Surplus-Enjoyment: A Guide For The Non-Perplexed - Hardcover

Slavoj Žižek

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1350226254 ISBN 13: 9781350226258

Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic, 2022

Synopsis

Contemporary life is defined by excess. There must always be more, there is never enough. We need a surplus to what we need to be able to truly enjoy what we have. Slavoj Žižek’s guide to surplus (and why it’s enjoyable) begins by arguing that what is surplus to our needs is by its very nature unsubstantial and unnecessary. But, perversely, without this surplus, we wouldn’t be able to enjoy, what is substantial and necessary. Indeed, without the surplus we wouldn’t be able to identify what was the perfect amount.

Is there any escape from the vicious cycle of surplus enjoyment or are we forever doomed to simply want more? Engaging with everything from The Joker film to pop songs and Thomas Aquinas to the history of pandemics, Žižek argues that recognising the society of enjoyment we live in for what it is can provide an explanation for the political impasses in which we find ourselves today. And if we begin, even a little bit, to recognise that the nuggets of ‘enjoyment’ we find in excess are as flimsy and futile, might we find a way out?

About this title

About the Author

Slavoj Žižek is a Hegelian philosopher, a Lacanian psychoanalyst, and a Communist. He is International Director at the Birkbeck Institute for Humanities, University of London, UK, Visiting Professor at the New York University, USA, and Senior Researcher at the Department of Philosophy, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.

From the Back Cover

Contemporary life is defined by excess. We need a surplus to what we need to be able to truly enjoy what we have. ?i?ek's guide to surplus (and why it's enjoyable) argues that what is surplus to our needs is by its very nature unsubstantial and unnecessary. But, perversely, without this surplus, we wouldn't be able to enjoy what is substantial and necessary. Engaging with everything from The Joker to pop songs, Aquinas and the history of pandemics, ?i?ek claims that recognising our society of enjoyment for what it is can provide an explanation for the political impasses of today.

Edition details

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Publication date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1350226254
• ISBN 13: 9781350226258
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384