Interviewing Žižek: Happiness Is the Most vivid Ideology of Our Era

[Chinese & English Subtitles!] In 2019 June, I went to Slovenia to interview Slavoj Žižek (齐泽克) - a prominent but controversial public figure, sometimes called "the most dangerous philosopher in the West". We had a two-hour long discussion on various topics including Marxism, consumerism, political correctness, White Left(白左), the fall of the Berlin wall, happiness, marriage and even open relationships. Follow me on twitter: @qingwang1989

[@QingWang0]

Thanks for watching and commenting! A quick response: The original interview was two-hour long, and our video format is usually around 20-30 minutes. Due to the length limit, this video is only meant to be a collocation of opinion highlights, instead of a full recording of everything he said. A more comprehensive version of the full interview can be found in the link below, if you can read Chinese (around 20,000 characters) mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzIwNTcyMzY1OA==&mid=2247484425&idx=1&sn=ed4e3b830b0ecb19f20d800957e3071c For those who don't read Chinese: after 16:18, he continued to demonstrate why he believes "we are co-responsible for the misery outside" by referring to the refugee crisis in Europe, the war in the middle east and the role of the US. For those who are curious about me: I am Chinese journalist living in Europe. You can follow me on twitter: @qingwang1989

[@SyedShoaibMahmood]

This was lovely to watch, thank you!

[@Bill-zp2mt]

Great work!

[@savagearteconomy]

why not in english !! i cant read chinese

[@roxerc]

How many social credit points did you get for this interview? :)

[@simetry6477]

Thank you for your work.

[@mappingtheshit]

Dr. Peterson was literally translated as "Professor Lobster" in the chinese subtitle... LOOOOL

[@RabbitConfirmed]

loooool

[@martin8313]

madlad translator

[@hinteregions]

That is just beautiful XD

[@Lambda_Ovine]

For real? LOL, that's awesome

[@farrider3339]

😂😂😂

[@tranzco1173]

I only watched this to see Zizek's new apartment.

[@neo69121]

seems like a lit place for intellectual battles

[@rimadbih]

LOL How the hell did you know its his.new place? I mean I noticed too but.

[@tranzco1173]

​@@rimadbihMy Sherlock Holmes level powers of deduction: Obviously he's living with a woman, because he's wearing clean clothes and has stopped storing them in his empty kitchen cabinets. The place is nicer than his old place, that was shown in ZIZEK! and a VICE interview. He had that huge ugly sofa. His new wife has turned him into a hipster, with a cool apartment complete with turntable.

[@rimadbih]

@@tranzco1173 HAHA yeah that sofa of his was ugly as shit

[@vic8ball]

It looks like he has his house in order ;-P

[@TytoAlpha]

LMAO him furiously pecking at the keyboard with one finger

[@ham.ster1997]

LMAO at us cannot write shit

[@Sychonut]

And with the left thumb dedicated to Space, haha like that's going to make a difference.

[@mohinderkumar7298]

😃😃😁Exactly i too type with one finger. So fast n furious. 😃😃😃

[@mohinderkumar7298]

@唐三藏 It shows what ur reified mind expect for u.

[@BobanOrlovic]

Everything he ever wrote was from that one finger

[@mirsad3474]

"Sex is beautiful, passionate nights, whatever."

[@Cdghjryhh]

"And so on and so on" *sniff*

[@nicanornunez9787]

Conan it's better

[@ivymikebushmann9100]

@RIPMarkESmith she came for younger slavoy

[@Sychonut]

Godly

[@kukushka3666]

Slavoj zizek with Chinese Characteristics

[@ivymikebushmann9100]

Developed by the taste for...

[@Gufberg]

this is the kind of commentary i go to the comment section for

[@severinocicerchia7668]

My new political orientation

[@humanbeing33]

1:40 Zizek has mastered the one finger typing.

[@bas8116]

I never realized his age, I always thought he was a old looking guy in his 50s now he seems like a young 70 yo.

