Slavoj Zizek

Slavoj Zizek: ‘Most of the Idiots That I Know are Academics’

October 8th, 2013  |  by Eugene. Published in Theory and Theorists

In a recent interview with the New Statesmen, critical theorist Slavoj Zizek admits he doesn’t hold other academics in other very high regard.
Zizek has a long history of hilarious misanthropy. In the documentary “Zizek!” he can be seen shooing away fans, and recently  greeted the crew of Vice by exclaiming his hatred for life.
From The New Statesmen:
As an unashamed proponent of the importance of theory, Žižek has previously said that while the concept of “humanity” is fine by him, that “99 per cent of people are idiots”. I ask him if The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology is in some way an attempt to communicate theory to “idiots”.
“Yeah, but who are the idiots? I didn’t mean so-called poor, uneducated, ordinary people. If anything, most of the idiots that I know are academics. That’s why I don’t have any interest in communicating too much with academics.”
I suggest that 99 per cent of people would probably include both. Žižek seems unfazed and moves on: “I do feel some kind of stupid responsibility, as a public intellectual, and then I ask myself, sincerely, what can I do? It would be bluffing to claim that I can give answers. As I always repeat, what we philosophers can do is just correct the questions.”
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