Today we discuss the parallax, one of the fundamental concepts of Žižek’s project. Parallax is “the apparent displacement of an object” wherein the observed difference is not simply relativized, but rather inscribed as a gap into the relation between subject and object. We find examples of the parallax view in the Coen brothers’ film Burn After Reading, and Coppola’s The Conversation; and consider Kant’s designation of phenomena and noumena as setting the framework through which to consider the parallax shift in Hegel’s notion of the subject. We also touch on Heidegger’s “ontological difference”, Lacan’s objet petit a as a parallax object, and the parallax as the very method by which these figures are read by Žižek. The reading material for the episode can be found here: https://www.lacan.com/zizparallax.htm And if you want to support us on patreon ($5 USD/month) and join the discord reading group, visit: https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon

A Coup d’etat? Unambiguously, NO. Terrorism? Let's think about why that term would be advantageous for the state to use. Insurrection? The right deed for the wrong reason.    Patrons: “We love you. You’re very special” To gain access to the full episode and our Discord, join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon

On the podcast this week we interview Agon Hamza, the author and editor of a number of books, including “Reading Marx'', co-written with Frank Ruda and Slavoj Žižek, and “Repeating Žižek”, in which he contributed “A Plea for Žižekian Politics”. We discuss the situation in Kosova, the EU—eurocentrism, and the remainder of the Balkans—the “problem” of Politics, the “borromean knot” of Žižek’s political theory, theory vs. practice, communism, and alienation. https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon Hamza and Ruda’s Interview with Albin Kurti: https://crisiscritique.org/2020/2020kurti.pdf @Agonhamza @zizekand

In this episode we take a second pass at Žižek’s new book “Hegel in a Wired Brain”, and further discuss the concept of the wired brain and its limitations. Other topics include poetry, Winston-Churchill-Heidegger, the status of Spirit and subject, the signification/meaning distinction, and how singularity can’t take a joke. https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/hegel-in-a-wired-brain-9781350124417/

This week, we take a dive into Žižek's new book: Pandemic! 2: Chronicles of a Time Lost. Thanks for joining us this year, everybody! See you in 2021— To hear the full episode and many others, join our patreon @ https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon

The boys are back with a discussion on a 2019 interview with Alenka Zupančič in Crisis and Critique. This piece brings us back to thinking through the importance of psychoanalysis for philosophy, and also opens the door to talking about the ontology of sexuality from the Lacano-Hegelian perspective. article: https://crisiscritique.org/april2019/zupancic.pdf

In this Patreon exclusive episode & So On discusses the superego and the act. How does Zizek understand authentic action within the context of the symbolic order, capitalism, and the superego injunction to enjoy? How does an act break the symbolic co-ordinance and bring about an Event in subjectivity? Jake, Peter, and Will take a stab at it.  For access to this exclusive episode and others, go to: https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon https://zizek.uk/the-superego-and-the-act/

This week, we take on Žižek’s concept of the Event and ask: what happens when something happens? Join our Patreon for more exclusive content!

In this Patreon exclusive episode, Jake, Peter, and Will pull back the veil of Samsara and chat about the limitations of mindfulness, whether meditation is better than a walk, and contemplate translation issues while Peter eats a piece of bread. For access to the full episode and much more exclusive content, join our Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon

This week, we discuss Zizek's approach to Buddhism. From the first Noble Truth, Buddhism describes human existence as an endless cycle of suffering, and posits the path towards enlightenment as the severing of attachment, and the cessation of desire. From a psychoanalytic standpoint, Zizek emphasizes that, in contrast, we enjoy our suffering (as when we fall in love, for example), and that desire cannot be simply done away with. After discussing the finer points of a Lacano-Helgelian critique of Buddhism, the fellas get into Zizek's other major critiques of Western Buddhism; its associations with science and capitalism. Towards this, Zizek writes that Buddhism is perhaps the ideal religion for capitalism and for the CEOs of Silicon Valley, since it's prescription to withdraw from the world, and to see it and one's self as illusory, does little to change the system of oppression itself, and assures the passive acceptance of hegemonic realism. To hear the second part of this discussion and access many more exclusive episodes, join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon