The Indivisible Remainder: An Essay on Schelling and Related Matters

Žižek, S. (1996) The Indivisible Remainder: An Essay on Schelhng and Related Matters, London and New York: Verso. This book forms part of a larger project for Žižek to reinvigorate the reputation of German Idealism which, for him, constitutes the bedrock of all philosophy. His particular hope with this monograph is that he enhances the perception of Schelling's Ages of the World as 'one of the seminal works of materialism', divining in it a forerunner to the works of Marx and Lacan among others. The first part of the book endeavours to explain the Ages of the World, while the second part compares the reception of Schelling's work with the reception of Hegel's work using Lacan as the key to both. As can be imagined from his brief description, the first two parts of this volume make a complex and demanding read. The third part of the book (the 'related matters' of the title) is only relatively more accessible, but contains interesting discussions of both cyberspace and quantum physics which prefigure some of Žižek's later work.