Comments on: Is the war in Iraq inevitable?

By: Wealth Bondage

Wealth Bondage — Thu, 11 Sep 2003 05:08:45 +0000

The Idols of the Marketplace, and other Ideologies
“HT” My Irony : Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek provides his usual piercing analysis of the global agora in Mapping Ideology (Mapping) and Did Somebody Say Totalitarianism? At root in both books is the nature and functioning of ideology.

By: Wealth Bondage

Wealth Bondage — Thu, 11 Sep 2003 01:12:37 +0000

By: chutney

chutney — Thu, 08 May 2003 15:17:10 +0000

Did I compare Zizek to Ann Coulter? Nope. Did you even read my post?

The Lacanian “absent cause” comes into full play during the third phase of Zizek’s dialectic: ideology-in-and-for-itself. Yes, I said Zizek’s dialectic. It’s in Totalitarianism. You should read it sometime.

Who’s trying to keep themselves free from ideological taint? Just because ideology is inevitable doesn’t mean that it can’t be dangerous, that we can’t map out how it operates, or that we can’t choose. Outside of university English departments, anyway.

A dogmatic, positivistic reading of Zizek–thank you, I never would have imagined someone could pull that one off, but you’ve successfully done it.

I’ll repeat the Mark Jordan quote from above: “”Ideological speech is designed to convert its opponents into ideologues. It does this by wasting language to the point that an opponent despairs of speaking–except by shouting back.”

Anonymity–the home of the free and the brave. That is, unless you are the “absent cause.”

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 08 May 2003 08:37:58 +0000

I assume that you are not familiar with arguing theory. Perhaps, you prefer the value neutral naivete of the good old days of positivism – or dogmatism. Anyway, I suppose you have never read Zizek. His approach to ideology amounts to this – the symbolic authority of ideology is dead, has been dead, now how do you cope? Symptom (lacan) is not a dirty word for Zizek and if you think you have your finger on the cause – then you are not reading Zizek (Basic Lacan: there is only the absent cause – what can not be symbolized or made conscious of). Zizek is good because he is tricky. Reading him is really like reading Hegel – the first modern master of irony (true dialectic). Of course if you are weak in theory or have only let yourself ponder Adorno or Habermas you will find it difficult to hear the lines of debate or counterpoint (for Zizek as with Hegel that would include the likes of Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, Derrida, Judith Butler, Laclau, etc.). Comparing Zizek to Ann Coulter – that’s funny. What do read so as to keep your mind free from idealogical taint – instruction manuals?

By: The Happy Tutor

The Happy Tutor — Tue, 04 Mar 2003 19:24:27 +0000

Very well done. Your thoughts in “ideology degree zero,” where it appears to disappear into commonsense, made me think of Brecht on the function of art, “to make strange.”

By: Gary Sauer-Thompson

Gary Sauer-Thompson — Tue, 04 Mar 2003 15:38:04 +0000

Chutney,
This looks great. Too tired to comment now–it requires some concentrated reading. I will do so tomorrow.