Most Sublime Hysteric (eBook)

Slavoj Zizek is Professor at the Institute of Sociology, Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Introduction: Impossible Absolute Knowledge 1

Book I: Hegel with Lacan 7

1. "The Formal Aspect": Reason versus Understanding
9

2. The Retroactive Performative, or How the Necessary Emerges
from the Contingent 21

3. The Dialectic as Logic of the Signifier (1): The One of
Self-Reference 35

4. The Dialectic as Logic of the Signifier (2): The Real of the
"Triad" 54

5. Das Ungeschehenmachen: How is Lacan a Hegelian? 70

6. The "Cunning of Reason," or the True Nature of
the Hegelian Teleology 83

7. "The Suprasensible is the Phenomenon as
Phenomenon," or How Hegel Goes Beyond the Kantian
Thing-in-Itself 97

8. Two Hegelian Witz, Which Help Us Understand Why Absolute
Knowledge Is Divisive 105

Book II: Post-Hegelian Impasses 125

9. The Secret of the Commodity Form: Why is Marx the Inventor of
the Symptom? 127

10. Ideology Between the Dream and the Phantasy: A First Attempt
at Defining "Totalitarianism" 146

11. Divine Psychosis, Political Psychosis: A Second Attempt at
Defining "Totalitarianism" 156

12. Between Two Deaths: Third, and Final, Attempt at Defining
"Totalitarianism" 175

13. The Quilting Point of Ideology: Or Why Lacan is Not a
"Poststructuralist" 195

14. Naming and Contingency: Hegel and

Analytic Philosophy 209

References 230

Index 236

"Zizek's playful writing style presents the reader with
apposite and amusing examples, from Franz Kafka to Jane Austen,
which clarify and enliven his arguments. Zizek's book bursts
with reflection, observation, wit and raw iconoclastic conclusions.
Zizek's magnetic style and radical ideas are a welcome and
inspiring breath of fresh air. It is possible that through
revealing how we make sense of our past The Most Sublime
Hysteric may help us to cultivate a better future."

Morning Star

"The Most Sublime Hysteric clearly outlines the logic at the basis
of the thought of the most important philosopher of our time. With
care and precision, Zizek conjoins Hegel and Lacan, building the
components of his own unique and powerful philosophical system.
This long-awaited translation of Zizek's doctoral dissertation
provides a valuable new point of entry to his work, appropriate for
experts and newcomers alike."

Jodi Dean, Hobart and William Smith Colleges

"Slavoj Zizek's doctoral thesis on Hegel, Lacan, and the
impasses of post-Hegelianism is as fresh today as it was in 1982.
Written with his characteristic wit and exceptional lucidity, this
book will clarify the foundational ideas of one of the greatest
thinkers of our time."

Kenneth Reinhard, University of California, Los Angeles

"What a fascinating document it is."

Irish Left Review