Ethics, Politics and the Transformative Possibilities of the Self in Arendt and Foucault
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Ethics, politics and the transformative possibilities of the self in Arendt and Foucault Lenka Ucnik A thesis in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Humanities and Languages Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences 24th March 2017 THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES Thesis/Dissertation Sheet Surname or Family name: Ucnik First name: Lenka Other name/s: Abbreviation for degree as given in the University calendar: HUML9050 School: School of Humanities and Faculty: Arts and Social Sciences Languages Title: Ethics, politics and the transformative possibilities of the self in Arendt and Foucault The publication of Georgio Agamben’s Homo Sacer initiated a wave of interest in Hannah Arendt and Michel Foucault as bio-political thinkers. The intellectual connection of these two figures is however broader than their bio-political considerations. Arendt and Foucault both offer detailed accounts of an ethico-political self. By comparing their respective attempts to develop a dynamic account of ethics and politics through processes of self-critique this thesis hopes to contribute to the further appreciation of the depth of their shared concerns. In this thesis, I explore Arendt’s work on the life of the mind and Foucault’s description of the care of the self. Both Arendt’s and Foucault’s later work explores the meaning of living ethically and politically. By examining the relationship between self, ethics and politics, I suggest there are two general points of convergence in Arendt and Foucault regarding the ethico-political self: (1) a shared suspicion of universal ethical or political systems, (2) the attempt to undermine prescriptive moral and political models by fostering a dynamic and critical self-relationship. Arendt and Foucault stress the importance of developing a critical attitude that questions the connection between structures of normativity, individuals’ judgment and action. In the shared attempt to develop a dynamic ethico-political attitude Arendt and Foucault present their respective alternatives to universally applicable moral and political structures, which both consider to be potentially dangerous. This thesis contributes to the examination of this underappreciated, yet critically important aspect of their work in the following ways: (1) by elaborating their shared vision of a dynamic ethical relationship with the self and exploring its political implications, (2) analysing the role of transformative events or actions in their thought, (3) comparing their use of the figure of Socrates — in the embodiment of the thinking activity in Arendt, and in care of the self in Foucault, (4) comparing their respective accounts of freedom and action, and (5) examining the importance of public expression as a synthesis between words and deeds in both these thinkers. Declaration relating to disposition of project thesis/dissertation I hereby grant to the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or in part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all property rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstracts International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). ……………………… ………………………………… ……….……………………...…….… Signature Witness Signature Date The University recognises that there may be exceptional circumstances requiring restrictions on copying or conditions on use. Requests for restriction for a period of up to 2 years must be made in writing. Requests for a longer period of restriction may be considered in exceptional circumstances and require the approval of the Dean of Graduate Research. FOR OFFICE USE ONLY Date of completion of requirements for Award: ORIGINALITY STATEMENT ‘I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project's design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged.’ Signed...Lenka Ucnik................ Date......18 Nov 2016............... Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iii Introduction ....................................................................................................................... iv Chapter One: The consistent thought of Hannah Arendt..................................................... 15 1.1 Politics and freedom ......................................................................................................... 16 1.2 Political action and the public space ................................................................................ 23 1.3 The influence of the Eichmann trial on Arendt’s political action .................................... 26 1.4 Vita contemplativa - The life of the mind ........................................................................ 28 Chapter Two: Hannah Arendt’s Alleged Withdrawal ........................................................... 33 The Role of the Vita Contemplativa in Moral Judgment and Political Agency ..................... 33 2.1 Thinking. ............................................................................................................................ 34 2.1.1 Socrates ....................................................................................................................... 40 2.1.2 Two-in-one .................................................................................................................. 43 2.1.3 Conscience .................................................................................................................. 45 2.2 Willing ................................................................................................................................ 52 2.2.1 The discovery of the will ............................................................................................. 54 2.2.2 The key features of the will ......................................................................................... 57 2.2.3 The will to bring about the new .................................................................................. 61 2.3 Judging ............................................................................................................................... 64 2.3.1 Actor-based judgment ................................................................................................ 67 2.3.2 Spectator-based judgment ......................................................................................... 69 2.4 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 72 Chapter Three: Michel Foucault’s exploration of the care of the self (epimeleia heautou) ... 74 3.1 Foucault’s interest in self-constitution ............................................................................. 78 3.1.2 The question of the subject ........................................................................................ 84 3.2 Epimeleia Heautou / Gnothi Seauton (Care of the Self/Know Yourself)......................... 87 3.2.1 Appearance of the Care of the Self. ............................................................................ 88 3.3 Three Models of Practices of the Self ............................................................................... 90 3.3.1 The Socratic-Platonic (Ancient Greek) Model .............................................................. 91 3.3.2 The Roman-Hellenistic Model ................................................................................... 101 3.3.3 The Christian Model .................................................................................................. 107 3.4 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 110 Chapter Four: Foucault and the art of ethico-political engagement ................................... 112 i 4.1 The subject of ethics ....................................................................................................... 113 4.2 Pierre Hadot’s philosophy as a way of life ..................................................................... 115 4.3 Askesis - practices of the self .......................................................................................... 118 4.3.1 Is self-care selfishness?.............................................................................................. 120 4.3.2 Art as process ............................................................................................................ 125 4.4 Aesthetics of existence - a never-ending practice ........................................................