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“With Hegel Beyond Hegel” by Slavoj Žižek: Summary and Critique
“With Hegel Beyond Hegel” by Slavoj Žižek first appeared in Spring 2011 in the journal Criticism (Volume 53, Number 2, pp. 295–313).
Introduction: “With Hegel Beyond Hegel” by Slavoj Žižek
“With Hegel Beyond Hegel” by Slavoj Žižek first appeared in Spring 2011 in the journal Criticism (Volume 53, Number 2, pp. 295–313), published by Wayne State University Press. The article critically engages with Fredric Jameson’s The Hegel Variations: On the Phenomenology of the Spirit, presenting Žižek’s nuanced critique and reinterpretations of Hegel’s philosophy, particularly as it intersects with Marxist thought and critiques of capitalism. Central to Žižek’s discussion is the notion of Hegelian dialectics and its relevance to understanding modern capitalism’s systemic violence, which Žižek reframes through Lacanian psychoanalysis and Marxist critique. The essay’s importance lies in its challenge to both traditional interpretations of Hegel and reductive critiques of capitalism, offering a framework to rethink materialist dialectics in a contemporary context. This work has profound implications for literary theory and critical philosophy, as it explores the complex interplay of ideology, systemic abstraction, and the Real, making it a pivotal reference for scholars grappling with Hegel’s enduring legacy in modern critical theory.
Summary of “With Hegel Beyond Hegel” by Slavoj Žižek
Exploration of Jameson’s Interpretation of Hegel: Žižek examines Fredric Jameson’s The Hegel Variations as both an accessible introduction to Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit and a critical reinterpretation for advanced readers. Jameson emphasizes Hegel’s dialectics as a tool to critique capitalism, framing capital as a “self-engendering monster” detached from human and environmental concerns (Žižek, p. 296).
Critique of Capitalism and Systemic Abstraction: Žižek critiques capitalism’s systemic violence, contrasting Hegel’s historical understanding of labor with the abstract speculative logic of modern capital. He argues that capital’s self-perpetuating abstraction reshapes social reality, producing structural inequities often overlooked in traditional economic critique (Žižek, p. 297).
Hegel and the Notion of Presuppositions: Building on Jameson’s analysis, Žižek delves into Hegel’s concept of positing presuppositions, highlighting how presuppositions are not given but constructed retroactively. He connects this to historical materialism, noting how successive historical forms redefine their pasts to create legitimacy for their emergence (Žižek, p. 303).
Understanding and Reason: Žižek explores the distinction between Understanding (empirical, reifying) and Reason (dialectical, generative). He critiques Jameson’s reading as overly Kantian, arguing instead for Hegel’s view of Understanding as a negative force whose productive role is realized through Reason (Žižek, p. 308).
Limits of Hegelian Dialectics: The essay critiques interpretations that depict Hegel’s system as narcissistically self-referential. Žižek emphasizes a materialist reading where the reconciliation of subject and substance involves recognizing their mutual alienation rather than subsuming substance into subjectivity (Žižek, p. 310).
The Role of Fantasy and Ideology: Žižek identifies fantasy as central to both ideology and capitalism, arguing that fantasies about capital’s self-generating movement obscure the exploitation of labor. This Lacanian perspective underlines how ideology functions by masking the Real of systemic operations (Žižek, p. 299).
Capitalism and Communism: The essay problematizes Marx’s vision of Communism as a resolution of capitalism’s contradictions, framing it instead as an extension of capitalist fantasies of productivity. Žižek calls for a renewed critique of political economy, free from utopian ideologies (Žižek, p. 313).
Relevance for Contemporary Thought: Žižek concludes by advocating for a critical approach to ecology and economy that avoids premodern nostalgia or naïve projections of balanced societies. Instead, he calls for embracing the unpredictability of human agency and its consequences (Žižek, p. 312).
Theoretical Terms/Concepts in “With Hegel Beyond Hegel” by Slavoj Žižek
Theoretical Term/Concept
Explanation
Dialectics
A Hegelian method of resolving contradictions by synthesizing opposites into a new, higher unity.
Systemic Violence
A form of impersonal violence inherent in capitalist systems, where social processes perpetuate harm without individual intent.
Positing Presuppositions
Hegel’s concept that assumptions or frameworks are retroactively established by new developments.
Understanding vs. Reason
The distinction between empirical, reifying thought (Understanding) and generative, dialectical thought (Reason).
Lacanian Real
In Lacanian psychoanalysis, the underlying abstract structures that shape social and psychological reality.
Objective Deception
The misperception that systemic abstractions, like capital, are independent entities rather than rooted in material processes.
Capital as Subject/Substance
The idea that capital operates as a self-sustaining system, similar to Hegel’s Spirit, though devoid of material grounding.
