Slavoj Zizek. Materialism and Theology. 2007 8/8

[ceoddyn]

'Some people would say... your comments are torture.' classic

[rajasmasala]

similar to harraway?

[N0113999]

What I think hes saying is that 'natural' materialism comes from theology, in the sense that the concept of a god gives 'sufficient' meaning to everything. Due to this early mistake humans have moved through history with that understanding, and so have facilitated a materialist world, in which possessions dictate the human relationship to the world around us.

[N0113999]

What I think hes saying is that 'natural' materialism comes from theology, in the sense that the concept of a god gives 'sufficient' meaning to everything. Due to this early mistake humans have moved through history with that understanding, and so have facilitated a materialist world, in which possessions dictate the human relationship to the world around us.

[Krelianx]

Just in passing, I want to give a general comment to people who are not familiar with these thinkers. When Zizek expresses something that appears to speak against science or for religion, he is usually attacking the philosophical account of scientific practices, not the scientific practices themselves. Zizek does not speak against quantum physics, but about how we mistakenly draw philosophical conclusions from them. Great science does not entail having great philosophical accounts of science.

[somor98]

I cannot keep up with this guy's equivocations.

[danielsiq]

What I don't understand is why he thinks materialism is so Vulgar? This is a typical religious view, that materialism is bad.

[Krelianx]

Zizek is a materialist; he is rejecting a particular brand of materialism which rests on a transcendental dualism of subject (opinion, belief and object (fact, truth). Such a simplified picture is of course vulgar, since it is ideologically naive in its ontological foundations (at the philosophical level they are quite pathetic).

[iwpoe]

I do wonder whether or not the Heideggerian hasn't come back to us when Žižek says, "consciousness is originally consciousness of failure".

[lethalhumour]

The return of Heidegger's infamous broken hammer?

[Krelianx]

No, since what we're after is not really a set of existentiales grounded in Dasein's transparent coping (to use Dreyfus' term) within the nexus of purposeful activity. Consciousness of failure should be rather read as the Hegelian 'cunning of reason'.

[ToroAzzurro]

So basically the matter is that both theology and materialism create a 'semantic authority' by the category of 'one' (god, o the athom, wich is a way to simplify reality by creating some othernesses which are kind of epistemological dogmas, am I right?

[t0kt0k]

Very, very interesting. I'm slowling becoming quite a Zizek fan.

[bushka5]

That was hard work still I stuck with it to the bitter end. though most of it went over my head!

[camipco]

Brilliant lecture. "let's not get lost in it..."

[KellyLogan]

The idea of consciousness being a limiting factor rather than a liberating one is very interesting. Doesn't evolutionary theory show that 'evolution' is often a matter of focussing and limiting?

I think you could make a parallel between this and Chomsky's idea of the limitations of language; if so, perhaps one could show, as Chomsky did, that the limitations are actually a necessary structure to creation. That leads me to the thought that if the universe were perfect we would not need a god.

[KellyLogan]

I would say instead that humans are animals that are conscious due to imperfections. :^)

[chambly111]

An inspiring meal for the brain.

Thank you.

[thejokerswild1]

Thank you for posting this lecture. It is great news that more is on the way, I'll be spreading the news to interested people.

Definitely an interesting topic to here the pro's thoughts on and great for educational purposes. I even found this speaking to be humorous at parts as well which is a treat. I haven't heard Zizek before (still a puppy)but I found this gripping till the end therefore I'd definitely read more into his ideas in the future.

[PessimisticHumanist]

Who is the guy Zizek is pointing at, apparently present in the room, comparing him with Deleuze?

[egsvideo]

i believe, that the person you are asking about is wolfgang schirmacher, the dean of the media and communications department of the european graduate school. he wrote and edited several books, you can find some of them on amazon.

[righton041]

I think you're referring to Alain Badiou? PLEASE read Being and Event!

[bjwlsy]

Yup, much thanks!

[miznarik]

Thank you egsvideo.

[herma57]

Thanks so much, this is wonderful stuff you will never find.

[NihilAdmirari]

Excellent lecture, though I would not agree with everything he said. Zizek might invest a little too much in shock-value. As usual, EGS makes this place more worthwhile.

[egsvideo]

Thank you for your comment. You are very welcome. More lectures are in the pipeline.