Abstract

This paper argues that the question of the human is a major concern in Judith Butler’s philosophy. I believe that although this concern is more visible in her relatively recent works on ethics and politics, in her earlier works it is always in the background. I read Butler as a deep thinker on the nature of the human, and argue that her thoughts on ethics and politics should be read as a yearning for a human condition where a collectively inhabitable world becomes possible. This paper will explore the question of the human as Butler discusses this in its relation to intelligibility, critique, and the opacity of the subject not only to understand the terms of dehumanization but also to offer ways of conceptualizing a more humane world