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Myhtst thauks gotothesubjectofth|s studyfottheteach|ngand
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v|ce. lthaukesateasat|uofot|uttoduc|ugmetoAgamben'swt|t|ugs.
eu Hu| 8ou Hoaaudohu M|uetv|u| teadlatge untulysaths ofthe
mauusct|pt|u|tseatlystagesaudwhatevetclat|tythosesect|onshaveat-
ta|ued|s thaukstothe|teffotts. l thaukMo|taGallaghetfothetcateful
tead|ugofsevetalchaptets.l thaukougLav|ufoteleveuthhoutass|s-
taucew|ththefuuct|ouofmauk|ud.
l thaukott|slope at Staufotd u|vets|ty ltess fot h|s |ntetest
|u the ptoject ftom |ucept|ou to complet|ou, aud h|s colleagues Al|ce
Rowau, Satah Ctaue ewmau, Em|lyaue oheu, aud T|m obetts
fotthe|ted|t|ugofthehualptoduct.Watmthauksgotomycolleagues
|u the epattmeuts ofEugl|sh aud ompatat|ve L|tetatute at atvatd
u|vets|tyfotk|uduessestoomauyaudtood|vetsetoname. thankthe
faculty,fellows,audstaffoflt|ucetouu|vets|ty'sLautauceSockefellet
CeutetfotHumaualuesfotthe|ttecommeudat|onscoucetu|nghaptet
Seveuofth|sstudy. l thaukThomas hutauaaudh|s colleaugesatthe
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thauk|coladelRosc|o foth|spetm|ss|outotept|utthe|magefeatutd
outh|sbookscovet.F|ually, lthaukthestaffs oftheAmet|cauAcademy
|u Rome, the Bi//ietcca naziena/c ccnta/c di Rema, the Bi//iethqac
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ce/cema/c Saicac, the

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H//rcoiatins f Hgam/cns wrks
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La /tn:a : t/ rtrra/a. tudta /agra_/asara suh:na/aga xlxxxv)
acetatauodllbet, :cc.
AC gambeu, le chetcheut d homme. Ltbranan latls), Aptll i,
i}}}, lllll.
A vvetteuaedltotlale. artg raptta/: d:/ XX s:ra/a. passag:s
dt artgt. utlu.luaudl,i}6.
AF augelo della faccla. let la plttuta dl lauul essl. Ctannt
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A albetodel lluguagglo. prab/:mt dt Utss: Floteuce),i}6,
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Al uschlt.ltestlmoueluvlslble.lutetvlelthAutouloGuoll.
La K:pubb/tra, Octobet, i}}, }.
8CC 8elleachecade. ruqtur:s. Cyombly. Rome.Ametlcau
Academy, i}}.
8 Foteotd to t: D:amt:n d:s tmm:/: Cb:r Lng:/. Aus dem
talleulscheu betsett uud hetausgegebeu vou Audteas Hlepo
,ii:;) . Ftaufutt. etlag det Welttellgloueu lm lusel etlag,
:cc. ,hls volume ls composed ofChaptet Slx ofAgambeus
/ K:ga : / C/arta, eutltledugelologyaud 8uteauctacy, ac
compauledbyexcetptsftomAquluassdlscusslousofaugelsaud
afoteotdtltteubyAgambeu.)
8 ueblopolltlquemlueute.uueuttetleuavecGlotgloAgambeu
\ararm: latls) ,i}}},1,ic.
8Sl 8atbyuousctlvepletlcamlulmadellallbettdluoues-
sete./ ^angsta ,Rome),Match,i},

H//cimnenseHgam/en xl||
8lS 8ata|lleellpatadossodellasovtault." CeegesBatai//eI/e/ince
ci/sace. Ed.acquel|ue|sset,i). aples.L|guotlEdltote,
i;.
CC he Ceming Cemmunip. Ttaus. M|chael Hatdt. M|uueapolls.
M|uuesotau|vets|tyltess,i, ./Lacemunitcheiiene. uova
ed|z|oue acctesc|uta. Tutlu. 8ollat| 8otlughletl, zooi. ,F|tst
ltal|aued|toupubl|shed|uio.)
CCC Checes'i/centemeaneeome.ottetempo,zoo.
CC Lacemunicheiieneuovaed|zloueacctescluta.utln.8ollatl
8otlughlet|,zooi.
CM "Catt|vememotle."IManste,ome),ecembetz,,i;,
8 "ubouusagedelammolteetdel 'oubll."Ttaus.anuMoul|et-
8outaug. inansasRgis ita/iens iiesensusens,;i) .
latls.Edltlousautllus,zoo,.
DN Duuo|t."TtauslatedftomltallaulutoFteuchbyGtatdMac
fot Da/c ,lat|s), Autumu i, i, . ,ot yet publ|shed |u
ltal|auotttauslated|utoEugllsh.)
DTl utetv|sta a G|otg|oAgambeu. dalla teologlapolltlca ala teo-
log|aecouom|ca." lutetv|ewcouductedMatch , zoluome
by G|auluca Sacco. Ttausctlpt ,|u tallau) avallable at http.
www.t|v|sta. sseltslte.php`pagezoo|o,oi|6,6z;ed|tlo
uoo|6.
EDL "EutopedesllbettsouEutopedespollces` "Ttaus.olGaytaud.
n ans as Rgs ita/iens iies en susens ,|,||) . atls.
Ed|t|ousaut|lus,oo, .
El heEnd ethcPecm Stodies in Peencs. Ttaus. au|el Hellet-
oazeu.Staufotd,CA.Staufotdulvetsltyltess, i / Categeie
ita/iancSmdidiecnca.eu|ce.Matsll|o,i6.
E "TheEtetualetutuaudthelatadoxoflass|ou"StadIm/ian
Reiieu, i6,,iz),i;.
F "Ftleudshlp." Ttaus. oseph Falsoue. Cenoetems Hn On/inc
eua/ePhi/ese, ecembet,zo|,Spec|alssueouG|otglo
Agambeu,z;.
FF "Favolaefato." meesente,ome),i66,:: ,6),iz.
lv H//rcoia/ieme Hgam/cnr/s
Fl anc dc/cnsicre/an dc cmc 8lllngual edltlon wlth
FtenchttanslatlonbyGtatdMaclatlseNouveauCommetce,
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G GustoEncic/ecdiae/amcscs/eamig/iaIdce/eaici}ic).
utln.lnaudl,i};}.
HS emeSaccrSeocrciPeacrandarctans. DanlelHellet
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lDl cadc//resaaeoacdizienci//amina/acaccrcscai/a.Macetata,
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lH Inn andis/er Ihc Dcs/rac/ien eExcricncc. tans. lz
Heton ondon and e otk etso, i}} ./ Innzia cs/eria
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acctesclutautln.lnaudl,zcci . ,Fltstltallanedltlonpubllshed
lni};.)
ll IdcaePresctans. MlchaelSulllvanandSamWhltsltt. Albany
Statenlvetsltyofeotkltess,i}} ,./Idca //aresaaeoa
cdizienc i//amina/a c accrcscai/a. Macetata, ltaly. uodllbet,
zccz. ,Fltstltallanedltlonpubllshedlni} ,.)
lR nlmpottantetlttovamentodlmanosctlttldlWaltet8enjamln. "
Aa/aa/,MayAugusti}z, 6.
AM na letteta ala modetnlt. a Rca///ica Rome . une i,
zccc, ,i.
D angagc andDca/h Ihc P/cc ecga/oi tans. Katen E.
llnkuswlthMlchaelHatdt.MlnneapollsMlnnesotanlvetslty
ltess, i}}i. /I/ /ingoae c mer/c |n scminaesa/ /aege dc//
ncga/oi/utlnElnaudl,i}z
D lluoghldellavlta.RadlolntetvlewwlthRobettoAndteottland
FedetlcoDeMells. Radie Irc, Febtuaty, zcc.
KA Das eben, eln Kunstetk ohne Autot Eln Gesptch mlt
Glotglo Agamben." lntetvlew wlth ltlch aulff. Sddca/schc
ci/angAptll6, zcc,i6.
Sl nllbtosenzapattla GlotgloAgamben lntetvlstadlFedetlco
Fettatl. |/reia,zcci, J 6.
H//reiianenseHam/enr/s xv
M "Mettopol|s."Lectuteg|veuovembetzoo6.Aud|ohleava|lableat
http. .globalptoject.|ufoMGmp,g|otg|oagambeu.mp,
MWC heMan itheutCentent.Ttaus.Geotg|aAlbett.Staufotd,A.
Staufotdu|vets|tyltess,i./Luemesenzacentenute, zuded.
Macetata. uodl|bet, i|. ,F|tst ltal|au ed|t|ou publ|shed |u
i;c.)
WE Mcans witheutEnd Netcs en Petics. Ttaus. |uceuzo 8|uett|
aud Cesate Casat|uo. M|uueapol|s. M|uuesota u|vets|ty
ltess, zccc./Mczziscnzane. Nete su/aetica. Tut|u. 8llat|
8ot|ugh|et|,i6.
N ymphae."Hutaut,ulyzoc|,i|,i, ,6;.
NSl ut|tledessay|uNensiameiniendita ecicentrei/reime.Eds.
Stefau|a Scateu| aud 8eppe Sebaste ,). ome. Atcaua L|bt|,
zccz.
L hc Oen Man andHnima/. Ttaus. Kev|u Attell. Staufotd.
Staufotd u|vets|ty ltess, zcc|.Lerte Lueme e nimae.
Tut|u.8ollat|8ot|ugh|et|,zooz.
l Petentia/ities Cedected Essas in Phi/eseh. Ed. , ttaus. , |utt.
Dau|elHelletoazeu. Staufotd, CA. Staufotdu|vets|tyltess,
i. La etenza de/ensiere Sai e cenrenze. M|lau. et|
lozza,zoo.
l8 !pozzod|8abele." meresente,ome),i66, u), |zo.
lO "lst|lle."Ttaus.Dau|leal|u.StanzePare/eet /ntasmedans

a
cu/tureeccidenta/e.Ttaus. vesHetsaut,z6z;i).at|s.|vages,
i|
ll Laetenza de/ensiere Sa e cenrenze. M|lan. et| lozza,
zoo.
l Penazieni.ome.ottetempo,zoo.
lS "La patola e |l sapete." Hutaut, Septembetecembet io,
i66.
lWl "Detlapst |st e|uweltl|chet lt|estet." lutetv|eww|thAbu8akt
|eget.Literaturen,8etl|u),uuezoo,ziz.
GK "uatttoglosseaKaa."Riiistadiestetica,i6,z6 ,zz),,;||.
"adute." meente, i6;, iz,6), ,|
xv H//rcoia/iense Hgam/cnr/s
A Rcmnan/se Haschai/z Ihc wincssand/hcHrchioc HemeSaccr
I Ttaus. Dau|elHelletoazeu. Newotk. oue, :cc:. ac/
chc rcs/a diHaschai/z. Lrchioie c i//csnmenc HemesaccrIII.
Tut|u.8ollat|8ot|ugh|t|,i}}.
I/Rcgec C/eriaPcr anagcnca/eca /ce/eca dc//cenemiac
dc/geocrne. HemeSaccr, z. M|lau.Net|lozza, :cc;.
S S/anzas werdandPhan/asmins/crnCa//arc.Ttaus.oualdL.
Matt|uezM|uueapol|s.M|uuesotau|vets|tyltess,i}} :./S/anzc.
aare/a ci/n/asmanc//ca//ara eccidcn/a/c. Tut|u. E|uaud|,

i};;
S S/a/c eExccnen Ttaus. Kev|u Attell. Ch|cago. u|vets|ty of
Ch|cagoltss, :cc,/S/a/ediccccziencHemeSaccr Tut|u.
8ollat|8ot|ugh|et|, :cc.
S Lai :i g|otuatad|Sodomaomotta. Icmercscn/c,Rome),
Apt|i}66, \1

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;c

SL / sacramcn/e dc/ /ingae Archce/egia dc/ giaramcn/e Heme

Saccr Romeaud8at|Lattza, :cc.
SR SigamrarcramSa/mc/edTut|u8olat|8ot|ugh|et|, :cc.
Dl luttodu|oue. a /raarcnza dc//c immagini Hocrre c
/ocrreisme.mauueeCocc|a,v||x|||) .M|lau.8tuuoMoudadot|
d|tot|, :cc,.
TTR IhcIimcIha/RcmainsACemmcn/aen/hcLc/cr/e/hcRemans
Ttaus. latt|c|aDa|ly. Staufotd, CA. Staufotdu|vets|tyltess,
:cc,.I/ /cme chc rcs/a. |n cemmcn/e a// Lc//cra ai Remani.
Tut|u.8ollat|8ot|ugh|et|, :ccc.
lA u |da d| |otg|o Agambeu." lutetv|ew w|th Adt|auo Soft|.
Rcer/cr, ovembet}ic,i} ,, : .
L Das uuhe|l|ge Lebeu. E|u sptch m|t dem |tal|eu|scheu
lh|losopheu|otg|oAgambeu."lutetv|eww|thHauuahLe|tgeb
audCotuel|a|smauu. i/cra/orcn,8etl|u), :cci, :,i), i6:i.
S |oleuzaespetauzauell'ult|mospettacolo"/Manqs/e,ome),
uly6,i}},i:.
Jextu Mote
H//coianenseHgam/cn xvl l
luth|sbookAgambeu'swotksatec|tedwlththepagluat|ouofthe
Eugl|shttauslat|ou-wheuava|lable-followedbythatoftheltallauotlg-

ual.Apattlalexcept|outoth|stule|sc|tat|ousftomthevolumeofessays
ed|tedaudttauslatedbyDau|elHelletoazeu,Petenna/incs CedcctcdEs
sas in Phi/eseh ippp). lu zOOj Agambeu publ|shed lu ltaly a volume
latgelybutuotcompletely|deut|caltoth|soueeut|tledLaetenzdc/en
sice,Theloteut|alofThought).Helletoazeu'scollect|ou|sd|v|ded|uto
foutsect|ous. "Lauguage," "H|stoty," "loteutlal|ty," aud"Cout|ugeucy"
luLaetcnzad/cnsiee,Agambeuemploysthehtst thteeofthesedlv|-
s|ous audfollows the|totdetbutel|m|uatesthefoutthaudhualsectlou,
"Cout|ugeucy,"uot,ptesumably, toel|m|uatethecoutlugeutbutbecause
thes|ugletext|t couta|ued|uHelletoazeu's edltlou, "8ateby, otOu
Cout|ugency,"wastea|lyava|lable|ultaly|ubookfotm.Laetcnzdc/
cnsicealsocouta|usthefollow|ugessaysuotcouta|uedlu Petcnnancs
tothehtstsect|ouAgambeuaddedthteeessays,"ocaz|oueevoce" o-
cat|ouaudvo|ce , "|o,l 'occh|o,lavoce" Thel, theeye,thevo|ce] , aud
Sull |mposs|b|l|t d| d|te lo" Ou the |mposs|b|l|tyofsay|ugl] to the
secoudsect|ouheaddedot|g|ueel'obl|o"Ot|g|uaudobl|v|ou] audto
theth|tdsect|ouheaddedthteeessays,"He|deggete|luaz|smo" He|de-
ggetaudNaz|sm] , "|mmag|ue|mmemot|al" The|mmemotlallmage]
aud"opetadell'uomo" Thewotkofmau] 8ecausetheed|tlousateuot
|deut|cal,lg|vecottespoud|ugpag|uat|ououlywheutheessay|sfouudlu
bothwotks.

ulessothetwlse|ud|cated,allttauslat|ousatemyowu
Prgcc: Ihc Law f thc Cd Ncigh/r
lntbefallofi}; GlotgloAgambenttaveledtoLondonfotayeat
ofstudylntbellbtatyoftbeWatbutglnstltute. Dedlcatedtoa/orai
cncha, tbescbolatlylnvestlgatlonoftbeattsandsclences,tbellbtaty's
most sttlklng featute was lts ptlclple ofotganlzatlon. Wotkswete not
classluedbysubjectautbottltle,otevendateofacqulsltlonbutlnstead
bywbattbellbtaty'sfoundetAbyWatbutg calledtbelawoftbegood
nelgbbotAltbougbgtoupedundetsucbgenetaltubtlcsasantbtopology
andattblstoty botbtbevatloussectlonsandtbebookswltblntbemwete
attangedaccotdlngtotbeltabllltytoengagewltbtbebooksonelthetslde
oftbemAllneofspeculatlonopenedlnonevolumewasattestedtootat
tackedcontlnuedotconttadlctedteunedottefutedlnltsnelghbotEacb
bookwastoanswetotaskaquestlonoftbeonenettolt.
lsltotstoWatbutgsllbtatywetetbusconftontedbyanenlgma
so lntenselytbat upon utst entetlng lt Etnst Cassltet declated tbat one
needed eltbet to Ree ftom lt ot to temalntbete aptlsonetfot yeats
bedldbotb) . Agambensteadets,lfonafatsmalletscale,ateconftont d
by a slmllatptoblem. ust as teadets llke Cassltet-andlatetAgamben
blmselffound tbemselves lnqultlng lnto tbe bldden connectlons be-
tween tbewotks ln Watbutg's llbtaty, so too do teadets ofAgambens
books ltom IhcMan wi/hea/Cen/cn/i};c) toSigaararcram :cc),
Agambenselgbteenwotks bave ptoved, lnWatbutg'ssenseoftbetetm,
goodnelgbbotstooneanotbetbotblntbattbeyaskandanswetquestlons
ofoneanotbet andlntbattbese questlons ate not lmmedlately appat-
entAltbougbAgambenbasoftentematkedtbatwbatgoesunsaldlnone
ofbls wotks ptovldes tbepolntofdepattutefotwbatls sald lnanotbet,
be bas not ttaced tbese llnes not, motegenetally, sttessedwbatllnksbls
dlvetsewtltlngs.Tblsatoncepetsonalandmetbodologlcalcbolceleaves
toblsteadets tbetaskofconnectlngbls lntetestsandlnvestlgatlons, and
ce x|x
makes|talltooeasyfotthemtom|ssthecout|uu|tyaudcoheteucethat
chatactet|zeh|swotk.
Thefollow|ugpagesatemeauttoeluc|datethatcout|uu|ty-audto
dosofottwosepatateaudd|st|u

taud|euces.Fotteadetspossess|ugl|ttle
otuo fam|l|at|tyw|thAgambeu's wt|t|ugs have attemptedto ptov|de
po|uts ofeutty fot explot|ug them, aud fot those who ate alteadywell
acqua|utedw|thAgambeu's thoughtaud|tscoutexts pteseut a ct|t|cal
aualys|sofh|swotksaudofh|scoucept|ouofthewotk.Th|sdualputpose
hastequ|tedthatlwalkahuel|uebetweeuovets|mpl|hcat|ouaud|mpeu-
ettab|l|ty.Aboutth|scauuotsaymotethauthathopetohavesttayed
ftom|tasseldomasposs|ble.
8ecause ofAgambeu's s|ugulat mauuet ofapptoach|ug the ques-
t|ous that |utetest h|m, lhavechoseu to followh|s thought as|t devel-
oped, ptoceed|ugftomh|s htst wt|t|ugs |uthem|di6ostothoseofthe
pteseutday.Th|spt|uc|pleofotgau|zat|ou,howevet, |sj o|uedtoauothet.
ChaptetsOuethtoughN|uetteatmajotwotks|utheotdetofthe|tpubl|-
cat|ou,othetpattsofthebookapptoachAgambeu'sph|losophythemat|-
cally. The |uttoduct|ou pteseutsAgambeu's ceuttal |dea-etenna/i
alougs|de the telated |dea of oecanen. Th|s themat|c otgau|zat|ou also
appeats|uthemauyschol|aoffetedattheeudsofthechaptets|uChaptet
Teus explotat|ou ofthe |deas ofmcssianism, the saced, audthee/ne
aud |u the Couclus|ou's d|scuss|ou of ceanen aud cem/cnen. ldeally
the matty|ug ofthese two pt|uc|ples ofotgau|zat|ou-chtouology aud
tetm|uology-allowstheteadettoptoceedftombeg|uu|ugtoeudaswell
asto teadchaptets otschol|a |u|solat|ou. Th|s has tequ|ted thatwalk
a d|ffeteut but equally huel|ue-oue betweeu |ucompteheus|b|l|tyaud
teduudaucy-audhetetoolcausayoulythathaveeudeavotedtowavet
asl|ttleasposs|ble.
Theoulywotthwh|le teasoufotwt|t|ugabookouas|ugleauthot
|sthatouehudsthatauthotfasc|uat|ug, aud would |udeed uevethave
wt|tteu the follow|ugpages wete uot fasc|uated bythe|tsubject. Th|s
doesuotmeau,howevet,thatagteew|thallofAgambeu'sv|ews,otthat
l th|uk evetyoueofh|swotkswotthyofh|s g|fts. Mote to thepo|ut, |t
|suotmy|uteut|outodefeudh|s wt|t|ugs aga|ustall ct|t|c|ss.Mygoal
|ustead|stopteseutsometh|ugofh|swotks'd|vets|tyaudcout|uu|ty. u
somecasesth|shastesulted|umycoucutt|ugw|thAgambeu'sct|t|cs|u
othets, |umytak|ug|ssuew|ththem.Thegeuetal tule havefollowed
22 rcc
ls to lnvoke tbemwbete l fet ltmlgbtead toabettetundetstandlngof
Agambens tbougbt. Tblsengagementwltb secondatysoutcesmatkedly
lncteases as tbe book ptogtesses fot tbe slmple teason tbat tbe ctltlcal
ltetatuteonAgambenseatywotkslsspatseandtbectltlcalltetatuteon
blsatetwotkslsampelottblssameteasonlbaveconcenttatedonsum
matyand eucldatlonmoteln tbe cbaptets onesset-known eatywotks
tban lntboseonatetones,sucbasemeSacr, fotwblcbsummatlesate
lntlcbsuppy.
Tbeteadetwlnotbeonglnnotlngtbatpbllooglcauestlonspay
aatgetoeln tblsstudy. latapbtaslngWlttgenstelnAgambenbas often
atguedtbatpblosopblcaptobemsbecomeeatetlftbeyatefotmuated
asuestlonsconcetnlngtbemeanlngofwotds ,l i;; z;| , seealso ll,
;;). Tbe ldea tbatpblosopblcauestlonsatelnsepatableftompblloogl-
ca ones lscentta to tblswotk notonybecausetbeldealsAgamben's
ownbutasobecauseoftbemanypolntsofuncettalntysuttoundlngeven
tbemostfundamentatetmslnblswtltlng.
Aunawotdonengtb tbls bookwl seem long-and doubtess
a tbe mote soglven tbatAgambens booksbave asatue been sbott,
buttbeybavealsobeenmany andtbeltconcetnsbavebeen tematkably
dlvetse-andltlstotbatdlvetsltytbattblsstudytesponds
L1LL1L L11^
intrOduCtOn. hc idca Ot !Otcntat
y
Jhe Idea olVocation
luthesummetofi66,tweutyfoutyeatoldGlotgloAgambeufouud
h|mself|uselectcompauy. Hewasoueofhveguestsluvltedtooueofthe
mosts|ugulatsem|uats ofthe ceututy. lttookplacelu thevlllageofLe
Thot,|uthesouthofFtauce,audwasptesldedovetbytheseveutyseveu-
yeatoldmincnccgcofEutopeauphllosophy,MattluHeldegget.hltty-
hveyeats eatl|et He|deggethadalteadybegau tospeculatethatltwashls
cut|ousdestluy"tobeameausfottheawakeulugofphllosophyluoth-
ets",He|deggetGA,z,o. zz).LlkeSoctates,hesawhlmselfasamedlum
fot|deasaudamldwlfefotphllosophy.Althoughhemayhavebeeuwtoug
aboutmauythlugslutheyeatstofollow,thlswasuotoueofthem.8ythe
i6os,howevet,themldwlfeofsuchvatledtaleutsasHauuahAteudt,Em-
mauuel Lvluas, audHausGeotgGadamethadloug ceased to teach lu
couveutloualsettlugs.Asatesultofhlsmembetshlplutheazlpattyaud
h|sact|vlt|esofthei,os,hewasbauuedftomteachlugbytheAllledau-
thotlty|ui|.Flveyeatslatetheofhclallytetlted.Eveuattheluslsteuceof
suchhgutesaslaul Celau, Heldeggettesedtooffetexplauatlous otls-
sueapologlesfothlsactlous,aud,luhlsuatlveGetmauy, hetetteatedevet
moteptofouudlylutohlswoodlaudhutluthe8lackFotest.
utlugthesesameyeats,howevet,hlsluBueuceoutheothetsldeof
the kluelucteaseddtamatlcally. Thtoughtheambassadotlaleffottsof
studeutssuchaseau8eauftet, ttauslatlousbyHeutyCotbluaudllette
Klossowskl,audahostoflmpassloued,luBueutlal,audoutspokeuteadets
z n/reda/ien
ftomSattte to Lacan Heldeggetbecame one oftbemostdeclslve lnRu-
encesontbelntellectuallfeofpostwatltance. Hls bostlntbe soutb of
ltancelni}66,bowevetwasnotapblosopbetpsycboanalystttansatot
otblstotlan butlnsteadapoet-oneoftbe hnest ofbls genetatlonand
wbobadplayedacoutageouspattlntbeltencbReslstance.RenCbat
htstcametoknowHeldeggetdutlngaconfetencebeldlnCetlsylaSale
,otmandy) lni},andwassotakenbblsteRectlonsonpoetlcvocatlon
tbatbelnvltedtbeaglngpbllosopbetto blsbomelntbeaucluse. Tbls
locatlonbecametbesettlngfotasetlesofsmallsemlnatslni}66,i}6,and
i}6},wblcbtbeyoungAgambenattended.
Tbesesemlnatscouldnotbavebeenmotecasslcaelthetlnfotmot
content.Tbepattlclpantsconvenedoutsldeseatedlntbeshadeofasyca-
mote ttee to dlscusspbllosopby' oldestmystetles-beglnnlngwltb tbe
toplcoftbehtstsemlnatlni}66. tbeftagmentsofHetacltus. Anatdent
blketevenatblsadvancedageHeldeggetlentapetlpatetlcelementtotbe
semlnattbtougbtbelongwalksonwblcbbeedtbegtoup.lotAgaben
tbeepetlenceptoveddeclslve.Hedesctlbedtbesemlnatsasmucbmote
tbanaslmplefotum lnwblcboneleatnstblngs ,D). Tbeyfotmed
lnsteadwbatbecalledacenstc//nenacomlngtogetbetofeementstesut-
lng ln sometblngttulyunepected Tbls unepected tblngwas slmpy
pbllosopby. As be wouldlatettematkltwas dutlngtbosesemlnatstbat
fotblmpbllosopbybecameposslble,ACll) .
Tbe lmmedlate tesut oftbls epetlence was wbat Agamben was
to call a new oecanen At tbe tlme be bad been studylng asubject tbat
ayfat ftom bls beatt.Atbougb bewas an avld teadetofltetatute nd
pbllosopby wbenbeentolledfotunlvetsltystudybeselectedlaw. Hlse
petlencesoftbatsummetcbangedmucbleadlngblmnot onytocboose
pblosopbyovetlaw butto attlculate an ldeaofvocatlontomatcbtbat
pbllosopby. lnanessaypublsbed tblttyyeatslatetAgamben obsetved
tbatlnHeldegget'sontology Dascindoesnotbaveaspeclhcnatuteota
pteconstltutedvocatlon-andfotblmselfandblsownDascinbeseemsto
baveteacbedpteclselytbesameconcluslon,ll, :6). lolowlngtbeldea
Agamben fotged tbat summet a ttue vocatlon ls awas tbe rcoecanen
ofaneatlletvocatlon-otasbesaldonanotbetoccaslonauautbentlc
pbllosopblcalvocatlonlsteallynotblngsomucbastbetevocatlonofevety
otbetvocatlon ,AClll ltallcslnotlglnal, i6) .
Inoedacnen ]
At htst s|ght, Agambeu's dehu|t|ou ofvocatlou looks a gteat deal
l|ke|tsoppos|te.theabseuceofvocat|ou.The|deathata "ttuevocatlou"
|s actuallythe tevocat|ouofaueatl|etouedoesuotmeauslmplyseelug
thtoughthevau|tyofvocat|ous,uotdoesltuecessltateseelugvocatlousas
v|c|ous c|tcles dest|ued to besupetsededbyothetvocatlousthatlututu
w|llptoveequallyuusat|s|ug.FotAgambeu,a"ttue"ot"phllosophlcal"
vocat|ou |suota tevocat|ou ofouevocatloufotauothetvocatlou ofthe
sameuatute,but|usteadavocatlouwlthoutsettasksothxedcouteut.tls,
|ushott,uoth|ugothetthautheputepoteutlalltytothlukaudtoact.
FotAgambeu-audfothlsteadets-thlshuelluebetweeuameau-
|ugless patadox aud a meaulugful vocatlou ls best uudetstood lutetms
ofwt|tlug.WheuaskedaboutthebegluulugofhlscateetAgambeuouce
tematkedthathestatted"llkeevetyoueelse"byslmply"wautlugtowtlte"
,LD). Thlsuucetta|u deslte-"wautlugtowtlte"-was, ashe came to
teal|ze,uotthedes|te"towt|tethlsotthatspeclhcwotkotuovel",L).
ltwas, lustead,somethlugmuchvastet-somethlugmote "seuselessaud
sttauge inscnsatacsrana| ," but also "mote ptofouud" thau auysetgoal
ota|m,LD).
luaphtasethatpteseutstheceuttaltetmofhlsphllosophy,Agambeu
tematkedthat"waut|ugtowt|telsthedesltetoexpetleucepoteutlallty"
,LD).Thecom|ugtogethetofthesetwothlugs-wautlugtowtlteaud
auexpet|euceofpoteutlal|ty-|sthecommouthteadthatllukshlsdlvetse
wotks.
Oue ofAgambeu's htstpubl|cat|ous ls a poem ftom i6; eutltled
"Cleat|ugs darc| ."Thet|tle|sauevocat|veaudallus|veoue. Glveuthe
pt|deofplacethatHeldeggetaccotdedluhlslatewotktowhathecalled
the "cleat|ug Lichtang|- opeu|ug outo theslteofptlmatyaudptl-
motd|almeau|ugaudbe|ug, fotwh|chh|sfavotltemetaphotwasafotes
cleat|ug-|t should come as l|ttle sutpt|se that the tweutyhveyeatold
Agambeu ded|catedthlspoemtotheteachetwho,theptevloussummet,
hadhelpedh|mhudh|svocat|ou.Thesecoudstauzaofthlspoembeglus,
"8eauty|sdest|uyBc// rdsnne| ", audcoutluueswlththefollowlug
quest|ou.
Cemsaanaeme
/srmarsisasaasoaschisdrs:qucsto
i mio dcstinor
q In/redac/ien
How can a man
stoponthcstrcctandask. this
ismdcstin
Tbls ls a uestlon tbat, ln a tematkable vatlety offotms, Agamben has
contlnuedtoask. ltpolntstotbteecenttalaspectsofblstbougbt.Tbeutst
lsatbotougbgolngteRectlononlndlvldualandcollectlvevocatlons.Tbe
secondaspectlstbeuestlon,atactlvltyotatttlbute,wbatpotentlal-
ltyotactuallty ttulycbatatetlzesmanklnd,sepatatlngmanftomanlmal
andtbebumanftomtbelnbumanAndtbetbltdlstbesheetdlvetsltyof
Agambenswtltlng.
Aristotle`s Question
Hentl8etgsononceclalmedtbatallpbllosopbetsbavebutoneldea
tbatsttulytbeltownandtbatlntbeltwotks-betbeyma

