Contra a exceção soberana: uma ética do uso em Giorgio Agamben

Abstract

This master thesis aims to discuss, within the juridical-political scope, the constructive dimension of Giorgio Agamben s philosophy which can be summarized in the idea of a coming politics . Within the lexicon that constitutes his political project, the concept of use is taken as the central object of this study. Use is treated as an ethical category, which implies a specific mode of subjective relation. In order to introduce the investigation of use, considerations are made on the concept of relation of exception, which is understood here as the logical kernel of the author s thought. In this sense, the concept is assessed in its political the constitution of sovereignty and ontological Aristotle s distinction between actuality and potentiality implications. The notion of use, in turn, is considered as a possible opposition to sovereignty and exception. Agamben s analysis, based on Aristotle s discussion on the uses of the slave s body, is thought as a non-exclusionary ethics in which the action is neither productive nor utilitarian. Moreover, it is implied in the concept of use a contraposition to the idea of property, which reflects a critique of contemporary capitalist societies. As the background of the issue, Agamben s conception of ethics and his idea of inoperosity are also discussed. His ethical stance results in an opposition to the subjectivity structures by guilt, which is recovered in the legal domain. Inoperosity, in turn, is considered in its theological aspect and represents a different treatment of the relation between actuality and potentiality implying a deactivation that opens the world and law, especially to a new use.