
Ethics of the Real
Kant and Lacan
Alenka Zupancic(Author)
Verso Books (Publisher)
Published on 16. January 2012
Book
Paperback/Softback
282 pages
978-1-84467-787-0 (ISBN)
Description
The idea of Kantian ethics is both simple and revolutionary: it proposes a moral law independent of any notion of a pre-established Good or any 'human inclination' such as love, sympathy or fear. In attempting to interpret such a revolutionary proposition in a more 'humane' light, and to turn Kant into our contemporary-someone who can help us with our own ethical dilemmas-many Kantian scholars have glossed over its apparent paradoxes and impossible claims. This book is concerned with doing exactly the opposite. Kant, thank God, is not our contemporary; he stands against the grain of our times. Lacan on the face of it appears the very antithesis of Kant-the wild theorist of psychoanalysis compared to the sober Enlightenment thinker. His concept of the Real, however, provides perhaps the most useful backdrop to this new interpretation of Kantian ethics. Constantly juxtaposing her readings of the two philosophers. Alenka Zupancic summons up an 'ethics of the Real', and clears the ground for a radical restoration of the disruptive element in ethics.
Reviews / Votes
"If Zupancic's book does not become a classic work of reference, the only conclusion will be that our academia is caught in an obscure desire to self-destruct."-Slavoj ?i?ekMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 193 mm
Width: 130 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
318 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84467-787-0 (9781844677870)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
05/2020
Verso Books
€24.49
Available for download
Previous edition

Book
04/2000
Verso Books
€38.30
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Alenka Zupancic is a researcher at the Institute of Philosophy in the Slovene Academy of Sciences, Ljublijana