The relationship between mind and matter | Slavoj Žižek, Alenka Zupančič and Carlo Rovelli

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Feb 10, 2026

Guest

Carlo Rovelli, theoretical physicist who frames observation as relational information. Alenka Zupančič, Lacanian philosopher who stresses subjectivity emerging from gaps and negativity. Slavoj Žižek, provocative philosopher mixing sharp argument and humor. They debate how mind and matter relate, the role of perspectives in physics, language’s limits, and whether subjectivity can arise within a physical world.

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INSIGHT

Worlds Are Standpoint‑Bound

'World' is always perceived from a standpoint embedding presuppositions and is not identical to the total 'universe'.
The self is a unique singularity that perceives from and helps constitute a particular world-view.

INSIGHT

Subjectivity Emerges From Reality's Gaps

The subject emerges where reality shows gaps or inconsistencies rather than by simple mirroring of the world.
Subjectivity can intervene in and transform reality using signifiers that exploit these cracks.

INSIGHT

Knowledge Is Information In An Embodied Mind

The world exists independently, but all we know about it is information contained in our brains.
Treat descriptions as perspectives tied to embodied observers, not as views from nowhere.

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The self and the world

We tend to think of ourselves as observers of the world and experience as something different from the material stuff that makes up reality. Yet at the same time as human beings, we are at once part of the universe and part of that reality. And this profoundly puzzling relationship, that we are both part of something and yet separate from it, has been at the centre of Western thought. Materialists claim there is only physical material. But if so, thought, experience, and consciousness become illusory. Idealists argue there is only consciousness, but then it is reality that becomes an illusion. While dualists hold that both the self and the world exist, but that the connection between the two is mysterious.

Is the self part of the world or necessarily outside of it? Was Kant right that the distinction between subject and object is necessary for experience to be possible? Or are these deep metaphysical questions beyond us, and our theories and language incapable of uncovering the ultimate state of things?

Slavoj Žižek is one of the most famous philosophers in the world and is the author of more than 50 books, including most recently at the time of the debate Zero Point. Alenka Zupančič is a leading Lacanian philosopher and social theorist. She is a professor at The European Graduate School and at the University of Nova Gorica. Joining from America, Carlo Rovelli is a leading theoretical physicist, the author of several best-selling books, and a founding figure in the field of quantum gravity. His recent book, Reality Is Not What It Seems, has ethical implications for the nature of the self and personal identity. Jack Symes hosts.

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