yotfew
tbeyseekto eptess ,8etgsoni}}, izzz). lnAgamben'spbllosophywe
bave no ttoubleundlngsucban ldea. lt lse/cnna/i Namlngtblsldea,
bowevet, lsafatctyftomundetstandlnglt.Aswltbllato'scides, Atlsto-
tle's cncrgcia, Aulnas's cssc, Descattes' ce/e, Heldegget's Ercignu, and
manyslmllattetms,tbeutstcballengetoundetstandlngAgamben'sldea
ofpotentlalltystems ftom ltsvetycenttallty. 8ylnfotmlngevetyothet
ldealntbattblnket'swotk,ltbecomeseceptlonallydlfuculttodeune.A
secondcballengetoanundetstandlngofetcnna/ilstbenewand un-
epectedways lnwblcbAgamben,llketheothetthlnketsnamedabove,
employslt.llato'scideslsanlmageandldea,butonethatlsslngulatlydlf-
fetentftomtboseofthepbllosopbetswhoptecededhlm. Cetemeansl
tblnk,buttbewaylnwblcbDescattesconcelvedofthlscenttalfactwas
sonewandsodlffetentftomeatlletdeclatatlonsthatltcontlnuestoteslst
easydesctlptlon,tbougbnot,ofcoutse,easycltatlon) .Closettoouttlmes,
tbecapltaltetm ofHeldegget'slatepbllosophy, Ercinis, means, slmply
enougb, event,buttbeeventoteventsltdenotesbeatllttleslmllatltyto
tbosewltbwblcbweatefamlllat.
otAgambenspatt,be makes nosectetoftbefacttbattbefunda-
mentalcontoutsofbls ldeaofpotentlalltyateto bettacedto noneotbet
tbanAtlstotle.Hebasnotedtbatlnbotbblsmetapbyslcsandblspbys-
lcs,Atlstotleatonceopposedandllnkedpotentlallty,dnamis) toactual-
lty,cncrgcia) ,andbequeathedtblsopposltlontoWestetnphllosopbyand
Inoedacnen j
scleuce" ,l, i;; z;,] , ttauslatloumodlhed) AsAtlstotle's teadets kuow,
thetelatlouofpoteutlalltytoactualltycau be attlculatedlu twomodes
Thehtst ofthese ls easyto gtasp. thcetcnna/i te/c. Fot a thlugto
be, |t stauds to teasouthatlt musthave htstbeeuposslble ,fotlflthad
beeu poss|ble |t could uevet have come to be) The secoud mode lu
wh|ch poteut|al|ty ex|sts-wh|ch, as Agambeu ls cateful to uudetllue,
Atlstotle] callsthepoteut|alltytouotbe'dnamismccinaotalsolm-
poteuce adnamia)" ,CC, ,, ,,] )-tequ|tesmotecatefulcousldetatlou
Th|spoteutlal|tytouotbe,"ot|mpoteuce,"|suottobeuudetstoodasa
ptlvat|ou, asauactualweakuessot|ucapaclty,fottheteasouthat|tlsuot
tobeuudetstood|uthecoutextofactual|tyata. ltdeuotestheposslbll-
ltyfotath|ugnettopasslutoex|steuceaudthetebytemaluatthelevelof
mete-otpute" -poteut|al|ty
At th|s po|ut Agambeu's teadet m|ght well woudet why he ls so
|utetested |u a categotyw|thout substauce, a mode ofpoteutlallty that
bydehult|ouueveteutets out actual sphete 8efoteauswetlugth|s ques-
tlouwe would do well htst to askwhyAt|stotle was so lutetested lu lt
AsAgambeu po|uts out, Atlstotle dlscusses "thepoteutlalltyto uotbe"
w|thtespecttthesuptemethemeofmetaphyslcs" -thoughtltself,CC,
,6 ,|] ) Atlstotleobsetvedthatlfthoughtwete oulythepoteutlalltyto
th|ukth|s otthatlutelllglble thlug, ltwouldbydehultloubelessthau
|tsobjectWe thlukofauastouudlugvatletyofthlugs,audyetthought
ls uuquestlouablymote thau the sum ofthe actual thlugs o otabout,
wh|chltth|uksWhatlsmote,lfthoughtwetemetelythesumofthlugs
ofwh|chlthasthought,uotoulywouldltbelufetlottoltsobject,butlt
wouldalsoleaveuuexplaluedthought'smostslugulatfeatute.ltsabllltyto
teBectupou|tsel
ltwasuotoulyfottheputposesofdehulugthought,howevet,tat
At|stotlewaslutetestedlupoteutlallty Whatltledhlmtofocusouwas
uoth|ug less thau the questlou ofwhat llfe ls fot-ot altetuately, what
mauk|ud ls fot lu the htst book ofthe Nicemachcan Ethics Atlstotle
speaks, apptoptlately euough, ofhappluess Ofeveu such hlgh mattets
as houot, pleasute, aud teasou," he uotes, "we choose them ludeedfot
themselves,fot|fuothlugtesultedftomthemweshouldstlllchooseeach
ofthem),butwechoosethemalsofotthesakeofhappluess,j udglugthat
thtoughthemweshallbehappy" ,io;a,6io;b6Atlstotlei|, i|)
Thetelat|ouofmeaustoeudslsdlffeteut,howevet,ascoucetushappluess
|tsel As Atlstotle obsetves, "uo oue chooses happluess fot the sake of
Intedacen
these th|ugs, uot, |ugeuetal, fot auyth|ug othet thau |tself" ,ic;a,
cb, At|stotle i|, i;,|) Happ|uess |s uot sought as a meaus to au
eud,|t|s|tsowueud.At|stotledoesuotleavemattetshete,howevet,aud
addsthattosaythathapp|uess|sthech|efgoodseemsaplat|tude, aud
aeatetaccouutofwhat|t |s|sst|ll des|ted." Hetheu speculates, th|s
m|ghtpethapsbeg|veu,|fwecouldhtstascetta|uthe fuuct|ouofmau
ic;bz,rcar,At|stotlei|,r,,).
lu otdet that the |dea ofhapp|uess as |ts owu eud uot tema|u at
thelevelofaplat|tude,mau'sesseut|alvocat|ou-otfuuct|ou"mustbe
ascetta|ued,audtoth|seudAt|stotlematshalsasetofexamples.Fotust
asfotaRuteplayet,asculptot,otauyatt|st,aud,|ugeuetal,fotallth|ugs
thathaveafuuct|ouotact|v|ty, thegood . . . |sthoughtto tes|de|uthe
fuuct|ou,hetematks, sowould|tseemtobefotmau,|fhehasafuuc
t|ou.Havethecatpeutet,theu,audthetauuetcetta|ufuuct|ousotact|v|
t|es, audhas mauuoue lshe uatutallyfuuct|ouless c;bz,ica,
At|stotler|,,,).Catpeutetsaudtauuetshave,ofcoutse,thevocat|ous
ocatpeutetaudtauuetbutdotheyalso,At|stotleasks,haveavocat|ou
ouauothetlevelthatofbe|ughumau To speakofsuchavocat|ou ot
fuuct|ou|stoass|guatask-auesseut|alauddehu|ugact|v|tytomau
k|udasawhole,aud|tshouldcomeasuosutpt|sethatAt|stotlepausesto
woudetwhethet mauk|ud could |udeed besa|d tohavesuchacollect|ve
vocat|ou.
lt|sptec|selyth|squest|outhatAgambeu asksaga|uaudaga|u|u
h|swotkaudthat|s|ut|matelybouudtoh|s|deaofpoteut|al|ty.Hepo|uts
outthatthequest|ouAt|stotleasks-usuallyttauslatedlsmauuatutally
fuuct|ouless" wouldbemoteaccutatelyteudetedlsmaubotuw|thout
wotk scnzcra| ,arges) ,ll, ,,).

At|stotlepo|uts to the examples of

catpeutets audtauuetswho|u the|tcapac|t|es assuchhave spec|hc aud
dehu|ugwotkto do w|thoutwh|chthete would cease to becatpeutets
ottauuets-butwoulduot, ofcoutse, ceaseto bemeu.What,At|stotle
theu asks, ofmauk|ud as awhole Dowe have a spec|hc taskto com
plete,aselectact|v|tytoexetc|se,setwotkwemstdootwotkswemust
accompl|sh
Agambeu's ph|losophy ofpoteut|al|tyevolves as au auswetto th|s
quest|ou. lu|tss|mplestfotm, h|stespouse|s ne. Foth|m, mauk|udhas
uo m|lleuu|aotmess|au|ctaskto complete,uod|v|uelyotda|uedwotk
that|tmustdo,auduosetfuuct|ou|tmustexetc|se. Aud|t|sth|s|deathat
hepteseuts|uh|s d|scuss|ousofpoteut|al|tyaud exptessesthtoughsuch
Inoedacnen )
cutloushgutesas8attlebyaudsuchuumlllattetmsas inecranocncss
ustas, lu hlsvlew, au autheutlcludlvldualvocatlouls wlthoutdetetm|-
uatecouteut-lsmotethaumetely"wautlugtowtltethlsotthatpattlcu-
latwotk"-so too lsauautheutlccollectlve vocatlou. Thls does uot, of
coutse, meau thatAgambeuoffetsauapologyfotapathy, pesslmlsm, ot
ludlffeteucetomauklud'spteseutotfututeaudhelscatefultouotethat
such"luopetatlveuess"mustbeuudetstoodwlthphllosophlcalcate.That
mauklud ls "luopetatlve," asAgambeu clalms, does uot meau that lt |s
dysfuuctloualltmeausoulythatlthasuodehuedotdehuablefuuctlou.
"Thevocabulatyofluopetatlveuessinecresit| ,"towhlchtheGteektetm
argesbelougs, Agambeu poluts out, "haslu Gteek uo uegatlve couuota
tlouwhatsoevet,"audltwashtstluthewotksofChtlstlaucommeutatots
ou Atlstotle that the "hypothesls ofau esseut|al luopetatlveuess an cs
scnzia/inecresit| ofmau"becameuuacceptable,audeveu"scaudalous"
II, 6;) ltlspteclselythlsscaudalthatAgambeu examluesauew.lua
chaptet ftom Ihc CemingCemmhnieutltled "Ethlcs," hewtltes, "the
factthatmustcoustltutethepolutofdepattutefotauydlscoutseouethlcs
lsthatthetelsuoesseuce,uohlstotlcalotspltltualvocatlou,uoblologlcal
destluythathumausmustuactotteallze" ,CC, |y y| ) Hecoutluues.
"Thlslstheoulyteasouwhysometh|ugllkeauethlcscauexlst,because
ltls

leatthatlfhumausweteothadtobethlsotthatsubstauce, thlsot
that destluy, uo ethlcal expetleuce would be posslble-thete would be
oulytaskstobedoue" ,CC,|y y| )Outhlslevel,wheteoutologyaud
polltlcalphllosophycouvetge,theldeaofpoteutlalltylsthelastthlugbut
absttactotdlvotced ftom coutempotatycouc

s. To auswetAtlstotle's
questlouwlthanelstoseeoutpastaudpteseut,outhlstotyaudotphl-
losophy, luauew,audsttauge,llght.lfwehaveuocollectlvevocatlou,the
questloubecomes,what,ludlvlduallyaudcollectlvely,weatetooAudlt
lsthlsquestlouthatAgambeu,ftomhlshtstexpetleucesofphllosophlcal
vocatlouluthei6ostothepteseutday,haseudeavotedtoauswet
n Fame, Ihilosophy, and Eaw/s//sa
p
J /i/it
Theoue thlug thatevetyteadetofthls studyw|ll kuowaboutAg-
ambeulsthathelsfamous.Wlthsutptlslugspeedhlsuamehasgtowufa-
mlllatluteceutyeats,uotoulytospeclallstsluthemauyheldsluwhlchhe
wotks-ftomclasslcalphllologytopolltlcalphllosophy-butalsotothose
whoselutetestsllefatftomthem.Nletzscheoucedesctlbedphllosophlcal
nedacien
fameastheabllltytoluBueuceeveu thosewho uevetteadallue ofoue's
wotk.Whatevethemlghtthlukofsuchadehultlou,Agambeulswellou
hlswayto fulhlllugltsctltetlou. ltecutsotstohlspteseutfamewetelu-
deedgllmpseddecadesago.luthewakeofthepubllcatlouofHemeSac
crlui}} ,, howevet,Agambeuslutellectualstattosetapldly. Not oulyhas
thatwotkbeeuwldelydlssemluatedauddlscussed,ptalsed,audattacked,
butltsceuttaltetmssuchas hemesaccraudsace cxccnen-abe-
comewatchwotds luavatletyofpolltlcal, phllosophlcal,soclologlcal,llt-
etaty, audlegal debates. Othetkeyldeas ftom thatwotkhavemlgtated
fatthetaheld,suchas,tochooseaslugleexample,the/arc/thatwasse-
lectedasthemefotthezOO) Decamcnaizlutetuatloualattfestlval.
Nowtltet gets to choose the luBueuce that hls ot hetwotkslll
exetclse,audfewhaveauysucceslucuttalllugusestheydeemuuptomls-
lug. Agambeu ls uo exceptlou lu thls tegatd. Thls ls uot, howevet, the
eudofthestotyofhls uewfouudfame,uotdoes ltmatkthellmltofthe
waysluwhlchthatfame should lutetest thesetlousstudeutofhlswotk.
Agambeulsaslugulatthluket,butmauyslugulatthluketsdouotbecome
famous dutlugtheltllfetlmesotevet.Whete, theu, ate thesoutces of
Agambeu'sfametobefouudltlsllkelythathlsblogtaphyplayedatleast
some tole. ltlvate telatloushlps wlth famous hgutes ftom Heldegget to
ElsaMotaute, ftomlletlaololasollulto aloCalvluo,atellkelyto at-
ttactlutetest,as atepubllcactssuchasAgambeu'steslguatlouftomapost
atNewotkulvetsltyluptotestofthetevlsedHomelaudSecutltyAct
ofzOO(.
z
Tutulugtoadlffeteutclassofextetualfactots,thetecaubellttle
doubtthatsomepattofAgambeu'scutteutfame,llkethatofhlscoutty-
mau aud ftleudAutoulo Negtl, was botu ofa colucldeuce ofhlstotlcal
aud polltlcaleveuts.ustasuyDebotd's SecicehcSccmc/cgalued
gteatly lu uototlety thauks to the polltlcal uptlslugs that followed fast
upou lts publlcatlou lu i}6;, so too dldAgambeu' s polltlcalwtltlugs
aboveall, HemeSaccr-thewakeofthe attacks ofSeptembet ii, the
watsluAfghaulstauaudlta,audtheeusulugstatesofemblematlcexcep-
tlou luAbuhtalb, uautuamo 8ay, audelsewhete. lutettospect, hls
dlscusslous ofsactallty aud seculatlzatlou, ofstateless hgutes aud states
ofexceptlou, appeatuucommoulyptescleut.TothlsptescleuceAgambeu
couplesaptovocatlveelemeutthathasuotceasedtoatttactatteutlou,aud
ludeedlt shouldcomeas uo sutptlsethatsuch declatatlousas thecou-
ceuttatloucamplstheblopolltlcalpatadlgmofthemodetuage"haveleft
fewludlffeteut.
Inodacnn
h|s cutsoty l|st of teasous fot Agambeu's gtow|ug fame |s |u
complete, but |t uevettheless g|ves some |dea ofthe couvetg|ug factots
|uvolved,audwh|chateult|matelyasd|vetseasAgambeu'steadets.Thete
|s, howevet,apo|utthatuu|tes these elemeutsaudwhetefametelates to
moteph|losoph|calmattets.Wheuaskedwhathas dtawuh|m tocetta|u
th|ukets Agambeu has cous|steutly tepl|ed that |t |s the|t "capac|tyfot
developmeut,fotwh|chheftequeutlyemploysLudw|gFeuetbach'stetm
Entaic//ang hig/citLSl | see also L Tl,|audS ) Aswe
saweatl|et, Agambeus |deaofvocat|ou |sau opeu oue audhudsaues-
seut|al cotollaty |u h|s |dea ofph|losophy. Hechatactet|zes ph|losophy
ue|thetas al|stofquest|oustoauswetuotasasetofmethodsto employ.
8ecauseph|losophy|smotethauabodyof|deasauddoctt|ues,methods
audfotms, tteat|sesaudtexts, |tcau be, foth|m, asl|ttlec|tcumsct|bed
asthedes|tetoth|uk,wt|te,otact,audfotth|steasouhew|llcla|mthat
"ph|losophydoesuothaveacouteutputely|tsowu" Tl,

). uoueof
h|s most teceut books, Sigatora rcram ,zoo) Agambeu declates that
"the geuu|uely ph|losoph|cal elemeut |u auywotk, be |t a wotk ofatt,
oue ofsc|euce, ot oue ofthought, |s |ts capac|ty fot be|ug developed"
S).Elsewhete,hes|m|latlytematkedthat"theptopetyph|losoph|cal
elemeut|uauywotk,be|tawotkofscholatsh|p, ofl|tetatute, otofatt,
|sthatwh|chgoesuusa|dthete|u,audthetebypossessesaposs|b|l|tyfot
developmeut" Tl, |). FotAgambeu, theph|losoph|calelemeut-t|ch
|upoteut|al|ty-|sthatwh|ch,wh|lepteseut,goesuustated|uawotkaud
|sthetebyleftfotothetstoteadbetweeuthel|uesaudfotmulate|u the|t
owu
G|veusuchadesct|pt|ouofph|losophyaudpoteut|al|ty,Agambeus
accouutofh|stelat|oush|ptoothetmoteaudlessfamousth|uketsshould
comeasl|ttlesutpt|se "luacetta|useuse,"hehastematked,"dou'tbe-
l|evethatlhaveevetdoueauyth|ugbutcult|vatethecapac|tyfotdevelop-
meutcouta|ued|utheauthots|mpottauttome,bethatauthot8eujam|u
otCaptou|,He|deggetotCavalcaut|",LSl,|).Expaud|ugouh|stelated
seuse that "ph|losophydoesuothaveacouteutputely|ts owu," hesa|d,
|tseemstomethatth|spt|uc|pledehuesmyowumethod,audmymau-
uetofwotk|ug.Auduotoulyw|thtespecttotheauthotsdeattome,aud
whosewotkleudeavottocout|uue,butalso-|uamauuetthat|smoteot
lessuucousc|ous-w|thtespecttomyselt|sasthougheachcompleted
wotkcouta|uedw|th|u|tsometh|ugthatweutuusa|audwh|chdemauds
tobetakeuupauddeveloped"Tl,

