Questioning the “We” in Times of Global Threats with Butler and Levinas
In: Research in PhenomenologySearch for other papers by Lucia Angelino in
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Abstract
Today, the “we” has not lost its place in contemporary debates. On the contrary, it has become a crucial question in the political and philosophical debates relating to global-scale disasters and traumatic events, which expose all of humanity to the same risks and same threats. In a dramatic and paradigmatic way, these events invite us to “mourn” the fantasy of self-sufficiency of the I and remind us to which extent our lives are immediately linked to those of others. At the same time, however, these events, which yields the potential to reveal a relationality constitutive of “who we are,” also suggest the need to reframe our understanding of the “we,” and to overcome the us/them divide upon which it has been construed until now. In this essay, I take up this challenge by first engaging in a critical discussion of Judith Butler’s ethics of vulnerability, and then turning to the ethical philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas.
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| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
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Questioning the “We” in Times of Global Threats with Butler and Levinas
In: Research in PhenomenologySearch for other papers by Lucia Angelino in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
Today, the “we” has not lost its place in contemporary debates. On the contrary, it has become a crucial question in the political and philosophical debates relating to global-scale disasters and traumatic events, which expose all of humanity to the same risks and same threats. In a dramatic and paradigmatic way, these events invite us to “mourn” the fantasy of self-sufficiency of the I and remind us to which extent our lives are immediately linked to those of others. At the same time, however, these events, which yields the potential to reveal a relationality constitutive of “who we are,” also suggest the need to reframe our understanding of the “we,” and to overcome the us/them divide upon which it has been construed until now. In this essay, I take up this challenge by first engaging in a critical discussion of Judith Butler’s ethics of vulnerability, and then turning to the ethical philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 423 | 218 | 7 |
| Full Text Views | 79 | 4 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 143 | 6 | 0 |
