I have attended one of Zizek's "lectures". Sure, his enthusiasm and histrionics, his explosive spitting-while-talking, and his enormous gifts at free-associating ideas are impressive and make for a compelling live show.
The problem is that inevitable, didactic, boring, "small-minded" questions arise as soon as he's done performing: "what have I learned?", "What on earth did he argue?", "Is any of it relevant?", "Is this anything other than intellectual charlatanism?". These are the questions that came up to me. But the again I'm a boring grad student interested in learning something.
I couldn't disagree with Godda more. We are animals, yes, but with the capacity for knowledge and reason and above all, spirit. What better way to try to attempt to understand ourselves than to philosophize? Thanks Charles, for this information- I will be investigating more of his Zizek's work. I agree with Stephen- new perspectives help me understand just what it is to be human.
Chocolate makes me go poop. His whole shit is fucked up.
"With all of his digressions, jokes, knowledge of junk/popular culture, is Zizek precisely not like these products that negate themselves? Isn't he a philosopher who undoes himself?"
Is this a Hall of Mirrors or what? Just kidding, Charles. But I am saving up in case your office ever has a yard sale.
So to say that it solves nothing... well. "The animal that we are" likes to philosophize.
The problem is that inevitable, didactic, boring, "small-minded" questions arise as soon as he's done performing: "what have I learned?", "What on earth did he argue?", "Is any of it relevant?", "Is this anything other than intellectual charlatanism?". These are the questions that came up to me. But the again I'm a boring grad student interested in learning something.
"With all of his digressions, jokes, knowledge of junk/popular culture, is Zizek precisely not like these products that negate themselves? Isn't he a philosopher who undoes himself?"
Is this a Hall of Mirrors or what? Just kidding, Charles. But I am saving up in case your office ever has a yard sale.