Judgements about the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek have been, like Žižek himself, extreme. Critics accuse him of charlatanism, whilst others laud his genius. But beyond these antipodes of veneration and disdain, there is a third Žižek – a subtle and nuanced thinker who, like none other of his generation, has stimulated philosophical debates that radiate far beyond philosophy’s borders. Žižek has achieved this through both his radical materialist reinterpretation of German idealism, especially Hegel’s legacy, and through a combination of Marxist critique with the philosophy of psychoanalysis as developed by Freud and Lacan. With this theoretical background, he has produced more than 50 books focused on classical questions of ontology, epistemology, the philosophy of subjectivity and cultural theory. The Bloomsbury Handbook to Slavoj Žižek brings together internationally renowned philosophers whose work over the past three decades has engaged with, and been informed by, Žižek’s philosophy. It introduces readers to the life, work and theories of one of the most enduringly popular and fascinating thinkers alive today.
