How to explore Scott Alexander's work and his 1500+ blog posts? This unaffiliated fan website lets you sort and search through the whole codex. Enjoy!

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3 posts found
Apr 26, 2022
acx
38 min 5,803 words 488 comments 184 likes podcast (41 min)
Scott reviews a book on Lacanian psychoanalysis, discussing its theories on desire and human development while expressing both skepticism and interest in some of its ideas. Longer summary
Scott reviews 'A Clinical Introduction To Lacanian Psychoanalysis' by Bruce Fink, exploring Lacan's theories on desire, psychoanalysis, and human development. He discusses Lacan's concepts of the Other, the paternal function, and the three diagnostic categories: psychosis, perversion, and neurosis. Scott expresses skepticism about many of Lacan's claims but finds some value in the ideas of desire as ego defense and the complexity of human sexuality. He compares psychoanalysis to superstring theory - an attempt to explain complex phenomena that may not fully work but represents a valiant effort. Shorter summary
Feb 16, 2022
acx
78 min 12,084 words 679 comments 208 likes podcast (77 min)
Scott Alexander reviews the obscure psychoanalytic book 'Sadly, Porn', attempting to decipher its core ideas about human psychology and society. Longer summary
Scott Alexander reviews 'Sadly, Porn' by Edward Teach, a complex and obscure psychoanalytic work. He attempts to decipher the book's core ideas about human psychology, desire, and societal structures, while grappling with its intentionally difficult style and controversial claims. The review explores themes of envy, status-seeking, and the modern psyche's relationship with corporations and technology, as well as the book's critique of contemporary politics and culture. Shorter summary
Apr 09, 2019
ssc
19 min 2,831 words 102 comments podcast (19 min)
Scott Alexander reviews three books: a controversial psychotherapy text, an introduction to Lacan's philosophy, and a rationalist-themed fantasy novel. Longer summary
Scott Alexander reviews three books in this post. He starts with 'Method of Levels' by Timothy Carey, a book about psychotherapy based on perceptual control theory. Scott criticizes the book's extreme claims but finds some value in its approach. Next, he reviews 'How To Read Lacan' by Slavoj Zizek, finding it surprisingly readable but not entirely coherent. Lastly, he discusses 'The Steerswoman', a fantasy novel popular in the rationalist community, which he finds fun but not particularly deep. Shorter summary