Zizek on how he defines himself

When asked in an interview how he defines himself, here's what Slavoj Zizek has to say:

I don’t define myself. I hate myself. If you ask me to define myself at gun point putting a gun to my head and tell me ‘tell me, if you don’t, I’ll shoot you’. Then I would say ‘I am a Hegelian Philosopher’. This is what interests me more than anything. The goal is Hegel, more than Lacan, more than Marx. We are just analyzing culture. It’s over now. We need what we once called ‘return to Metaphysical questions.’ We need what we call ‘Big Philosophy’. We need again to ask, ‘what is this universe?’, ‘What is freedom?’ and so on.

From here.

Democracy or Extremism? Political Ideals and Egypt

The US has a pretty confusing--if not outright contradictory--history of foreign policy. On the surface, we supposedly are the champions of democracy, human rights, and freedom. Right? Those are the ideals that the nation was founded upon, and they continue to play a primary role in the political rhetoric and overall idealism of its people.

However, the US also has a history of making alliances with autocratic regimes and/or dictatorships that serve particular short-term interests (Somoza, Pinochet, the Shah of Iran, the Saudi regime, and of course Mubarak in Egypt). These alliances, while politically expedient, haven't exactly lead to the greatest results--and the histories of Latin America, to name one regional example, speak quite clearly to that. Such decisions also stand in pretty stark contrast to our supposed ideals about governance and freedom.

Anyway, what's somewhat disturbing and shocking is the sheer number of people calling for the continued support of the Mubarak regime, which is a continuation of the same kind of international policy that we have relied upon for far too long. What's this all about? Fear? A belief in the whole "clash of the civilizations" scheme that old Sam Huntington used to peddle? Why have so many politicians, pundits, and citizens of the US (and the west in general) been so hesitant, so wary about the events in Egypt? Are their worries grounded, or are these folks overreacting a bit? And what about all of those American ideals about democracy, human rights, and political freedom?

Enough questions, how about some more Zizek:

Zizek on events in Egypt

Slavoj Zizek on revolution, the west, Egypt, and fear:

What cannot but strike the eye in the revolts in Tunisia and Egypt is the conspicuous absence of Muslim fundamentalism. In the best secular democratic tradition, people simply revolted against an oppressive regime, its corruption and poverty, and demanded freedom and economic hope. The cynical wisdom of western liberals, according to which, in Arab countries, genuine democratic sense is limited to narrow liberal elites while the vast majority can only be mobilised through religious fundamentalism or nationalism, has been proven wrong. The big question is what will happen next? Who will emerge as the political winner?

Read the rest here.

Writing Tips from Slavoj Zizek

You know the feeling. You have to write that thing. You need to get that outline done and write up that report so you can keep a bunch of people from thinking that you're lazy. You need to write that massive paper (or even that not so massive paper).

But for some reason you keep putting it off...so you can go check your email or make sure that the kitchen is REALLY clean this time. Ya, you really don't need to spend that much time looking up the detailed histories of some obscure political struggle in the 17th century, you need to WRITE YOUR PAPER!

It happens. Fortunately, I have come across a new method of writing that I am going to steal from Slavoj Zizek. This past weekend, because I had to find something to do while I was supposed to be reading Foucault, I watched a film about Zizek, which is well worth watching. Especially if you are coming up short on your films about Lacanian psychoanalysis. It happens to the best of us. My favorite part of the film is when he talks about writing. Why, because he hates it:

I hate writing. I so intensely hate writing — I cannot tell you how much. The moment I am at the end of one project I have the idea that I didn’t really succeed in telling what I wanted to tell, that I need a new project — it’s an absolute nightmare. But my whole economy of writing is in fact based on an obsessional ritual to avoid the actual act of writing.

So what does Zizek do? He says that he tricks himself into writing by first just sitting down and writing notes, all the while telling himself that he's not really writing yet. You see? It's all about lying to yourself. It's all about deception. You're not WRITING, you're just jotting notes. And, according to Zizek, before you know it you have a whole bunch of material and you just need to edit, and eventually you're done. Just the kind of advice I like to hear. Everyone has their methods. I have always held people like John Steinbeck in high regard. I mean, the guy wrote whole journals while he was writing entire novels. Steinbeck was so organized and structured. I wish I was like that. But maybe I have been ruined by postmodernism. I have no idea what happened. But I get distracted all the time. I procrastinate. I end up doing research online about subjects that have nothing to do with the measly little four page paper that I am SUPPOSED to be working on.

The solution? Self-deception. Try it out. Just tell yourself you're going to sit down and write some "notes". Put some quick points down on paper. Jot a few things down. And all you gotta do is let the lies keep on rolling.