Author name: Michael Downs

Michael Downs is an independent researcher, author of the philosophy and critical theory blog The Dangerous Maybe, and instructor at Theory Underground. On his blog, Downs teaches, explores and expands on the ideas of Slavoj Žižek, Jacques Lacan, Jean Baudrillard, Gilles Deleuze, and many other philosophers, in ways that are accessible to a broad audience. Michael has guest lectured on Søren Kierkegaard at Truman State University and on Jean Baudrillard at Boise State University. He also has tutored philosophy students at Longview Community College as well as online. Michael's essay 'Differentia Ex Nihilo: The Problem of Difference in Kant’s Critical Philosophy' has been published in the online philosophy journal Triple Ampersand. He has earned a graduate certificate from The New Centre for Research and Practice and was the recipient of the Outstanding Graduate Essay at the 2018 International Žižek Conference in Athens, Georgia. Michael is currently studying with Todd McGowan with a special focus on the work of Slavoj Žižek. In 2023 Michael taught two courses at Theory Underground on Žižek’s For They Know Not What They Do, and in an introductory course to the philosophy of Nick Land. Two of his pieces, "Wage Labor and Jouissance," as well as "Millennials and Loneliness" are featured in Underground Theory, the first Theory Underground anthology.