The imaginary constructs that mask the real operations of social and economic systems, particularly in capitalism.
Reconciliation of Subject and Substance
The Hegelian notion that subjectivity and substance are interconnected through mutual alienation and resolution.
Retroactive Historicity
The process by which historical forms redefine their pasts to legitimize their present existence.
Contribution of “With Hegel Beyond Hegel” by Slavoj Žižek to Literary Theory/Theories
Materialist Dialectics and Critique of Ideology:
Žižek’s reinterpretation of Hegel’s dialectics revitalizes the materialist approach to understanding literature and culture. His emphasis on the retroactive nature of historical interpretation and the self-reflective structure of dialectical reasoning offers tools for analyzing how narratives create and sustain ideologies (Žižek, p. 303).
Contribution: Expands the theoretical framework for Marxist literary criticism by integrating Lacanian psychoanalysis to explore systemic abstraction in cultural texts.
The Role of Fantasy in Ideological Structures:
Žižek argues that fantasy operates as the hidden kernel of ideological systems, masking the “Real” operations of capitalism. In literature, this can be applied to uncover the underlying ideological fantasies shaping narrative structures (Žižek, p. 299).
Contribution: Influences psychoanalytic literary theory by introducing a method to decode the unconscious fantasies embedded in texts, enriching interpretations of narrative and symbolism.
Understanding and Reason in Narrative Analysis:
By distinguishing between Understanding (reification) and Reason (dialectical transformation), Žižek provides a lens to analyze how texts construct fixed identities or challenge them through dialectical processes (Žižek, p. 308).
Contribution: Offers a methodology for post-structuralist and deconstructive approaches, highlighting the dynamic interplay of oppositions in texts and their cultural meanings.
Critique of Capital as a Subject:
Žižek critiques capital as a self-sustaining subject, suggesting that literary representations of capitalism often naturalize systemic violence. This insight is critical for examining how literature depicts economic systems and their human costs (Žižek, p. 297).
Contribution: Deepens Marxist literary theory by addressing how texts perpetuate or critique the abstract logic of capital and its systemic implications.
Retroactive Historicity and Textual Reinterpretation:
The notion that historical forms reconstitute their past to justify their present opens avenues for reinterpreting canonical texts. This retroactive analysis can be applied to examine how literature rewrites history to align with ideological or cultural narratives (Žižek, p. 304).
Contribution: Enhances historicist literary theory by incorporating Hegelian insights into the dialectics of history and text.
Reconciliation of Subject and Substance in Literary Form:
Žižek’s view of subjectivity and substance as interrelated through mutual alienation offers a theoretical tool to explore themes of identity, alienation, and reconciliation in literature (Žižek, p. 310).
Contribution: Influences existential and phenomenological literary theories by providing a nuanced approach to understanding character development and thematic structures.
Systemic Violence in Cultural Narratives:
His identification of systemic violence as anonymous and structural invites literary critics to explore how texts represent or obscure this type of violence, particularly in genres like dystopian or postmodern literature (Žižek, p. 296).
Contribution: Bridges literary theory with critical cultural studies, enabling a critique of texts that engage with societal and economic systems.
Fantasy and Utopian Impulses in Literature:
Žižek critiques Marxist utopias as extensions of capitalist fantasies, encouraging a critical evaluation of literary utopias. This approach reveals the ideological underpinnings of utopian literature and its limitations (Žižek, p. 313).
Contribution: Enriches the study of utopian and dystopian fiction by challenging conventional interpretations of progress and liberation.
Examples of Critiques Through “With Hegel Beyond Hegel” by Slavoj Žižek
Literary Work
Žižekian Critique
Charles Dickens’ Hard Times
Analyzed through the lens of systemic violence, the novel’s depiction of industrial capitalism reflects the abstraction of human labor into exploitative systems. The commodification of workers aligns with Žižek’s notion of “capital as Subject/Substance.”
George Orwell’s 1984
The concept of fantasy and ideology reveals how the Party’s mechanisms mask the Real operations of power. The narrative exposes the violent systemic structures that perpetuate totalitarian control under the guise of stability.
Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness
Using retroactive historicity, the novel’s portrayal of imperialism redefines historical narratives to justify colonial domination. The dialectical tension between Kurtz’s idealism and barbarism mirrors Žižek’s view of contradictions in historical forms.
Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale
Through the reconciliation of subject and substance, the novel explores themes of alienation and systemic oppression in a dystopian society. The Commander’s rationalizations for Gilead reflect Žižek’s critique of ideological fantasies masking systemic violence.
Criticism Against “With Hegel Beyond Hegel” by Slavoj Žižek
Over-reliance on Abstraction: Žižek’s critique often leans heavily on abstract philosophical concepts, which may obscure practical applications or actionable insights in understanding social systems or literature.
