Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

The Subject of Violence: Arendtean Exercises in Understanding (review)

2003; Cambridge University Press; Volume: 18; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/hyp.2003.0032

1527-2001

Margaret A. McLaren,

Hannah Arendt's Political Philosophy

Now more than ever we need a philosophical understanding of violence. In the wake of the attacks of September 11 and in the midst of increasing violent conflict in the Middle East and elsewhere, those of us living in the United States have been challenged to think about violence in new ways. What is the morally and politically appropriate response to terrorism? What effects does violence have on individuals? In what cases is violence justifiable? For example, when and how can nation-states use violence to promote their political goals? For many of us, these questions have taken on a new salience and urgency. Feminist philosopher Bat-Ami Bar On has been thinking about these questions for a long time. Her essay, "Why Terrorism is Morally Problematic" (1991) argues that terrorism is morally unjustified because it psychologically damages the terrorized and it undermines the capacity to care of both the terrorized and the terrorizers. Bar On's new book, The Subject of Violence: Arendtean Exercises in Understanding (2002), covers a range of issues including terrorism, technology, torture, genocide, trauma, nationalism, and the construction of violent bodies. She explores these issues through a discussion of Hannah Arendt's work (see, for example, Arendt 1961, 1963a, 1968) and a wide range of contemporary sources. She also draws on her own experiences, although she expresses ambivalence about the use of autobiography. Each chapter begins with a quote from Walter Benjamin and a quote from Emmanuel Lévinas, thus framing her discussion of an Arendtean understanding of the issues within a broader philosophical and historical context.