Žižek’s new book — Panic!: COVID-19 Shakes the World — has been too easily dismissed. As readers, we are bombarded with reasons, from critiques to ridicule, to avoid it, or simply not to take it seriously. In this review, I argue that the Panic! contains a philosophical revolution that is directed at our extreme contemporary condition. The speculative judgement that Žižek suggests — “Spirit is a Virus” — embodies a call for the acceptance of the virality of humanity, and for the solidarity that …
Read moreŽižek’s new book — Panic!: COVID-19 Shakes the World — has been too easily dismissed. As readers, we are bombarded with reasons, from critiques to ridicule, to avoid it, or simply not to take it seriously. In this review, I argue that the Panic! contains a philosophical revolution that is directed at our extreme contemporary condition. The speculative judgement that Žižek suggests — “Spirit is a Virus” — embodies a call for the acceptance of the virality of humanity, and for the solidarity that comes with it. In this review, I explicate this judgement from the book and detail how it leads to “a new form of communism”, and a revolutionary new reading of Hegel.
