guide for the Perplexed
By Seán Sheehan
This is the most up-to-date guide available for readers struggling to master the ideas of this hugely influential thinker. Unpacking the philosophical references that fill Žižek’s writings, the book explores his influences, including Lacan, Kant, Hegel and Marx. From there, a chapter on 'Reading Žižek' guides the reader through the ways that he applies these core theoretical concepts in key texts like Tarrying With the Negative, The Ticklish Subject and The Parrallax View and in his books about popular culture like Looking Awry and Enjoy Your Symptom! Major secondary writings and films featuring Žižek are also covered.
So, a happy birthday to Žižek from all in the Continuum Philosophy team and be sure to watch this space, we have more to come in 2013...
(Header image sourced from Wikipedia.)
Charlotte Hoare
Marketing Executive UK and ROW