History of the Human Sciences 23 (5):113-130 (2010)
Abstract |
This article revisits Arendt’s and Foucault’s converging accounts of modern (bio)politics and the entry of biological life into politics. Agamben’s influential account of these ideas is rejected as a misrepresentation both because it de-historicizes biological/organic life and because it occludes the positivity of that life and thus the discursive appeal and performative force of biopolitics. Through attention to the genealogy of Arendt’s and Foucault’s own ideas we will see that the major point of convergence in their thinking is their insistence upon understanding biological thinking from the inside, in terms of its positivity. Agamben’s assessment of modern politics is closer to Arendt’s than it is to Foucault’s and this marks a fascinating point of disagreement between Arendt and Foucault. Whereas Arendt sees the normalizing force of modern society as being in total opposition to individuality, Foucault posits totalization and individuation as processes of normation, which casts a light upon the relative import they place upon politics and ethics
|
Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
ISBN(s) | |
DOI | 10.1177/0952695110375762 |
Options |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Download options
References found in this work BETA
Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity.Judith Butler & Suzanne Pharr - 1990 - Hypatia 5 (3):171-175.
View all 27 references / Add more references
Citations of this work BETA
Biology, Contingency and the Problem of Racism in Feminist Discourse.Claire Peta Blencowe - 2011 - Theory, Culture and Society 28 (3):3-27.
Between Foucault and Agamben: An Overview of the Problem of Euthanasia in the Context of Biopolitics.Gürhan Özpolat - 2017 - Beytulhikme An International Journal of Philosophy 7 (2):15-31.
Similar books and articles
Analytics
Added to PP index
2013-11-01
Total views
23 ( #490,257 of 2,499,269 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
1 ( #418,195 of 2,499,269 )
2013-11-01
Total views
23 ( #490,257 of 2,499,269 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
1 ( #418,195 of 2,499,269 )
How can I increase my downloads?
Downloads