Alenka Zupančič: The End of Fantasy Versus the Fantasy of the End

One recurring fantasy related to late capitalism is undoubtedly the fantasy of “the End”. To be sure, the fantasy of the End also appears outside of, and prior to the capitalist world order, but it might prove instructive to look at the way it is structured in this world order, as well as to look at the shifts that have occurred in this structuring. This talk will demonstrate how the fantasy of the End as some kind of radical catastrophe serves as a means of not ending anything and of maintaining the status quo. To say that the prospect of catastrophe is very often a typical fantasy scenario does not mean that the catastrophe is a fantasy in the sense that it cannot happen. What is “fantastic” about it is the way it frames our present choices and actions, or the absence thereof. The talk will also attempt to define how art differs from fantasy and how it can function as the “end of fantasy”.

Alenka Zupančič is a Slovene philosopher and social theorist. She works as a research advisor at the Institute of Philosophy of the Scientific Research Centre of the Slovene Academy of Sciences. She is also a professor at the European Graduate School in Switzerland and a guest lecturer at numerous universities worldwide. Her work lies on the intersection of philosophy and psychoanalysis. She is the author of numerous articles and books.

Moderated by Marijana Rimanić, the communications manager of RESHAPE and Pogon – Zagreb Centre for Independent Culture and Youth.