Zizek Interview PART 2: Freedom a Disease Without a Cure

The Question of Freedom in Relation to Sartre's Existentialist Freedom

In the podcast, the speaker explores the concept of freedom and discusses its relation to Jean-Paul Sartre's existentialist freedom. While Sartre emphasizes the abuse of freedom and the idea of individual responsibility, the speaker argues that Sartre's vision of freedom lacks an acknowledgment of the madness of freedom. They suggest that Sartre's understanding of freedom as a conscious act falls short of the true complexity and paradox of freedom. Drawing on the works of Thomas Zelling and Friedrich Schelling, the speaker argues that truly free decisions are often unconscious and experienced as necessity. They propose that authentic freedom is found in the contradictory nature of choosing oneself and experiencing it as fate or necessity.