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當代哲學家紀傑克以他對於政治與文化現象的拉岡式解讀而聞名，但他哲學中的核心母題是什麼？對紀傑克而言，哲學不是使人「安然棲身」的論述，而是跟陌生感與他異性更緊密相關。所以，在紀傑克的眼中，哲學家的工作，不在於提供具體的解決方案，而是在於「新問題的創造」，重塑爭論的框架本身。 　　這篇研究中，筆者使用「系統與他者」這組概念，來彰顯紀傑克的兩大核心母題，其一，便是在有限性的範圍之內主張的自由，其二，則是他對新穎與變化的追索。「他者」使得系統能夠不斷重新定向，並向根本的變化保持開放。 　　「脫節狀態」是紀傑克用以描述主體之基本自由的概念。主體活動不被自然或文化的任一方決定；於是，所有主體所作的系統整合，都是一種與他者建立暫態平衡的嘗試，而所有用以整合的意指活動，都是一種對於他異性的回應，一種安身立命的奠基姿態。 　　簡言之，所謂「象徵界與實在界的不協調性」，在紀傑克的術語中不是消極的意涵，而是積極的意涵：它使得意義建構得以開始，並且是人類自由的根源。透過「系統」與「他者」的互動，思想總是有能力重新定向，藉此維持其鮮活與彈性，而這正是紀傑克式主體在現今政治情境中所致力實現的。 / Contemporary philosopher Slavoj Žižek is well-known for his Lacanian reading on political and cultural phenomena, but what is the central motif of his philosophy? For Žižek, philosophy is not some discourse to make people feel “being at home”, but rather something more related to foreignness and otherness. In Žižek’s eyes, What a philosopher really does is not providing substantial solutions, but rather “inventing new problems”, reshaping the framework of argumentation itself. 　　In this thesis, ”System and other” is the term I introduce to thematize two central motifs in Žižek’s philosophy: the first motif is his tireless assertion of freedom within the realm of finitude, and the second one is his relentless seeking for innovations and changes. “Other” is what enables the system to continuously re-orientate itself, and keep the system open to fundamental changes. 　　Žižek uses “Out-of-jointedness” to describe the fundamental freedom of the subject, neither nature nor culture can determine the subject. Every system organized by the subject is an attempt to create a transient balance with the other, and every totalizing signification is s a response to the otherness, the founding gesture of situating the subject itself into a meaningful context. 　　To sum up, Žižek does not use “Inconsistency between the Symbolic and the Real” as a negative term, but rather a positive term, it is the very starting point of meaning construction, and the ground for human freedom. Through the interaction between ”system and other”, the thought is always ready for re-orientation, therefore the thought is kept alive and flexible, and this is exactly what a Žižekian subject wants to accomplish in the present political situations.

This paper delves into the realms of tragedy, memory and representation. Drawing upon the phenomenon of the Phantom Limb and extending it towards a theory of Phantom Bodies, various artworks - literary, theatrical and visual - are examined. After the conflagration of the terrorist attack, how are these absences grieved over and remembered through artistic representation? The essay examines this question by positioning itself amongst the scarred landscapes of post-September 11 New York and suicide bombings in Israel (2000-2006). Furthermore, it investigates whether humanity can be restored in the aftermath of an event in which certain individuals have sought to eradicate it. The fragmentation of the affected body in these scenarios is understood as further complicating processes of grief and remembrance. Artists who reject political polemic and engage with the dimensions of human loss are seen to have discovered means of referring to the absence caused by the act of terrorism. Three such recurring representations present themselves: ash and remnants, presence/absence and memory building. Phantom Bodies are perceived as simultaneously functioning as a reminder of the event itself, insisting upon the response of bearing witness, and as a symbol of the overwhelming power of humanity. Challenges arise when individuals or sections of the affected society deem these artworks to be inappropriate or explicit. Works considered include: Neil LaBute's play The Mercy Seat, Sigalit Landau's art installation The Country, Jonathan Safran Foer's Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Spike Lee's 25th Hour, Daniel Libeskind's architectural plans for the World Trade Center site, Eric Fischl's sculpture 'Tumbling Woman', Honor Molloy's autodelete://beginning dump of physical memory and A.B.Yehoshua's A Woman in Jerusalem. The accompanying play, Tales of Ash: A diptych for the theatre, is set in Melbourne, New York and Tel Aviv and deals with life in the face of and after terror. It veers between naturalism, poetic monologue and the epic. Tales of Ash contains two plays. The first centres on Mia, a young sculptor living in New York, who loses both her lover and her creativity on September 11. Upon returning to her home in Melbourne, she finds familial bonds still entwined with guilt and family trauma. The second play revolves around Ilana and Benny, two people living in Tel Aviv, who find themselves suddenly thrust together after a devastating bombing. As they attempt to resume rhythms of life, in the face of all the inherent ferocity of a modern existence in Israel, the struggle between The Ash Woman and The Ash Takers escalates.