[@stomil]

"I know it's poisonus, but I dont care!"

[@incompetentlogistics]

I could listen to Žižek talk about love forever. He has a way of giving this particular subject an extra dose of enthusiasm.

[@ince55ant]

its like aesthetically very cynical but the substance is super romantic. i love his idea of two partners pairing off thier sex toys so they are free of libidinal obligations, freeing them to ingage each other intellectually

[@bidenator9760]

I really enjoy your non-sensationalist style of interviewing. Fantastic work!

[@Languslangus]

Whod think jurnalists still do jurnalism.

[@mrstickbird]

14:42 Slavoj fears Cthulu

[@soulbeats135]

Global warming will awaken cthulu!

[@benzur3503]

Christmas Bomber it will make R’lyeh great again

[@isadoraarvelos3190]

hahahahaha you had a genial perception

[@21stcenturyoptimist]

God, slavoj talking about following your dreams broke me to tears

[@savagearteconomy]

Nonetheless, he is a 70 year old comrade..Bitch!!

[@shenmue249]

Timestamp?

[@Nowhy]

Congrats

[@kimjikim00]

"Expressions of love should be useless." I could see this coming in handy one day 😊

[@edwardbackman744]

Hahaha Žižek back tracked when he called the Chinese state efficient but the subtitles didn’t change lmao

[@edwardbackman744]

9:58

[@Ari-ne2yb]

Bro the fact that this man was reported on Chinese tv while the so-called free American mainstream press refuses to do so speaks for itself. Don't get me wrong, China is most certainly an unfree state. My only point is, so is America (just with the illusion of freedom). Noam Chomsky's Manufactured Consent is a very good deep dive into this subject

[@shenmue249]

This is one of the best clearest interviews with Ziz on youtube.

[@gammygoogur]

What the fuck Žižek types with his right index finger one letter at a time 1:40 absolutely insane anybody could maintain his output level like that

[@chopsonyou2007]

Qing Yang you did a really job interviewing Zizek. The subtitles were helpful even though I speak English, because sometimes he is hard to understand. I think he really respected you and he didn’t wander all over with his answers. So for once Zizek pulled it together and forced himself to simply and directly make his points. Thank you !

[@13hehe]

That was one of the most beautiful discussions about love anyone would utter these days...This man knows what loving someone means.

[@igloocookie]

Love his thoughts on marriage and love. Totally agree.

[@HaIsKuL]

His view on marriage made me have a greater respect for him.

[@bahruzsamadov8599]

Thanks for this brilliant interview!

[@begrackled]

If nothing else, I'm amazed at whoever made all the grammar and punctuation choices in the subtitles. That dude, probably not even.a native English speaker, deserves a medal.

[@martins3993]

This is a very great interview, good work and thank you for sharing this.

[@arunray542]

This interview is in bits and pieces.

[@icicestlamaisoncalme]

Thank you for sharing, its really great discussion we have here.

[@spectralv709]

Zizek looks like he had some fun at IKEA

[@jamalcalypse]

thanks for the english subtitle!

[@claradharma8778]

This is one of the few interviews in which Zizek was able to just be chill and reply to the questions withtout deviating so much haha. I have hust found your channel and I'm here for it! Your interview style is great, thanks for good content!

[@yangzhong8175]

I love this video. The interview questions are well-phrased and the translation is well done. Please upload more videos like this one!

[@kakanaarchiwumf]

i didn't finish it yet, but i already can appreciate a brand new interview with the man himself

[@yourfamilydocter]

"expressions of love should be useless" hahaha great quote

[@JesseNewhart]

Great interview. Thank you very much for your hard work Qing.

[@the1984aritra]

Absolutely brilliant! Fantastic talks, thanks to the interviewer and there's not enough admiration we can offer to Mr. Zizek for his wonderful words and insights on various topics. Loved this. ❤

[@barbrasosi]

Good job, you managed to subtitle and maybe translate what zizek said, it's not an easy task, but really worthwhile

[@user-ne9js4wx8x]

Thank you for the subtitles.