!
i c n/redac/ien
Wbetbetotnot sucb dehnltlonsptove lntetestlngto tbe teadet ln
tbeltown tlgbt, tbeyateofunuestlonable asslstance ln undetstandlng
Agamenstelatlonsblptotbetblnketsonwbombedtaws,aswellastbe
telatlon ofblswotks to oneanotbet. Ofeuallntetest, bowevet, ls tbe
modeltbese dehnltlons offet fot tbe teadlng ofAgamben'sownwotks.
Anexbaustlveknowledgeofatoplclsalways to beptefettedovetacut
soty one, butwe lndeed bave onlywotld enougb and tlme fotso mucb
study. Wbetbettbeteadetoftblswotkbasanextenslvefamlllatlty

ltb
AgambenswotkotaReetlngone,tbetecanbellttleuestlontbattbebest
waytoapptoacbltlswltbaneyefotwbatcanbedevelopedtbetelnand,
tbeteby,wltbasenseofone'sownpotentlalltyfottbougbtandactlon.
H::5cc:and Continuity ot Concern
AgambenmakesamplycleattbatblsHemeaccrptojectbaspolltl-
calaspltatlons. lftblslstbecase,blsteadetsmlgbtwellwondetwbetbet
be ls cbanglngblsheld offocus. Tbe toplcsofAgamben'sealletbooks
tangedftomaestbetlcstolconogtapby, blstotlogtapbytopbllology, poet-
lcstopbllosopby.WbllelnltstteatmentofpolltlcaluestlonsHemeaccr
teptesentsadepattute,ltlsonetbatsbouldnotbeovetestlmated.Abtlgbt
llgbtcastsadatksbadow,andtbenototletyoftbeHemeaccrsetleshas
focusedtbemajotltyofdlscusslonsofAgamben'swotkontbatptoj ect.
lnzccStefano ltancblpolnted to tbe unfottunatesldeeffect" ofthe
fame ofHemeaccrtbat, wltbtate exceptlons, Agamben's] wotkls
mostlydlscussedwltblntbe context ofe/i/ica/anasis" ,ltancblzcc,
c, ltallcslnotlglnal) . Tblseffectlspetbapsseenmostcleatlylnawotk
tbat appeatedtbe followlng yeat-tbe utst book-lengtb lnttoductlon to
Agambens wotk to bepubllsbed ln anylanguage va Geulen's Ciergie
Hgam/cnzarinhrang,An lnttoductlonto GlotgloAgamben) zcc,) .
Desplteanannouncementtbatsbewlllbavefteuenttecoutsetoscatcely
knowneatllettextsbyAgamben,evenwellknownonestendtotecedeas
Agamben's lntellectualwotldlsmadetototatetlgbtlyatound tbeftaglle
hguteoftbehemesaccr,Geulenzcc,, i ,) . Geulen'sanalyslsoftbathgutels
lnslgbtfulandotlglnal,butglvesonlyapattlalvlslonofAgamben'swotk
asawbole, and bls eatlletbooks appeat asnothlngsomucbasptepata-
tlonsfottbemalneventtbatlsHemeaccr. Geulenlsabtllllantteadetof
Hemeaccr,buttblsbtllllanceleadsbettoseevlttuallyevetytblngAgam-
benbaswtlttentbtougbltslens. uallytelllnglnthlstespectlsthatthe
Inoedacnen 11
oulytwo ooks excluslvelyouAgambeuyettoappeatluEugllsh--
tcs, Mctahsics, andDcathEssas en CiergeHgam/cnHomoSacet,ed-
lted byAudtewNottls,zcc), aud CiergieHgam/cnSeocrcigandL,
edlted by Matthew Calatco aud Steveu DeCatoll ,zcc;)-ate both, as
thelttltlesshow,dedlcatedtotheHemeSaccrptoj ect.Acoutluuatlouof
thlsteudeucylsseeuluthethefactthatuowheteluthelougluttoductlou
toazccspeclallssueofthe outualSeathHt/nncaartcreutltled"The
AgambeuEffect"lsauybookotessayptlottoHemeSaccr eveumeutloued
,seeoss zcc). ltlsludeedup to each teadetto declde, lftheueedfot
suchadeclsloulsfelt,whlchbooklsthehuest-thefullestaud mostac-
compllshed-luauauthot's oeuvte. Thequestlouoffame,howevet,|sa
dlffeteutoue,audHemeSaccrsfamehasofteuledtoltbe|ugplacedaloue
attheceutetofhlsthought.
AlthoughHemeSaccrsfamehasplayedalatgepattluthlsptocess,
ltlsuottheoulycouttlbutlugfactot.Agambeuhasuotteudedtopteseut
hlswotkas asystematlcwholeothls books as patts ofau ovetatch|ug
pto ect. Outhecouttaty, hehasofteu chatactetlzedhlswtltlugsasaset
oftespousesto ludlvldualquestlous, aslutetveutlousluspeclhcdebates,
audastteatmeutsofauthotslmpottauttohlm.Thetesulthasbeeuthat
thewotkoflluklughlsbookstooueauothet,asuotedlutheptefaceto
thls study, ls left latgelyto the teadet. Although HemeSaccrls ludeed
motedltectlycoucetuedwlthpol|tlcalquestlousthauauyofAgambeu's
eatllet books, aud theteby beglus somethlug ofa uew atc |u hls lutel-
lectualttajectoty,thlslsachaugethatlsalltooeasytoovetestlmatetls
alwaystemptlugtolocate" bteaks"aud"tutus"luaphllosophet'sthought
fottheteasouthattheyhelpmakemauageabledlstluctlousaudcompose
famlllatuattatlves.ThelutetestsaudlssuesoftheHemeSaccrptojectate,
atleastlupatt,uewoues,butalougsldethlsuoveltylsauequallysttlklug
coutluultyaudatematkabletefotmulatlouofthecoucetusthathaveac-
compauledAgambeu'swotkslucehlshtstpubllcatlousueatlythlttyyeats
ptlottolt.
Jhe Idea ol Iolitics
SeveuteeuyeatsbefotethepubllcatlouofHemeSaccrAgambeula-
meutedthe loss ofcoutluultybetweeu "poettyaudpolltlcs" thatealet
epochshadkuowuaudthatwasevldeutfothlmlusuchfactsasthatAt
i z Inedacnen
lstotlesmostample tteatmeut ofmuslc lsfouudluhls audthat
llato dedlcates au lmpottaut patt ofhls most qulutesseutlally polltlcal
dlalogue, IhcRca//ic, to the atts ,see lH, i| i|] ) . Astlll mote cou-
deusedlnstauceofwhatAgambeusawluthepastaudwlshedfotthefu-
tutelsfouudluhlsIdca ePrescThlsleastobvlouslypolltlcalofhlsbooks
coutalnsapassageluwhlchAgambeulnvokesthoughtthat ls, polltlcs
i/ cnsicrecierae/i/ica ,ll, |] ). Agambeuequatesthoughtwlth
polltlcsheteuotbecausethellmltsofthepolltlcalateofuolmpott.uce
tohlm,butbecausehlsldeaofpolltlcslsvastetthautheouetowhlchhls
teadetsateaccustomed. lolltlcslscoucetuedwlthuothlugless thauthe
llvesweleadaudthefotmsoutsocletytakes,audfotthlsteasouAgambeu
tefetsluateceutlustallmeutoftheHemeSaccrsetlestothatludehuable
dlmeuslouweateaccustomedtocalllugpolltlcs" RG,z;,).
Agambeuhasuotbeeutheoulywtltettohudpolltlcsauludehuable
dlmeuslouluhlswotk.Somecommeutatotshavefocusedouuucettalutles
ousldetlugludlvldualpolltlcalcouceptstauglugftomsovetelgutytothe
subecttothestate.

Othetshave mademotesweeplugudgmeuts,such
aslaooltuozccz),who,whllesttesslngthatAgambenlsatematkabe
phlosophet, Ratydecated thathe ls a thluketwlthnopolltlcalvoca
tlon,) . lndlnglttelllugthatluthechaptetfomdc ePrescentlte
he ldea ofloltlcs" poltlcs ls nowhete mentloue, Olvet atchatt
zcc dtaws the concuslou that gambens lea ofpoltlcs ls a pol
tlcs wlthout poltlcs eitiescn Peiti z;. atchatt does uot uote
fothlsteadetthatcocchaptetlu Idc eescptoceeslnthlsfashlon
wlththeldeauamed lu eachshottchaptets tletteatedoulyludltecty
thetelu ,TheldeaofCommuulsm,"fotlustauce,dlscussespotnogtaphy
andThe ldeaofThought,"puuctuatlonmatks). Whlle thlschaugesthe
fotceofatchattspolut, lt does uottemovethedlfhcultythatledhlm
tomakelt.
Onetespouseto thechalleugeofdehnlugAgambeusldeaofpoll-
tlcs, aud the coucomltaut ptoblem oftelatlug hls eatlywotk ou att to
hlslatetwotkoupolltlcs, has beeu to dlaguosewata uumbet ofcom-
meutatotshavecalledauaesthetlclzatlon"ofpolltlcsluhlswtltlug...
8etustelu,z) hascalledAgambeusapptoachluRcmnaneHaschai
auaesthetlclzatlonofthecouceuttatloucampptlsouet's]fatefotthesake
ofametaphyslcsoflauguage",i|).Aslmllatludlctmeutlstobefouudlu
esuatdaudKahauwhohudthatAgambeu'sethlcalaudpolltlcalteBec-
tlouslnthatwotkstemftomauaesthetlcposltlou",esuatdaudKahau
Inoedacnen i ,
zcci, rz6) . The chatges levelled by 8etnste|u, Mesuatd, audahau ate
themostscathlugthatcaubemade, tantamouutastheyatetoaccuslug
Agambeuofcallous oppottuulsm |uhls d|scuss|ou ofthemostseus|t|ve
audpalufulofmattetsWhethetthesechatgesatejust|hed|s someth|ug
thatwewllllookat|udepthluChaptetSeveuFotthemomeut,|t|s|m-
pottauttotakeuoteofthlsldeaofauaesthet|c|zatlouofpol|t|cs-aswell
asthatthlslsuottheoulykeyluwh|chlthas beeu advauced 8enjam|u
Motgau,zcc;)hasatguedthatAgambeu'scoucept|ousofthetelat|onso
meaus to euds audlawto vlolence ate fuudameutallyshapedby ant's
theotyofaesthetlcjudgmentand,theteby, thath|s|deaofpol|t|cs|s oue
whose model |s to be fouud |u au |dea ofatt. u a telated uote Ae
de 8oevet ,6) has coucluded that gambeu's thought |s ctuc|ally a
/itcrae/inca/thoughtltlsalltetatythoughtthat,|n|tspol|t|calfotce,
cannet/caca/tcdaithinthc/imie e/inca/cicncchus,|tosc|llaes
betweeu theltetatyaud thepolt|cal aud emaus to besudedcom
patatvey, actossthescplues" r,,talcsuotgual.Whetetotuot
e8oevetstghtuthsclam,tsholuotbem|saeuotasolut|ou
totheptoblem.
ethosewholooetoacthcctoeueAameu's eaopol-
tcs,homasKhtauazcc, usowueoto o so,astueo
aelothetthauhepoltcal cthic. HesessthaAgambeu'swot
shoul be uuetsoo uot as a poltcalptoect" so mc as au etcal
tutu,"authatwhatAambeuptoposes uwotssucasemeacers
uota poltcalaltetuatve"bauethcalmocaou"
,. ueo
theadvautagesoschavewstheauswettoetstothoseusttatedby
theabseuceofcouctetepoltlcaltecommeuda|ous|uAgambeu'swot,to
whlchwewllltutuluChaptetsS|x,Seveu, aud|ue).Whethethutaua's
clalm ls ttueluAgambeu's tetms |sdlfhcultto sayfot a fuudamental
teasou.Thatethlcsaudpolltlcsshoulduotbetteatedassepatateaudd|s-
tuctdlsclpllueslsoueoftheguldlngldeasluAgambeu'sph|losophy.
As we saw above, Agambeu luvoed "thought-that |s, pol|t|cs."
Theequatloumlghtseemsttauge, butfotAgambeuth|s|sptec|selythe
teasou lt ueeds to be sttessed Whatthls temath|ghl|ghts |s that the
tealmdellmlted by polltlcs ls as complex aud|udetetm|uateas that of
phllosophy. Th|sdoesuotmeanthatpolltlcs|sauyth|ugaudevetyth|ug
ouem|ghtchooseto btluguudet|tsheadlug butltdoesmean that, fot
Agambeu,theteateaspectsofoutllvesthatatelufotmedbypol|tlcalcou-
ceptlousaudtlchlupol|t|calcousequeucesweate|ucl|uedtoueglect.ot
i| nedacnen
th|s teasouAgambeuw|ll uots|mplyask, What|spol|t|cs`"but|ustead,
"Ftomwhetedoesoutcultute-both|umyth|caud|uactualtetms-de-
t|ve|tsct|tet|afotthepol|t|cal`"R,z,) .How,|uothetwotds,havewe
att|vedatout|deasofwhatbelougstothetealmofpol|t|csaudwhatdoes
uot`At|stotlechatgedllatow|th|usufhc|eutlyd|st|ugu|sh|ugtheth|ugs
ofthee/,c|tystate) ftomthoseoftheei/es,home).Agambeudoesuot
w|shtocouRatethetwo,buthedoeswautto uudetstaudbywhateaus
th|ugs, |deas audptact|ceseutet|utowhatwecall thepol|t|cal tealm.
ucetta|utycoucetu|ugth|squest|ou|sptec|selytheteasouhespeaks|u
HemeSaccrofaueglectedpol|t|calvocat|ou|uutgeutueedofatteut|ou.
W|th these cous|detat|ous |u m|ud, what theu, fot Agambeu, |s
pol|t|cs, audwhat does |t have to do w|thph|losophyaud poteut|al|ty`
lol|t|cs|s,aswesaw,thought,"butth|s|suottheoulydehu|t|ouheg|ves.
Elsewhetehetefets to"pol|t|cs as mauk|ud's mostautheut|c d|meus|ou
dimcnsiencirerie dcdaeme R, n) . Th|s tematk t|sks souud-
|ugh|etat|cotvague,butplaced|uthecoutextofthecous|detat|ousjust
uoted,|t |sue|thet. FotAgambeu, pol|t|cs|stheeut|tetealmofhumau
act|ou.Assuch,|t|suotasepatatetop|cthatoulysomemaybe|utetested
|u,otasepatatetealmthatwemayeutetotex|tatcetta|upo|uts|uout
l|ves. Thatwh|chpoettydoesfotthepoteut|al|tyofspeech,"Agambeu
wt|tes, pol|t|csaud ph|losophy do fot thepoteut|al|tyofact|ou" R,
z;,).Asatesultthought|sbyuatutepol|t|calustaspol|t|cs|sbyuatute
ph|losoph|cal-audthetwotop|cscouvetge|uh|s|deaofpoteut|al|ty.
Extreme Iositions and Iolitical Iotential
Thestt|k|ugequat|oubetweeupol|t|csaudthought|suottheouly
oueof|tssotttobefouud|uAgambeuswotk.Elsewhete,heequatesboth
thought aud kuowledge w|th poteut|al|t "Thought ex|sts," he wt|tes,
|utegtally|u the modeofpoteut|al|ty," audthe sameappl|es to /nea/
cdgc, because poteut|al-ot kuowledge," he cla|ms, "|s the spec|hcally
humau facultyofma|uta|u|ug a telat|ouw|thsometh|ugwh|ch|slack-
|ug" ,TDl,x,lH,; x||] ttauslat|oumod|hed) . Fot th|steasouAgambeu
wt|testhattoth|uk. . . meaus. . . toexpet|eucetheputepoteut|al|tyof
thought," aswellasthatauexpet|euceofpoteut|al|ty|s"thefouudat|ou
ofouttat|oual|ty,outkuow|ugaudspeak|ugbe|ug",MWE, i;] ,ttaus-
at|oumod|hed,DN, ::z).
sauytead|ugofAgambeuswotksteveals,uo|dea|sso|mpottaut
Inoedacnen i
fothlstughtasetcntia/i.HlsdlvetseteBectlousouthatldeaatecou-
ducteduotmetelyfottheputposeofpetfotm|ugatduousthoughexpet|-
meutsotteudetlugttlbutetothemetaphys|calsubtlet|esofth|uketspast
luIdcaePrescAgambeupolutsto"thesectetcouuect|ousthatl|ukpowet
etcrc| audpoteutlalltyetcnza| ,"audtheseatecouuect|oushehascou
tluuedtofollowtothepteseutday,ll, i ;i| ,ttauslat|oumodlhed) "My
coucetu,"Agambeuhassttessed,"lsuotmetelyh|stot|ogtaph|calldouot
luteudslmplyto testotecutteucytoph|losophlcalcategot|esthatateuo
lougetluuse.Outhecouttaty,lthlukthatthecoceptofpoteutlal|tyhas
uevetceasedtofuuctlouluthellfeaudh|stotyofhumau|ty,mostuotably
thatpattofhumau|tythathasgtowu auddeveloped|tsetentialities to
thepolutoflmposlugltseacrovetthewholeplauet" ,,i;;z;,| ,|tal|cs
luotlglual,ttauslatloumod|hed).
FotAgambeu, thequestlouofpoteut|al|ty|s|ut|matelyl|ukeduot
oulytotheldeaof polltlcswesaweatllet,butalsotocouctete|ustaucesaud
lustltutlousofpolltlcalpowet.Whatlsmote,hecouteudsthatwhethetwe
ate awate ofthemotuot, outcouceptlousofpoteutlalltycoud|t|ouout
ldeasofpowetaudltsllmlts. lutheyeatswheuAgambeuwasbegluu|ug
topubllshhlswotk,Ateudtlameutedthat"theptogtessesmadebysc|euce
haveuothlugtodowlththewlll,theyfollowthe|towuluexotablelaws,
compelllug us to do whatevetwe cau, tegatdless ofcousequeuces." She
theuasked,ludespetatlou,whethet"thewlllaudtheauhavepatted
compauy`",Ateudti;c,6).lt|spteclselysuchafa|lutetoteBectouthe
dlffeteucebetweeuptactlcalposslbllltyaudeth|calactuallty,oupoteut|al
audposslblllty,thatmotlvatesmuchofAgambeuswt|t|ug.Asatesult,he
haschatactetlzedhlsgoalasuoth|uglessthau"tobt|ugthepol|t|calout
oflts coucealmeut ecca/tamcnte| aud, atthesamet|me, tetututhought
toltsptactlcacalllugoecaziencractica| ,HS, |;| ) . hlsptactlcalcall-
luglsouethathelututullukstoapattlculatutgeucy "theutgeucyof
catasttophe" ,HS, izi). hecatasttopheluquest|oulsthatthestateof
exceptloutlsksbecomlugthe tule, thatthe except|oual abusesofpowet
thatoutagehaskuowuthteateuto becometheuotm-audthatweac-
ceptthemassuch.
Waltet 8eujamlu ouce wtote to GtetelAdotuo, "My llfe l|ke my
thought moves by meaus of extteme pos|t|ous" ,8euj am|u G8, l
c).hetecaubellttledoubtthatAgambeusl|feaudthoughthave
ptoceeded by slmllat movemeuts. Auothet studeut of8eujam|us who
was dtawu to extteme posltlous, Gtetels husbaud heodot, pteseuts a
i 6 Inedacen
patt|culat ptoblem to h|s teadets |u th|s tegatd. As mauyofthem have
po|utedout,theyateofteutequ|tedtosepatatethosestatemeutshemeaus
qu|te l|tetallyaudthosethatseemto have beeumadeto shockthemto
atteut|ou.lthoughAgambeu'spos|t|ousm|ghtatt|mes seemequallyex-
tteme,hlsauuetofptoceed|ug|sd|ffeteut.He|udeedmakessutpt|s|ug
statemeutsaudpteseutsptovocat|vepatad|gms,buthedoesuotappeatto
dosometelyfotthesakeofsutpt|seotptovocat|ou.
luapassagethatthetecaubel|ttledoubthemeauttobetead|uall
eatuest,TheodotAdotuotematked, "Thete|ssometh|ugthatallpeople,
whethettheyadm|t|t otuot, kuow|u the|theattofheatts. thatt|ugs
couldhavebeeudlffeteut,thatthatwouldhavebeeuposs|ble.Theycould
uotoulyllvew|thouthuugetaudalsoptobablyw|thoutfeat,butalsofteely.
Audyetatthesamet|me-audallovetthewotld-thesoc|alappatatus
has become so hatdeued thatwhatl|es befote them as a meaus ofpos-
slblefulhllmeutpteseuts|tselfastad|cally|mposs|ble",Adotuoaud8loch
i} ,, ,) dotuosexptess|ouofthed|fhcultyofgtasp|ugthemeausfot
tad|cal chauge |s echoed lngambeus wt|t|ug, audas|m|lat|mpetat|ve
motlvates theexttemeposltlonshe adopts.Whatevet thelt dlffeteuces, a
fuudameutalldeatheyshatelsthattheheattoftheph|losophetsvocat|ou
lsfoundluthefactthatsomuchthatpteseuts |tselfas "tad|cally|mpos
slblelsuot-audmustuotcout|uuetobeacceptedassuch.
lutespousetohlsdeuuuclatlouofpol|t|calstatesofaffa|tsuotouly
|nh|suatlve ltalybutalso |uCh|ua, Ftauce,etmauy, Afghau|stau,the
8alkaus, ltaq,audelsewheteatouudtheglobe,Agambeuhasfouudh|m-
selfchatgedw|thadvocatlughopelessuess. "leoplesomet|messaythatl
amtoopess|m|st|c,"hehastematked,"butth|s|ssometh|uglhavettouble
uudetstaud|ug . . . . lufact,lamuot|uthesl|ghtestpess|m|st|c,thoughl
am,howevet,ab|tm|sttustfulofexubetauce",L,i) .Abouttheexttem-
|tyofcetta|ustatesoflegalexcept|ou,aswellasaboutlatgettteudsv|s|ble
|upheuomeuataug|ugftomthe sttuctute ofthe etmau couceuttat|ou
camps to coutempotatyb|oeth|cal debates, hehassttessed, "lamuot|u
thesl|ghtest|utetested|uapocalypt|cptophec|es,but|ustead|utheways
|uwh|chwem|ghttespoudatthepteseutt|metothecatasttophe|uwh|ch
wel|ve" ,L,i). '
These tematks exempl| two esseut|al facets ofAgambeu's wt|t-
|ug. the exttem|ty ofh|s d|aguoses aud h|s |us|steuce that out despet-
ate t|mes call fot tedoubled euetgy. The pol|t|cal sceue that Agambeu
sees sttetched befote h|m may be a datk oue, but th|s |s uo cause fot
Inneduuen !)
apocalyptlcptououucemeutauduocausefotpesslm|smntheconttat,
ltls,sttaugelyeuough,causefotbee. lataphtaslngMax,Agambenhas
tematkedthat "theabsolutelydespetatestateofaffa|ts |nthesoc|ety|n
whlch l llvehlls mewlth hope," aud lt ls thls hope that mot|vates the
extteestaucestakeuluh|swotks,8M,io).
Thetelsludeed,asAdotuosays,uoth|ugmoteobv|ousthanthatto
llvewlthouthuugetotfeatshouldbethecommon|ghtofallt|sequall
obvlousthatth|s|sthethestthlugftomthecaseApo|ntofageeent
amougcoutempotapol|t|calth|nkesofthemostd|veseapoaches
ftom Adotuo to Habetmas, ebotd to 8od|eu, eleue to e|,
Althussetto8utle,C|xoustoLuhmann,oucaulttoe|a,8aut|lla
to

lek-|sthatthemeansbywh|chsoc|etcontols|tssubectsateeve
mote dlfhculttopetce|ve, adthattheposs|b|l|t|esfotchangeevetmote
dlfhcultto ldeutl. To followavocat|ouatouceph|losophlcal andpo-
llt|calls,fotAgambeu,toactaudthlukouthebas|sofsometh|ngweall
kuowthatthlugs|uoutwotlduotoulycaubutshouldbed|etentThe
taskofthephllosophet|stheuuotoulytoteallzethatthlugs migbt bedlf-
feteut,buttocoucelveofhowthls migbt leavethetealmofthecoud|t|oual
audeutettheactualwotldofhumauaf|ts-uotasabsttacttheotbut
astealpoteutlallty.
r In/redac/ien
Scholium I. Jhe Inoperative
NoslugletetmluAgambeu'swtltluglssoeasytomlsuudetstaudas
inecra/iocncss inecresi/| . u au aftetwotd to Ihc Ceming Cemmani
Agambeusuggeststhatluopetatlveuessmlghtfotmthepatadlgmfotthe
comlugpolltlcs" ,CC,) .Thecoufettlugofsuchahlghpolltlcalcalllug
outhlsldeauudetlluesltslmpottaucefotAgambeubutleaveshlsteadets
uncettaluastohowsuchauluettsouudlugthlugmlghtbecome apata-
dlgmfotpolltlcalllfe. Whatlsmote,theEugllsheatlsqulcktoheatovet-
touesofdysfuuctloualltyhete thatseemfatftomthepolut.
The tetmthatAgambeu employs hete ls tlchlu assoclatlous, the
mostlmmedlateofwhlch lsouetowhlchhe uelthetheteuotelsewhete
tefets dltectly but to whlch mauy ofhls lultlal teadets would have te-
spouded. To be luopetatlve," ltwould seem, would beto tefuse to be
auopetatlvepattofthestate's machluety, audthetebyechoesapopulat
slogauemployedbytadlcalltallauwotkets'tlghtsgtoupsluther6csaud
rcs efuse to wotk "Thls tallylugctywas uotmadeto advocate la-
luess ot the catefteeoys ofa decrnicn/c, aud lts polutwas by uo
meaustoteectwotkcrsc. lusuchmovemeuts, theldeaofwotktetalued
ltsptldeofplacelntheatxlstsystemofvalues. Themotto efuseto
wotk "waslusteadate ectlouofthecoudltlousuudetwhlchwotketswete
belugasked towotkau exptesslouofthe ldea ofa geuetal sttlke,wlth
ltsgoaloffotclugthepowetsthatbetotecogulzethetlghtsofaulucteas-
luglydlssatlshed bodyofwotkets.

