Zizek the Theologian

First published in the first quarter of 2010

The Marxist cultural critic Terry Eagleton, renowned for his much quoted review of Richard Dawkins’ 2006 bestseller The God Delusion, began his scathing tirade with the line; “Imagine someone holding forth on biology whose only knowledge of the subject is the Book of British Birds, and you have a rough idea of what it feels like to read Richard Dawkins on theology.”

Of late, Eagleton has spoken of a fictitious character to whom he refers as “Ditchkins” a nomenclature that finds its etymology in the merging surnames of (Christopher) Hitchens and, of course, Dawkins. Along with his recent book Reason, Faith, and Revolution: Reflections on the God Debate which aims to offer a ‘revolutionary account of the Christian Gospel’ – as one review describes – one might naturally assume that Eagleton is a no-holds-barred antagonist to atheism. (Continue)

Review of Milbank/Žižek The Monstrosity of Christ: Paradox or Dialectic?

First published September/October 2009

Some of the most memorable debates have occurred at a point when the subject

in hand is at a crossroads or crisis. Take for example the event that took place on

30 June 1860 with Darwin’s bulldog Thomas Huxley and Bishop Samuel

Wilberforce (as well as Benjamin Brodie, Joseph Dalton Hooker and Robert

FitzRoy). “Was it through his grandfather or his grandmother that he claimed his

descent from a monkey”, quipped Wilberforce, though in vain since time and

evidence have shown that the theory of evolution has (rightly) displaced the

image of man from the centre of the earth to a decentred component of the

animal kingdom.

Some of the most memorable debates have occurred at a point when the subject in hand is at a crossroads or crisis. Take for example the event that took place on 30 June 1860 with Darwin’s bulldog Thomas Huxley and Bishop Samuel Wilberforce (as well as Benjamin Brodie, Joseph Dalton Hooker and Robert FitzRoy). “Was it through his grandfather or his grandmother that he claimed his descent from a monkey”, quipped Wilberforce, though in vain since time and evidence have shown that the theory of evolution has (rightly) displaced the image of man from the centre of the earth to a decentred component of the animal kingdom. (Continue)

Can a Slovenian philosopher help save the left?

First published 21 July 2009

Slavoj Žižek: I should imagine that anybody watching him give his opinions on Robespierre the other week on a production made for BBC2 will be rather scared by him and his theories on violence (a kind of do evil that good may result for French Republicanism), but actually he talks a lot of sense, and isn’t scared of touching upon certain issues that may offend (may even raise eyebrows from those on the left, to which he identifies himself). (Continue)

Towards a Violent Absolute: Some Reflections on Žižekian Theology and Violence

First published March 5 2009

“Life” of course as Kierkegaard told us “can only be understood backwards; but it

must be lived forwards.” Obviously the intended observation was on the way human

individuals are confronted with an abyss of nauseating freedom from which the only

likely emotional reaction is anxiety. However, on the other hand, it does speculate on

how privileged an analysis is in hindsight. This form of analysis seems to be the only

appropriate one in which to ascertain the evolution of thought, and analysing Slavoj

Žižek’s evolution of thought will be no different. By way of an introduction to this

essay I will briefly familiarise and put into context the current issues that concern

Žižek’s thought, before placing them in their wider context both in his repertoire and

modern philosophical paradigms as a whole. I will then discuss what I want to

achieve in this essay and how Žižek’s commentary on violence might interact with

other domains such as religion, popular culture and political economy.

“Life” of course as Kierkegaard told us “can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” Obviously the intended observation was on the way human individuals are confronted with an abyss of nauseating freedom from which the only likely emotional reaction is anxiety. However, on the other hand, it does speculate on how privileged an analysis is in hindsight. This form of analysis seems to be the only appropriate one in which to ascertain the evolution of thought, and analysing Slavoj Žižek’s evolution of thought will be no different. By way of an introduction to this essay I will briefly familiarise and put into context the current issues that concern Žižek’s thought, before placing them in their wider context both in his repertoire and modern philosophical paradigms as a whole. I will then discuss what I want to achieve in this essay and how Žižek’s commentary on violence might interact with other domains such as religion, popular culture and political economy. (continue)