The ticklish subject : the absent centre of political ontology

The Ticklish Subject confronts Deconstructionists and Habermasians, cognitive scientists and Heideggerians, feminists and New Age obscurantists by unearthing a subversive core to this elusive spectre, and finding in this core the indispensable philosophical point of reference of any genuinely emancipatory politics. Um espectro ronda a comunidade acadmica ocidental, o espectro do sujeito cartesiano. Desconstrucionistas e habermasianos, cognitivistas e heideggerianos, feministas e obscurantistas (ps-)marxistas convergem em sua hostilidade contra ele. Seguramente uma das principais obras do filsofo esloveno Slavoj iek, O sujeito incmodo identifica o denominador comum de todas essas diferentes tendncias do pensamento contemporneo e lana a provocao: por trs do cogito ergo sum [penso, logo existo], o prprio sujeito cartesiano guarda o grau zero radical da poltica emancipatria, um ncleo subversivo capaz de fornecer um ponto de apoio indispensvel para um novo projeto de esquerda. A partir de um intenso acerto de contas com a tradio anti-cartesiana, o filsofo esloveno desenvolve uma confrontao detalhada com algumas concepes contemporneas do sujeito: a tentativa heideggeriana de superar a subjetividade, as elaboraes ps-althusserianas da subjetividade poltica (Ernesto Laclau, Etienne Balibar, Jacques Rancire e Alain Badiou), a teoria da formao de gnero de Judith Butler, e a concepo da sociedade do risco e da segunda modernidade (Anthony Giddens e Ulrich Beck). Apesar do teor rigorosamente filosfico, recheado da astcia e do humor afiado iekianos, esse livro fundamentalmente uma apaixonada interveno poltica que procura enfrentar a urgente questo da reformulao de um projeto de esquerda em uma era pautada pelo capitalismo global e seu suplemento ideolgico, o multiculturalismo hegemnico das democracias liberais. "A spectre is haunting Western academia, the spectre of the Cartesian subject, Deconstructionists and Habermasians, cognitive scientists and Heldeggerians, feminists and New Age obscurantists: all are united in their hostility to it. The Ticklish Subject seeks to undermine the common presupposition of all these critiques by posing a provocative question: what if there is a subversive core of the Cartesian subject to be unearthed, a core which provides an indispensable philosophical point of reference for any genuinely emancipatory politics?" "In this new, systematic exposition of the foundations of his theory, Slavoj Zizek explores this question through a detailed and rigorous confrontation with predominant contemporary notions of the subject: Heidegger's attempt to overcome subjectivity; the post-Althusserian elaborations of political subjectivity (Ernesto Laclau, Etlenne Balibar, Jacques Ranciere and Alain Badiou); deconstructionist feminism (Judith Butler); and the theories of second modernity and risk society (Anthony Giddens and Ulrich Beck)."--BOOK JACKET

slavoj Zizek, The Maverick Philosopher, Author Of Over 30 Books, Acclaimed As The Elvis Of Cultural Theory, And Today's Most Controversial Public Intellectual. His Work Traverses The Fields Of Philosophy, Psychoanalysis, Theology, History And Political Theory, Taking In Film, Popular Culture, Literature And Jokes—all To Provide Acute Analyses Of The Complexities Of Contemporary Ideology As Well As A Serious And Sophisticated Philosophy.

times Literary Supplement - Lois Mcnay

slavoj Zizek's Argument Is Subtle, Witty And Impassioned, And This Book—his Fourteenth In Nine Years—confirms His Status As One Of The Most Innovative And Exciting Contemporary Thinkers Of The Left.

A spectre is haunting Western academia, the spectre of the Cartesian subject. Deconstructionists and Habermasians, cognitive scientists and Heideggerians, feminists and New Age obscurantists -- all are united in their hostility to it. The Ticklish Subject seek to undermine the common presupposition of all these critiques by posing a provocative question: what if there is a subversive core of the Cartesian subject to be unearthed, a core which provides the indispensable philosophical point of reference of any genuinely emancipatory politics?