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Beginnings Are Hard. Giorgio Agamben and the Regressive Subject
Sawczynski, Piotr
2021
Abstract
The article analyzes Giorgio Agamben’s methodological tool of regression against the back-ground of Jewish messianism. Although the term is obviously borrowed from Freudian psychoanalysis, Agamben’s reading of regression has a distinct messianic spin: it means a movement toward prelinguistic existence (infancy), prior to the ontological split within the subject generated by language. This quasi-Edenic narrative might be called a ‘Heideggerian moment’ of Agamben’s thought but I argue – with reference to Infancy and History and Signature of All Things – that it is actually deeply rooted in Jewish tradition. The aim of the article is to 1) demonstrate the crypto-theological background of regression to infancy and 2) critically analyze Agamben’s idea of ‘regressive’ subjectivity beyond the principle of signification.
Publisher
EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste
Source
Piotr Sawczynski, "Beginnings Are Hard. Giorgio Agamben and the Regressive Subject" in: "Etica & Politica / Ethics & Politics (2020) XXII/3", EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste, Trieste, 2021, pp. 275-286
Languages
en
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internazionale
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