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The Bloomsbury Handbook to Slavoj Zizek

The Bloomsbury Handbook to Slavoj Zizek cover

The Bloomsbury Handbook to Slavoj Zizek

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Description

Judgements about the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek have been, like Žižek himself, extreme. Critics have accused him of charlatanism on the one hand, while others have lauded his genius on the other. But behind the extremes of veneration and disdain, there is a third Žižek. A more interesting and nuanced Žižek and one who, like no other of his generation, has stimulated philosophical debates that radiate far beyond philosophy's borders into all disciplines of the humanities. He has done so both through his radical materialist reinterpretation of concepts of German idealism, especially Hegel's legacy, and through his combination of Marxist ideology critique with the philosophy of psychoanalysis as developed by Freud and Lacan. With this theoretical background, he has produced more than 50 books focused on classical questions of ontology, epistemology, the philosophy of subjectivity and cultural theory.

The Bloomsbury Handbook to Slavoj Žižek brings together internationally renowned philosophers who have repeatedly engaged with Žižek's philosophy over the past three decades. The chapters of the handbook introduce readers his life, his books, his concepts and present up-to-date research articles on central motives and topics of his philosophy. They thus present not only ways in which his philosophy has affected contemporary theory, but develop also friendly-critically reflections on controversies that Žižek's publications and positions have triggered.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgements

Part 1. Life

Intellectual biography, Dominik Finkelde

1.1- Childhood and Studies in Ljubljana and Paris
1.2- Heidegger and Lacan in Yugoslavia
1.3- The Cold War and the Analysis of Ideology
1.4- Foundation of the Ljubljana Lacan School of Psychoanalysis
1.5- An Epochal Break: 1989 and the "End of History" (Fukuyama) and Political Engagement

2. Impact / Ramification
2.1- Charlatan and/or Genius? Controversies around Žižek
2.2- International Fame

Part 2. Context
3. The Legacy of Poststructuralism [Marc de Kesel]
4. Lacan's (ontological and political) Philosophy of Psychoanalysis [Mari Ruti]
5. Hegel with Marx [Dominik Finkelde]
6. Enjoy! Neo-Capitalism and the Duty to Enjoy [Henrik Joker Bjerre]
7. Radical Democracy: Laclau, Mouffe, Butler, Rancière et al. [Oliver Flügel-Martinsen]
8. The Legacy of Christianity [Rebekka Klein]
9. Speculative Realism: Meillassoux, Harman, Brassier Gabriel [Daniel Sacilotto]
10.Naturalism, Neurophilosophy and Consciousness: Dennett, Metzinger und Damasio [Glyn Daly]
11.On Finality: Heidegger and Žižek [Thomas Brockelman]
12.Ljubljana Lacan School of Psychoanalysis: Žižek, Dolar, Zupancic et al. [Jones Irwin and Helena Motho]
13.Speaking to the Far-Right: Peterson, Trump, and Orban
14.Justice, Law, and Violence [Hyun Kang Kim]

Part 3. Works 1: Theory of Ideology / Cultural Theory

15.Introduction [Dominik Finkelde]
16.The Sublime Object of Ideology (1989) [Dominik Finkelde]
17.They Know Not What They Do. Enjoyment as a Political Factor (1991) [Ed Pluth]
18.Looking Awry: An Introduction to Jacques Lacan through Popular Culture (1991); Enjoy your Symptom!: Jacques Lacan in Hollywood and Out (1992) [Cindy Zeiher]
19.The Metastases of Enjoyment: Six Essays on Women and Causality (1994) [Andreas Cremonini]
20.The Plague of Fantasies (1997) [Jamil Khader]
21.Bodies Without Organs. On Deleuze and Consequences [Robert Sinnerbrink]

Part 4. Works 2: German Idealism and Psychoanalysis

22.Introduction [Dominik Finkelde]
23.The Most Sublime Hysteric: Hegel with Lacan (2014) [Marcus Coelen]
24.Tarrying with the Negative. Kant, Hegel, and the Critique of Ideology [Martin Eleven]
25.The Indivisible Remainder: On Schelling and Related Matters (1996) [Joseph Carew]
26.The Ticklish Subject: The Absent Center of Political Ontology (1999) [Martin Eleven]
27.The Parallax View (2006) [Rex Butler]
28.Less Than Nothing. Hegel and the Shadow of Dialectical Materialism (2012) [Reinhard Heil]
29.Sex and the Failed Absolute (2019) [Eri M. Vogt]

Part 5. Works 3: Religion and Christianity

30.Introduction [Dominik Finkelde]
31.The Fragile Absolute. Or, Why the Christian Legacy is Worth Fighting For? (2000) [Rasmus Nagel]
32.On belief (2001) [Rebekka Klein]
33.The Puppet and the Dwarf: The Perverse Core of Christianity (2003) [Rasmus Nagel]
34.The Monstrosity of Christ (mit J. Milbank, 2009) [Marika Rose]

