Political Cartography of Judith Butler: between subjectivities and identities
Judith Butler; politics; subjectivity; identity; performativity
This dissertation has as a purpose to examine the hypothesis according to the destabilization of the subject of identity presented by the philosopher Judith Butler could provide fundamental openings or cracks to an radical action and discourse, exceeding the politics of identity. The critic of the gender subject, fundamental to the identity politics of feminism, provoque a debate based on the category of “Women”. Butler refutes gender identity in its metaphysical sense and proposes an approach of it as an performative notion. Her thought, however, takes a normative turn from the 2000’s on, which makes her deepen the concept of performative identity under an ethical approach. In this way, the philosopher proposes as a foundation of life’s value and its exposition the precarious condition of life. Bearing in mind the grounding of life's value and its exposition to the precariousness, Butler goes beyond her performative gender theory, proposing a theory of collective and plural performativity, thinking bodies gathered together in assembly. Thus, this work has as structure the discussion of the history of the subject of law and his development in modern political theory, and then to starts an investigation about the category of subject in contemporaneity. Thereafter, it discusses, too, the critique of the gender ontology of Beauvoir, followed by the elaboration of performative identity of gender. And finally this dissertation is ended by the reflection of the normative turn of Butler’s work, from the concepts of grief and precariousness, and how these concepts could help (or not) to think a convergence point to the contemporary struggles that transcends the identity subject.