The Non-Sovereign Self, Responsibility, and Otherness

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-vii

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Rosine Kelz

   Pages 1-19

3. Arendt on the Acting, Thinking and Moral Self

   • Rosine Kelz

   Pages 20-45

4. The Situated and Embodied Self: Butler and Cavell on Subjectivity, Language, and Finitude

   • Rosine Kelz

   Pages 46-77

5. Otherness and an Ethics of Responsibility

   • Rosine Kelz

   Pages 78-107

6. Responsibility beyond the Human?

   • Rosine Kelz

   Pages 108-135

7. Re-Imagining the Political

   • Rosine Kelz

   Pages 136-167

8. Back Matter

   Pages 168-209

   PDF

Drawing on Hannah Arendt, Judith Butler and Stanley Cavell, this book addresses contemporary theoretical and political debates in a broader comparative perspective and rearticulates the relationship between ethics and politics by highlighting those who are currently excluded from our notions of political community.

• Self
• responsibility
• Hannah Arendt
• Judith Butler
• Stanley Cavell
• Arendt
• community
• ethics
• Moral
• moral philosophy
• morality
• philosophy
• politics

'I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in questions pertaining to identity, agency and ethics from a global politics perspective. This book uniquely situates us in conversation with key thinkers Arendt, Butler and Cavell and, from this vantage point, asks us to engage with these questions anew - specifically towards the development of a 'non-sovereign self.' Towards this end, I was particularly fascinated by Kelz's thought-provoking critique of Butler in terms of anthropocentrism and, following from this, Kelz's development of a framework that urges us to revisit the ways we conceptualise our relations with Others, including non-human lives.' Tina Managhan, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, Oxford Brookes University, UK

'What is the non-sovereign self? The idea is frequently used by political and social theorists but often without much clarity. In this lucid and scholarly study, Kelz carefully teases out the implicit meanings of non-sovereignty with regard to the temporal, inter-subjective and ethical dimensions of selfhood. In the process, she casts new light on the ideas of established thinkers including Arendt and Butler while insightfully connecting them to the less known work of Cavell. An instructive and thought provoking read.' Lois, McNay, Fellow and Professor the Theory of Politics, Somerville College, University of Oxford, UK

• School of Visual Arts, New York, USA

  Rosine Kelz

Rosine Kelz received a doctorate in Political Theory from the University of Oxford, UK, and an M.A. and B.A. in Sociology and Politics from the University of Essex, UK. She currently lives in Asheville, North Carolina, USA.

Policies and ethics