[@corykobbert]

thanks for good content, good luck with everything.

[@johnoverflow650]

18:27 I've never seen Slavoj agree so intensely with an interviewer's remark before

[@koalabear1984]

APSULUTLI

[@koalabear1984]

you know *šniff* this reminds me on those communist prapaganda girls *šniff* to keep you happy in socialism

[@Claxiux]

This was one of the best interviews of Prof Zizek, ever! Well done!!!

[@leeslater8962]

This really was an exceptional interview, and having a Chinese interviewer really changed the dynamic - good job!

[@mcmontgomery420]

Every time he touches his nose, he goes one level deeper until he is in the depths of your soul....

[@DPtdryste]

This was a really good interview! Happy to find your channel, keep it up, I subscribed! 😊

[@DrakesdenChannel]

Josip Broz Tito used to say 'i tako dalje, i tako dalje' which translates to "and so on and so on." It's probably an aftereffect of communism.

[@janna7777]

And you are from Balkan?Because ja jesam i ne bi rekla da je tvoja teorija točna😅

[@DrakesdenChannel]

@@janna7777 It's a joke consideting Žižek's socialist views. I'm from Croatia but hardly Balkan. Lots of Croats call themselves Balkan without ever being to actual Balkan countries and seeing the European third world.

[@MrDeicide1]

@@DrakesdenChannel Ummm... Croatia is Balkan

[@ashtoffen]

Very good interview ! Congratulations and thanks a lot!

[@bohanxu422]

作为一个齐泽克的爱好者非常喜欢你这样的一篇采访！确实齐泽克很少接受中文媒体的采访，但我也相信我们需要更加了解他

[@yttean98]

Good Interview you just let him talk with no interruptions, this time he summaries his thinking concisely. Normally I cannot understand his English accent, this time you also display his speech as subtitles easier for the viewers to understand him. Also excellent editing, overall good job.

[@skellurip]

please release the full video, i need to hear that two hours zizek rambling about something something and so on

[@mushroomspecial]

Wonderful interview still incredibly informative.

[@themonkwiththefunk6080]

She lets him actually speak, that alone is impressive by today's interviewing standards

[@metabalcanico]

the calmness of the interviewer vs all the nervous ticks etc by Zizek haha. great contrast.. good interview!

[@pieter-baspeppelenbosch1078]

great interview!

[@anranliu6454]

Much kudos to the penultimate question from the reader, Zizec has a surprisingly conservative answer to this which really shocked me a bit.

[@husham6075]

Every time i am watching zizek I learn something new...

[@zaratustra234games9]

very nice interview!!

[@peterhu2924]

感谢🙏

[@MichaeltheORIGINAL1]

Watching the second half of this 2019 interview with Žižek, listening to his predictions on war and global unrest at the turn of the century around 1900 unfolding itself again in the modern era is bone-chilling in regard to the awful war happening in Europe, Ukraine. Where will this lead us?

[@cesarfeghali7820]

It'd be very nice if you upload all the interview :) Anyway, thx.

[@cccccnnn]

А great reporter with the right questions I'm tired of this shity Vice and so on and so on (see what i did there)

[@pb6270]

What? How were the questions any good at all and what made her a great reporter?

[@Jacob-vw4tv]

Ok I didn't expect slavoj zizek's perspective on love to be so interesting

[@nancywysemen7196]

very nice,very clear and appropriate.

[@XereNak]

Great interview

[@brianblades6177]

Slavoj Z... A man with many super powers: getting a runny nose from talking about philosophy, saying 'and so on and so on' after everything, and typing with one finger.

[@ccchhris]

Really brilliant.

[@iloveshipment]

20:02 slavoj appereantly listens to CCR

[@UserName-ii1ce]

Fortunate son is kind of a populist anthem isn't it

[@cardenas8995]

OMG Zizek collects vynil discs... and he has some amazing rock records!