Although such a tefusal towotkls

alludedto luAgambeu'stetm,whathe meausby inecranocncssexteuds
wellbeyoudthepolltlcalpteseutaud,ashemakeseat,deuotesfatmote
thautheptactlcalposslbllltlesavallabletoagtoupofwotkets.
uthebookthatfollowed IhcCemingCemmani, Agambeuglves
ageuealogyofthetetm inecra/ocncss, audthehtst thluketltleadshlm
to ls eotges 8atallle. Nelthet lu HemeSaccruotlulatettteatmeuts of
thecoucept lu Ihc Iimc Iha/Rcmains aud Ihc Ocn does Agambeu
make auy sectet ofthe fact that hls couceptlou ofinecranocncss owes
muchto8atallle's dsecaorcmcn/, luwhlchthelatteteuvlslouedthemost
tadlcalteectlouofthe utllltatlau alms ofmodetusocletyaud ptogtes-
slvethought. tseemedto 8atalllethatsocletyaudltsdomluautmodes
ofcoucelvlugltselfwetelucteasluglyfocusedoufotmlugahomogeuous
body polltlc. Decaorcmcn/was the uame he gave hls tespouse to thls
totalllug teudeucy aud lt was thtough thls that he sought fotms of
Inneducnen :
"uegat|v|ty"-"uegat|v|tyw|thoutemploy" -thatwouldescapeteabsotp-
t|ou by a d|alect|c fh|stot|cal ptogtess. Such uegat|v|tywould be so
tad|calaudexcess|vethat|twouldescapethefotmsofsoc|alcouttol, as
wellas,ouaph|losoph|callevel,theceutt|petalotb|toftheegel|aud|-
lect|c. lu8ata|lle'sowupetsouaudthought,deseeuerement teptesenteda
comm|tmeutto|uact|v|tyaudexcess,atesaltocoutt|butetothewotk
,the euere ot eueres) ofh|s soc|ety. |s seatch seut h|m |uto exotet|c
commuu|t|es such as the Sutteal|sts, Cenne-ttaque, aud the Cedege e/
Secie/g, aswellasesotet|couessuchasthe|ufamousc/bah gtoup.lt
ledh|mtoplumbtheposs|b|l|t|esofetot|c|smaudecstasyexpet|ences
that he saw as capable ofescap|ug ot elud|ug a uu|vetsal|z|ug coucep-
t|ouof|ud|v|dualaudcommuu|tyexpet|euce.What8ata|llegl|mpsed|n
suchexteuuatedstatesofm|udaudbody,wh|chsofasc|uatedteadetsftom
8lauchotaudLacautoFoucaultaudett|da,wasuotoulyagl|mmeof
a poss|ble commuu|ou, butalsowhathe chatactet|zedas the tevelatoty
expet|euceofdseuorement.
Agambeu's owu "|uopetat|veuess" ot dseeuerement he ftequetly
employstheFteuchtetm)|sofas|m|latuatutebutalsotepteseutsafuuda-
meutalexteus|ouofthe|dea.lttefetsuotoulytoatefusaltodothewotk
ofacoetc|vesoc|ety, butalso tosometh|ugqu|ted|eteut-auoutolog|-
calteBect|ououthemodal|t|esofbe|ug. lu Heme Sacer Agambeuwt|tes
that"theoulycoheteutwayto uudetstaud|uopetat|veuess|sto th|ukof
|tasageuet|cmodeofpoteut|al|tythat|suotexhausted,l|ke|ud|v|dual
act|ou ocollect|ve act|ou uudetstood as the sum of|ud|v|dual act|ous)
|u a transim de etenna ad acmm" ,S, 6z ;i]). luopetat|veuess thus
tepteseuts someth|ug uot exhausted but |uexhaust|ble-because |t does
uotpass ftom theposs|bleto the actual ,oansims de etenm ad acmm).
Th|s|sau|deathatAgambeu |s|utt|guedtohud|u8ata|llebutthathe
ttaces fatthetbac-aud to auuuexpected place. Agambeu cla|ms that
8ata|lle's deeuerement aswellasthoseofothet, s|m|lathgutes ,suchas
the eeeu deseeuere ofaymoud ueueauaudthe "Shabbatofmau" of
Alexaudteojve)weteelemeutsof"aposth|stot|chgutecottespoud|ug
to au abseuce ofattulyhumauwotk unoera eeramente umana]" ,,
;66-6;). lusodo|ughettacesthe|deabacktoAt|stotle'scous|detat|ousof
happ|uessaudofmauk|ud'scollect|vevocat|ou.
Whatthetetm ineeranee sttesses|stheothets|deofpoteut|al|ty.
theposs|b|l|tythatath|ugm|ghtuotcometopass. otAgambeu,asfot
At|stotle,poteut|al|tycouce|vedofasmetelythepoteut|altobe|sbuthalf
zo Intredacnen
thestoty.Au|deaofpoteut|al|tywotthyoftheuamemustalso|ucludea
poteut|al|tythatdoesuotpass |utoact,that|sttulypoteut|al|utheseuse
that|tcouta|ustheposs|b|l|tyofuotactual|z|ug|tsellt|sfotth|steasou
thatAgambeusttessesboththepoteut|altobe"audthepoteut|altouot-
be,"because,|uh|swotds, oulyapoteut|al|tyetcnz| that|scapableof
bothpoteut|al|tyaud|mpoteuceimetcnz||stheusuptemepoteut|al|ty"
,, ,,|| ,ttauslat|oumod|hed). FotAgambeu,uotouly|sth|sseoud
modeofpoteut|al|tyuotofless|utetestot|mpottaucethauthehtst,but
lt also |s absolutelyuecessatyfot uudetstaud|ug poteut|al|ty's ot|g|uaty
hgute" ,, iz zi| ) Fotth|steasouAgambeuhuds that pol|t|cs|sthat
wh|ch cottespouds to the esseut|al |uopetat|veuess ofmauk|ud," aud |t
|sth|s |dea that l|esat the heattofmuch ofh|s wotk ,MWE, i|o io] ,
ttauslat|oumod|hedseealsoR,z|).
Inneduuen zi
Scholium II. n Creation and Oecreation
At theeudofhlshlm Ihe Decameren ,i;i),asollu|-ahguteto
whom Agambeu was ose ,Agambeu appeats lu auothet ofasollu|'s
hlms, Ihe Cee/e/ Saint ) -staudsbefotethecametaaudposes
aquestloutohlsvlewet hycteateawotkwheu|tlssoeautlfulslm
plytodteamofoue" Althoughpetsouallyadtesslugtheaud|euce|sau
uufamlllatgestutefotadltectot,thequestlouthatasollu|poses lsuot
uufamlllat.Asomautlcthluketsdlduotceasetosttess,wheuseeuftom
acettalupetspect|veallwotksseemluevltablycouslguedtolucompletlou
wheucompatedwlththefulluessaudluteusltyoftheltlultlalcouceptlou
lsuotthepoteutlalltyhgutedluthelmagluatloualwaystlchetthauthe
actualltythatfollows,botuasltlsofthecomptom|sesthattealltyluev|ta-
blylmposesAudlfthlslsthecase,whyuottevellupoteutlal|ty,asaso
llul suggests, tathetthausubect oueselftothettava|lsofteallatlouaud
thedlsappolutmeutsofactualltyhequestlouwasuotsolusolubleasto
pteveutlasollulftomcteatlugwotks ,llketheouethlsspeechoses), but

ltuevetthelessplayedapattlutheltcteatlou.
lasollulwasuottheulyhguteosetoAgambeuwhoshowedaspe
clallutetestluthlsdyuamlcmomeutptecedlugthecteatlveact. alvluo
tematkedlutheptepatatotyuotesfotthe hales Ellot ottou lectutes
at Hatvatd ulvetsltyfot r,6, whlchhls uutlmelydeath pteveuted
hlm ftom glvlug, my polut ofdepattute wlll be . . thls momeut so
declslve fot the teadet-that ofmovlugftom uullmlted audmult|fotm
poteutlalltytowatdssomethlugthatdoesuotyetexlstaudcauoulyexlst
byeucouutetlugllmltsaudtules",alvluoi,,i,;)8efotethepassageto
theact,befotetheteallzlugofposslbllltlesaudtheactualllugofpoteut|-
alltleslateutluthemludoftheattlst,theluspltatlouthatl|esattheot|g|u
ofthewotkofattex|sts, fotalvluo, luastateof"uullm|tedaudmul
tlfotm poteutlallty." alvluoevokeshete aptluclple ofpoteutlalltythat
luheteslucteatlou,audlusteadofseelugltthtoughthecustomatyoptlc
ofactuallty, he adopts a less couveutloual leus, focuslug ou a momeut
thatreceds cteatlou, wheu au "uullmlted aud multlfotm poteutlal|ty"
eucouutets"thellmltsaudtules"thatw|llglveltshape. ,ltwash|slutetest
lusuchllmltsaudtulesthatllukedalv|uow|ththeothetmembetsofthe
gtoupofmathematlclausaudwtltetstowh|chhebelouged-ulo)s
thls uullmlted audmultlfotmpoteutlallty" evokedheteby alv|uo of
thesameuatuteaswhathlsftleudAgambeucoucelvesuudetthes|guof
zz Intredacen
etcntia/i-aatethetwoeptesslonsnotlnfactslmply synonyms of
crcatien Tbe answet to thls questlonptoves to be ettaotdlnatllycom-
ple.Agambendoeslnfactspeakofpotentlalltylntetmsof-but
lnattulyslngulatway. Fothlm,etcnna/ils lndeed to beundetstood
lnthecontextofcteatlon,butseenftomasttangeslde-onethathecalls
dccrcatien.
lnanessayonpotentlalltyandcteatlonwtlttenfotanehlbltofCy
Tombly'swotks at the AmetlcanAcademy ln Rome ln i, Agamben
evokeswhathecallsafalllngmovement"lntbemomentofcteatlvelnspl-
tatlon.AgambenlsolateslnTwombly'sattwhathecalls, agestutewhete
lt ls as lfevety ascenslon has been lnvetted and btoken, almost on the
tbteshold between dolngand notdolng" ,8CC, ,) . Agamben thenglves
anametothlstbtesholdbetweendolngandnotdolng".dccrcanen ltls
thlspolntofdccrcaten dccrcazienc ,"hewtltes, wbetetheattlst. . . no
longetcteatesbutdecteatesdccrca ", 8CC, ,,ttanslatlonmodlhed,ltallcs
added . lnllgbtoftblstematk,ltlndeedseemstbatAgambenconcelves
tbeldeaofpotentlalltyasanldeaofcrcatien, butltseptesslonhasbeen
tevetsedascteatlonWbatthendoesltmeanfotanattlsttoteacha
polntwbetehenolongetcteatesbutdecteates"Andwhatllghtdoessuch
amomentshedonAgamben'sconceptlonofpotentlallty
nllkeetcntia/i,dccrcatienlsnotacommontetm,andglvenboth
ltssheetsttangenessandthefactthatAgamoendoesnotdehnelt,wewould
dowelltottytocltcumsctlbeltmoteclosely.Dlctlonatlesptovellttlehelp
nthlstegatd.AsconcetnsAgamben'slanguage,thetetmdoesnotappeat
lneventhemostcapaclousltallandlctlonatles,andnoenttylsfoundln
eltbetthe Crandcdizienariedc// /inga ita/ianaottbe ca/e/riedc//
/inga ita/iana.Onedoeshndlt ln the OxrdEng/ishDicnenadehned
asdlmlnutlon"theundolngofcteatlon,deptlvlngofelstence,annlhl-
latlon"AtewethentoundetstandAgamben'senlgmatlcdccrcatientobe
ontheotdetofadcstractien-aslnthe OxrdEng/ishDictenastetms,
adiminatenotannihi/tenasanundolngofcteatlon"lsltlnsteadllke
dccenstracten awayofeamlnlngbysuspendlngasystem otsttuctute`
Andlfltlsnelthetofthesethlngs,howarcwetoundetstandlt`
Acluetothetetm'smeanlnglstobefoundlnanunllkelyplace.As
ayoung man, Agamben wtote an unpubllshed dlssettatlon on Slmone
Well. lnthenotebookssheleftbehlnd,wlthwhlch Agambenwasdoubt-
less famlllat, Well tepeatedlyemploys thesttangetetm dccrcanen'
!
She
wtltes,Theselflsonlyashadowptojectedbyslnandettotwhlchblocks
Inneducnen z
God's llght," audthe uame she g|ves tohetway ofescap|ugftom th|s
shadowls dccrcatien ,We|l i|] i;, i). Th|s escape |uvolvesa datk,
double movemeut. We pattlclpate |u the cteat|ou ofthe wod," We|l
wtltes,bydecteatlugoutselves"_e|li|] i;, i;i). otWe|l,theques-
tloulay|ucteat|ugafalseaspec

ofoutselves-auaspectthat|stheftu|t
ofettotaud slu-to teach the soutce ofcteat|ou. Decreatien |s thehtst
stepalougth|spth.
Although lt ls l|kely that Agambeu htst eucouuteted the tetm
dccrcatien |uWe|l'soutuals, the t

tuheg|vesto |t |s auovelone. H|s

essayouwombly|suotthe htstt|meheemploys th|sseem|nglypat-
doxlcaltetm.ltappeats|utheth|tdaudhualsect|ouof8attley,otu
Coutlugeucy,"eut|tledTheExpet|meut,otuecteat|ou."ont|uu|ug
Lelbul'stheologlcalthoughtexpet|meuts,Agambeuusesthetetmtoap
ptoachauaspectof etcntia/i hefouudueglected|ue|bu|'swotk.ot
Agambeu, dccrcatien |s a secoud cteat|ou |uwh|ch God summous ll
hls poteutlal uot to be, cteatlug ou the bas|s ofa po|ut of|ud|ffeteuce
betweeupoteutlalltyaudlmpoteutlal|ty.Thecteat|outhat|suowfulhlled
lsuelthetatecteat|ouuotauetetualtepet|t|ou, |t|s,tathet,adecteat|ou
luwhlchwhathappeuedaudwhatdld uothappeuatetetutnedD the|t
otlgluatyuu|tyluthemludofGod,wh|lewhatcouldhaveuotbeeubut
was becomes|udlstlugulshableftomwhatcouldhave beeu butwasuot"
,P, z;o). Dccrcatien lsthusfotAgambeuuowhat|twasfotWe|l.ltdoes
uotluvolvesheddlugotcteat|ugsomeluautheut|caspectofoutselves
auaspectthatlstheftultofettotaudslu-soastocteate.lue|l 'shauds,
dccrcatien ls esseutlallydlalect|cal-auaut|thet|calmomeutthat|spatt
oftheptocessofcteatlou.FotAgambeu,howevet, |t|ssometh|ugelse
somethlug that bt|ugs the coutlugeut-what couldhave beeu butwas
uot"-|utov|ew.
otetutu,theu,toCalv|u'suul|m|tedaudmult|fotmot|g|uofcte-
atlou,wemlghtuowoffetauauswettothequest|ouposedeatl|et.Thete
caubellttledoubtthatfotAgambeupoteut|al|ty|sawayofcouce|v|ug
ctetlou-butuot uudet thes|gu ofauactual|edth|ugota completed
wotk. AsAt|stotle atgued, poteut|al|ty ttulyuudetstood |s uot onlyall
thatcametopass butalsoallthatm|ghthavecometopass audd|duot.
WhatAgambeustt|vestodothtoughh|sevocat|ouofdcrcatien audin-
ecratiecncss |stocouce|veofetcntia/i uotmetelyftomthepetspect|ve
ofthecompletedwotk, ftomthepetspect|veoftheactual, utalso|u|ts
owut|ght.
z Inedacen
Scholium III. Heidegger's Iotential, or Creative
1erminolo
gamben notes at one polnt that lfthe tetms used ln hls dlscus-
slonpotentlalltyseemsttange,thetelsagoodteasonfotthlsthevo-
caoulaty ofpotentlalltyhas penettated so deeply lnto us" that fot ln-
stance,whenwe teadthedlscusslonofpotentlalltylnAtlstotle's On thc
Sea/, whatappeatsfotthehtsttlmelnthesellneslsafundamentalptob-
lethathas onlytatelycome to llghtassuchlnthe coutseofWstetn
tbght",P, i; z;, ) 8ecausewelackslmpleandsttalghtfotwatdtetms
fotdlscusslngthlssecondmodeofpotentlallty-potentlalltylnwhatAg-
ambentefetstoasltsputestate, potentlalltylndependentofltsactuallza-
tlon-wemustplumbthetesoutcesofoutlanguagetoeptesslt.
Onthlspolnt,Agamben'shtstphllosophlcalmastethadtematked
thatl naccotdlthtbeentltehlstotyofWestetnhumanltyhlthetto,and
lnaccotdwlththelntetptetatlonooelngsthatsustalnsthathlstoty, we
ate all too accstomed to thlnklngputely and slmply ln tetms ofactu-
alltles,tolntetptetlnglntetmsoftheactual,as ptesence, easia) . Fotthls
teason weate stlll unptepated, we feel awkwatd and lnadequate, when
lt comes to thlnklngetcntia/i, a klnd ofthlnklngthat ls always cte-
atlve" ,Heldegget r|, r,c, ltallcs lnotlglnal, ttanslatlonmodlhed) . ln
BcingandIimcthlsunptepatednessmeantthatnewtools neededtobe
ctafted, andledtowhatHeldeggetcalled thesevetlty dicHrtc ofmy
eptesslons"-asevetltyandsttangeness that was to chatactetlze allhls
wtltlng ,Heldegget r,, ,) . Heldeggetsttessednot onlythellnkbe-
tweenposslbllltyandcteatlonthatsolntetestedAgambenbutalsohow
nptepated" we ate, how awkwatd and lnadequate" we feel when lt
cmestothlnklngpotentlallty."Thlslssomethlngtowhlchoutlanguage
beatssttlklngwltnesslnthatweoftenlackthetetms,andeventhetenses,
todlscusssuchpotentlallty.Todosotequltesnotjustlntelllgencebutalso
cteatlvlty, andltlspteclselyfotthlsteasonthatAgambensummonsun-
famlllattetmssuchas inecraocanddccrcatientoelucldatethlssecond,
shadowymodeofpotentlallty.
ln HemeSaccrAgambenwtltesoftheneedtoquestlonandcombat
theptlmacyofactualltyovetpotentlallty",HS, q ,i| ) . Agambenlsnot
the htst modetn thlnket to tetutn to thlsAtlstotellan ptoblem and to
movelnltsshadows. Heldeggetsoughttotevetsethlstendency,ptogtam-
matlcallydeclatlnglnBcingandIimcthat,etcna/ihasptlmacyovet
Inneducnen z
actuallty Hher a/ die wrk/ichkeit steht die Mgl|chke|t| " , z;| ,,
,, ltal|csluot|g|ual). Ouepetfectlycoheteutwayofv|ew|ugHe|degget's
phllosoph|calptoect|s|ufactasatecoucept|ouof etennali. He|degget
dehues thesujectofh|sph|losophy--uotthtough|tsacma/i
ut thtough lts etenna/i, stat|ug at uumetous po|uts that 'Dasein |s
alwaysaudesseut|ally|tsowuposs|b|l|ty"He|degget6,|z).Thatth|s
ldea ls uot l|mlted to the spec|hc alms ofBeing and Zme |s w|tnessed
elsewhete,suchas|uHe|degget'sdesct|pt|ouofau"esseut|alatteut|veuess
to the posslle" aschatactet||ug oth "ot|g|ual ph|losophy" aud gteat
poetty" ,He|deggetGA,,|. 6|).luauep|loguetoh|slectute"TheTh|ng"
eutltled "A ettet to aouugStudeut," He|deggetsttesses theneedfot
th|uk|ugt|gotouslyaoutwhatetenna/i meaus"Th|nk|ug,suchasl|es
attheas|softhelectute,TheTh|ug' ), |suometetepteseut|ugofsome
exlsteutthlug.8e|ug'lsluuowayldeut|calw|thteal|tyotw|thptec|sely
detetmluedactuallty . . Eeumetaphys|csalteadyhad, toacetta|u ex
teut,aulutlmatlouofthlsfact|ultsdoctt|ueofthemodalltles-wh|ch,o
esute, hashatdlybeeu uudetstood-accotd|ugtowh|chposs||l|tye-
lougsto8elugjustasmuchasdoactualltyaudnecess|ty",;,,).

ot
othHeldeggetaudAgame,toth|ukoftheelugthatallbe|ugsshate
lsto thlukuotoulyofthesldes|tmosttead|lypteseutstooutevetyday
vlew-actualltyauduecesslty-utalsoofthemoteelus|vemodal|t|esof
poteutlalltyaudcoutlugeucy.
L MAPJLK L^L
P IOr Prts oakc. hc LcstruCtOn
OI Pcsthctcs and Ihc Man vithat
Cntcnt
lotgloAgamben's htst book, IhcMan witheatentcnt beatsa
tltlethattalsesmanyquestlonsWholsthls man`Whetehashlscontent
gone`Doeshewantltback`Andyetalthoughthlstlemlghtsoundenlg-
matlc,ltssubjectlsslmple. IhcMantheatCentcntlnqulteslntothena-
tute andfunctlonofatt. Thls ls, howevet, noneuttal lnqulty Thebook
doesnotengagelnaesthetlclnqultyfotthesakeofaesthetlclnqulty, and
ltlsnotwtlttenftomthedlstancedpetspectlveofahlstotlanofldeas.ltls
lnsteadatesponsetowhatAgambenseesasanalatmlngstateofcontem-
potatyaffalts.
Jhe riginal Stature ot the Vork ot Art
FotAgamben,thenatuteandfunctlonofattlnoutcultutehasbeen
obscuted.Atthascometotesemble,lnhlswotds, aplanetthattutnsto-
watdusonlyltsdatkslde" ,MWC, |, , ttanslatlonmodlhed). Wlth
thewanlngoftheenllghtenlngtolethatatthadplayedfoteatlletetas,Ag-
amben seeshlsgoalasundetstandlngheuanduatt'slllumlnatlngface
hastutnedawayftomus,andwhatwemlghtdotoseeltstetutn.
Ftotheoutset,hlsmeansateetteme
Icrhapsnothingis morc urgcntilwc rcallywantto cngagcthc problcm olart
in our timcthanadscoen duzienc| olacsthctics thatwould, bycaring
/r rts Sake z )
away what is usuay takcn tor grantcd, alow us to bring into qucston thc vcry
mcaning ot acsthctics thc systcmatic study ot mc work ot art. Jhc qucstion,
howcvcr, is whcthcr thc timc is ripc tor sud a ,or whcthcr instcad thc
conscqucncc ot such an act would not bc thc oss ot any possibc horizon tor thc
undcrstanding ot thc work ot art and thc crcation ot an ys in tront ot it that
could bc crosscd ony wim a radical lcap. But pcrhaps j ust such a loss d such
d abyss arc what wc most nccd it wc want thc work ot art to rcacquirc iu origi-
nal staturc /saasmmraegnas . , ,i),itaics in origina, transa-
tion modihcd]
luhls htst book, Agambes htstcall lsfot dsocnen. To eectth|sde-
sttuctlouhemustttavetsewhatheseesastheat|depausesofthefotm-
lzlugdlsclpllueofaestbencs. 8eyoudthesewastes,whathesee|suoth|ug
lessthauthe "otlgluastatute"ofthewotkofatt. owet, |fAgambeu
aspltestobtlugabouta"desttuctlo''thatw|llhelph|muudetstaudoth
the"otlglualstatute"ofthewotkofattaudthe"autheut|cseuse" ofthe
aesthetlcptojectthatwastocltcumsctlbelt,wemlthtstaskwhatsert
ofdesttuctlouhelscalllugfot.A |scleatftomthepteced|ugpassage,h|s
touelsuotthatofDlouylaulutoxlcatlouaudwhathe|scall|ugfot|suot
metelyauatchlc.Althoudutlugtheseyeatshemayhavefeltgteatau|-
fotsuchsulphutousatt|stsomthepastasAttaudaudomthepteseut
asasollul,hlsmauuetaudmessageatematkedlyd|eteutThehtsthall-
matkofthedesttuct|ouAgambeueuvls|ouslsthat|t|ss|ugulatlyluc|de
almstocleataudclat|aheldofluqu|taudthegoalofsuchaptocedute
|scleatlystateduudetstaudlugtheot|g|ualstatuteofthewotkofatt
etlfAgambeu'sgoallssoslmple,whydoesheueedsuchextteme
measutes-otatleastsuchexttemelauguageTheauswet|sthatfoth|m
such"desttuctlou"lsuecessatybecausetheptoblemhe|solates|suotgeu-
etallytecogulzedassuch.Att'shavlugceasedtoplayashaplugtole|uout
cultute-ltslossofau"autheut|c" ot"ot|glual" status-has become,fot
Agambeu,soaccepted|uoutdayaudagethat|tdoesuot atttactspec|al
uot|e.luothetwotds,thelosshasbecomesocompletethat|t|suolouget
eveuexpet|eucedasaloss.To makethlsabseucefelt,Agambeuattempts
tocleatawaythatwhlchhasobscutedoutv|slou-audtoth|sopetat|ou
heglvestheexttemeuamedestcnen.
z rHrtSa/c
Jhe Structure ot Destruction
AlthoughAgamben'sldeaofdcsoacenlsunusual,ltlsnotunptec-
edented.OneofthethlngsthatHeldegget'sphllosophyhtstmadeposslble
fotAgambenwaspteclselydesttuctlon.Heldeggetentltledtheptogtam-
matlcslthsectlonofBcingandIimcTheTaskofDesttoylngDcsra/-
en theHlstotyofOntology." Thetehewtltes,lfthequestlonof8elng
lstohaveltsownhlstotytendetedttanspatent,thenouttlgldlhedttadl-
tlon must be loosened and lts concealments dlsslpated. We undetstand
thlstaskasonelnwhlchbytaklngthcqacstieneBcingasoutgulde,we
ateto dcstreDcstra/tien thettadltlonalcontentofanclentontologyso
astoattlveatthoseptlmotdlalepetlencesthtoughwhlchweachleveout
htstways ofdetetmlnlngthenatuteof8elng" ,Heldeggetr,, || zz] ,
ltallcslnotlglnal,ttanslatlonmodlhed) . lnalectutecoutseftomrzczr
Heldeggethadalteadynotedthatthemodetnstudyofthehlstotyofte-
llglon candomuchfotphenomenologyon the condltlon that lt ls sub-
mlttedto aphenomenologlcaldcstractien Desttuktlon] " ,HeldeggetS
c., ltallcs ln otlglnal) . As Heldegget ls cateful to undetllne, the de-
sttuctlonfotwhlchhelscalllnglsnotjustanydesttuctlonandshouldnot
beundetstoodlnaconventlonalsense. To beglnwlth,ltsptlnclpalfunc-
tlon lsnotnegatlve HeldeggetlscatefultopolntoutlnBcingandIimc
thatDcstra/enlsnotmeantlnametelynegatlvesense,"andthatonthe
conttatyltlsmotlvatedbya posltlve lntentlon" ,Heldegget r,,||, |,
zz,z,] ) . Heldeggetasksthathlsdesttuctlonbeundetstoodasthecleatlng
awayofcottuptedmatetlalsoastogetatanuntalntedotlgln. To employ
hlsfavotltefamllyofmetaphots, ltlsthecleanlngofthehouseofbelng.
TheteasonHeldeggetsawanecessltyfotsuchettemehousekeep-
lng-andtheteasonAgambenwassolntetestedlnlt-wasthatphlloso-
phy's lnltlal and most fundamental ptoblem-that ofthe natute ofthe
belng that all lndlvldual belngs shate-ha ceased to be consldeted a
ptesslngphllosophlcalptoblem at-let alone thcptoblem thatshould
guldephllosophy'ssteps. So gtavehadmattetsbecome, andsodeep dld
thlsfotgetfulnesstun,thatHeldeggetsawtheptoblemthatfottheteeks
layatthevetycentetofphllosophy-thettuetaskofmetaphyslcs,whlch
hecalledthewondetofwondets.thatbelngls" -wasnowtobegllmpsed
only at phllosophy's matglns ,Heldegget r, zr). Thls fotgettlng of
8elng,"asHeldeggetcalledthlslossofasensefotthelatgestquestlonthat
phllosophymlghtask,wasthehtstobstaclehesawlylngbefotehlm,andlt
H /r s Sake z
waslutespousetoltthathecalledfottheexttememeasuteofa"desttuc-
tlouofthehlstotyofoutology"
How Heldegget euvlsloued thls desttuctlou that so luBueuced
Agambeuls best lllusttatedbyhlscholceofwotds. Getmaud|sposesof
mote thau oue wotd fot what ls teudeted lu both Eugllsh aud ltal|au
as desttuctlou." 8oth Zerstrung aud rnicbmng cau meau the same
thlug as the Eugllsh dstrucnn ot the ltallau dunuzine. He|degget's
Latluatealtetuatlve to thesemotecommou tetms was the tat|vytate
substautlveDesouknn. ltlsspeclallysultedtohlsputposeslu thatwhat
heoutllues-bothlu thlssectlouofBeing and Zme audelsewheteluh|s
wotk-lsuotasmashlugtoblts,whathewouldhavecalledaZerstrung
ot Zer/itterung) uotau auulhllatlou ot au etadlcatlou ,what he mlght
havecalleda icbtung). ltlslusteadasottofirradiann thtoughwhlch
au uudetlylug structure becomesvlslble lutheptocessofbelugteudeted
luopetatlve. Outhlspolut Heldeggetlspetfectlycleatashewtltes, "de-
sttuctlou Destruknn] doesuotmeauhetethedesttuctlouofdemolltlou
Zerstren] , buttathetthatofdlsmautllug//auen] , ofcleatlugawayaud
laylugaslde",Heldeggeti,,y).Hecoutluues"esttuctlouDesouknn]
meaus opeulug out eats, maklugthe wayfteefot what addtesses us lu
outttadltlouasthebelugbelugsshate" ,Heldegget!,, _). Heldegget's
Desouknn lsthusaboveallataklugapattthat,whlleteudetlugluopeta-
tlve, also exposesacoucealed strucmre. ,As the tetm //auen ludlcates,
theopetatlvemetaphotlcalteglstet|satchltectutal.)Thedlfhcultyofex-
ptesslugthlsspeclalptocesslswhatgaveltthto-thetetm
ettldacoluedtottauslateHeldeggetsDesnuknn audthatcametoplay
sucha ceuttal tole lu hls phllosophaudlts teceptlou Thls couceptual
audllugulstlcdlfhcultythatledettldatohlscelebtatedueologlsmlsth
sameouethat theyouugAgambeutespoudedtowlthhls"desttuctlouof
aesthetlcs. "
hegoalofsuch desttuctlousasthoseofHeldegget, ettlda, aud
Agambeu ls to teveal the coucealed, to gllmpsewhathas beeu soloug
vlewed thtoughwhat Coletldge called "the hlm offamlllatlty" that lt
ls effectlvelyhlddeftomvlewhe"desttuctlouofWestetumetaphys-
lcs" fot whlch Heldegget called alms, llke ett|da's dcnstrucnn aud
the desttuctlou ofaesthetlcs," to t

