Ideology Critique or Discourse Analysis

Žižek against Foucault

Bibliographic Data

ID6259786
AuthorsFabio Vighi (0000-0002-4245-0144), Heiko Feldner (Cardiff University)
Year2007
Volume6
Issue2
Pages141-159
Publication date2007-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEuropean Journal of Political Theory (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1474-8851 • E-ISSN: 1741-2730
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1474885107074347
OpenAlexW2160501641
LanguageEN
Citations received12

The following article examines the theoretical foundations and practical consequences of Slavoj Žižek's critique of Foucauldian discourse analysis. It does so by uncovering Žižek's idiosyncratic approach to the question of ideology critique. The aim of our investigation is twofold. First, we attempt to demonstrate the implications of Foucault's failure to theorize the generative principle of sociosymbolic formations; second, we argue that by conceiving the Real of class antagonism as the disavowed core of ideological fantasy, Žižek rectifies Foucault's inconsistency while simultaneously opening up a vital political space for the reconceptualization of the paradigm of ideology critique. Our article does not attempt to bring into dialogue Foucault's theory of discourse with Žižek's theory of ideology; rather, it stages an encounter between the two. The encounter involves a contrastive comparison, the tertium comparationis of which is the problematic of how Foucault's and Žižek's respective frameworks may help us conceptualize political change. Against this background and criterion it is possible to establish where and why their social theories differ, and to assess the extent to which Žižek's theoretical choices are preferable to Foucault's

Critical theory · Epistemology · Fantasy · Ideology · Literature · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Foucault, Power, and Ethics · Law · Marxism and Critical Theory · Philosophy · Psychoanalysis, Philosophy, and Politics

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