[@zxjacko]

lol yeah i was shocked to see Creedence of all things in Zizek's house

[@ColtraneTaylor]

@@zxjacko More expected than Van Halen.

[@bandygamy5898]

Best Žižek interview

[@Lambda_Ovine]

Great interview, relevant questions and very concise compilation. Also, the short introduction you gave to each topic for each question was an excellent addition.

[@junker154]

I find this interview refreshing because the answers that Zizek gave were more concise and to the point than any other interview or lecture that he gives. Honestly, I have troubles following his line of thought or keeping a structure in my head, especially when reading his books. At one point he talks about how a gesture of an offer that is to be refused out of politeness is ridden with implications and then it ends with talking about how different countries have different toilets. Illustrating how shit is being flushed out by Kants notion of the the three major european powers.

[@Nowhy]

Ever heard of lateral thinking?

[@junker154]

@@Nowhy yes, why?

[@Nowhy]

@@junker154 because I have no problem to follow his line of thought, especially not in the example that you stated - maybe you are more into structure and squares than me..

[@imaginetuhin1]

very nice interview.

[@prevara5162]

the interviewer is very polite

[@amaariel]

You won a new subscriber

[@antonfernando3275]

Can you upload the whole interview? Some parts are missing.

[@DrDanLawrence]

Great work with this interview, thank you for conducting and sharing. It is interesting to hear Zizek's reactions on his debate with Peterson. This are questions we should all be wrestling with - how will we set both our "houses" and the world into a direction where we don't destroy ourselves and where we can live relatively prosperous, decent lives. Unfortunately we also need more than philosophy, here - we need folks who are willing to take on these problems and start presenting some models or alternatives, I think.

[@Nowhy]

More models and alternatives when the understanding about the limits of our understanding of them is a bigger problem then all the problems they try to simplify?

[@DrDanLawrence]

@@Nowhy What is the limit of our understanding? We have no idea what our limits are. I think we need both philosophy to better frame the questions/problems we face, and practical solutions and models to solve widescale human issues.

[@Nowhy]

@@DrDanLawrence we? What is that 'we' that you are speaking of? I for my part can accept that there are "things" that I can't understand, as a matter of fact, I think that real understanding of personal things, not practical things, always involves an understanding of what cannot be understood. I am not a fan of that which is called philosophy, especially if it is about models and solutions to problems that might not be problems at all. Uncertainty asks for commitment...

[@DrDanLawrence]

@@Nowhy By "we" I mean humans, in the above context. Sure, it's wise to accept that you might not know something, but we don't want to throw in the towel and assume that we will never understand anything. Interesting thoughts. There are limitless directions to explore inside ourselves and outside ourselves. But why place an arbitrary cap on what humans can understand? In the last couple hundred years we've found out that the universe is massively larger than we ever imagined. We're learning new things, collectively, all the time. Who knows what's just around the next corner? No one, yet.

[@Nowhy]