Lack of Concrete Examples: While Žižek’s theoretical framework is rich, critics argue that the essay lacks sufficient real-world or literary examples to illustrate his points effectively, making it less accessible to non-specialist readers.
Critique of Jameson’s Interpretation: Some may see Žižek’s critique of Jameson’s The Hegel Variations as overly nuanced, potentially alienating readers who are not deeply familiar with Hegelian or Marxist theory.
Reinterpretation of Hegel: Žižek’s reinterpretation of Hegel, particularly in relation to Marx and Lacan, may be seen by traditional Hegelian scholars as a departure from Hegel’s original intent, sparking debates about fidelity to Hegelian philosophy.
Limited Engagement with Alternate Perspectives: The essay primarily engages with Hegelian-Marxist frameworks, potentially overlooking or dismissing alternate philosophical approaches that might offer complementary insights.
Complexity and Accessibility: The dense and jargon-heavy style may make the work inaccessible to general audiences, limiting its broader impact and understanding outside of academic circles.
Systemic Critique without Practical Solutions: While Žižek critiques systemic violence and ideological fantasies, critics may find his analysis lacking in concrete proposals or solutions for addressing the issues he identifies.
Representative Quotations from “With Hegel Beyond Hegel” by Slavoj Žižek with Explanation
“Reality doesn’t matter; what matters is the situation of capital.”
Žižek highlights how systemic structures of capitalism prioritize abstract financial mechanisms over tangible human and social realities, reflecting the “Real” as Lacan defines it—an unyielding, impersonal force driving social organization.
“The highest form of ideology does not reside in getting caught up in ideological spectrality… but in pretending to address directly real people with their real worries.”
This critique exposes how ideology masks systemic abstraction by offering superficial resolutions to tangible issues, illustrating a gap between perceived and actual structures of power.
“Hegel’s dialectic is the science of the gap between the Old and the New.”
Žižek portrays Hegel’s dialectical method as an exploration of transitions and breaks in historical and conceptual paradigms, rather than a continuous evolutionary process.
“The subject is not its own origin; it comes second, dependent upon its substantial presuppositions.”
This emphasizes Žižek’s reinterpretation of Hegel: subjects emerge through their relations to broader social and material conditions, challenging notions of autonomy.
“Capital is money that is no longer merely wealth but value that, through its circulation, generates more value.”
Žižek explains the abstract and self-perpetuating nature of capital, aligning it with Marx’s critique of commodification and alienation in capitalist economies.
“The task of today’s thought is… to repeat Marx’s critique of political economy without the utopian/ideological notion of Communism.”
Žižek calls for a renewed critique of capitalism that avoids idealized visions of an alternative society, arguing for a grounded and practical exploration of systemic change.
“Reason is Understanding itself in its productive aspect.”
He clarifies the distinction between Understanding (Verstand) and Reason (Vernunft), framing Reason not as a separate faculty but as an evolution of Understanding into a higher mode of synthesis and analysis.
“In reconciliation between subject and substance, both poles thus lose their firm identity.”
Žižek deconstructs traditional Hegelian dualities, suggesting that the relationship between subject and substance involves mutual negation and transformation rather than dominance or static identity.
“The retroactive positing of presuppositions is the materialist ‘substitute for that teleology.'”
This challenges deterministic narratives of historical progress, advocating for an understanding of history as retroactively constructed rather than linearly unfolding.
“What Hegel wasn’t able to see was not some post-Hegelian or post-idealist reality… but the properly speculative content of the capitalist speculative economy.”
Žižek critiques Hegel’s limited understanding of industrial capitalism, proposing that today’s speculative financial systems epitomize Hegelian logic in unexpected ways.
Suggested Readings: “With Hegel Beyond Hegel” by Slavoj Žižek
Glinka, Holger. “LITERATUR ZUR HEGEL-FORSCHUNG 2011/2012.” Hegel-Studien, vol. 47, 2013, pp. 269–300. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26591753. Accessed 7 Dec. 2024.
Sharpe, Matthew. “Slavoj Žižek (1949–).” From Agamben to Zizek: Contemporary Critical Theorists, edited by Jon Simons, Edinburgh University Press, 2010, pp. 243–58. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctt1g0b2mb.20. Accessed 7 Dec. 2024.
Galt Harpham, Geoffrey. “Doing the Impossible: Slavoj Žižek<br/>and the End of Knowledge.” Critical Inquiry, vol. 29, no. 3, 2003, pp. 453–85. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.1086/376305. Accessed 7 Dec. 2024.
Moolenaar, R. “Slavoj Žižek and the Real Subject of Politics.” Studies in East European Thought, vol. 56, no. 4, 2004, pp. 259–97. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20099885. Accessed 7 Dec. 2024.
