正文分成四大段。第一,統治權不僅壓抑個體,又以昇華來補償個體,藉此穩固其支配地位,故要解除壓抑就先要解除昇華。第二,解除昇華之後,袪昇華卻使得超我和本我結合起來,而產生了極權主義主體,他以超我命令建構了社會幻象。崇高的社會幻象支撐著極權主義主體的殘酷實踐:在他人的否定和死亡當中,朝向人性理想而邁進。極權主義主體把他的內在分裂投射到他人身上,成為死亡景觀之幻象,藉此保護他自身免於存在之匱乏。第三,紀傑克強調,為了要穿越社會幻象,主體必須承受他那不可避免的匱乏,接受他的內在分裂。第四,教育學的陶養之概念強調否定性的重要:為了達成人性的絕對理想,人必須承受由死亡所帶來的無限化。然而,由否定所帶來的革命性摧毀,卻將錯誤地衍生出殘酷的薩德式教師。為了避免此一災難,我們需要由「主體之分裂」所帶來的激進離心性,作為當代教育的倫理學根據。
The main text consists of 4 parts. First, the dominating power maintains itself not only through repression of the individuals, but also through sublimation. Therefore, in order to resolve repression, one would need to resolve sublimation. Second, the totalitarian subject emerges from the process of desublimation: a process that combines the superego and id at the expense of ego. The totalitarian subject obeys the superego's command and constructs social fantasy. It is this sublime social fantasy that supports the cruel practice of totalitarian subject. The ideal humanity progresses through the death and negation of others. Fantasy is the spectacle of death and functions as a protective screen. Through this protective screen, the totalitarian subject displaces his inner division onto others and avoids his lack of being. Third, Zizek insists that the subject has to suffer his unavoidable deficit and accept his inner division in order to traverse the social fantasy. Fourth, The process of Bildung emphasizes the importance of negation: in order to achieve the absolute ideal of humanity, men have to sustains their own infinitization by going through death. Yet, the revolutionary destruction leads to the cruel sadistic teacher. To avoid this catastrophic consequence, we need the radical excentricity of ”the division of subject,” which would the ethical foundation of contemporary education.