Slavoj Žižek and Dialectical Sophistics: On the Relationship between Dialectical Philosophy and Philosophical Rhetoric

Philosophy & Rhetoric May 2020 Open Access

Slavoj Žižek and Dialectical Sophistics: On the Relationship between Dialectical Philosophy and Philosophical Rhetoric

Alexander Stagnell Södertörn University

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article approaches the problem of post-truth and the opposition between philosophical dialectics and sophistic rhetoric. The antagonism is addressed through a reading of Žižek's depiction of the ongoing discussion between Alain Badiou and Barbara Cassin, the “new version of the ancient dialogue between Plato and the sophists,” as stained by sexual difference, and the dialectics between Parmenides and Gorgias. The article argues that only through acknowledging the inescapable failure of these sides to ever establish a complete totality are we capable of overcoming the antagonism that resides at their core, thus making a dialectical sophistics, on the basis of Žižek's thought, possible. Thus, only by taking the path through post-truth can we attempt to reach the disavowed core of truth that haunts every failed system.

Journal: Philosophy & Rhetoric
Published: 2020-05-22
DOI: 10.5325/philrhet.53.2.0134
Open Access: OA PDF Hybrid
Topics: rhetorical theory

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Also cites 6 works outside this index ↓

Badiou, Alain. 2017. “Formulas of ‘L'Étourdit.’” In There's No Such Thing as a Sexual Relationship: Two Lesso…

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Cassin, Barbara. 2000. “Who's Afraid of the Sophists? Against Ethical Correctness.” Trans. Charles T. Wolfe. …

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Cassin, Barbara. 2017. “Ab-Sense, or Lacan from A to D.” In There's No Such Thing as a Sexual Relationship: T…

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Žižek, Slavoj. 2017. Incontinence of the Void: Economico-Philosophical Spandrels. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

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