tututo theotlglus ofphllosophlcal

thought aud to uucovetfotgotteu aud fuudameutalwaysofcoucevlug
outwotld-waythathave becomebutledlucoufuslou audcouveutlou.
Agambeu's desttuctlou ofaesthetlcs ls au attack thataspltes uotslmply
y
rArtSa/c
to toppleasthet|cs' towets, but also to gl|mpse, |u the|tfall|ug, the |u-
uetmostfotmsaudawsofthe|tcousttuct|ou.
Divine Madness
lth the heaofAgamoen's |uqu|tyclatlhed, we cau tutu to |ts
ahat. uegoalof IhcMan witheatentcntls|udeedtotega|uaseuse
ofatt's ot|g|ualstatuteandsttuctuteau ente/egca/questlou.Auothet
goallstottacetheptogtess|veobscut|ugofthlsotlg|ualspacethaattof-
fetd-ahisterica/questlon.Ath|td goal |sthe des|te to testote attto|ts
fotmetstatusasattueshapetofact|ousaudbel|efsareammaticques-
tlouAgambeufusesthesegoals|uhlstetell|ngofthehlstotyofWestetu
attftomtheGteekstothpteseut.
Awatetshedmomeut |uthat h|stoty ls tecotded byHegel,who |u
izstatedthat attnolongetptov|desfotthesat|sfact|ouofthosesp|t|-
tualaud|utellectualneedsthateatlletpeoplesaudt|mesfouud|uattaud
|u attaloue." Th|scouvlctlouled Hegel to thexttemecouclus|on that
|uallofthse cultutalaudsp|t|tual]telatlous,att,lu|tsh|ghestvocat|ou
Bcsnmmang ,lsfotusath|ugofthepast ,Hegeli;o,iy. ziy. z,) .Ashad
He|deggetbfoteh|m,Agambeu eudeavots |uh|s htstwotkto take the
fullmeasuteofHegel 'sd|aguos|s.
Athtsts|ght|thasappeatedtomauythatHegelset|ouslym|sjudged
thes|tuat|ou.Att,|tseems,hasuotbecome"ath|ugofthepast"outhe
couttaty, pethapsmotethaufotauyeatl|etage|t|sath|ugofthepteseut
Coutmpotaty att stauds at the ceutetofout cultutal stage, aud thete
appeatsto beuolackofpeopleseek|ug|tssat|sfact|ousetasAgambeu
wellkuows,th|s|suotwhatHegel|sspeak|ugof. What|sat|ssue|suot
commetc|alvalueotcultutalptest|gebut|usteadsometh|ugmotefuuda-
meutalaudmoteesseut|altothefotmsthatcultutestakeaudtothe|deas
theyputsueTobettetv|ewthequest|ouAgambeutakesalough|stot|cal
stepbackwatd.As|swellkuowu,llatotecommeudeds|ugulattteatmeut
fottheatt|st|uh|s|dealtepubl|c. Shouldauatt|stappeat|uthattepubl|c,
hewastobepa|dtheh|ghesttespects.hewastobeauo|utedw|thmytth,
ctowued, pta|sedaudtheuledfotthoutofthec|ty'sgates Th|swasuot
becausellatolackedseus|t|v|tyto,ottespectfot,attaud|tsaudleuces Ou
theconttaty, hlsptesct|ptlonsseemtohave stemmedftomh|svetyseu-
slt|v|ty Followlugaucleuttumot,llatofouudhlsph|losophlcalvocat|ou
/r rts Sake t
l uthesamefashlouas Agambeu-byteuouuc|ugaueatl|et,poet|coue.t
lssaldthatouedaytheyouugdtamat|cpoetwasttavets|ngauAthen|n
squatewheuheheatdthevolceofSoctates. Hel|steued, audtheuweut
home, butued thettagedleshehad beeu compos|ug, aud becameaph|-
losophet.Atthad, luhlsvlew,suchpowetthat|t couldmakethewotse
appeatthebettetteasou,audblutthelluesthatdlvldedfactftomhct|ou.
Fotthlsteasou,ltwastobefeated.

ot oulylullatos daybutalso fotmllleuulatocome,|uWestetn

dlscusslousofattltwastheaudleucethatwasdesct|bedastuuu|ugat|sk
lutheexpetleuceofthewotkofatt-thesameaud|eucethatwassubect
towhatllatocalleddlvluemaduess"AsAgambeush|stot|calaualys|s|n
Ibe Man wtbut Cntent demousttatesouedoesuotofteuhudmodetu
audleucessubjecttodlvluemaduess, audthepass|outhatchatactet|ed
theautlquetespousetothewotkofatthaslatgelyd|sappeatedftomthe
coutempotaty stage Audleuces maycome lu equal uumbets, but they
comewlthmuchdlffeteutldeasaudexpectat|ous.ostatethemattetw|th
maxlmalslmpllclty, theyseemtohavegtowucalmetaudcoolet. 8ethat
asltmay,thedlvluemaduessthatwasaulutegtalpattoftheexpet|euceof
thewotkofatthasuotslmplydlsappeated. ustead,|thas,|uAgambeus
wotds, mlgtated." fa dlvlue maduess assoclatedwlth thewotkofatt
lsstllltobefouudtoday, ltlsto befouuduot|utheaud|eucebu|uthe
arnt, pettlhedbythetettlfylugwhlteuessoftheblaukpageotsttuggl|ug
agalustvloleutfotcesto|llugwlthlu. umodetut|mes,|t|suolougetthe
putveyotsbutthecreatrs ofattwhoatesubecttoth|sd|v|uefteuy, aud
oueueedoulythlukofHldetllu,lmbaud,aud|etschefotptom|ueut
lustauces. ftheexttem|tyofauGoghsselfmut|lat|ou|stheexcept|ou
tathetthau the tule, the ldea ofthe modetu att|st do|ug battlew|th a
lacetatlugfotcesoastoemetgevlctotlousw|ththecompletedwotk|suot,
audltlsthlshlstotlcalmlgtatlou"thatAgambeufollowsto|uqu|te|uto
attsotlglualstatusaudthemeausfottegalulug|t.
At z
At thlspolutluhlsluvestlgatlouAgambeusquestlouhasbecomea
slmpleoue.WhathappeuedbetweeullatosaudHegelsequallyptofouud
teactloustothepowetofattheauswetAgambeuoffetslsthatwhat|u-
tetveued lswhathe lsseeklugto desttoy" aestbencs. otAgambeu, the
,z rArtSa/c
dlsclpllueofaesthetlcsembodlesthlscoollugofattlstlcpasslous. Achap-
tetofIhcan theatCentcntlstltled"TheMauofTasteaudtheDa-
lectlcoftheDlvlde."ltmakesptogtammatlcallycleatthatthedocttueof
tastchasbtoughtaboutadlvlslou-otluAgambeu'smoteexttemetetm,
/ccratien-outexpetleuceofthewotkofatt.Whatlsthlslacetatlou
thatAgambeuassoclateswlththemauoftaste`To auswetthlsquestlou
aud theteby uudetstaud the ystlfylugtltle ofthls chaptet, we ueed to
tutuutsttothetltleofthewotkofwhlchltlsapatt.Who ls thls tltulat
mauwlthoutcouteut`Theauswetlsthcartist.AsAgambeutellshlstead-
et, Theattlstlsthemauwlthoutcouteut" ,WC,, y| ). Thls

eslgua-
tlou, howevet, ls byuo meaus adeuuuclatotyoue. Agambeu lsuotdlag-
uoslug asldeeffectofattsuchas ldetot'saradexcdacemicn,whete
the actot ls able to lucatuate such avatlety ofchatactets becausehehas
uosluglechatactetofhlsowu.Agambeu'sattlstlsamauwlthoutcouteut
uotbecauseofapsychologlcaldeucltbutbecauseofahlstotlcaldevelop-
meut. Hehasuotalways beeuwlthoutcouteut-hehasbeeudeptlvedof
ltbyahlstotlcalshlft,bythemauoftasteaudthelacetatlugdlalectlcthat
hehasdeveloped.
FotAgambeupattlculatly lu the essays leadlug up to the publl-
catlou of Ihcan theat Centcnt- hgute ofAutoulAttaud ls
powetfullytepteseutatlveofthlsstateofaffalts. luauessayftomi,the
tweuty-foutyeatoldAgambeuevokes"thlsimasscluoutcultutewhlchls
thewotkofAutoulAttaud",SG,,). TheldeaofAttauddlaguoslugaud
deuouuclugadeslccatedvlslouofcultuteaudstaudlugatatutulugpout
luthehlstotyofattlsvolcedbyAgambeuluauothetessay,ftomthatsame
yeat,luwhlchheseesthepatadoxofthewotkofatt"teachltsdeadspotlu
thewotkofAttaud",l8, ) .lu IhcIhcatcrandItsDea//c,Attaudtalks
of"theseuselessshtluklugtowhlchwehavesubjectedoutldeaofcultute"
audglvesacleatludlcatlouofblame."Whatledustoloseoutcultutels
theWestetuldeaofatt" ,i,i,,i).luspltedbytheludlgeuouscultutes
ofexlco ,justasauothethgutelmpottauttoAgambeu,AbyWatbutg,
wasluspltedbytheHopllutheAmetlcausouthwest),Attaudptoclalmed
that"auautheutlccultuteopposestooutdlslutetested dintrcssc| aud
luett ldea ofatt oue that ls maglcalaudvloleutly egotstthat ls, oue
that ls lutetested intcssc| " ,i, i;) . Thls same ptlmal passlou aud
sttldeutdeuuuclatloulsfouudluauothethgutelmpottautto theyouug
Agambeulasollul Although lasollul ls uowhete clted luAgambeu's
H /r rts Sake ] ]
htstwotk,echoesof hlsvloleutctltlclsmofWestetucultuteaudwhathe
sawasltsadultetatedldeaofattmaybeheatdlultscatdlualtheme
Wlth the tlse ofmodetu aesthetlcs the mau oftaste was asked to
j udgefotm ludepeudeutlyofcouteut, audthusauewdlstauce-awl
asauewdlvlslou-wasluttoducedlutotheexpetleuceofthewotkofatt
hemlgtatlouofdlvluemaduessftomaudleucetoattlstthatAgambeu
obsetveslsamlgtatlouhettacesto theluttoductlouoftheldeaofmte.
Wheuthlslutauglbleseuslblllty, thlsuewfaculty,eutetedthelutlectual
sceue lu the seveuteeuth aud elghteeuth ceututles ,ltwas, asAgameu
sttesses, a coucept qulte fotelgu to eatllet ceututles, lt btoughtwlth lt
wldeteachlug lmpllcatlous ,a polut Agambeu also sttesses lu hls loug
euttyou taste fot the Eluaudl Enqc/edm). he ldea thatAttaudwas
eudeavotlugtocouutetluhls"lutetested"ldeaofattlsthatofaut,who
sttessed"dlslutetested"j udgmeut.lu Ibe Crinque e/ ]udgent, autde-
huestasteasfollows " Iaste lstheabllltytoj udgeauobject, otawayof
pteseutluglt, bymeausofallklugotdlsllklugdeeeid e/ ad interest ebne
a//es Interesse] . heobj ectofsuchallkluglscalledbeautlful",aut i;|
:, _ ,cz] ,ltallcsluotlglual).hedlvldlugdlalectlctowhlchAgambeu
tefetslsouethat,thtoughlts"ludlffeteuce,"opeusatlbetweeuattaud
ltspubllc.Looklugatthebteakthls"lacetatlug"dlalectlcluttoducedluto
thehlstotyofatt,Agambeuwtltesthat"theotlglualuultyofthewotkof
atthasbeeushatteted,leavlugoutheouesldeaethetlcj udgmeutaudou
theothetattlstlcsubj ectlvltywlthoutcouteut",MW,6 ;| ,ttausla-
tloumodlhed).Hetewehavetheheattofthedlvlslou,audtheheattof
theptoblemthataesthetlcstepteseutsfotAgambeu-awellasthetatlo-
ualefotlts"desttuctlou."luAgambeu'svlew,acousequeuceofthetlseof
tasteaudtheatteudautdlsclpllueofaesthetlcshasbeeutodlstaucefotm
ftomcouteutaudaudleuceftomattlst-audlusodolug, todlssolvethe
otlglualuultyofthewotkofatt.ltlsluthlsseusethatAgambeuspeaksof
a"mlgtatlouthatwllltake theattlst] ftomthellvedtextuteofsocletyto
thehypetboteauuomau'slaudofaesthetlcs" ,MWI6 z| , ttauslatlou
modlhed. heexlgeuclesofthedocttlueofcool,teBectlvetasteputluto
motlou a ptocess thtoughwhlch the couuectlou ofattlt aud audleuce
toacommou"llvedtextute"lslost.hecalltotehueaudputlattlstlc
judgmeutaudtolsolateafotmalcteatlveptluclpleftomattadltloualbody
ofcultutal couteuts has pushedAgambeu'sattlstuotth, fotclughlm to
abaudou alougthewaymoteaudmoteofthecouteutsofhlscultuteaud
thetoolsofhlsctaft.
|
rHrtSa/c
Th|sfotcedem|gtat|ouofthe att|st|swhat, fotAgambeu,la|dthe
h|stot|caloas|sfotHegel'sptesc|eutcla|mthatatt|sath|ugofthepast,
uot |utheseusethatatt has ceasedto beptoduced audvalued, out |u
that|thasceasedtoshapeoutcultute-that|tl|vesou|uthepteseutas
a th|ngofthe past. lufact, |t makes petfectseusefot Hegel's Lccrcs
enHcsthcticsto auuouucethatatt|s ath|ugofthepast,fot|uAgamoeu's
v|ew|twasptec|selyoftheesseuceofthet|seoftasteaudthed|sc|pl|ueof
aesthet|csto effectsuchachauge-tofteezeatt|u|tst|me, tomake|ta
th|ugofoutpastw|thnol|v|ng,shap|ng,ot|g|ualtelat|outooutpteseut.
lt |s th|s assessmeut that ledAgamoeu to quote a d|ffeteut declatat|ou
ftomHegel 'sHcsthctics
Mo contcnt, no lorm, is any loncr immcdiatcly idcntical with thc inwardncs,
thcnaturc, thc unconscioussubtantial csscncc olthcartist, cvcry matcrial ma
bc indicrcnt to him ilonlyit docs notcontradictthc lormallawolbcingim-
ply bcautilul andcapablcolartistictrcatmcnt. 1oday thcrc isno matcrialwhich
standsinandlor itscllabovcthisrclativity andcvcniloncmattcrbcraicdabovc
it, stillthcrcisatlcastnoabsolutcnccdloritrcprcscntationbyart. Hcgclip;;a,
6ocitcdbyAgambcninMWC6;;;6)]
TakugapageftomHe|deggetstypogtaphy,Agamoeutheuwt|tes,"lfwe
wautedto exptess th|s chatactet|st|cw|th afotmula, we couldwt|te that
ct|t|calj udgmeutth|uksattas3 ,MWC,|z66] ) .
rigin Status
AsAgambeupo|utsou,whathasledus|umodetut|mesto"th|uk
attas |sthelossofcouuect|outotheeriginofthewotkofattaudto
|ts"ot|g|ualsttuctute."lfouedayatt|alshouldbelauuchedaga|ustct|t-
|c|sm," wt|tesAgambeu, the accusat|ou aga|ustwh|ch |t would leastbe
abletodefeud|tselfwouldbethatofau|usufhc|eutselfct|t|c|sm,ofhav-
|ug"ueglectedto|utettogate|tselfasto|tsowuot|g|usaud|tsowumeau-
|ng",MWC,|66] ,ttauslat|oumod|hed) .Whattema|usfotct|t|c|sm|u
thewakeofth|sdamage|stotetututothoseot|g|us.W|th|tsattackou
thedeletet|ous effectsofwhatvat|ouscoutempotatyct|t|cshave tetmed
au "aesthet|c|deology" ot"|deologyoftheaesthet|c," audouthat|deol-
ogy'saccotd|ugofapt|matyplaceto"d|s|utetesteduess,"thehtstpattof
Agambeu's|uqu|tytesemblesothetct|t|quesofth|saesthet|chet|tage.H|s
atgumeut|satt|mesclosetol|ette8outd|eu'sdeuuuc|at|ouofthe|deaof
H /r Sake
tasteaudoftheteckless accumulatlouofcultutalcap|tal|uaut|auaes
thetlcs,justasltlsatothetpolutsclosetoauldeMau'scomat|ugofau
aesthetlcldeology"outhegtouudsthatltscla|mstoep|stemolog|caluul-
tyaudputltyateultlmatelyfouudedoullugulstlcmystlhcat|ous.t|sat
thlspolut,howeet,thatAgambeudletges,tutu|ugtoquestlousofatt|s-
tlcotlglualltyoldetaudmotefuudameutalthauthet|seofthedlsc|pllue
ofaesthetlcs.
Asameaustowatdtetutulugtotheseotlglus,Agameuasks,"What
doesrigna/i meau'' ,MWC, 6r r| ,ltallcsluotlglual). Heeglush|s
auswetluuegatlefashlou, deslguatlugallthatotlgluallty|suot,po|ut-
lugoutthattheotlglualltyofthewotkofatt|suotl|m|tedto|tse|ug
autheutlc,"uulque,"otdlffeteutftomallothets."heotlg|ual|tyhe|s
almlug to uudetstaud ttausceuds these mote techulcaldehult|ous, aud
hlshtstposltleludlcatlouofhowhemeaustoauswetth|squestlou|sthe
statemeutOtlglualltymeausptoxlmltytotheot|glu."8ythlstokeu,au
otlglualwotkofattlssobylttueoftemalulug| lupetpetualptoxlm
lty" to thatotlglu ,MWC, 6r r|). ltlscleatftomthecoutextthatjust
asAgambeuwasuot thluklugofthe wotk's uulqueuess, he ls also uot
thluklugelthetofahlstotlcalotlgluofattuestledotueglectedsomewhete
lu the fat teaches ofout aleollthlcpast, otofthe telated seatch fot a
Datwlulauexplauatlouofthesutlalaluethatmlghtacctuetaspecles
otacultutethatcteatesaudaluesattlstlcactllty.heotlg|u|uquestlou
doesuotpolutbacktoatemotepast-audlufactdoesuotpo|uttothe
pastat all. FotAgambeu, followlugthe coucept|ous ofoth He|egget
aud8euj amlu, otlglulsuotthatwhlch lsdeadaudmouumeutal|edlu
thepast,utthatwhlchlsdyuamlcaudalle|uthepteseut.
atadoxlcallyeuough,oueofthethlugsthathas,luAgameu'slew,
made theotlgluofthewotkofatt so dlfhculttouudetstaud|s egnal-
i ltself-ot at leastwhat ls commoulyuudetstood as such. Agameu
ldeutlheswhathecallsa" dogmaofotlgluallty"auatomllugmoemeut
btoughtaboutbytheattlst'ssepatatlouftomacommoubodyofcultutl
matetlal to bettausmltted thtough thewotkofatt. hept|cepa|dfot
thlsotlglualltyls acouuectlou etweeu attlstaudpul|c, wh|chled, lu
Agambeu'saualysls,totheoldlugofthe"commouspace"luwh|chattlsts
hadfotmetlywotked. FotAgambeu, eetythlugthat|usomewaycou-
stltuted the commouspace /ug cmune] luwhlchthepetsoual|tles of
dlffeteutattlstsmetluallluguultyluotdettheutoassume,wlthluthe
sttlctutesofthlscommoumold,theltuumlstakablephysloguomyecame
H
a] |uthepejotat|veseuse",MWC, z] ,em-
phas|s|uot|g|ual) .TheEugl|shttauslatotteudetsthepassagewell,but|u
do|ugsooccludesthefactthatthetetms|uquest|ouaud
-ate the same tetm, aud the same space , ).
Th|s|suotal|ghtheattedpuuouAgambeu'spatt,|t|sah|stot|cald|ag-
uos|scoucetu|ugthelossof"al|v|uguu|ty."Theuewstatusoftheatt|st
btoughtaboutbythet|seofaesthet|csaudthespteadofacoucept|ouof
att|uwh|chcommoucouteutaudcommoucteat|ouatedevalued|sfot
Agambeuoueofthekeystepstowatdoutcoutempotatybl|uduessto"the
ot|g|ualsttuctuteofthewotkofatt."
lumodetut|mes,the"spl|t|uthesp|t|tuall|feoftheatt|st" ,MWC
z ] ) , thelossofcommoufotms aud ofacommouttad|t|outhem|-
gtat|ou |uto the at|d spaces ofd|s|utetested aesthet|cshas led, ou the
ouehaud,tosuchexttemeatt|st|cptact|cesasthoseofpopattaud,outhe
othet,toDuchamp's"teadymades" lubothcases, thechaugeswtought
|u the status ofot|g|ual|ty aud att|st|c expet|euce btought about s|ugu-
latly wotks ofatt po|ut|ugaboveall to th|s sp|t|tual spl|t Fot
Agambeu, oulybyuudetstaud|ugaudassum|ugthecousequeucesofthe
sttaugelyd|v|dedstatusofthewotkofatt|ucoutempotatysoc|ety|sthete
auyhope fotescap|ugftomwhat he calls "the swamp ofaesthet|cs aud
techuology"audfot"testot|ug] theot|g|uald|meus|ouofmauk|ud'spo-
et|cstatus" ,MWC ] , ttauslat|oumod|hed)aud-
atepteseutedasthoughtheyatewotk|ugtogethet, audthete|saseuse
|uwh|ch,fotAgambeu,theyate. Hedoesuotfeeltheueedtoclat|fot
h|steadetsthat"techuology"|suot|uauyuattowseusetoblame,audthat
he|s us|ugthetetm|uafash|ous|m|lattothewayHe|deggetd|d,most
famously|u h|s "The uest|ou ofTechuology") as a syuouym fot au
|usufhc|eutlyselfteRect|ve tat|oual|tysofocusedou |tcaudo that
|tfa|lstoask|tshouldbedoue lt|sth|ssamecoldcalculat|ouof
tat|oualposs|b|l|t|esd|votced ,otal|euated) ftomal|vedtelat|outo oue's
wotldthatAgambeusees|uthed|sc|pl|ueofaesthet|cs
The "ot|g|ual d|meus|ou" that Agambeu opposes to these fotces
tefets to au ot|g|u ofa complex uatute. The pt|uc|pal d|fhculty|u uu-
detstaud|ugth|sd|meus|ou|sthat|tpo|utsatoucetoau aud
a ot|g|u Theot|g|ual|ty|uquest|ou|stheuuotmetelyaR|c
et|ugpo|utou a h|stot|cal hot|zoube |t auc|eutGteece otpteh|stot|c
Lascauxbut a cultutal aud couceptual space that we m|ght all shate
audw|thwh|chmodetusoc|et|eshaveptogtess|velyteudedtolosetouch.
/r rts Sa/e ,)
Agambeu'sct|t|c|sm|stheuact|t|c|smofah|stot|callyobsetvaleph|lo-
soph|calptoblem,audh|sct|t|queofaesthet|cs,audtechuology) |sact|-
t|queofmodetucoucept|ousoftat|oual|ty.
The mot|vat|ou fot th|s aualys|s |s that whatAgameu calls, |u a
gtaud|loqueutphtase, the poet|cstatusofmau oueatth" has beeulost
ftomv|ew.8utwhat|sth|sstatusaudhowatewetoatta|u|tAteweallto
becomepoetslsAgambeuevok|ugthedteamofacompletegeuetal|at|ou
oftheatt|st|cptocess l|ke thatadvocatedbyAudyWatholTheauswet
to theselattettwo quest|ous|scleatly ne. Agambeu|suottefett|ugto a
bellett|st|cEdeutowh|chwem|ghtalltetutu,uottoateact|ouatycallfot
asoc|ety|uwh|chhumau|st|ceducat|ouhasabsolutept|deofplace.What
heis tefett|ugto|ssometh|ugatoucemotesweep|ugauds|mplet. What
|scetta|u,"wt|tesAgambeu, |sthatthewotkofatt|suolouget . . . the
eseut|al measuteofmau'sdwell|ugou eatth,wh|ch,ptec|selybecause|t
bu|ldsaudmakesposs|bletheactofdwell|ug,hasue|thetauautouomous
spheteuot a patt|culat |deut|ty, but |s a compeud|um audteBect|ou of
theeutltehumauwotld",MWC,,, ,i| ) . FotAgambeuthetewasat|me,
atatt'sGteekbeg|uu|ugs,"wheutheatt|stwasseeuastheshapetofout
cultutalwotld,sett|ug|tsl|m|tsaudg|v|ug|tfotm-at|mewheutheatt-
|stst|llpossessedthewoudetfulauduucauuypowetofmak|ugthewotld
appeat,of reducing be|ugaudthewod|uthewotk" ,MW,,|,| ,|tal-
|cs|uot|g|ual, ttauslat|ou mod|hed) . 8utatthaslost th|s status audhas
cousequeutlybeeudt|veu|uto auomau'slaudofhypettat|oual|edaud
d|s|utetested apptec|at|ou. lu the age ofaesthet|cs-the eta ofd|s|utet-
estedatt|st|cjudgmeut-atthasbeeusafelycotdouedofaudthepass|ou
audhteofauautheut|cexpet|euceofthewotkofatthas,|uasttaugeh|s-
tot|caltutu,m|gtated"ftomthepubl|csphetetotheatt|st'sstud|o.Att
cout|uuestoeujoyacetta|uptest|ge, butatthept|ceofa l|v|uguu|"
w|th|tsaud|euce. Th|s aud|euce gtauts attcultutal cap|tal but doesuot
expet|euce|t|uafashlouthatwould allow|ttoplayafuudameutalaud
shap|ugtole|uthe|texpet|euceofthewotld.Att|scetta|ulyuolougetthe
meausthtoughwh|chtheytakethemeasuteofthe|twold,"audst|llless
acompeud|umaudteBect|ouoftheeut|tehumauwotld."

