Synopses & Reviews
For the last two centuries, Western philosophy has developed in the shadow of Hegel, whose influence each new thinker tries in vain to escape. As a consequence, Hegels absolute idealism has become the bogeyman of philosophy, obscuring his dominance as the philosopher of the epochal historical transition to modernity.
In Less Than Nothing, the pinnacle publication of a distinguished career, Slavoj iek argues that it is imperative we not simply return to Hegel but we repeat and exceed his triumphs, overcoming his limitations by being even more Hegelian than the master himself. Such an approach not only enables iek to diagnose our present condition, but also to engage in a critical dialogue with the key strands of contemporary thought. Modernity will begin and end with Hegel.
Synopsis
A thousand-page resurrection of Hegel, from the bestselling philosopher and critic who has been hailed as "one of the world's best-known public intellectuals" (New York Review of Books)
For the last two centuries, Western philosophy has developed in the shadow of Hegel, an influence each new thinker struggles to escape. As a consequence, Hegel's absolute idealism has become the bogeyman of philosophy, obscuring the fact that he is the defining philosopher of the historical transition to modernity, a period with which our own times share startling similarities.
Today, as global capitalism comes apart at the seams, we are entering a new period of transition. In Less Than Nothing--the product of a career-long focus on the part of its author--Slavoj Zizek argues it is imperative we not simply return to Hegel but that we repeat and exceed his triumphs, overcoming his limitations by being even more Hegelian than the master himself. Such an approach not only enables Zizek to diagnose our present condition, but also to engage in a critical dialogue with key strands of contemporary thought--Heidegger, Badiou, speculative realism, quantum physics, and cognitive sciences. Modernity will begin and end with Hegel.
About the Author
Slavoj iek is a Slovenian philosopher and cultural critic. He is a professor at the European Graduate School, International Director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities, Birkbeck College, University of London, and a senior researcher at the Institute of Sociology, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. His books include Living in the End Times; First as Tragedy, Then as Farce; In Defense of Lost Causes; four volumes of the Essential iek; and many more.