Arendt on the Acting, Thinking and Moral Self

Kinship and the politics of responsibility: An introduction

“…Trust and betrayal are emotions that cut across the most intimate spheres of life and blend with affective connections to the political. Love, (com)passion, caring and mourning, hostility, grief and anger, all transcend the private and ‘become incentives for political action’ (Kelz, 2016, in reference to Butler). The broad and complex repertoires of affects that cross the spheres of intimacy and politics are important because, just as they may provide inspiration and support for political action, they may be a barrier to and undermine the possibilities of acting with others (Kelz, 2016; see also Mookherjee, 2022; Thiranagama and Kelly, 2012).…”

“…Love, (com)passion, caring and mourning, hostility, grief and anger, all transcend the private and ‘become incentives for political action’ (Kelz, 2016, in reference to Butler). The broad and complex repertoires of affects that cross the spheres of intimacy and politics are important because, just as they may provide inspiration and support for political action, they may be a barrier to and undermine the possibilities of acting with others (Kelz, 2016; see also Mookherjee, 2022; Thiranagama and Kelly, 2012). As our examples illustrate, there are tensions and contradictions in social relationships – whether located in the sphere of kinship or in the sphere of the political – that have implications for any projects of hope and futures arising in the unfolding of everyday life and in the expectations of and aspirations for a life worth living (Butler, 2012).…”

“…Furthermore, because the boundaries of the other are demarcated by social norms, they are subject to contestation and struggle over which subjects may be included in the community of responsibility. From this perspective, the potential of inclusion extends the scope of responsibility and of the questions about responsibility to, for, and about all life (Butler, 2020 [2004]; Kelz, 2016). In other words, as Kelz argues, deploying Butler’s approach implies a re-evaluation of otherness as an important step towards political action, and towards conceiving a political community and forms of solidarity that do not require similarity.…”

“…In other words, as Kelz argues, deploying Butler’s approach implies a re-evaluation of otherness as an important step towards political action, and towards conceiving a political community and forms of solidarity that do not require similarity. Rather, it envisages a politics of responsibility for others, based on our universally shared precariousness and the interdependency that characterizes all living beings, human and non-human (Kelz, 2016). While the potentiality contained in this perspective resonates with utopian and revolutionary projects, it is of crucial significance in the specific and urgent context of ‘climate breakdown’, where recognizing interdependence is, as Strang argues, the only way to create shared futures.…”

“…Nevertheless, without pre-empting the contours or content of the category of ‘woman’, we argue that this category has important subjective and political trajectories and resonances. As Butler argues, challenging a unified identity of ‘woman’ makes it possible to articulate a more plural and diverse politics, ‘responsive towards the demands of those excluded from political representation’ (cited in Kelz, 2016). This also implies approaching ‘the political’ in dialogue with the important challenges articulated by feminist and queer scholarship, as well as their associated politics, among others (Boyce et al, 2019; Butler, 1990; Davis et al, 2022; Gleeson and O’Rourke, 2021).…”