ThegteatpowetthatAgambeu gtauts to the Gteek beg|uu|ugsof

Westetuthought,aswellastothe|deasoftak|ugthe esseut|almeasute
ofmau'sdwell|ugoueatth" audofthewotkofatt"reducing be|ugaud
thewold|uthewotk"shateaptoveuauceofwh|chwehavealteadyhad
sevetalgl|mpses.Thefuudameutaldwell|ug"towh|chAgambeualludes
,
rArtSa/c
hetecleatlyevokesHeldegget' suseofthe tetmlusuchsemlualessaysas
8ulldlugDwelllugThluklug") . ClosettoAgambeu'stoplclsHeldegget's
accouutofatt'svocatlouluTheOtlgluoftheWotkofAtt"ttlshls
totyluthe esseutlal seuse thatltfouudshlstoty" HeldeggetGA, ,. ,).
FotHeldegget,attisaudanhlstotyluthatltlsluthewotkofattthat
thespaceofhumuepetleucehtsthudsltstetms,fotms,audfuuctlous.
luthlsseusetheotlgluofthewotkofattlstheotlgluofepetleuce,the
otlgluofcultutalfotmsaudactlvltlessuchashlstoty).Heldegget'sotlglu
ofthewotkofatt could ulte lltetallyuot bemote fuudameutal, fotlt
cattleswlthltthepowetofptoduclugbelugaudthewotldluthewotk."
Thls, fotHeldeggetaswellasfotAgambeu,lsthetolethatattplayedfot
theGteeks,audthatlthasceasedtoplayfotus.
Rhythm, Structure, and Structuralism
lnllghtofthesetematks, ltshouldcomeasuosutptlsethatasub
seueutchaptetof IhcMan witheatCentcntbeatsthetltleTheOtlgl
ualSttuctuteoftheWotkofAtt.Tutulugftomtheldeaoferigntothat
ofstractarcAgambeuusesthe lattettetm to guldethe uetstageofhls
luulty. Thechaptetbegluswlth a tematkHldetllu made dutlug the
yeats he speut suuk-otelevated-lu maduess thatwas takeu dowu by
thehaudofateveteutvlsltot.vetythluglsthythm, theeutltedestluyof
mau lsoueheaveulythythm,justasevetywotkofattlsouethythm, aud
evetythlugswlugsftom the poetlzlugllps ofthe god" clted luMWC,
( i,|). Agambeu takes thls Delphlc-souudluguttetauce setlously, e-
amluesltclosely, audelectsthlsthythm"tobehlsguldlugthteadluhls
seatchfotauotlglualsttuctuteofthewotkofatt.
He beglus by ttaclug the tetm rhthm back to Atlstotle's Phsics,
whetethelattetemployslttodehueuothluglessthaunarcltselClosely
eamlulugAtlstotlestetmluologlcalcholce,Agambeucoucludesthatfot
Atlstotlethythmlsstracarc, scheme,luopposltloutoelemeutal,luattlc-
ulateuatute" MWC,y , ltallcsluotlglual) . udetstoodftomthls
petspectlve," hecoutluues, Hldetllu's seuteucewouldmeauthatevety
wotkofattlsauuluesttuctute,audwouldthetefotelmplyaulutetpteta-
tlouoftheotlglualbelugofthewotkofattas. . . sttuctute" ttauslatlou
modlhed) .ThlseuatlouleadsAgambeutothecoucluslouthatthemys-
tetyofattlstlc rhthmlsthesameasthemystetyofattlstlc stracrc lf
/rHrtSa/e ,
thlsl sttue,"Agambeutheusays,"Hldetl|u'sstatemeutwouldalsopo|ut
towatdthepathtakeubycoutempotatyct|t|c|smwhete-abaudou|ugthe
tettalu ofttadlt|oual aesthetlcs-|t seeks the sttuctutes' ofthewotkof
att",MWC,,i||i|,.
Fottheteadetluiothetefeteucewouldhavebeeuuumlstakable
Sttuctutallstthoughtwasthtlvlug-touotetwotepteseutat|veexamples,
olaud 8atthes's SaudTvetauTodotov's IheantancH Scmra/
Hreach te a Litera Cenrewete both publ|shed that yeat-aud few
coutempotatyteadetswouldhave mlssedAgambeu's tefeteuce.athet
thau tutulugto theleadets ofthls dlspatate school ofthought-hgutes
suchasAlthusset,8atthes,ettlda,Foucault,acau,audev|Sttass
Agambeuwtylycltesauothetaudfatoldetteuchsoutcefotadehu|t|ou
ofsctore alaude's dlct|ouatyofph|losophypubl|shed|ui Thete
Agambeu huds the classlcal dehu|tlou "sttuctute . . |s a whole that
coutalus somethlugmote thau the slmple sum of|ts patts" ,C,
i|,] ). "lfweuowobsetvemotecloselytheusethatcoutempotatyct|t|clsm
makes ofthls wotd sttuctute] ," Agambeu cout|uues, aga|u |ud|tectly
butcleatlytefettlughls teadetsto thesttuctutal|staudpoststtuctutal|st
thoughtoftheday, "weuotlcethatthetelslultasubstaut|alamb|gu|ty,
such that sttuctute'deslguatessomelmes the ptlmeaudltteduc|bleele-
meut ofthe object lu questlou ,lts elemeutal sttuctute), audsomet|mes
whatcausestheeusembletobewhatltls,that|s,somethlugmotethau
the sum oflts patts)" ,MWC, i|,| ). At|stotlehadalteadyuoted
auluhultetegtessluth|swayofth|uk|ug, audAgambeutecalls|thete
evlslugAtlstotle'sct|tlclsmfotmodetut|mes auduse, Agambeu l|keus
sttuctutallststoythagoteauswhofa|ledtoheedthelog|cal|ucous|steucy
polutedouttothem.Theythagoteauscous|detedsttuctutetobesome-
thlugmote thauthesumofltssttuctuted patts, but|twas atguedtht
theydldsoas|fthlsctweteslmplyouemotepattofasttuctutalwhole,
audthetebyfelllutoauluhultetegtess |u the|tspeculat|ousousttuctute.
Agambeu'sshatpeyefotaualogyseesapatallelbetweeutheythagoteaus
ofautlqultyaudthesttuctutallstsofh|sday To |ud|cate, howevet, that
hls goallsuotto |solate shottcomlugs|u themovemeutofth|uketswho
wetetheu|uvogue,Agambeuspeclhesthat"th|samblgu|ty|suotduetoa
s|mplelmptecls|ouotauatb|ttat|uessouthepattofthescholatswhouse
thewotdsrucmretathet,|tlsthecousequeuceofad|fhcultyalteadyob-
setvedbyAt|stotle",MWC,i|,|). Themodetuptoblemly|ugbeh|ud
debatesaboutsttuctutallsmate,fotAgambeu,auc|eutptoblemsdeal|ug
o rHrtSa/c
wlththedlfhculttaskofcoucelvlugpteclselythatwhlchhehlmselfhasset
outtottytouudetstaud.theotlglualsttuctuteofthewotkofatt.
The dlfhcultles ofgllmpslug thls sttuctute ledAgambeubackto
poetlcthythm aud thesttuctutesltscaus. lu auageofdlslutetestedaes
thetlcsthathasschooledusludlstauceaudludlffeteuce,wehave,fothlm,
losttouchwlththeaspectluthewotkofattthatfuudameutallyshapeda
peopleaudacultute-theaspectofwotksofatt thatestabllshed, luthe
luRueutlalmetaphotlcalcommuue ofHeldegget's thought, a

dwelllug,"
ahouse,"audahabltatlou"luwhlchmaucouldexpetleucethecouteuts
ofhlscultuteluauotlglual "way. Theotlglualsttuctuteofthewotkof
attlsuowobscuted,"wtltesAgambeu, aud mau tlskslosluguotslmply
apleceofcultutalwealth,howevetpteclous, auduoteveutheptlvlleged
exptesslouofhlscteatlveeuetg.ltlsthevetyspaceofhlswotld,luwhlch
audoulyluwhlchbecauhudhlmselfasmauaudasbelugcapableofac
tlouaudkuowledge" ,MWC,iozi,,,] ). Aesthetlcs'domluautmodeof
coucelvlugattasatt"hasledtothelossofatt'stoleasthatwhlchguldes
tbe ptoject oftaklug tbe otlglual measute ofmau" ,MWC, ioy i,, )
Agambeucleatlyseessttuctutallsmashavlugledtomuch,butwhatlthas
netledtolsauygteatetpoteutlalfottecovetlugtheotlglualthythmhels
followlug.
Danger and Rescue
Asuotedeatllet,Agambeullkeusatttoaplauetthattutustowatd
usoulyltsdatkslde."Thlsstaudluglutbeshadowofatttecallsthecel
ebtatedcoucluslouwlthwhlchAdotuoopeushlsHcsthctic Ihce lthas
becomeapolutofselfevldeucethatuothlugthatcoucetusattlsauylou
getamattetofselfevldeuceSc//socrstnd/ich/cit ,elthetlultstelatlouto
ltselfotlultstelatloutothewhole,auduoteveulultstlghttoexlst ihr
Existcnzrccht ,AdotuoGS;.).Agambeu'sludlctmeutofoutcutteutvl
slou aud expetleuce ofattlsuo less extteme, audllkeAdotuo he sees a
gllmmet oftedemptlou emauatlug ftom the same att that ls so lmpet
lled. Coucetulugatt audwhatlsat stake lult,Adotuowtote elsewhete,
attmeaus. . . toteslstthecoutseofawotldthatuuceasluglyholdsaguu
to mauklud's chest",AdotuoGS, ii. iy). Steudhalsawpolltlcsluawotk
ofattasllkeaplstolhteddutlugacoucett. FotAdotuo,thefotcesofa
wotldotdetteudlugtowatdthetotalltatlauhave takeu thetoom audate
/rHrtSa/e |i
holdlughostages. oteslstthetututhathlstotylstaklugaudthathasall
ofhumaultylu lts datk slghts ls the lmpetatlve hls wotkfollowsaud
thatattoffetsptlvllegedmeausofldeutllug.heglobalstakesthatAg-
ambeusetsfotatt ate uolessluhlshtstbook,buthlsmeausofteachlug
thematedleteut.
Agambeu'smauwlthoutcouteutls,ashestates,theattlst. Hlsaualy-
sestakehlsteadetthtoughthetlseofaesthetlcs,theseatchfotacoucealed
thythm aud sttuctute, the ldeallatlou ofotlgluallty, audthe ecllpseof
otlglus. 8utdespltethlsBuldsuccesslouofatgumeuts, theteadetmlght
stlllaskwhatthetealalmofhlsluvestlgatlouls. sthegoalfottheattlst
to teclalm these lost cultutal couteuts Agambeu makes cleat that the
auswetto thls questlou ls ne. hete ls, howevet, auothetposslblllty. u
i,,,HauuahAteudtwtoteof how"pteseuttealltles"seemtohavebtought
about"aglobalpteseutwlthoutacommoupast,"whlchthteateusto"teu-
detlttelevautallttadltlousaudallpattlculatpasthlstotles" ,Ateudti,
). lu au essay eutltled "tadltlou aud the Modetu Age," ftom those
sameyeats,shewtote,"omostpeopletodaythlscultutelooksllkeaheld
oftuluswhlch, fat ftom belug able to clalm auyauthotlty, cahatdly
commaud thelt lutetest. ls fact may be deplotable, butlmpllclt lu lt
ls thegteatchaucetolookupouthepastwltheyes uudlsttactedbyauy
ttadltlou,wlthadltectuesswhlchhasdlsappeatedftomccldeutaltead-
lug aud heatlug" ,Ateudt i6i zz) Wtltlug almost a decade latet,
Agambeuseesauesseutlallyuuchaugedstateofaffalts.uauuupubllshed
lettetftomthesameyeatas IheManitheutCentent,Agambeuwtoteto
Ateudttoexptesshlsadmltatlou,sttesslughow"dlscovetlugyoutbooks
tepteseutedadeclslveexpetleucefotme| ,"audthlsexpetleuceseemstled
toateallatloucoucetuluguotoulyalossofttadltloubtalsotheuuex-
pectedposslbllltyfotchaugethatthlslossbtoughtwlthlt

luthehualchaptetofIheMan theutCententAgambeufocuses
outheldeaoftradinenaudhuds,asAteudtdldbefotehlm,that"ttadl-
tlous audpattlculat pasthlstotles" ludeedseem tohave beeu "teudeted
lttelevaut."Heuotesthatmauhas" losthlsabllltytoapptoptlatehlshls-
totlcalspace,thecouctetespaceofhlsactlouaudkuowledge",MW,
;i|) . 8utustastheuegatlvesldeofthedlaguoslstemaluscoustautluthe
wotksofthluketsasdlvetseasHeldegget,Adotuo,Ateudt,audAgambeu,
sotoodoesaposltlvepoteutlal-a"chauce,"asAteudtsays,"tolookupou
thepastwltheyesuudlsttactedbyauyttadltlou,wltha drectesswhlch
has dlsappeated ftom ccldeutal teadlug aud heatlug."To uudetstaud
z rHrtSa/c
thls chauce fot a uew dltectuess,Agambeu heatkeus back, howevet, to
auothet,moteattlstlcmodel.
8efote couttol ovet the thythms of hls owu thought left hlm,
Hldetlluwtotelulatmos"Hldetllui,i;;)
ahist
ndschucrXH/asscndcrCett
a/crChrut, uchst
DasRcncndcauch.
Mcar
andhardtograsp isthcGod
Yctwhcrcthcrcisdangcr,alsogrows
thatwhich savcs.
Hldetllu's locatlou oftescue aud tedemptlou lu lmmedlate ptolmlty
to the dauget to whlch theymlght tespoud ls au lutolcatlug ldea aud
has captlvated mauy thlukets. FotAgambeu's htst phllosophlcal mastet
lt became au attlcle offalth. lu The uestlou CoucetulugTechuolo
, Heldeggetlutetptetsthesesame llues as saylug, lutechuology's es
seucegtowscoucealedthatwhlchmaytedeemusftomlt"HeldeggetGA,
;. z) . luthecloslugwotdsofthatsameessay, Heldeggetmakes eatthat
thlslutlmateptolmltyofdaugetaudtescuelsuotllmltedtotheuestlou
oftechuology. MaklugHldetllu's ptluclplehlsowu,hewtltesthat he
closetwecometothedauget,themote btlghtlydothewayslutothesav
lug powet beglu to shlue" Heldegget GA, ;. y iy, yi) . Adotuo aud
Hotkhelmet,uoftleudsof Heldeggetothlsoutology, alsoapptovluglyclte
audelabotateouthesesamelluesftomHldetllu'slatmos"luthelt
/ccceEn/ightcnmcntseeAotuoGS, y. ,) .
Thls ldeaofutgeucyleads Heldegget,asltdldothets,toclalmthat
phllosophyat ltshlghestlstheptoductofdaugetoustlmes, audtowtlte
thattheuestlou abouttheuatuteofsomethlugawakeusatthosetlmes
wheuthat,whoseuatutelsbeluguestloued, hasbecomeobscutedaud
coufused,wheuatthesametlmethetelatloushlpofmeutowhatlsbelug
uestlouedhasbecomeuucettaluothaseveubeeushatteted"Heldegget
i,, y). lu hatAteloets Fot`" Heldeggetoffetsyetauotheteptes
slouofthlsldeaoftedemptlou,golugsofatastospeculatethatenwhete
the daugetgtows ls tedemptlou to besought. lethaps ls auysalvatlou
thatdoesuotemetgeftomtheslteofdaugetbutafutthetsoutceofhatm"
Heldegget GA, , z). What Heldegget sees lu Hldetllu's poem, aud
H/rH |
huds teBected|uthe datkest cotuets ofout coutempotatyaudscape, |s
uot ouy a fa|ut hope but aso a pt|uc|pe ofdyuam|c tevets||l|ty the
gteatetthedauget,thegteatetthepoteut|a|tyfottedempt|vechauge.
Athough|uAgambeudoesuotc|tee|thet
Hdet|u's poem otHe|degget's exegeses, the|t|deasofcatasttophe aud
tedempt|oucouduotmoteptofouudymatk|tscoucus|ou.Aseayas
iAgambeuevokedptec|seyth|sdyuam|c. uthecoutseofd|scuss|ug
Attaud'stheatetaud|tsuusett|ugdoube,AgambeupataphtasesHldetl|
audpta|sesAttaud'sattempttottausfotmau|utoauescapetoute
audtoseeksavat|ouwhetethedauget|sgteatest" SG, 6&). Th|s|deaof
theptox|m|tyofaut|dote topo|souwoudptoveasfuudameutaaudas
ab|d|ugau|deafotAgambeuas|twasfotHe|degget.|ueteeuyeatslatet,
Agambeu addtessedthe |dead|tecty, wt|t|ugthat the capac|tyfot d|a-
ectlcatevetsa|mp|c|t|utheaffectsofaugu|shauddespetat|ou . aud
thatfotHe|deggettema|uedthecustod|ausofthemostexttemeepocha
hope,hastodayost|sptest|ge", oi ;|;| ,ttausat|oumod|hed)
audluabookftomihetefetsto Hdet|u'spt|uc|peofteu|uvoked
byHeldegget,whetethete|sdauget,thetegtowsthesav|ugpowet',R,
;, ] ) . ltlsexactyth|scaac|tyfotd|aect|catevetsa" thatAgambeu
seesasuegectedaudthathe|sask|ugh|steadettoseekout.
oputth|ugs|uthes|mpestposs|betetms,whathasgouesowtoug
hecoutempotatystateofaffa|tsseemstoAgambeusod|tebecauseof
awhoescaeossofttad|t|ou-aossof|v|uguu|ty"betweeupastaud
pteseut, betweeuatt|staudaud|euce.What,theu,|sto ecomeofttad|-
t|ou |u the modetu age Fot bothAteudt audAgambeu, ttad|t|ou uot
ouyeut|ches,uotouyg|vescouteuttoapeopeaudapace,butcauaso
pteseut|tsefasabutdeu,cauasobeudthebacksaudcoudthes|ghof
thosetowhom|t|shaudeddowu.Asatesut,th|s ossofcommouttad|
t|ous thatAteudt|deut|hes t|ugsw|th|tthe uueasy cotoatyofa uew
hedofv|s|ouaudauewposs|b||tyfotwhatshecasd|tectuess."uwhat
m|ghtsuchd|tectuess,suchuew|mmed|acy, cous|st|sthehuaquest|ou
Agambeueudeavotstoauswet|uh|shtstbook.
Construction and Oestruction
Aswehaveseeu,thetecaube|ttedoubtthatHe|deggetpayedthe
toeofgu|defotAgambeu.8utaswehaveasoseeu, hewasuotaoue|u
qq HrArtSa/c
thls tole. o soouet had Agambeu desceuded luto tls tcrra acsthcnca
thautheteappeatedathlssldeasecoudgulde.Waltet8euj amlu. lu oue
ofhlsowueatllestwtltlugs, 8euj amluldeutlhed,aswouldAgambeuau
ludlffeteuce"attheheattofmodetuaesthetlcs,uotlugouabtoadetscale
that the tetm sche/ar stad wisscmcha| setves above all to couceal
adeep-seatedaudwell-vouched-fotludlffeteuce cincningcscsscnc, ocr-
/rgcrtcIndrcnz " 8eujamluGS, z.;).Touudetstaudbsthow8eu
jamluguldes thecouceptualsteps oftheyouugAgambeu ttavetslugthls
tcrraacsthcnca,howevet,wewoulddowelltotetututothecouceptofde
sttuctloudlscussedeatllet.
8eujamlu was uo less lutetested thau Heldeggetlu thellbetatlug
euetglesofdcstracnen,audthlslutetesthaduolessluRueuceouAgambeu
thau dldHeldegget's.AsAgambeuuotedlatet, oue ofthe teasous that
btluglugthetwothluketslutocoutactptovedsoftultfulfothlmwasthe
degteetowhlchtheyemployedslmllataudeveuldeutlcaltetmslutadl
callydlffeteut coutets aud fashlous ,L) As 8euj amlu ecouomlcally
temluds hls teadets lu hls uotes fot a theotyofhlstotlcal kuowledge,"
cousttuctlou' ptesupposes desttuctlou Dcstra/tien| ,i, q;O GS
,. ,;).Seeuluthellghtof8eujamlu'sothetcoucetus,thlsseemluglycom
mouplacetematkacultesauuucommouluteuslty. Asthetltleofoueof
hls essays teRects, 8eujamlu was much lutetested lu The Desttuctlve
Chatactet."Audmoteslugulatly, theldeaofdcstracnenwasfothlmtled
tothatofcrincism,wlththetwocouceptlouseveu belugatpoluts euat
ed, suchaswhete8eujamluwtltesthatthedesttuctlve sdcstra/tioc|
ot ctltlcal elemeut lu the wtltlugofhlstotycomesluto lts owu thtough
theeplodlugofhlstotlcalcoutluulty" 8eujamluGSi. i). luhlsbtll
llaut-aud -Ha/i/itanemschr the wotk that evety Getmau
academlctheuueeded to complete,aftetthedlssettatlou, to uallfot
a ptofessotshlp) , the allegotlcal vlslou that 8eujamlu fouud embodled
lu ueglectedwotksofGetmau8atoue dtamawas chatactetlzedbythe
mauuetluwhlchltdesttoyedtheuultyofsymbollcvlslou.Fot8eujamlu,
theopeuaudavowedattlhclalltyofallegotlcalattwotkedtodesttoythe
hatmoulouscoutetluwhlchsymbolaudsymbollzedwetelmagluedto
metgemystlcallyotgtadelmpetceptlblylutooueauothet. luthestudles
oftechuologlcaladvaucessuchasphotogtaphythat8eujamluuudettook
lutheyeatstheteaftet,theeffectouthewotkofattlutheageofmechaul
calteptoductlouwasadesttuctlou"ofthatwotk'sauta."luhlsessayou
thetevolutlouatyeuetgles hatuessed bytheSutteallsts, 8eujamluwtltes
/rHrtSa/e |,
adm|t|ugly ofhow "the sphete ofpoetty Dichtong| was hete exploded
ftomw|h|u",8euam|uSV z. zo&, GS, z. z)). et|twas|nthe"theotyof
h|stot|calkuowledge"that8euam|ud|duotl|vetocompletethath|s|dea
that"cousttuct|ouptesupposeddesttuct|ou"tookou|tsfullmean|ug
luthesketchedtematksfouud|uthe"onvolut"ofh|sHrcads
reect-tematks thatAgambeusttessed|ut&6 "ueatlyhyyeatslatet
hae lost uoth|ug ofthe|t |utetest fot the pteseut" ,AE, ) -8euam|u
aga|u aud aga|u v|gotously teected "tecousttuct|ous" ofthe past He
makes |t amply cleat both theteaud |u h|s Iheses n the hiseh

Hutethathe|suot|utetested|uthepastassuchhe|snot|utetested|n
tecousttuct|ug"theexpet|eucesofmoteotless temotet|mesaudplaces
hetaskheass|gush|mself-thatofthe"h|stot|calmatet|al|st" -|stobe
d|st|ugu|shedftomthete|gu|ugmodelofh|stot|ogtaphy|uptec|selyth|s
tespect. luamauuetl|keEmetsou's,wheuthelattetsa|dthat" booksate
fotuoth|ugbutto |usp|te," otl|ke|etzsche'satgumeutscoucetu|ugthe
useaudm|suseofh|stotyfotl|fe,8euam|uwas|utetesteduot|uh|stoty
otttad|t|ouassuch,but|uwhateetdyuam|cposs|b|l|t|esthepastm|ght
offetthepteseut.

