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In April 2019, Canadian psychologist Jordan B. Peterson sat down with Slovenian philosopher and psychoanalyst Slavoj Žižek for a debate that would collect higher ticket prices than the local Toronto Maple Leafs game. The debate was considered by many to be something of a dud, with both figures largely appearing to talk past each other, but to ignore it would be a mistake. Instead, the fact that a major public event put the Communist vs. Capitalist question back into play speaks to larger cultural trends that are occurring; an old consensus seems to be bursting at the seams, and it's unclear if the center will hold or be moved.
Taking on the existentialism of Martin Heidegger as their starting point, Stephen Dozeman argues that understanding this debate means starting with the individual subject, and understanding its increasingly confused and precarious place in a disenchanted world. Wandering in between philosophical theory, history, popular culture, and back to philosophy again, this book tries to explore why so many feel compelled to call ancient wisdom into question, and what it might mean to take responsibility for our lives.
Stephen Dozeman graduated from Calvin College with a BA in philosophy, art history, and gender studies, and now hosts at the New Books Network podcast, and does occasional freelance writing.
"In an ambitiously wide-ranging analysis, Dozeman pairs an original exposition of Heidegger and Marx with the fascinating debate between Žižek and Peterson. The latter has drawn both crowds and ire in recent years, demonstrating the appeal of a reactionary Jungianism dressed up for social media consumption. The threat of psychoanalysis against any maps of meaning is its announcement of, as Dozeman writes, 'subjective destitution, where one recognizes reality in all its utter contingency and stupidity.' And as philosophers compete ever more against cynicism and charlatans, the delineations Dozeman explores are as important as ever--archetypes or contingency, neoliberalism or revolution, self-help or destitution, and, to say it all, lobsters or Dasein."
--Tad DeLay, author of The Cynic & the Fool: The Unconscious in Theology & Politics
"Stephen Dozeman has written a highly accessible and erudite book that is never less than a joy to read. Taking complex figures like Heidegger, Jordan Peterson, and Ayn Rand seriously, Dozeman shows why their reactionary impulses often lead to unhelpful and even dark places. He ends with one of the best readings of Slavoj Žižek I've encountered and provides an inspiring theoretical vision for the future. Highly recommended."
--Matthew McManus, Professor of Politics, Whitman College
"In this interesting book Stephen Dozeman provides an impressive interpretation of what 'being possible' entails today through contemporary thinkers such as Slavoj Žižek, Wendy Brown, and Mark Fisher, as well as emergencies such as COVID-19, climate change, and police brutality. . . . This book is original, profound, and radical, in other words, truly philosophical."
--Santiago Zabala, author of Being at Large: Freedom in the Age of Alternative Facts
"Dozeman's book is an ambitious attempt to critique the Canadian psychologist, Jordan Peterson, via a reading of his debate with Slavoj Žižek. Comparing Peterson to Heidegger, Dozeman portrays both as figures deeply frustrated with the state of the world only to the point of recoiling towards an indifference to reality. In contrast, Žižek, as well as Marxism, for Dozeman provides a sense of reasoning towards the various kinds of suffering in existence today. Combined with personal reflection on our current historical conjuncture, Being Possible provides intriguing insight into the world we're living in, staged through the overlap and disparities between thinkers who both draw new supporters and repel critics. This book is a joy to read for those of us grappling with our confusing times."
--Matthew Flisfeder, Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Communications, University of Winnipeg
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