Bloomsbury Zizek: A Guide for the Perplexed (Guides for the Perplexed)

One of the most widely-read thinkers writing today, Slavoj Žižek's work can be both thrilling and perplexing in equal measure. Žižek: A Guide for the Perplexed is the most up-to-date guide available for readers struggling to master the ideas of this hugely influential thinker. Unpacking the philosophical references that fill Žižek's writings, the book explores his influences, including Lacan, Kant, Hegel and Marx. From there, a chapter on 'Reading Žižek' guides the reader through the ways that he applies these core theoretical concepts in key texts like Tarrying With the Negative, The Ticklish Subject and The Parrallax View and in his books about popular culture like Looking Awry and Enjoy Your Symptom! Major secondary writings and films featuring Žižek are also covered. Review Charting a course through Lacan, German Idealism and Communism, Sean Sheehan presents a multidimensional roadmap through the various twists and turns of Žižek's philosophy, providing an indispensable introduction to the thought to one of the world's most challenging thinkers. The book finishes with a comprehensive overview of the famous Slovenian philosopher's considerable output across various media, enabling you to complete the journey to an understanding of Slavoj Žižek's thought on your own. -- Donagh Brennan, Editor, Irish Left ReviewFeatured on the website A Piece of Monologue.Sheehan's earnestly friendly little book... carefully explains the "objet petit a", the difference between "early" and "later" Žižekian accounts of "the real", and what Žižek takes from Kant and Lenin, before providing deft paraphrases of the main arguments (such as they can be discerned) in Žižek's major books, as well as some cute characterisations of their dramatic arcs. -- The GuardianSheehan's earnestly friendly little book... carefully explains the "objet petit a", the difference between "early" and "later" Žižekian accounts of "the real", and what Žižek takes from Kant and Lenin, before providing deft paraphrases of the main arguments (such as they can be discerned) in Žižek's major books, as well as some cute characterisations of their dramatic arcs... [Sheehan] has a reassuring tone and nice judgment. His exposition of German idealism, especially, provides a useful service for many of those preparing to tackle the large forthcoming volume that Žižek himself has tantalisingly described as his 'boring book on Hegel'. -- Steven Poole in The Guardian ― The Guardian About the Author Sean Sheehan is an independent scholar, having previously taught in the UK and abroad. His publications include The British Museum Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Ancient Greece (2002), Socrates: Life and Times (2007), Žižek: A Guide for the Perplexed (Bloomsbury, 2012) and Sophocles’ Oedipus the King: A Reader’s Guide (Bloomsbury, 2012).