Freedom: A Disease Without Cure

(Paperback)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

We are all afraid that new dangers pose a threat to our hard-won freedoms, so what deserves attention is precisely the notion of freedom.

The concept of freedom is deceptively simple. We think we understand it, but the moment we try and define it we encounter contradictions. In this new philosophical exploration, Slavoj iek argues that the experience of true, radical freedom is transient and fragile. Countering the idea of libertarian individualism, iek draws on philosophers Hegel, Kierkegaard and Heidegger, as well as the work of Kandinsky and Agatha Christie to examine the many facets of freedom and what we can learn from each of them.

Today, with the latest advances in digital control, our social activity can be controlled and regulated to such a degree that the liberal notion of a free individual becomes obsolete and even meaningless. How will we be obliged to reinvent (or limit) the contours of our freedom

Tracing its connection to everything from capitalism and war to the state and environmental breakdown, iek takes us on an illuminating and entertaining journey that shows how a deeper understanding of freedom can offer hope in dark times.

Author Bio

Slavoj iek is a Hegelian philosopher, a Lacanian psychoanalyst, and a Communist. He is International Director at the Birkbeck Institute for Humanities, University of London, UK, Visiting Professor at the New York University, USA, and Senior Researcher at the Department of Philosophy, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.