Cynicism, Subject Formation, and Critique

• Main Authors: Zhao-xian Wu, 吳昭憲
• Other Authors: Shu-fen Lin
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2006
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/98570235741586132794

碩士 === 東吳大學 === 政治學系 === 94 === The word ‘cynicism’ refers ambiguously to negative personal characters or to harmful political, social, and cultural phenomena. Therefore, the first problematization of this thesis would be what is ‘cynicism’. If the origin of the word is classical Cynics who preached critical thoughts about two thousands years ago, in what kind of historical process had the word been depreciated? This would be the second problematization of this research. However, the main problematization of this study is to recognize that the negative ‘cynicism’ is an accomplished fact of language, that the phenomenon which had been related to the word are actually existing in the world universally, and then to understand it and to criticize it. In the end, This research have detected that the negative cynical subject, who erroneously concludes that the symbolic order (the Other) does not function and believes only in the Real of jouissance, still indulges in fantasy and jouissance unknowingly. Thus, the way to make critique possible again in today’s world would be traversing the fantasy, confronting with the Real directly, practicing the act, and then changing the institution. And actually, all of the above correspond to the teachings of classical Cynics.