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The Sublime Object of Ideology (Phronesis)…
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The Sublime Object of Ideology (Phronesis) (edition 1989)

by Slavoj Zizek

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1,009720,366 (3.84)5
In this provocative and original work, Slavoj Zizek takes a look at the question of human agency in a postmodern world. From the sinking of the Titanic to Hitchcock's Rear Window, from the operas of Wagner to science fiction, from Alien to the Jewish Joke, the author's acute analyses explore the ideological fantasies of wholeness and exclusion which make up human society. Zizek takes issue with analysts of the postmodern condition from Habermas to Sloterdijk, showing that the idea of a 'post-ideological' world ignores the fact that 'even if we do not take things seriously, we are still doing them'. Rejecting postmodernism's unified world of surfaces, he traces a line of thought from Hegel to Althusser and Lacan, in which the human subject is split, divided by a deep antagonism which determines social reality and through which ideology operates. Linking key psychoanalytical and philosophical concepts to social phenomena such as totalitarianism and racism, the book explores the political significance of these fantasies of control. In so doing, The Sublime Object of Ideology represents a powerful contribution to a psychoanalytical theory of ideology, as well as offering persuasive interpretations of a number of contemporary cultural formations.… (more)
Member:EnglishCTL
Title:The Sublime Object of Ideology (Phronesis)
Authors:Slavoj Zizek
Info:Verso (1989), Paperback, 336 pages
Collections:Ideological Criticism/Historical Materialism, Psychoanalytic Theory, Your library
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The Sublime Object of Ideology by Slavoj Žižek

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» See also 5 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 7 (next | show all)
The place "between two deaths", the place of the sublime beauty or the terrible monster, is the place where primordial matter stands, the place of the truly traumatic inner core in the middle of the symbolic order. This position is opened by symbolization/historicization: the historicization process implies the existence of a void, an ahistorical core around which the network of symbols is woven. In other words, human history is distinguished from animal evolution by invoking this non-historical site. The non-historical place cannot be symbolized, though it is created retrospectively through its own symbolization: once the "cruel" pre-symbolic reality is symbolized/historicized, it "conceals", isolating the primordial, empty, "indigestible" place. Throughout the book, there are some similarities with Horkheimer and Adorno's "Dialectics of Enlightenment".
  Maristot | Jun 5, 2023 |
‘I am aware that I have no understanding of Hegel and Lacan, but I read this anyway’ would be the way I’d construe Žižek’s ‘They know that, in their activity, they are following an illusion, but still, they are doing it’. I know Žižek has a bit of a reputation for being diffuse and unfocused... sadly I have to agree. ( )
  theoaustin | May 19, 2023 |
You can be sure of three things when reading Zizek. He will spend many pages endorsing Hegel. He will spend many pages justifying a Lacanian reading of Hegel. He will spend many pages using Hitchcock films as illustration. To his benefit, this means that having read one of Zizek's books you are about 80% of the way toward finishing any of his others. (This also explains how he has been able to produce so many new books every year for the past three decades.)

Unfortunately for this book, many of the ideas put forth herewithin have been refined and are more convincingly put-forth in his later work. Overall I'm not a huge fan of Zizek. There are many things to dislike about him, but perhaps the worst is that he is probably right. ( )
  Joe.Olipo | Nov 26, 2022 |
No limite da minha capacidade de ouvinte de áudios-livros, o objeto sublime da ideologia é um livro interessante, recheado das piadas de tiozão características do autor, e que brilha em muitos momentos, com sua profusão de aproximações, a partir da mútua interação lacan-hegel. Se não há nada por trás da ilusão, mas apenas o fato de que essa necessidade de colocar coisas por trás tem que ser tematizada, aceitada, refletida, porque é constitutiva de nossa interação com o mundo (porque há realidade nele, isto é, descompasso, uma série de faltas que impulsionam), então talvez possamos compreender e operar melhor com o Grande Outro. Talvez também operar melhor com a linguagem e o que nela parece fugir dela, significantes que teimam em exercer poder sobre as pessoas, além das fantasias inalcansáveis, ditas pequenos objetos a. E essa constelação que se liga ao sublime, o inacessível tematizável, se liga ao sujeito, e à ideologia.

Notas: 1. O paranóico que vai ao analista tem medo que a abolição da sua ilusão acabe com aquilo que determina seu caráter. Que o analisata vá roubar dele o que lhe é mais caro. 2. E os direitistas se identificam com o lado fraco e ridículo de seus líderes políticos, os xiliques de Hitler, por exemplo. 3. A crítica da ideologia passa por identificar o que é excluído do simbólico para voltar como uma construção paranóica (do judeu, do comunista - sintomas do social, projeções do fato de que a própria sociedade não funciona, fantasias que regulam as justificativas pra se continuar disfuncional). 4. Nas políticas do povo, a palavra povo sofre a inversão - a política que branda "pelo povo", define o que "povo" é ao reinvindicar "povo" como apenas aqueles que apoiam aquela política. 5. Quando falam que faltará papel higiênico por um fake news sabemos que só os idiotas cairão nessa. Mas compramos papel higiênico, pressupondo um outro idiota, existente ou não, causando assim a falta de papel. ( )
  henrique_iwao | Aug 30, 2022 |
Intense. I've got a much better understanding of what Lacan is getting at, or at least what Zizek is getting at in his other books when he talks about Lacan.
After reading this, you'll never think about ideology the same way. Probably one of Zizek's best, though I haven't read them all.
4 stars oc ( )
  starcat | Aug 11, 2014 |
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In this provocative and original work, Slavoj Zizek takes a look at the question of human agency in a postmodern world. From the sinking of the Titanic to Hitchcock's Rear Window, from the operas of Wagner to science fiction, from Alien to the Jewish Joke, the author's acute analyses explore the ideological fantasies of wholeness and exclusion which make up human society. Zizek takes issue with analysts of the postmodern condition from Habermas to Sloterdijk, showing that the idea of a 'post-ideological' world ignores the fact that 'even if we do not take things seriously, we are still doing them'. Rejecting postmodernism's unified world of surfaces, he traces a line of thought from Hegel to Althusser and Lacan, in which the human subject is split, divided by a deep antagonism which determines social reality and through which ideology operates. Linking key psychoanalytical and philosophical concepts to social phenomena such as totalitarianism and racism, the book explores the political significance of these fantasies of control. In so doing, The Sublime Object of Ideology represents a powerful contribution to a psychoanalytical theory of ideology, as well as offering persuasive interpretations of a number of contemporary cultural formations.

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