Nonviolence

The chapter delves into Butler’s understanding of nonviolence. The first part offers a trajectory of the notion of violence, tracing its appearances in Butler’s thought from the very beginning, where one would probably not expect to find it, to the present where it has become fully recognised as the landmark theme of their work. The lives that do not count in the present configuration of the world are exposed to violence which both precedes and effectuates their not counting. If violence is seen as a particular social bond between the body and the world, the central question is how to do this bond differently, taking into account our vulnerability, plurality, and the unchosenness of our cohabitation. The chapter shows that there are two main paths toward this goal. One is the active repudiation of our own violent and destructive impulses, while the other refers to acknowledging interdependence between all lives on Earth. Interdependence appears as the pillar concept that describes our position in the world, by which we are all given relations that help us thrive or otherwise preclude us from possibility.