Vulnerability, Mourning, and Precarity in Judith Butler
An Ethical-Political Problem in Contemporary Society
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47456/sofia.v15.i2.52852Keywords:
mourning, precarity, violence, Judith ButlerAbstract
This article investigates the notions of precarity, mourning, and violence in the thought of Judith Butler, taking Precarious Life (2004) as its main reference, in dialogue with Frames of War (2009) and Notes Toward a Performative Theory of Assembly (2015). First, it examines the formation of the subject within contemporary philosophy, highlighting the influence of Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida on the critique of the substantial subject and on the understanding of subjectivity as an effect of discursive practices and power relations. The article then analyzes the relationship between mourning and precarity, emphasizing the displacement of mourning from the private sphere to the public and political realm. The discussion addresses the distinction between grievable and ungrievable lives, drawing on examples explored by Butler, such as the aftermath of the September 11 attacks and the figure of Antigone. Finally, the article examines the relationship between precarity and violence in the context of neoliberal rationality. Precarity is understood as a politically induced condition, unevenly distributed among social groups and closely linked to vulnerability, exposure to violence, struggles for recognition, and forms of collective action in public space.
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