Part 6. Works 4: Radical Politics

35.Introduction [Dominik Finkelde]
36.The Revolution at the Gates. Z?iz?ek on Lenin. / Die Revolution steht bevor. Dreizehn Versuche über Lenin (2002) [Paul Kellogg]
37.Die politische Suspension des Ethischen (2005) [Simon Faets]
38.In Defense of Lost Causes (2008) [Mariana Schütt]
39.Der Mut, den ersten Stein zu werfen. Das Genießen innerhalb der Grenzen der bloßen Vernunft (2008) / The Courage of Hopelessness: Chronicles of a Year of Acting Dangerously [Erik M. Vogt]
40.Violence. Six sideways reflections (2009) [Hilary Neroni]

Part 7. Works 5: Film and Art

41.Introduction [Dominik Finkelde]
42.The Fright of Real Tears (2001) [Dany Nobus]
43.The Art of the Ridiculous Sublime. On David Lynch's Lost Highway (2000) [Marek Wieczorek]
44.Žižek's Antigone (2015) [Matic Kocijancic]

Part 8. Patterns, Topics and Subject Matters

45.Hegel as Materialist (Z?iz?ek in dialogue with Robert Brandom and Robert Pippin) [Dominik Finkelde]
46.Topology and Time [Andrew Cutrofello / Simon Hajdini]
47.Parallax, Negativity, and Dialectical Materialism [Frank Ruda]
48.The Missing Source. Schelling's Ages of the World and Lacan's Metapsychology [Adrian Johnston]
49.The Night of the World [Todd McGowan]
50.Passion for the Real [Lorenzo Chiesa]
51.Theory of Ideology and Cultural Theory (on the debate between Žižek, Jodi Dean, Todd McGowan et al.) [Matthew Flisfeder]

Part 9. Influence

52.Althusser [Russell Sbriglia]
53.Badiou [Paul Livingston]
54.Brandom [Dominik Finkelde]
55.Butler [Hannelore Bublitz]
56.Deleuze [Robert Sinnerbrink]
57.Derrida [Jamil Khader]
58.Freud [Mariana Schütt]
59.Hegel [Dominik Finkelde]
60.Heidegger [Thomas Brockelman]
61.Hitchcock [Hyun Kang Kim]
62.Kant [Dany Nobus]
63.Lacan [Marcus Coelen]
64.Laclau [Oliver Flügel-Martinsen]
65.Lenin [Paul Kellogg]
66.Lynch [Todd McGowan]
67.Marx [Samo Tomsic]
68.Meillassoux [Daniel Sacilotto]
69. Milbank, John [Marika Rose]
70.Schelling [Joseph Carew]

10. Concepts

71.Other, Big Other [Dominik Finkelde]
72.Interpellation [Mariana Schütt]
73.Act [Ed Pluth]
74.Desire / Drive [Henrik J. Bjerre]
75.The Thing [Richard Boothby]
76.Enjoy! [Ed Pluth]
77.Feminism [Hilary Neroni]
78.Sublime Objects of Ideology [Matthew Sharpe]
79.Event [Russell Sbriglia]
80.Fantasy [Samo Tomsic]
81.Forced choice [Rex Butler]
82.Jouissance [Mari Ruti]
83.Law / Split Law [Cindy Zeiher]
84.God [Rasmus Nagel]
85.Ideology [Sami Khatib]
86.Concrete universality [Marc de Kesel]
87.Master-signifier [Matthew Sharpe]
88.Negativity [Reinhard Heil]
89.Objet petit a [Erik M. Vogt]
90.Parallax [Rex Butler]
91.Phantasm [Marc de Kesel]
92.Queer Theory [Chris Coffman]
93.Real, Symbolic, Imaginary [Andreas Cremonini]
94.Subject / split subject [Thomas Brockelman]
95.Symptom, Sinthome [Dominiek Hoens]
96.Death drive [Dany Nobus]
97.Universal - particular [Hilary Neroni]
98.The unconscious [Tony Thwaites]
99.Vanishing mediator [Tony Thwaites]
100. Violence [Hyung Kang Kim]
101. Virtuality of reality [Dominik Finkelde]

Part 11. Appendix
Register of Names
Register of Subjects
Authors

index

Product details

Bloomsbury Academic Test
Published 22 Jan 2026
Format Ebook (PDF)
Edition 1st
Extent 544
ISBN 9781350402133
Imprint Bloomsbury Academic
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Anthology Editor

Dominik Finkelde

Dominik Finkelde is Professor of Epistemology and…

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