Reading Slavoj Zizek

Spur of the moment purchase for me the other day was "Living in the End Times" by Slavoj Zizek. It has been a great relief! Having watched Slavoj on multiple Youtube videos I have grown used to his presentation style: very fast speech with a nice Slavic accent and frequent spastic movements that suggest a very active mind more than some sort of disorder. The relief in reading the book comes from the fact that while I can still hear his voice as I read his pace has slowed down considerably! In fact, he can even repeat himself when I want to hear something over again. But there has also been a terrible disappointment. Having never read one of his books before I wanted to review some of his research and started with the startling summary of Martin Luther's point of view regarding human beings as God's excrement. Did Luther say anything of the sort I wondered? A friend said yes. But using Google to check this have so far found multiple exact quotations of Zizek's point - made in multiple books - such as "The Parallax View" where virtually two pages from the new book are there complete. And still again in another web page. Typing ths before continuing my explore I wonder if anyone else has noticed a propensity for Zizek to repackage his books under new titles and reissue them? I can see using similar material to make similar points but would certainly not want to be paying the price for a new book that is mostly an old book.

Anticipation

Ok, so maybe there is a difference between the old edition owned by a philosopher who liked Bloch and penciled notes in the text and a new copy in paperback:

http://www.amazon.com/Werke-20-B%C3%A4nden-ein-Registerband/dp/3518097180/ref=pd_ecc_rvi_cart_1

But I am anticipating its arrival non the less. Where on my shelf will I put this? Perhaps in the office?

Wish list

Had an interesting eye opening experience several weeks ago at Title Wave Books when I found a new complete set of Kant's works for $19.95 - all six volumes for that! I confess when I went to the counter it was initially to see if they were really going to charge that for the whole set or per book! When the clerk said it was the whole price I could not help myself. So then I figured - I ought to start reading it. So far I made it through the biography and started the first Critique. Hey! It is not bad. I am managing and find I am following it. So I became curious and checked the Consortium and sure enough the edition they have is different but it is there. So is the complete set of Fichte's work. But for Hegel? Nada. Nichts on the pommfritz. So had a look at Amazon:
Sämtliche Werke: Jubiläumsausgabe 
Now that would be an interesting set for the library to have! But how do I get them to buy it?

Meanwhile. Donna took pity on me and let me order the paperback set - 20 Banden for $349! No kidding. The odd thing was she would not let me order that for my birthday but insisted it would be for Father's Day. (In other words she already has something for August.) So within 12 business days I should have it - and be wondering what to do with it.

Reading in the sun

Except today so far is not as sunny as it has been! So I shiver out on the deck with Aristotle for awhile then retreat into the house for something to eat and read E.D. Hirsch or stop in the garage (my office) to check if there are any new emails. A radio is playing KLEF in both places.

Better catch up

Today a friend has created a blog at long last. This has reminded me that for months I have given up on adding to mine. I guess I better catch up!

Not your mother's Alice in Wonderland

Tim Burton has created an interesting work of art that plays on Lewis Carroll's "Alice" but this is not the children's story in continuo unless the children are made of sterner stuff. We must determine the outcomes of our own dreams if we are going to be true to ourselves. If we do not become the hero of our own dream we can't be our own hero in life either. I suppose. An odd feeling when the movie ended - you feel almost as if there is an emotional let down in finding yourself back in the real world. Does everyone feel this? What causes it? Are we able to reach an emotional high similar to a drug high because of the way the music and cinematography act on us? And when it ends the body goes back to stasis. How can everyday life compete with this?

Intro to Humanities II Mar 4

Today we looked at the theory of the semiotic. C. S. Peirce, William James, and John Dewey were basically reviewed in order to discuss pragmatism. Since the origin of pragmatism was Peirce's theory of meaning - "the meaning of a word is its use in the language" we looked at art from the literary perspective of how a work fits into the story it tells. Van Eyck's "Arnolfini's Wedding" was a starting point for a discussion about how we "record" weddings today. From this painting to photographs to DVD recordings of our weddings - to YouTube videos of "wedding dance". From this we went on to Baroque music and asked if the Alleluia chorus of Messiah could be as powerful a piece to someone who did not know the story it is part of? Or further to someone who both knows and believes the story? This was the quiz question.