<p>This thesis examines the social theory of Lacanian philosopher Slavoj Žižek. It focuses on Žižek’s work between 1989 and 2006, and offers an interpretation based on a reading of three central concepts: the Other, fantasy, and the act. All these concepts occupy the intersection between Lacan’s three orders (Imaginary, Real, Symbolic), which in Žižek’s theory means that they express a tension shared by all social order. The first chapter approaches Žižek’s conception of “the social” through an introduction of the Lacanian concept of "the Other." Attention is paid to how (a) the Other is constitutively split between its role as a Symbolic network of signifiers, and its enigmatic (Real and Imaginary) capacity to support this Symbolic network; (b) a similar split marks several of Žižek’s Lacanian and Hegelian concepts. Moreover, the chapter contrasts Žižekian sociality with those of Giddens, Luhmann and Althusser. The second chapter gives an account of the topological place of fantasy in Žižek’s theory. Relating Žižek’s theory to Critical Theory, deconstruction and Deleuzian philosophy, fantasy is presented as a concept countering new forms of “bad infinity” (Hegel) in modern social theory. The third chapter links Žižek’s theory of the act to the theories of Judith Butler, Ernesto Laclau, and Alain Badiou. Commenting on Rex Butler’s brilliant reading of Žižek, the thesis argues that Butler’s definition of the act is too negative. Instead, the thesis proposes a definition which emphasises the act's productive dimension, insisting on how the act ultimately involves the transformation from masculine to feminine enjoyment. The last chapter critically observes the different treatments Lacan and Derrida receive in Žižek’s text. The argument concludes that the Žižekian text relapses into a "masculine logic of exception", insofar as it leaves Derrida’s phallus untouched, while treating Lacan as the only one lacking phallus.</p>

This thesis examines the social theory of Lacanian philosopher Slavoj Žižek. It focuses on Žižek’s work between 1989 and 2006, and offers an interpretation based on a reading of three central concepts: the Other, fantasy, and the act. All these concepts occupy the intersection between Lacan’s three orders (Imaginary, Real, Symbolic), which in Žižek’s theory means that they express a tension shared by all social order. The first chapter approaches Žižek’s conception of “the social” through an introduction of the Lacanian concept of "the Other." Attention is paid to how (a) the Other is constitutively split between its role as a Symbolic network of signifiers, and its enigmatic (Real and Imaginary) capacity to support this Symbolic network; (b) a similar split marks several of Žižek’s Lacanian and Hegelian concepts. Moreover, the chapter contrasts Žižekian sociality with those of Giddens, Luhmann and Althusser. The second chapter gives an account of the topological place of fantasy in Žižek’s theory. Relating Žižek’s theory to Critical Theory, deconstruction and Deleuzian philosophy, fantasy is presented as a concept countering new forms of “bad infinity” (Hegel) in modern social theory. The third chapter links Žižek’s theory of the act to the theories of Judith Butler, Ernesto Laclau, and Alain Badiou. Commenting on Rex Butler’s brilliant reading of Žižek, the thesis argues that Butler’s definition of the act is too negative. Instead, the thesis proposes a definition which emphasises the act's productive dimension, insisting on how the act ultimately involves the transformation from masculine to feminine enjoyment. The last chapter critically observes the different treatments Lacan and Derrida receive in Žižek’s text. The argument concludes that the Žižekian text relapses into a "masculine logic of exception", insofar as it leaves Derrida’s phallus untouched, while treating Lacan as the only one lacking phallus.

I denna uppsats avhandlas alternativ till det sociokulturella perspektivet inom lärande och språkutveckling om hur förståelse konstitueras. Denna syn på språket grundar sig i Ludwig Wittgensteins teorier om till exempel språkspel som utvecklat en språktradition som kallas fenomenografi. Det fenomenografiska perspektivet ta i beaktande den föregående lärandeprocessen i medvetandet om hur konceptualisering av förståelse konstitueras. Detta är vad som inom filosofin kallas intentionalitet. Språket kan inte förstås utifrån en förutbestämd vokabuläranvändning eller logiska ideal. Inlärning borde istället förstås utav hur språket används i en kontext i en konkret användning. Förståelse blir därför något som inte går att utforska utifrån sociala relationer eller ideala lösningar.

Does the individual really matter in the post-modern world, brimming with countless signs and signifiers? My main objective in this writing is to demonstrate how this happens in Verhoeven's films, exploring his central themes and subtext and doing what science fiction does: hold a mirror up to the contemporary world and critique it, asking whether our species' current trajectory is beneficial or hazardous.; Dutch director Paul Verhoeven is a polarizing figure. Although many of his American made films have received considerable praise and financial success, he has been lambasted on countless occasions for his gratuitous use of sex, violence, and contentious symbolism--1995s Showgirls was overwhelmingly dubbed the worst film of all time and 1997s Starship Troopers earned him a reputation as a fascist. Regardless of the controversy surrounding him, his science fiction films are a move beyond the conventions of the big blockbuster science fiction films of the 1980s (E.T. and the Star Wars trilogy are prime examples), revealing a deeper exploration of both sociopolitical issues and the human condition. Much like the novels of Philip K. Dick (and Verhoeven's 1990 film Total Recall--an adaptation of a Dick short story), Verhoeven's science fiction work explores worlds where paranoia is a constant and determining whether an individual maintains any liberty is regularly questionable. In this thesis I am basically exploring issues regarding power. Although I barely bring up the term power in it, I feel it is central. Power is an ambiguous term; are we discussing physical power, state power, objective power, subjective power, or any of the other possible manifestations of the word? The original Anglo-French version of power means "to be able," asking whether it is possible for one to do something. In relation to Verhoeven's science fiction work each demonstrates the limitations placed upon an individual's autonomy, asking are the protagonists capable of independent agency or rather just environmental constructs reflecting the myriad influences surrounding them.