Absolute Recoil

Name: Absolute Recoil
ISBN: 9787308258401

斯拉沃热·齐泽克Zhejiang University Press2025

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Word count: 498 words
ISBN: 9787308258401

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Summary

Absolute Recoil is a long philosophical treatise by the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek, originally published in English as Absolute Recoil: Towards a New Foundation of Dialectical Materialism by Verso in 2014. The Chinese translation, by Ji Guangmao, was brought out by Zhejiang University Press's Qizhenguan imprint in 2025. The book's central claim is that every contemporary form of philosophical materialism—from scientific naturalism to Deleuzian "new materialism"—is inadequate to the theoretical and political challenges of the modern world. Advances in quantum physics, developments in psychoanalytic theory, and the historical experience of the twentieth century have shaken inherited understandings of existence, leaving the mainstream tradition of Western philosophy without support. Žižek therefore argues for a return to Hegel, maintaining that dialectical materialism is the true heir to Hegel's philosophy and attempting on that basis to reconstruct the foundations of dialectics. The phrase "absolute recoil" is taken from Hegel and designates the movement in which what is posited turns back upon itself in its self-sublation, attaining "the absolute recoil of itself upon itself"; Žižek uses the concept to overcome the transcendental approach while avoiding a relapse into naive pre-Kantian realism. The book is divided into three main parts—"Beyond Transcendence," "The Hegelian Event," and "Hegel's Hegel"—along with two interludes, taking up such topics as Kant and Althusser, quantum knowledge and absolute knowledge, God and the Real, the negation of the negation, and empty particles and the One. The argument is not pure logical deduction but is interspersed with a wealth of cultural examples, from Schoenberg's music to Lubitsch's films, so that the mechanisms of dialectics become visible within concrete artistic and ideological landscapes. Running to roughly 498,000 characters, the book is substantial in scale and represents an attempt to reconstruct the foundations and possibilities of contemporary philosophy.

Editor's review

齐泽克是当代最受关注的公共知识分子之一，也是把黑格尔、马克思与拉康三者拧成一套解释工具的代表人物。《绝对反冲》被《纽约书评》称为他“最新的哲学杰作”，出版后即引发学界广泛讨论，伊格尔顿等人为其撰写长篇书评。与齐泽克许多面向大众的时评小册不同，这本书回到体系性的哲学写作：他要处理的是一个相当硬的问题：在量子物理与精神分析都已改变我们存在理解之后，唯物主义哲学还能以什么形态成立？他的答案是把辩证唯物主义重新认作黑格尔哲学的唯一真正继承，并以“绝对反冲”这一黑格尔概念重述本质与设定的关系。中译本由齐泽克在中国最早的译者季广茂承担，术语体系和行文习惯相对稳定，正文近五十万字，并附译后记。阅读体验上，本书并不轻快：齐泽克习惯在康德、黑格尔、拉康、谢林之间快速跳跃，又随手拉来电影与音乐作例证，读者容易在案例的趣味中迷失论证线索。但正因如此，它同时也是一部可以当作“文化诊断”来读的书：从勋伯格的无调音乐到刘别谦的犬儒智慧，理论的抽象都在具体的作品里落地。对于关心当代欧陆哲学、马克思主义与精神分析交叉地带的读者，这是2025年值得认真对待的一本译著。

Who it's for

A good fit for

系统读过黑格尔或拉康、希望跟进当代欧陆哲学进展的读者
马克思主义哲学、西方马克思主义研究方向的高年级本科生与研究生
对精神分析与哲学交叉议题、辩证法问题有持续兴趣的研究者
习惯在理论与电影、音乐等文化文本之间来回思考的文艺爱好者

Not a good fit for

完全没有哲学基础的入门读者，书中术语密度与跳跃度都很高
希望读到时评式、轻松有趣的齐泽克小册子的读者
只想找一本简明“辩证唯物主义教科书”来了解基本概念的读者

Reading tips

先读引论与两则插曲，把握“绝对反冲”的问题意识，再进入三大主体部分
手边备好黑格尔《逻辑学》相关章节与拉康的基本概念表，遇到术语回溯阅读
把书中的电影、音乐案例当作论证的落点而非闲笔，读完一例后回看对应的哲学命题
不必强求一次通读；可按“超越超验—黑格尔式事件—超越黑格尔的黑格尔”分三个阶段推进

About the publisher

Zhejiang University Press China · Founded in 1984

Since its founding in 1984, Zhejiang University Press has published across fields ranging from science, engineering, agriculture and medicine to the humanities and social sciences, covering both academic monographs and general-interest titles. Judging from the 211 books in our catalog, its strengths lie in management, finance, social sciences, world history and biography. Representative works include Wu Xiaobo's financial titles such as "Day by Day" and "Tencent Biography", translations in the social sciences such as Chizuko Ueno's "Patriarchy and Capitalism", and biographical and historical works such as "Alexander Hamilton" and "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire". Its authors include Chinese and international scholars and writers such as Wu Xiaobo, Chizuko Ueno and Ron Chernow. On the evidence of the catalog, the press combines academic translation with accessible finance and history writing, giving equal weight to specialist publishing and popular reading. It should be noted that public information on the press's full publishing structure and characteristics is limited.

FAQ

这本书是齐泽克的新作吗？

不算新作。原书《Absolute Recoil》2014年由 Verso 出版，中译本2025年由浙江大学出版社·启真馆推出，所以中文读者看到的是“新译本”而非“新著作”。

书名“绝对反冲”是什么意思？

这一概念来自黑格尔，指被设定之物在自我扬弃中回转自身、获得“自己对自己的绝对反冲”的运动。齐泽克借用它来重述本质与设定的关系，以克服先验论进路。

没读过黑格尔能读这本书吗？

可以读，但会很吃力。书中大量依赖黑格尔《逻辑学》与拉康的术语，没有相应背景时建议先读导论性著作，或先看引论判断难度。

译本质量如何？

译者是北京师范大学季广茂教授，也是齐泽克在中国最早的译者，术语处理相对稳定；书中附有译后记，可帮助理解翻译取舍。

全书篇幅有多大？

中译本约498千字，530页左右，16开平装，属于需要长期投入阅读的厚重学术著作。

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About the author

斯拉沃热·齐泽克 Author

Slavoj Žižek is a contemporary Western philosopher and cultural critic who remains active in both fields; public information about his nationality, dates of birth and death, and other personal background is limited. This catalog contains two of his works, The Enjoyment and Nothingness (Exclusive First Release) and The Abyss of Freedom, commonly classified under Eastern Philosophy and Western Philosophy. These works suggest that his writing often centers on philosophical themes such as enjoyment, freedom, and nothingness, while also drawing on psychoanalysis and cultural criticism. His prose is highly speculative and shows a talent for addressing difficult theory in an accessible, even playful manner, which has earned him attention among both academics and general readers. It should be noted that this page makes no guesses about his education, positions, or specific experiences; it presents only his intellectual concerns and writing style as reflected in the available bibliographic information.