@@DrDanLawrence again, what do you mean with "we". What is a human? A Homo? A Homo Sapiens? Are you a Homo or a Homo Sapiens? A wise human? Are humans wise from a biological or scientific standpoint? And who gives you the right to speak for all humans? I don't consent that you speak for me and make assumptions on my behalf. This isn't scientific except if science is magical thinking - maybe you made a presupposition that we can in an absolute sense understand anything. Well, do you understand yourself? The last question was a rhetorical question and I don't want an answer, but maybe you want to answer that for yourself and judge yourself. If you don't want to do that and still want to judge all humans, then maybe this is a case of megalomania/narcissism, but this is just an idea or a model of how to look at it and can't be actuality itself for it is in the realm of language - the psychology of the past is about death and has limits when the future comes "into play". I for my part don't see life as part of a game and hate when people play with humans and playing with humans was done a lot in the last century (modern psychology, *throw up*), especially when there was a war (which is not so funny like playing chess for example). Games are interesting, like science or philosophy, but never important, what is important is you! Well, the meaning of that word importance is getting lost more and more in a world where responsibility is given away and seen as something boring to throw away in a childish attempt to make oneself interesting. One does not need to be a parent to see that a child is important for it has value in its potential and yet, in the eyes of society, it has nothing to offer yet for it can't make money… This reminds me of a song: Little Eskimo Jesus - Keep on trying… Or AWOL ONE - Old babies You say that there are limitless directions to explore. Did it occur to you that there is a POSSIBILITY that there are limits to what can be explored? As a reminder, the earth has a fixed mass as long as no material is "thrown" into it or brought into it like humans did from the moon for instance. (Yes it bothers me that 20% of Americans believe that humans were never on the moon. That percentage is rising..) Ever tried to understand the meaning of the word entropy? You know, the more we know about a system, the less we can be certain that our knowledge is precise. I heard an astronomer/physicist say (on a Joe Rogan Podcast), after he described our theoretical knowledge superbly, that he is a bit sad that it seems like we only have like 1% left of what we can't explain and then proceeded to go into philosophy which he had no clue about. At that point he became an idiot to me for he didn't get that 1%, or to be clear 0.00000000000(infinite)1% can be greater than 99.99999999(infinite)%. (I gave my direct thoughts as a comment on that video which probably is lost in the sea of the interesting aka. the funny aka. the destructive… Hmm - the upvote and downvote system from KZbin is about what is popular (see the bullshit on KZbin trending) and people who want to be seen as something are only interested in what is popular - oh the irony in a world more and more devoid of personality and originality - billions lost in imitation. Heck, I am clueless about how much more suffering in war, like in WW2, humans need to see/feel that fascism/totalitarianism/bullshit in all its forms is destructive and meaningless and leads to barbarism, that which was before the written history, that which repeats if humans don't learn from history. China or Japan have a crazy history of war on their own as can be seen in that video on KZbin 'the history of the world in 20 minutes'. As a warning, that video has many holes and is not what actually happened, it is just a story.. Well, don't ask me what actually happened, I wasn't there and could only offer other stories.) please excuse my detour and rant. Here is a poem as a compensation: Phil Kaye - Repetition I don't place anything arbitrary anywhere and I am not talking about theoretical randomness at all. If we really learned so much about the universe, then why are there huge discrepancies in our theoretical knowledge which wanna-be scientists have no clue about while being very sensible and clever? Like for instance the theoretical/mathematical problem between the Higgs Boson field and Dark Energy? The same can be seen in every science, like biology for instance. The more we seem to know about a cell the more lost we become looking at the sea trying to find a single water droplet. Or how Darwin's theory of evolution can explain micro-changes in species but lacks any insight in macro-changes. Looking back isn't the same as looking forward… It's always the same, the closer one thinks to be at the source of anything/everything, the further away one gets. And the sad thing is, the one looking can't even laugh about his own stupidity for asking the wrong question. The story of the one great, all knowing, sensible, intelligent idiot that is always right. To bad that the kind and sensitive tinman has no heart, the intelligent scarecrow no brain and the cowardly lion no courage. I have a real simple question for you to check if you get what I am getting at: Can a fixed wheel turn to the left and right simultaneously?

[@thomaschad18]

Upload full interview please - why not?

[@fernie51296]

Great interview except we didn’t get to hear him finish the outside the cupola explanation. Although I’m sure it’s something along the lines of what Noam Chomsky has pointed out before.

[@cyhibla]

Great interview but sadly way too short...

[@michaelanderwald4179]

Cockta is a great soda. I usually don't drink sodas, but I have a house in Croatia and every time I go there on vacation I suddenly become a soda drinker. I'm glad I don't know where to get it in Austria, so I can enjoy it every now and then without feeling too bad about myself.

[@invisuu6280]

As a Slovenian...what kind of Austrian are you, that you don't drink Almdudler?! Every time I go to Austria I buy some Almdudler. And like you, I also almost never drink soda. :)

[@TheMsnitish]

Amazing Zizek.

