Zizek and Freedom: Utopia and the Parallax View

This book is an exploration of Zizek’s theory of freedom. By examining key passages in Zizek’s work the aim is to provide a functional, serviceable philosophy of power and ideology and show how this philosophy of power relates to freedom. Although some, like Noam Chomsky, have criticized Zizek’s work as having no guiding principles, it is suggested that this misses the fact that Zizek’s philosophy utilizes a dialectical methodology that often appears contradictory. Though a highly astute reader with a background in the philosophical texts he frequently cites (the German Idealists, Freud, and modern philosophers), it becomes clear that there is a uniquely Zizekian philosophy that mobilizes a radical hermeneutics of freedom.

Bradley Kaye is Adjunct Professor at SUNY Fredonia’s Socio-Justice Sciences Department, Fredonia, NY, USA.