'The only thing of which one can be guilty is of having given ground relative to one's desire' Jacques Lacan. Is psychoanalysis dead or are we to read frequent attacks on its theoretical 'mistakes' and clinical 'frauds' as a proof of its vitality? Slavoj Zizek's passionate defence of Lacan reasserts the ethical urgency of psychoanalysis. Traditionally, psychoanalysis was expected to allow the patient to overcome the obstacles which prevented access to 'normal' sexual enjoyment. Today, however, we are bombarded from all sides by different versions of the injunction 'Enjoy!' Lacan reminds us that psychoanalysis is the only discourse in which you are allowed not to enjoy. Since for Lacan psychoanalysis itself is a procedure of reading, each chapter uses a passage from Lacan as a tool to interpret another text from philosophy, art or popular ideology, applying his ideas to Hegel and Hitchcock, Shakespeare and Dostoevsky.

'These [How to Read] books let you encounter thinkers eyeball to eyeball by analysing passages from their work' Terry Eagleton, New Statesman

About the Author
Slavoj Zizek philosopher and psychoanalyst, heads the International Center of Humanities at Birkbeck College. His numerous books, translated into more than 30 languages, include The Parallax View and Lacan: the Silent Partners.

Reviews
Zizek's books [are so] erudite and witty [that] they're quite moreish. The range and scope of his analogies are tremendous -- Mark Wallinger, artist * On My Radar, Observer *



Book Information
ISBN 9781862078949
Author Slavoj Zizek
Format Paperback
Page Count 128
Imprint Granta Books
Publisher Granta Books
Weight(grams) 110g
Dimensions(mm) 200mm * 130mm * 8mm