[@monamoore5471]

I want to marry someone like zizek

[@Thewonderingminds]

porqua marriage mon chery ?

[@monamoore5471]

@MrZapparin Whuh?!!😒

[@Ali-lm7uw]

@@monamoore5471 lol

[@Ghruul]

was this actually aired on chinese television? He did take a jab at the a couple core elements of modern chinese society like the linkage of identity, payment through phones and moral social record which can get you banned from using trains and airplanes

[@les-fauxmonnayeurs9887]

I really like Zizek taking

[@driannash4843]

Nice to see he’s a credence fan. The dude abides

[@HakWilliams]

Slavoj is hot. She is clever.

[@lupo-femme]

And you're sexy

[@georgepantzikis7988]

S P I C Y

[@Hermes_45762]

@@sam-xw2vf Excuse me？

[@xanon4210]

@@Hermes_45762 He said he's horny. And how are you today?

[@octoNG]

Good interview

[@nbarrett100]

Don't feel bad about yourself if you're not reading all the time. Zizek has the Lewis DVD box set

[@alimehraein6811]

Could someone please tell me what is the title of the text Zizek mentioned at the end of the interview on the possible liberating impact of going on a shopping spree?

[@Bill-zp2mt]

What's the best Chinese philosopher who is alive today and speak English ?

[@davidfinch2478]

@yggh yh bgf perhaps you are a little sensitive. He probably wanted to read it and only reads English

[@askaichin]

@yggh yh bgf chutiya spotted

[@KitCalder]

@yggh yh bgf He asks which Chinese philosopher who speaks English is the best; this in no way implies that the best Chinese philosopher must speak English.

[@vanviccardi7553]

Yuk Hui.

[@fuaka1343]

Wang Hui is not bad but he is more like a historian

[@Red1Revival]

censored the answer about dealing with the 2/3rds of people outside the cupola...what did he say!!!?

[@jasa_m7990]

he makes the cupola analogy in many interviews

[@francescoschembari5013]

Love the huge “STALIN” book behind him.

[@reesepuffs3518]

Know thy enemy

[@yagamilight5830]

Nice 👍

[@HahaDeBois]

Cupola penetration commentary censored after 16:01 WHAT DID HE SAY?

[@lostcause1281]

@Di Fox You can read the whole article in English using Google Translate, by simply copying the URL address in Google Translate. Here is the link form GT with the English version of that article - translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fmp.weixin.qq.com%2Fs%3F__biz%3DMzIwNTcyMzY1OA%3D%3D%26mid%3D2247484425%26idx%3D1%26sn%3Ded4e3b830b0ecb19f20d800957e3071c

[@aipkjbf]

2:11 it reads as "Cola War" because of chinese subs. huh.

[@alexhe7512]

"And also I am very worried about something in the oceans in the depth of the oceans..." You don't say Slavoj, just write an new book about it:)😂

[@Anonymous_Prole]

Brilliant (and beautiful) interviewer.

[@user-ui3kd8mr7z]

“Expressions of love should be useless .”👀

[@MrKataklysm]

He types like my grandfather.

[@Nowhy]

Well he is 70... It takes practice to type 10 finger style and for some it is more about the quality of their writing then how fast they can write... Kinda like composing music.

[@xrellerx]

15:34 German philosopher*

[@youtubecustodian4872]

She's so cuuuuuute 😖😖😖😖

[@fuaka1343]

I agree most of what he said but I can't agree that happiness, in the sense of longing for a satisfying and comfortable life, is a sort of output of capitalism. Examining deeply inside of ourselves and finding out a vocation at Weberian sense, or conceiving that someday every individual will become a philosopher as Marx depicted, is an extravagant hope for the mass. It is an ethereal dream of intellectuals.

[@thomaspynchon8400]

Chinese language is so mellifluous 😍

[@ironfortitude9817]

Japanese is superior in that regard.

[@MrManifolder]

@@ironfortitude9817 It's largely subjective. I like them both and think they are different enough to have difficulty picking one.