Here are some sketches and notes from a lecture by philosopher(-king?) Slavoj Žižek I attended in November at the New York Public Library. “Man is shaken by the beautiful madness called laughter and creates the mystery of shape.” he said. He was speaking about an incident where Derrida, as the notes say, finds himself ashamed of his naked body in front of his cat. The cat’s eyes represent The Other– the mystery of existence beyond the veil. The flowers were in a vase beside Žižek, but as perhaps Derrida would have wanted, I have placed them on his head.
More below the cut!
Žižek spoke about the interpretations of the calamities that befell the biblical Job. How ultimately, they concealed their opposite– the meaningless cruelty in all misfortune.
Like the proverb about the fiance, he said that he has no friends that like The Sound of Music because once one of his friends say they like the film, they are no longer his friend.
Tags: Cats, Derrida, The beautiful madness called laughter, Zizek
Dale