Fot8euam|u,thetyp|calh|stot|auofh|sdayfollowed
a"tecousttuct|e"path,pat|utlytty|ugtop|ecetogetheth|stot|caldocu-
meuts audatt|facts|utoapassable |mage-aud fot th|s teasou uot ouly
fa|ledto cousttuct auyth|uguewbutalofa|ledtogtasptheptesuppos|-
t|ous|mpl|c|t|usuchav|ewofh|stoty.heh|stot|calmatet|al|st,ofwh|ch
8euam|usawh|mselfasap|oueet|ugtype,soughtsometh|ugelseuotto
recensctapastthatwould|u auyeveutalwaystema|u|uaccess|blebut
|ustead to censctapteseutAudfotsucha "cousttuct|ou," dscnn
wasuecessaty.

Jradition, Jransmission, and me Vork ol Art

oth|uketofh|st|mewasmoteseus|t|vetochaugesthattheWest-
etu ttad|t|ou was uudetgo|ug thau 8euam|u lt tequ|ted, howevet, uo
gteat seus|t|v|ty to tecogu|ze the tad|cal chauge |u the status ofadi
nenaudttad|t|oualmodesofh|stot|calttausm|ss|outhatwastak|ugplace
dut|ugthe htstpattofthetweut|ethceutty otall of|ts complex|ty,
th|schauge |s bestchatactet|zed as ageuetal etos|ou ofttad|t|ou ofthe
sottthatAteudtuoted.Whatwass|ugulat|u8euam|u'stespousewash|s
seatchfotpos|t|vetespouses|keHe|degget, 8eu am|uwasapass|ouate
HrHrtSa/c
and lnslghtfulteadetofHldetllnatatlmewhen the lattetwas fatftom
enjoylng the fame andunlvetsaltecognltlonhe does today.

8enj amlu
oncewtotethat"lnthewtltlngofhlstoty,thesttengthofthedesttuctlve
lmpulsewlllbeptopottlonaltothesttengthofthetedemptlveone",8en-
jamln GS, i. izz) . Followlnghls own vetslon ofHldetlln's lnjunctlon,
8enj amlnsoughtasavlngtesponsetocontempotatystates ofaffalts-a
tesponseheadoptedeatlyandkeptlatetemlndlnghlstea

etlnhlslast
wotk, the IhcscsenthcPhi/eseheHiste, thatevetymomeutofevety
dayls"thenattowgatewaythtoughwhlchtheMesslahmlghteutet",8en-
j amlnGS, z.;).
8enj amlnfocusedhlsshatpvlslonontheslmplestcultutalactlvltles
he could hndln otdetto analyze thls changelnthe status ofttadltlon.
"TheWotkofAttlntheAgeofMechanlcalReptoductlou"detallsanatt
wltbout"auta"-aslngulatglowlostlnanagelnwhlchthe unlquehas
beenovetshadowedbytheteptoduced. 8enjamlnfoundthatsuchactlvl-
tlesascitatienandcedcctingamplytevealedwhathecalleda"desttuctlve"
fotce-adesttuctlonofconteteffectedby,foteample,wtenchlngthecl-
tatlonotcollected objectftomltsotlglnalcontetandttansposlngltlnto
anothet,essentlallyattlhclal one.

Fot8enjamlu,suchadlsplacementof
statementotobjectftomltscontetwasposslbleonlybecausethebaslsfot
thettansmlsslonofttadltlonalwotdsandthlugshadbeguntoctumble.ln
anagelnwhlchttadltlonswetectltlcallyendangeted,attwassubjecttoa
slmllat"desttuctlve"fotce,lttoolostltsotlglnalplace,ltscommonplace
otcommonspaceatthecentetofcultutalllfe,andwassetatadlstance
ftomwhlch lt could be obsetvedwlth dlslntetested admltatlou-llke a
cltatlondlvotcedftomltscontentotauobjectlsolatedlnthecablnetoflts
collectot.et,sutptlslngly,fot8enj amlnltwasthtoughj ustsucha"shak-
lngErschttcrang ofttadltlon" thatthemeans fotaneventualtedemp-
tlonwetetobefouud8eujamlnGS, z. ;)
Followlngln8enjamln'sfootsteps,Agambenclalmsthat"8audelalte
wasthepoetwhohadtofacethedlssolutlonoftheauthotltyofttadltlon
lnthenewlndusttlalsocletyandthetefotehadtolnventanewauthotlty.
He fulhlledthls taskbymaklng the vety lnttansmlsslblllty ofcultutea
newvalue" MWC,ioio ) . "Thespeclhctaskofthemodetuattlst"be-
camethento teBect thls allenatlonftomttadltlonalcontet,tesultlngln
awotkofattteBectlng"thedesttuctlonofthettansmlsslbllltyofcultute"
MWC,io;ii ) . WhatAgambensawasthls"speclhctask"lslllusttated
byapassageftomanessaywtlttentwoyeatslatetwhlchwouldevetually
z /rHrtSa/e |)
become patt two ofAgambeu's uextbook, Smh) |uwh|chhe cla|ms
thatthegteatuessof8audela|tew|thtespecttothe|uvas|ouofthecom
mod|tywasthathetespoudedtoth|s|uvas|oubyttausfotm|ugthewotk
ofatt |uto acommod|tyaud afet|sh" ,S,q ,| ) St|llfasc|uatedythe
d|fhculttolocate tole of8audelalte, aud follow|ug 8euam|u's |utetpte
tatlou ofshock" asthe fuudameutal expet|euce |u 8audel|te'spoetty,
Agambeu wtote |u h|s th|td book, lu8audela|te, a mau exptopt|ated
ftomexpet|euceexposesh|mselftothefotceofshock. oettytespoudsto
theexptoptlat|ouofexpet|eucebycouvett|ugth|sexptopt|at|ou|utoate
soufotsutv|vlugaudmak|ugthe|uexpet|euc|ble ineseri/i/| |tsuotmal
coud|t|ou" ,lH,| y| ). hemodetuatt|stasexempl|hedby8audela|te
hasameaus-albe|tapatadox|caloue-ofescapeftomthed|ssolut|ouof
thettad|tlou|uwh|cheatl|etatt|stshadwotkedaudtowh|chthemodetu
attlstuolougethasaccess. hatescape|s,howevet,deatlyboughttheatt
|stmustplaceattheceutetofthatwh|ch|stobettausm|tted-thewotkof
att-thevetydesttuctlouofthettausmlsslb|l|tyofcultute."
Awateofthed|fhcultyluvolvedluuudetstaud|ugthemaueuvethe
atttlbutesto8audelalte,Agambeu,MWC,io zy|) oetsaclat|
lugexplauatlou.
inadcquation, a gap bctwccn mc act ot transmission and thc thing to bc trans-
mittcd, and a vauing ot thc attcr indcpcndcnty ot thc tormcr appcar ony whcn
tradition oscs its vita torcc, and constitutc thc toundation ot a charactcristic phc-
nomcnon ot nontraditiona socictics: thc accumuation ot cuturc. or contrary to
what onc might think at hrst sight, thc brcaking ot tradition docs not at mcan
thc oss or dcvauation ot thc past: it is, rathcr, ikcy that ony now thc past can
rcvca itsct with a wcight and an inhucncc it ncvcr had bctorc. Loss ot tradition
mcans that thc past has ost its transmissibiity, and so ong as no ncw way has
bccn tound to cntcr into a rcation with it, it L ony bc thc objcct ot accumu-
ation trom now on. n this situation, thcn, man kccps his cutura hcritagc in its
totaity, and in tact thc vuc ot this hcritagc mutipics vcrtiginousy. Howcvcr, hc
oscs thc possibiity ot drawing trom this hcritagc thc critcrion ot his actions and
his wcLrc, and thus thc ony concrctc pacc in which hc is abc, by asking about
his origins and his dcstiny to tound thc prcscnt thc rcation bctwccn pt and
hturc. Ior it is thc transmissibiity ot cuturc that, by cndowing cuturc with an
immcdiatcy pcrccptibc mcaning and vauc, aows man to movc hccy toward thc
hturc without bcing hindcrcd by thc burdcn ot thc past. But whcn a cuturc oscs
its mcans ot transmission, man is dcprivcd ot rctcrcncc points and hnds himsct
wcdgcd bctwccn, on thc onc hand, a past that inccssanty accumuatcs bchind him
and opprcsscs him wth thc mutipicity ot its now-indcciphcrabc contcnts, and
| rHrtSa/c
on thc othcrhand, aluturc that hcdocs notyct posscss and thatdocsnotthrow
anylightonhis strulcwiththcpast.
lngamben'shlstotlcalestlmatlon,thelossofacultute's"meansofttaus-
mlsslon"leavesmaukludttappedbetweenapasthecan nolougettelate
to, andthetefotecannolongetuseto otlentandshapehlselsteuce, aud
afututeofunllmlteduncettalnty. FotAgamben,asfot8euamluaudAt-
endtbefotehlm,manlsttapped"betweenpastaudptesent"andthehud-
lng of"tefetence polnts" ls ofthe gteatest uecesslty. The ptoblem thus
posedbythewotkofattls"notslmplyaptoblemamougtheothetsthat
ttoubleoutcultute, "because"oulythewotkofatteusutesaphautasma-
gotlcalsutvlval"fotthls"accumulatedcultute",MWC,111 i;| , ttausla-
tloumodlhed) .
Wheteas at the beglnnlngofthe bookAgambeu calledfot a "de-
sttuctlon ofaesthetlcs," by lts end lt ls cleat that he sees the dlsclpllue
ofaesthetlcsltselfasfouudedou "desttuctlon"-"thedesttuctlonofthe
ttansmlsslbllltyofcultute . . . lnwhlchaesthetlcslsfounded" ,MWC,11
r] ). Conftontedwlththlsptoblem, theattlst-themodetnmanwlth-
outcontent-cantecovetameasuteofttansmlsslbllltyfotthewotkofatt
by teBectlng thlsstateofaffalts. "ln thlsway," wtltesAgambeu, "atthe
llmlt oflts aesthetlcltlnetaty, attabollshesthegapbetweenthe thlngto
be ttansmltted and the act ofttansmlsslon and apptoaches the mythlc-
ttadltlonal system, lnwhlch a petfect ldentlty elsted betweeu the two
tetms" ,MWC, ii| i;i] , ttauslatlonmodlhed). Such apetfectldeutltyas
thatwhlchptevalledlnmythbasedsocletleslslndeeduolougettobehad,
andnolongettobewlshedfot 8utthlstetutnto neatldeutltybetween
thlngto ttansmltandactofttausmlsslou thattecallsmythlcfotmslsto
be effected, lu Agamben's estlmatlon, thtough a slugulat sactlhce. the
thlngtobettansmltted-content-lssactlhced,sotospeak,totheactof
ttausmlsslon-thewotkofatt.

Thehlghptlestofthlssactlhcelsnot,howevet,Attaudot8audelalte
but lnstead Kaa. ln an essay ou the latet, 8eujamlnwtote, "Kaa
possessed atatesklllfot cteatlngpatables. Nevettheless,he madethem
such thattheycoulduevetbeehaustlvelyeplalued-he took, lufact,
evety posslble ptecautlou agalust thelt lutetptetatlou" ,8euj amlu GS,
z. zz) . Fo8enjamln, Kaa'sglftfotthatmostttadltloualfotmofcul-
tutalttausmlsslon-thepatable-lstobeseeu,patadolcally, luthathls
patablesdonottevealtheltmeaulug. 8euj amlnspeaksofthetwosutest
H/rHrtSe |
waysofmlslutetptetlugaa'swotksaslutetptetlugthemasuatutalaud
lutetptetlugthemassupetuatutalsee8euam|uGS, z |z,).hesumm|t
ofaa'spatabollcgeuluswas,fot8euam|u,attestedtobyaa'sab|l-
ltytocomposepatablesw|thuohxedmeaulug.hemotethepatablesate
putsued, themotetheltmeaulugstecede,fot8euam|u,the|tgen|us|s|u
thelt luexhaustlblllty, aud theythetebyexptess someth|ugfuudamental
aboutbothpatablesaudtheltstatuslumodetu t|mes. Howevetcut|ous
thlslutetptetatloumayseem,ltwasfatftomau|solatedpos|t|on.Adotno
wtote thataa's patables "exptessed themselves not thtough the|t ex
ptesslou but thtoughthelttefusal,thtoughthe|t|ntettupt|on," to wh|ch
headds, "eachseuteucesays, lutetptetme,' andyetnonew|lltoletate|t"
,AdotuoGS, ioz,,).WetuetHamachetwtltesofttad|t|ouas|tappeats|u
aa'swotkas"havluguocouteut,uolougethav|ugagltog|vebeyond
glvlugltsel'Hamacheti,z). lustatkettetms,Guyavenpotthas
wtltteu that "slgus aud symbols have uo clalm ou aa, whowtecks
ttadltloutathetthauttustauypattoflt" aveupotti, ,). Whatevet
Kaa'sowuluuetmostluteutloumlghtbe, theslgusaudsymbolsthatso
deuselypeoplehlswotks have ptoveu dlstluctlve to hlsteadets luuevet
belugsubjecttoauythlugllkadeclslvelutetptetat|ou.Wtltlugofaa,
8eujamlucouutedthelmageof"thewelghtoftlchesplledonthebacks
ofmauklud" -buttheseatetlchesthatcaubtlugusuo beuehtbecause
welackthestteugthtoshakethemfteeaudthetebylayhaudsouthem.
Whatweueed,theu,ls"adesttuctlvemomeut"soastol|betteoutselves
ftomthlswelght8euamluGS, z. |).
Followlugluthe same velu, Agambeuuudetstaudsthls|uexhaust-
lblllty oflutetptetatlou lu aa'swotks as a gestute ofa s|ugulat ot-
det, aud oue wlth the gteatest slgulhcauce fot the hlstoty ofatt. lt |s,
fothlm,thecoutluuatlouofthemovemeuthtstsketchedby8audelalte
thesactlhclugofthettausmlsslouofaglveubodyotsetofcouteutsfot
the mete act ofttausmlss|ou. Wlthout the hxed cultutal cootd|uates of
eatlletagesathlsd|sposal,aasetoutouatadlcalpath.teedftomthe
butdeusomewe|ghtofcultutal ttausm|sslou, hefouudh|mselfopeu fot
adveututesofatad|callyuewsott.heptoblemofmau'shav|ug"losth|s
abllltytoapptoptlate. . . thecouctetespaceofhlsact|ouaudkuowledge"
cau,luAgambeu'svlew, betemedledaudth|sspacetecupetatedthtough
att's ablllty to "ttausfotm" mau's suspeus|ou betweeu past and futute
"luto the vety space lu wh|ch he cau take the ot|glual measute ofh|s
dwelllugluthepteseutaudtecoveteachtlmethemeaulugofhlsact|on"
, c rArtSa/c
,MWC, rr| rz] ) . 8yallowlngmanto envlsagesucha uew telatlon
tottadltlon, andbytaklngholdoftheotlglnalspacelnwhlchmantakes
hls measute-ln othetwotds, by enabllng anewtelatlon ofmanto hls
content-Agambenenvlslonsaposslbllltyfotthewotkofatttotegalnthe
shaplngtolelthadlongceasedtoplay.

OfthelastpattofIhcMan witheatentcntSlmonatvlsastutely
notes that "not metelythe centtal thesls but also the appt

ach, lexlcon,
andmannetatesttonglymatkedbyMattlnHeldegget'slnBueuce.What
Agamben undetstands as the wlthetlngofthe wotk ofatt's capaclty to
dlsclose a wotld could equally, as Hegel lnslsted, be thought ofas lts
emanclpatlonftomhxedcontextsaudcontents" ,atvlszooo,,o). Thls ls
petfectlyttue,andltlsalsothepolnt.8othAgambenandatvlsagteethat
thewotkofattlsfteedftomhxedcontents,theonlyquestlonlswhethet
thls lsagoodthlng-fotattaswellasfotthesocletythat does notj ust
valuelt,butlsshapedbylt.
Jhe House n Flames
ThlslastatgumentatlvestepbtlngsAgambentohlsconcluslon.The
hnal chaptet of IhcMan witheatentcntls entltled "The Melancholy
Angel ."Thlsangellstheangelofaesthetlcs,andllke8enj amln'sangelof
hlstoty,ltlsabottowedone.Wheteas8enj amln'sangelcametohlmftom
Klee's palntlngAngc/asNeoas, Agamben foundhlslnDtet'sMc/cnce
/ia Thewlndhascaughtthewlngsof8enjamln'sangelofhlstotyandls
dtlvlnglt telentlesslyfotwatd.Agamben'smelanholyangelofaesthetlcs
lslnadlffetentbutequallydespetateposltlon,sttandedlnalndwlthout
wlnd, ltlslefttolookdlsconsolatelyattoolsofcultutalactlvltythathave
losttheltshaplngfunctlon.
Aswehaveseen, IhcMan witheatentcntaspltesto tetutnattto
ltsotlglnalcalllngandltsloststatutelnAgamben'snextbookhetefetsto
aphtaseftomthettoubadoutpoettyofthethltteenthcentuty,"aj oythat
nevetends," and says thatltwlll"temalnthealwaysvltal and lumlnous
ptojectagalnstwhlchoutpoetlccultutewlllhavetomeasuteltsellfand
whenltsucceedslnstepplngbackwatdandbeyoudltselftowatdltsown
otlgln",S,r,c r,,] ) . We canuudetstandsuchaptojectandsuchanotlglu
notaslsolatedlntheteachesofatemotepastbutonlyasadynamlcpos-
slbllltylnhetlnglnoutptesent.Theotlglnlnquestlonlsnotacompleted
H/rHSa/e ,i
statetbtheugavet|setoaset|esofsuccess|veoues.lustead,|t|sacou-
t|uu|ugpoteut|alfotgtowthaudchauge. lu"Thet|g|noftheotko
Att,"ot|g|u|sat|ssue because, asHe|deggetsays, "att|s|u|tsesseuceau
ot|g|u" ,He|deggetiy,zoz He|deggetGA, ,. ).As|utheteect|ous
ofbothW|udaud8eujam|u,what|s|uquest|ouhete|sthemeausfotatt
toplayashap|ugtole|uoutcultute-thetolethatdesp|te|tsevetw|det
d|stt|but|ou|thasceasedtoplay.Attheeudofth|sessayHe|deggetwtote,
"The quest|ou |s . . . whethetattcau beau ot|g|u and theteote must
beastep ahead, otwhethet|t |sto tema|u a meteaddendumndtheu
w|ll oulycout|uue as a tout|ue cultutalpheuoeuou" ,He|degget y
zoy He|degget GA, ,. ). Agambeu was ptesent t one ofHe|degget's
au|mated d|scuss|ous w|th eu hat bout |mbud's statement that
attw|ll ceaseto setl|fe'sthythmbutw|ll|nsted be hedof'' |t ,
los|euetythmetaplus'act|ouellesetaeuavaut") . lt|sptec|selysuch
dec|s|vefotce|uatt-aud|upatt|culatthept|v|legedattofpoettythat
He|degget-aud|uh|swake,Agambeu-euv|s|ous.Att|suottoplaythe
toleofa"tout|uecultutalpheuomeuou"cousumedasd|s|utetestedeujoy-
meutbut|s|usteadtobeastepaheadofl|fe,shap|ugaudgu|d|ugtheway
weexpet|euce|t.
lt|spetfectlyobv|ousthatAgambeu'shtstbook|sabouttt,but|t
|sless|mmed|atelycleatthat|t|salsoabookabouteten/i.Agambeu
|udeedd|scussesthepassageftomAt|stotlethatw|lltema|uattheceutet
ofh|sthoughtfotfoutdecades,buthedoesuotusethetetmeten/i
exteus|vely, choos|ug|usteadauoutolog|calvocabulatylatgelybottowed
ftomHe|degget Nevetheless,what|utetestsAgambeu|uatt|sthepo-
teut|al|thaslost,otthathasgoueuutecogu|ed|u|t,wh|chhewotksto
teveal.
IheMan theut Cententbeg|us w|th a call fot desttuct|ou aud
euds|uBames.ccotd|ugtothept|uc|plebywh|ch|t|souly|uthebutu-
|ughousethatthefuudameutalatch|tectutalptoblembecomesv|s|blefot
thehtstt|me,"Agambeuwt|tes, "att,atthefutthestpo|utof|tsdest|uy,
makesv|s|ble|tsot|g|ualptoject" ,M, , z|). Thebookeudsw|th
th|s |mage-oue that he s|leutlyadapts ftom 8enjm|uAt the eud of
the book thatAgambeu s|ugles out as au unptalleled ch|evemeut |u
ct|t|c|sm-8euj am|usaysofthe|deaoftheGetmau auersie/ "lu the
tu|usofgteatbu|ld|ugsthe|deaoftheplauspeksmote|mptess|velythau
|ulessetbu|ld|ugs",8eujam|u,zy,).FotAgbeu,thehouse|snot|n
tu|us,|t|s|uames,audth|shouse|uames|shgutefotmau'satt|st|c
y z rArtSa/c
belng. FotAgamben, the conBagtatlon ls notto be stopped but ls to be
leatnedftom.ltsdesttuctlonoffetssomethlngofthegteatestlmpottance
fotconsttuctlonstocome.lttendetsvlslblethe"fundamentalatchltectutal
ptoblem"ofaesthetlcs,andtevealsfotalumlnouslnstantwhatAgamben
sees as att's "otlglnalptoject"-aptojectwhosename, lnhlsbooks and
essaystocome,becomes"potentlallty."
cCcptOn
lntheltalyofr;c,Agamben'shtstbookspatkedtelatlvelyllttlete-
sponseandlntheyeatsslncehastatelybeendlscussedlndepth.ltlsanel-
egantandlnslghtful,ptecoclousandoftenptofoundwotk,butnotaseml-
nalone.Althoughmuchcanbeleatnedftomlt,studentsofthesubjectslt
tteatsatellkelytotecognlzeltsptlnclpleatgumentslnNletzsche,Wlnd,
8e

j amln,andHeldegget,andtheclalmmlghteasllybemadethatAgam-
benmakesnomajotpolntsnotalteadyfoundlnNletzsche's Ccnca/ege
Mera,Wlnd'sHrtandHnarch, otHeldegget's"TheOtlglnoftheWotk
ofAtt."Howevet, IhcMan witheatCentcntls not slmplyatteatmentof
thefateoftheattlstlnthemodetnwotld.lnAgamben'schatactetlstlcally
subtlefashlon,ltlsalsoateBectlononbelngandbecomlnganattlst-the
wotkofabtllllantyoungmanlntetestedlncteatlveaswellasctltlcalput-
sults,andseeklnghlsownanswettotheptoblemshlssltuatlonposed.
Scholium I. Benj amin and Heidegger, or
Ioison and Antidote
H /rHrtSa/e ,
We saw |u th|s book's |uttoduct|ou that Agambeu's d|scovety of
ph|losophy'spoteut|al|tywasbotuofh|seucouutetw|ththepetsouaud
wotksofHe|degget.Athoughth|seucouutetwasthebeg|uu|ugofavo-
cat|ou,|twasuottheeudof|t.Wesaweat|etthatAgambeuuoted|twas
h|seucouutetw|thHe|deggetthathtst"madeph|osophyposs|be"Tha
|sthetea|utetestofeucouutets,hecout|uued,"|u|feas|uthoughtthey
setve tomake|feposs|be ,otatt|mes|mposs|be). lu auyeveut, that |s
whathappeuedw|thmymeet|ugHe|degget-audatneatythesamet|me
w|thmycom|ug|utocoutactw|th8eujam|u'sthought,A,|||||).
Athough Agambeu's d|scovety of 8eujam|u dut|ug these same
yeatsoccuttedputelythtoughthemed|umofbooks, theeucouutetwas
ue|thetless|uteuseuotessdec|s|ve.Agambeuteatesthatwheuhehtst
tead8eujam|u|uthesummetofi6, "|thadthemost|mmed|ateaud
astou|sh|ugeffectoume,towh|chheadded,"w|thuoothetauthothave
l expet|euced such au uucauuy afhu|ty ,lGA, ,z). lu chatactet|st|c
fash|ou,Agambeu pa|d tt|bute to th|s expet|euce by dtaw|ug a patale
to 8eujam|u'sl|feaudwotks "lseemtohaveexpet|eucedptec|sewhat
8eujam|uh|mselfd|dupouhtsttead|ugAtagou's asandeariswhete,
aftetafewmomeuts,hewasfotcedtocosethebookbecauseh|sheatthad
beguutobeatsofast,lGA,,z).
"Evety gteat wotk couta|us au eemeut ofdatkuess aud po|sou,
Agambeuhastematked,"fotwh|ch|tdoesuotalwaysoffetauaut|dote
audtoth|sgeuetalcla|mheaddedaspec|hc|lusttat|on"8eujam|uwas
fotme the aut|dote that allowed me to sutv|ve He|degget ,A, |||||).
That th|swas uot metely a pass|ugthoughtexptessed |u oue |utetv|ew
amougmauy|sattestedtobyh|stepeat|ug|toua uumbetofoccas|ous,
suchaswheuheteceutlytematkedthat"pethaps

