Video Sections:

0:00 – Intro
01:24 – Introduction by Cindy Zeiher (editor)
14:10 – Jean-Michel Rabaté (author)
25:22 – Samo Tomšič (author)
43:29 – James Martell (author)
57:04 – Antonio Viselli (author)
1:12:49 – Discussion (all)

About the Event

This Lacan in Scotland seminar “Stupidity and Psychoanalysis” took place 30 January 2025 on Zoom. The seminar celebrates the book launch of “Stupidity and Psychoanalysis: Lacanian Perspectives on New Subjectivities and Social Forms” with a panel discussion. The editor of the book, Professor Cindy Zeiher (University of Canterbury) serves as session chair together with Professor Calum Neill (Director of Lacan in Scotland) where they discuss some of the contributions with authors of the book.

Event Description

There is nothing new in thinking that we live in stupid times. While many thinkers think (or have thought) about stupidity as a symptom, Lacan considered it as immune to the influence of psychoanalysis, saying about himself, “I am only relatively stupid―that is to say, I am as stupid as all people―perhaps because I got a little bit enlightened.” Here stupidity’s inescapability signifies (and is signified by) the absence of any coherent foundation in desire and lack but instead emanates from the will to jouissance.

This seminar features Jean-Michel Rabaté (University of Pennsylvania), Samo Tomšič (Humboldt Universität), James Martell (Lyon College), Antonio Viselli( University of Canterbury) and Cindy Zeiher (University of Canterbury) to discuss their contributions to a new collection dedicated to Lacanian readings of stupidity.