eujam|uwastheat|-
dotethatsavedmeftomHe|degget,DTl,|).
Agambeu does uot saywhat, ptec|sely, he fouudshadowyotpo|-
souous |uthewotkofh|shtstph|osoph|camastet, audhesaysjust as
l|tteaboutwhattedempt|veelemeut|u8eujam|u'sthoughthepedh|mto
sutv|veHe|degget.ut|aftetHe|degget'sdeath|ui,seveuyeatsaftet
thepubl|cat|ouofIheMan theutCentent), teat|vey|ttewaskuowu
abouttheph|osophet'swotdsauddeedsoftheealyi,os. He|deggethtst
spokepubl|cyaboutth|spet|odaudh|sact|ousdut|ug|t|uau|utetv|ew
, rHrtSa/c
conducted ln r wlth Dcr Sicgc/magazlne ln the same 8lack Fotest
hutwhete Celan had vlslted hlm. Followlng He|degget's sttlct lnsttuc-
tlons, thelntetvlewwasnotpubl|shedunt|laftethlsdeath.Theexplana-
tlonsg|venlnthe |ntetvlewwete patt|al ones, and |twas not unt|l the
publlcat|onofabookentltledHcidc

crandNazism,wt|ttenbyanothet
ofHeldegget'sstudents,|ctotFatlas, lnrthatsomethlngofthefull
etent ofHeldegget's ptofess|onal lnvolvement andpetsonallnvestment
ln the azl lattybecamewldelyknown. lt ls fat ftom cetta|n, how-
evet, thatAgamben saw thls shadow and polson as putelot even as
ptlmatlly-polltlcal.
8enj amln's lnBuence, and|tscomplextelat|onsh|pto the|nBuence
ofHeldegget,lsatoplctowh|chwew|lltetutnatanumbetofpo|nts|n
thefollowlngpages,butwhatbeatsnotlnghete|swhat|salteadyv|s|ble|n
Agamben'shtstwotk.ltsabsolutelydec|s|venatute.ustashedoesatthe
endofIhcMan witheatentcntAgambencont|nuestoopposeandl|nk
the|deasandapptoachesofHe|deggetand8enj amln.
Scholium II. Jhe Iotentiality ol At
H /rHSa/e , ,
l uG. E. Less|ug'splayEmi/ia Ca,apa|ntetnamedont|
asksh|spt|uceaquest|ou "Doyouth|nkthataphae|wou|dst|||have
beeuthegteatestpa|utetlygeu|us|fbym|schancehehadbeenbotnw|th-
outhauds`",Less|ugi,,.io).Thept|ncehnds|td|fhcu|ttoanswetthe
pa|utet'squest|ou-audw|thgoodteason.lt|saquest|onnoton|yabout
wheteatt|st|ccteat|v|tytes|des,aboutthetat|onbetweenthepotent|a|
audtheactual,butalsoaboutpetfotm|ngthed|fhculttaskofconce|v|ng
ofpoteut|al|ty|ndepeudeutlyofactual|at|onThech||daphamaynot
yetbeapa|uteygen|us,buth|spotent|al|tyfotbecogone|snotd|-
hcultto|mag|ne. ouecess|ty|s|nvo|ved,buttheg|t|sthete, teadyto
develop.8utwhatofamoteexttemecase,suchastheoneont|sggests,
|uwh|cha|lsuchfututeteal|at|ou|stuledot
Less|ugl|kelyfouudh|spo|utofdepattute|nAt|stot|eand|nthe
lattet'sd|scuss|onofpoteut|al|ty.Atouepo|utAt|stotlechoosesthehgute
ofasleep|uggeometetto |llusttatedotmautpotent|al|ty, wh|ch |sto be
d|st|ugu|shed ftom the type ofpoteut|al|ty|uwh|ch au |nd|v|dua| has
uokuowledgeofgeomettybutpossessesthemeutalcapac|t|esfot|eatn-
|ug|t ,seeAt|stotlei|,ii|i ,az6). ln IheCmingCmmuni tathet
thau tefett|ugto Less|ug-otfot thatmattet, to At|stotle's geometet
Agambeututustoamotemodetuatt|st|chgutetomakeh|spo|nt.vety
p|au|stuecessat|lyhasthepoteut|altenz| top|ayandthepotent|a|to
uotplay,"Agambeuwt|tes. "G|euuGould|s, howevet, theonlyonewho
cau ntuotplay, aud d|tect|ugh|s poteut|al|tytena| uoton|yto the
actbutalsotoh|s owu|mpotenceimtenz| ,heplays,so tospeak,w|th
h|s poteut|al to uotplay" ,CC, y y|| , ttauslat|on mod|hed). Gou|d's
mus|cal geu|us |ssuchthat|taccompau|esh|m atevetystep whethet|u
thepteseuceofap|auootuot,whethetplay|ugotnot,thepotent|al|tyto
playtema|ust|chlyaudfullyh|s.luothetwotds,theatt|st|sst|||anatt|st
eveuwheuh|s|usttumeut|sabseut,otwheuhe,l|keAt|stot|e'sgeometet,
sleeps.Th|s|s|udeedselfev|deut,but|tpo|ntstosometh|ugthat|s|essso
thatwelacks|mpleandstta|ghtfotwatdtetmsfotd|scuss|ngpotent|a||ty
|uwhatAgambentefetstoas|tsputestatepotent|al|ty|ndependentof
|ts actual|at|ou-andthatatt,attheoutsetoAgamben'scateet,oets
themostptom|s|ngmeansfotenv|s|on|ng|t
LMAP JLK JNL
P \cncra occncc OI thc !uman.
Stanza: wrd and Phantasm in
vstcrn Ca/tarc
TheteadetofAgamben's second book mlghtwellwondettowhat
ltstltletefets.Theanswetto thls questlonlsbothslmpletandmotecom-
ple than lt mlght htst appeat, and as lsoften the casewlthAgamben's
wtltlng, undetstandlngthe tltleptovesto beanessentlalelementlnun-
detstandlngthewotk. lnboth Engllsh andltallan, stanzasatedlvlslons
ofvetse-gtoupsofllnesnumbetlng,asatule,notlessthanfout.Shake-
speate,fotlnstance,hasachatactetlnLeocLa/earLestctyout,"Letme
heateastaffe,astanze,avetse,"andltlscleatenoughthatwhathewants
ls abltofpoetty ,lll. io;). The teadetwhoplcks upAgamben'sbook
andconcludesthathlstltletefetstodlvlslonsofvetsewouldbetlght-but
wouldalsohavegtaspedonlyhalfthemattet.Thepoetlcmeanlngofthe
wotd stanzaslsnot lts only-ot even lts ptlmaty-meanlng. Thls dlvl-
slonlnvetsestemsftomadlvlslonlnspace. lnltallan,astanzals, slmply
enough, atoom"-andlsfamlllattomanyfotelgeyeslnthenames of
suchcelebtatedonesastheatlcan'sStanzadcdaScgnatara, decotatedby
Raphael.Agamben'sbooklslndeedaboutpoettyandltsdlvlslons,justas
ltlsabookabout toomsandthelmagesthatadotn them-butltls alsoa
bookaboutsomethlngentltelydlffetent.
PnCcnt nmty
HCenera/ScienceetheHuman , ;
lt| s ult|matelyposs|blet oacceptthatanovelmaynevetactua||yte-
couutthestoty|thasptom|sedtotell,"wt|tesAgambeuatStanoutset,
butftomact|t|calwotkoueexpectstesults-otatthevety|east,demon-
sttabletheses" ,xvl] , ttauslat|oumod|hed) Thete|suoth|ngsutpt|s
|ug|uth|scla|m,butthete|ssometh|ngsutpt|s|ng|uthetutuAgamben
g|ves to |t Hefollows th|scommouseus|calobsetvat|onw|thsometh|ng
thatseemsto tuucouttatyto commouseuse apleafotgtant|ngct|t|ca|
wotksthesame"abseuceofdemousttab|etheses"accotdedcteat|veoues
Agambeu's teadet must theu askwhythe authot ofawotkofct|t|c|sm

wouldwant|ttobefteedftomsucseem|uglystta|ghtfotwatdexpecta
t|ousTh|squest|oul|esattheheattofAgamben'suoveleutetpt|se,and|ts
auswetl|es|uoneoftheo|destd|sputes|nestetncu|tute
Fotaptoblemtobetteated-andso|ved-|tmustbetecogn|edas
a ptoblem. He|deggettev|ewedaudtev|sed theh|stotyofestetnph|
losophyasthes|teofwhathecalledamouumeuta|"fotgett|ug"Foth|m,
theptoblemthatlayattheot|g|uandheattofGteekph||osophywhat
hecalledoutolog|cald|ffeuce,"thed|ffeteucebetweenbe|ugsand the
be|ug they all shate |u oue mystet|ous mode ot anothet-had become
so matg|ua||zed ot, |u h|s extteme fotmu|at|ou, "occluded," that th|s
quest|outhathadbeeuthemostset|ousaudcenttalquest|outhatGteek
ph|losophyat|ts|ucept|onwascapableofpos|ughadceasedtoecons|d
etedasaph|losoph|calptoblemata||.Hesawh|sph||osoph|ca|vocat|ou
as temedy|ugth|s state ofaffa|ts. luHe|degget'swake, Dett|dasawh|s
owuph|losoph|calvocat|ou|nas|m|lat|ustanceofamass|ve"fotgett|ng"
on the pattofestetn metaphys|cs-one towh|cheventhe fats|ghted
He|deggetwas,|uh|sowuop|u|on,uot|mmuneDett|da'sgecentum
thedeu|gtat|ouofwt|t|ug|nfavotofspeechaudtheconsequentpt|v||eg
|ug ofau |ueffablepteseuce |nhet|ug|nthe spoken wotd that|sabsent
ftom"fatheless"wt|t|ng-wastheuamehechosefotth|sothetdec|sve,
andm|lleuu|a,caseof "fotgett|ug."
luAgamben'sowustudyofthe|stotyofestetnmetaphys|cs,he
hudsas|m|latactof"fotgett|ug,"wh|chhe,||kee|deggetaudDett|da
befoteh|m,ttacestoamomentbefoteestetumetapys|cstook|ts de
c|s|vetutnsofthoughtandphtase|n|ato'sd|a|oguesccesstowhat|s
ptoblemat|c"aboutthequest|onofct|t|c|sm,wt|tesAgamben, " |sbatted
by the/rgetnngofa sc|ss|on stemm|ngftom the ot|g|n ofout cultute
, H Ccncra/ScicnccethcHaman
thatlsusuallyacceptedasthemostnatutalthlng-thatgoes,sotospeak,
wlthoutsaylng-butln fact ls the onlythlngttulywotthlntettogatlng.
Thesclsslonlnquestlonlsthatbetweenpoettyandphllosophy, between
thewotd ofpoetty and thewotd ofthought aare/ecca care/
cnsantc ,S, vll lll , ttanslatlon modlhed, ltallcs added) . Agamben
summatlzesthe tesultlngdlvlslonasfollows. loettypossessesltsobject
wlthoutknowlngltwhllephllosophyknowsltsobjectwlthoutpossesslng
lt",S,vlllll ). ustasHeldeggetbeganhlslnqultybynotlnghowthe
fotgettlngofontologlcaldlffetencehadbecomesopetvaslvelnoutcultute
that ltsopetatlvedlstlnctlon ,between belngsandthe belngtheyshate)
was acceptedas themostnatutal thlng" tequltlngnospeclalconsldet-
atlon,Agambentoonoteshowthefotgettlng"ofthesttangenessandlm-
pottanceofadlvlslonheldtosepatatephllosophandpoettyhasbecome
solngtalnedlnoutcultutethatlttoohascometoseemnatutal.Thestudy
ofthlsanclentenmltybetweenpoettyandphllosophyleadsAgambento
thefundamentalconceptlonsthatWestetnthoughthasfotmedconcetn-
lngthecommontoplcofthedlffetentpattsofhlswotk.thesubjectand
theobjectofknowledge.
Agambensapptoachto thlsphenomenon, andthecommontheme
ofthedlvetselnvestlgatlonsthatakeup Stanzs, lstheldeaofthesub-
j ect'sesscssienofobjects ofknowledge. To achleve hls ends Agamben
mustquestlonwhat lt meanstopossess anobj ectandwhat lt means to
knowone.Thlslnqultywlllleadhlmtocallfotasclencewlthoutobject,"
not ln the name ofa natclsslstlcwtltlngptactlce concetnedwlth noth-
lngbutltsownBuctuatlnglnspltatlons, butfotaknowledge"capableof
concelvlngpossesslon"andobj ects"lnttulynovelfashlon. Llnklngthe
concetnsofhlshtsttwobooks,Agambenaskslnanencyclopedlaenttyon
tastcwtlttendutlngthesesameyeats,lsateconclllatlonposslblebetween
systematlcstudy, whlchknowsthe ttuth butcannotenjoylt cenesca /a
ocrit, manenncge ,andtaste,whlchenjoysbeautywlthoutbe|ngable
totatlonallyaccountfotltgedc///c//c,scnzaetccdarragenc`"
G, rczc) . Thls ls the questlon that, byfoutsepatate toutes, hettles to
answetlnStanzs.
Jhe Iroximity ot Ioetry and Ihilosophy
Agamben beglns Stanzsby atgulng that ctltlclsm should not be
seenasaposltlvlstlcdlsclpllne. Whenthetetm cricumhtstappeats|n
HCenera/Sciencee theHuman ,
the vocabulatyofWestetu ph|losophy," he obsetves, "|t deuotes |uqu|
ty|uto the l|m|ts ofkuowledge, |uto thatwh|ch |t|sposs|b|eue|thetto
pose uot gtasp" ,S, xv l] , ttauslat|ou mod|hed) lt|s |u the uame of
ct|t|c|sm's ot|g|ualmeau|ugaudtask thatAgambeu quest|ous out mod-
etu|us|steucethat|tptoduce"demousttab|etesults." luAgambeusv|ew,
ct|t|c|smshoulduot beseeuasthe metepteseutat|ouofpos|t|vehud|ugs
Wotk|ugas|tdoesatthel|m|tsofwhatcaubekuowu, |tmustofueces-
s|tytakeouat|chet,sttauget,audmoteuucetta|ufotmlfct|t|c|smwotks
atthel|m|sofkuowledge, |tfo||owsthatauy"tesu|ts" |tteachesw|||be
shadowedbytheuukuowablethat||esbeyoudthem
To locatebettetwheteAgambeusees"the||m|tsofkuow|edge"that
|twasoucethetaskofct|t|c|smtoexp|ote,hed|tectsh|steadet'satteut|ou
tothebeg|uu|ugsofestetuthoughtlu IheRu//ic |atotefetstou
"auc|eut eum|ty" oppos|

g "ph|losophy audpoetty" Reu//ic 6bc

Welleuougheutteuchedby|ato'st|metoa|teadyseemtoh|mauc|eut,"
th|seum|tyweutou, fo||ow|ugAgambeu, to shapeotheteum|t|es-be
tweeu ttuth aud beauty, thoughtaud |auguage, ct|t|c|sm aud cteat|ou
Th|s auc|eut eum|ty, th|s d|v|s|ou tuuu|ugdowu the m|dd|eofthehu-
mau|t|esthat|tsptact|t|ouets,desp|tethe|tbestaudbt||||auteffotts,have
beeuuuabletobt|dge,|sStan'subect
Fottheph|losophetthatAgambeubecame,poettytema|uedofu
dameutal|mpottauce,j ustasph||osophyd|dfotthepoethehastema|ued
lutespousetoaquest|ouaboutthecout|uu|tyofh|svocat|ou,Agambeu
tepl|ed, "l|udeedbegaubywt|t|ugpoems, butl dou'tbe||evel evette
uouuced that. Ou the couttaty, |twasas|fl d|du'ttea||ybeg|utowt|te
poemsuut|lph|losophyeutetedmyl|fe"-towh|chheaddedatematk|u
Getmau."loetty|ssometh|ugouecaudoou|ythtoughph||osophy"s
ouem|ghtexpectftomsomeouew|thsuchacoucept|ouofthete|at|ouof
fotmtocouteut,audofph|losophytopoetty,Agambeuhastematkedthat
fot me, teBect|ugouthe fotms thought takes has a|waysbeeuceutta|,
audlhaveuevetbel|eved|tposs|blefotath|ukettoevadeth|sptob|em,
as|fth|uk|ugwetesomehowuoth|ugmotethaus|mplyexptess|ugop|u
|ousthatwetemoteotlesst|ghtcoucetu|ugag|veuatgumeut tec|se|y
th|sceuttal|tyoffotmmakesfottheptox|m|tyofpoettyaudph||osophy"
,lGA,yy).
Aswesaweatl|et,Agambeu'shtstbookwasatteat|seaudfo||owed
a cout|uuous l|ue ofatgumeutat|ou, tteat|ug a s|ug|e top|c otquest|ou
,thatofthetoleofattaudofthed|sc|p||ueofaesthet|csthatasp|tedto
H cncra/ScicnccethcHaman
analyze lt) Agamben's second book takes a dlffetent fotm. Stanzsls a
collectlonoffout long essays ,two ofwblcb bad alteady been publlsbed
sepatately) tteatlngfouttoplcs. melancboly, fetlshlsm, lmages, andseml-
ology.

AltbougblneacbessayonlyoneofthesetoplcsguldesAgamben's
lnvestlgatlons,alloftbeothetsateptesentandplayatoletbeteln.Each
toplcbelpshlmapptoacbasblmmetlngpolntwbetepoettyandpblloso-
phyconvetgelnactltlclsmwotthyofltsanclentbetltage.
AttbeoutsetofSmnzas,Agambenptesentsabtlefctltlcal

enealogy
oftbetblnketswbocameclosesttothlspo|ntofconvetgence. ltextends
ftomAlexandtlanpoetandpbllologlstlhllltasofCos,foutthcentutyacr),
w|thhlslndlvlslbleblend|ngofexegeslsand|nvent|on,tothen|neteenth-
centutyena C|tcle's utoplanptojectofa "unlvetsalptogtesslvepoetty"
,see S, xvxv| x|x|l] ) . Thelattetgtoupaskedofawotkofct|t|c|smthat
lt, among otbet tblngs, "lnclude lts own negat|on." Agamben suggests
tbattwotwentletbcentutyctltlcsbavemanagedtofulhllth|sseem|ngly
patadoxlcal ct|tetlon. Tbe htst |s Fl|x Fnon, the Ftench wtltet best
knownfottbeexcptlonalbtev|tyofblswotks.

Thesecondlsanautbot
alteadyfamlllatto Agamben's teadets, Waltet 8enj amln, andAgamben
slnglesoutbls Ihc Orin ecrman IracDramalntb|stegatd Latet
ln StanzasAgamben tefets to tbls book as "sutely tbe least populat of
8enjamln's wotks, yet petbaps tbe only one ln wblcb be fulhlled b|s
most ptofound lntentlons" ,S, r r,] ) . ln Onc wa Strcct, a cteatlve
wotkpubllsbedtbesameyeat,rz)asblsctltlcal Orinecrman ac
Drama,8enj amlntematkedtbatundetthecondltlonslnwblchbefound
blmselfllvlng, "ttuelltetatyactlvlty"was notto befound|nttadltlonal
lltetatyoutlets, andaslmllatlntultlonseemstobavelnspltedAgamben's
wotkdutlngtbeseyeats,8enjamlnGS,|. ,) .
Aftet establlsblng tbls cutsoty pantheon ofptecutsots, Agamben
polnts to "adehnlte slgn oftbe decllne scadimcnte| ofthls ttad|t|on."
Tblsls, patadoxlcally, tbattbeteate"today. . . manywhomaeclalms
to tbe cteatlve'cbatactet ofct|tlclsm" ,S, xvxv| lll] , ttanslatlon
modlhed) . Wbeteasthlsmlgbtseemllke tbevetyopposlte-l|keaslgn
ofnot afallbutatlse-tbecbatactetlnquestlon|scteatlveonlylnap-
peatance. Tbls ls so mucbthe case that fotAgamben the "ct|t|c|sm of
today"-tbat ls, ofr;;-ls actually "a fotm ofnegat|v|ty" ,S, xvxv|
lll ) . Aswesawln tbelastchaptet, that so manymodetnwotks of
att functloned as cinca/gestutes-exempl|hed |n the |ton|c d|splay of
Duchamp's teadymades and |n the |nd|ffetentsutfaces ofWathol's pop
H oenera/ Soence etheHuman 6i
att-muchlntetestedAgambendutlngtheyeatslnwhlchhewaswtltlng
hlshtstctltlcalwotks.Thatctltlcsofthedaymadeclalmstothecteatlve
chatactetofctltlclsmwas,followlngAgamben,notthetesultofctltlclsm
becomlngmotecteatlvebut,ontheconttaty, eanccreanen/ecemng
mre critica/. AsAgambenwtltes,because"attltselfhastenouucedueaty
allptetensetocteatlvlty,"ctltlclsmhasnodlfhcultyldeutllugwlthltS,
vl ll], ttanslatlon modlhed). Thecteatlve ctltlclsm thatAgambeuls
asklnghlsteadettoenvlsloulsthusuotouethatwouldbedeemedcteatlve
bythefalsestaudatdsoftheday,butlusteadouethatwouldbecteatlveu
amotendamentalsense.Agambensaspltatloulsthatsuchwotkould
bebothctltlcalandcteatlveatouce,audthusuotoulytestotectltlclsmto
lts fotgotten cteatlve tlghts, butalsollbetatecteatlveeudeavotsftomthe
negatlve ctltlcal fuuctlon thatAgambeusaw them lucteaslngly lucllned
toadopt.
A Science Vthout bj ect
Agamben'saspltatlonlnStanlsthusascleatasltsvastWhathe
lsatgulngfotlsacreanee ncum4 At htst slght, thls lsaslmpleenough
plea.Noonewouldadvocateanattowanduuluspltedassemblageoffacts
ovetasynthetlcstudycomblnlngcteatlveluslghtwlthctltlcaletudltlou
8utAgambenslntentlonlsnotmetelyadlffeteuceofdegtee.fctltlclsm
lsto benottheanalyslsandevaluatlonofcteatlvewotksbutnsteadte
atlvewotklnltsowntlght,whatlstobeltsobj ectCtltlclsm,aswehave
cometoundetstandlt,lsthectltlclsmesomethlug-theanalyslsofsome
wotkotldea.lfltlstobenolongetthestudyofacteatlveptoductotact
butlnsteadsuchaptoductotactltselwhatbecomesofctltlclsm'sobjec
lnothetwotds,howdoesctltlclsmptoceed,andwhat,lfauythlug,sepa
tatesltftomatt`
ltlsatthlspolntthatAgambencallsfotsomethlugequallysutptls
lng. Heaspltes to offetnothlngless than a "ctltlcalfouudatlou fot the
soclal sclences audthehumanltles" S, vl | , ttanslatlou modlhed.
Whatlsmote,thlsctltlcalfoundatlonl stobefoundlnthosesamesoclal
sclencesandhumanltles,slmplysubjectedtomotelutenseteBectlou. ot
Agambeu,aslgnofctltlclsms" decadeuce"lsseeulutheshatpdlsclpllu
atydlvlslousthatctlssctossthesoclalscleucesandthehumanltes.Aseay
asiz, Heldegget-towhosememotySmlsdedlcateddaguosed
6z HCcncra/ScicnccethcHaman
whathe sawasthe "decadent multlpllcltyofdlsclpllnes"ptoppedup by
the "technlcal otganlzatlon ofunlvetsltles," whlch led scholatly actlvlty
to lose touch wlth, and become "uptooted" ftom, lts "essentlal otlgln
wcscnsgran" ,Heldegget GA, . rc|) . ln theyeat l whlch Agamben
htst encounteted hlm, r66, Heldegget saw "phllosophy dlssolvlng lnto
lndlvldual dlsclpllnes such as psychology, loglc, polltlcal sclence" ,GA
r6. 6;|) . lfdlsclpllnatydlvlslonsate to begtantedless lmpottance andlf
theheldofctltlcalspeculatlonlstobewldened,adanget,alludedtoeat-
llet,tesults.thelossofadlstlncte/cctofstudy.etAgambenptesentsthls
tlsknotasaptoblembut,sutptlslngly, asthesolutlontotheptoblemofa
commonctltlcalfoundatlon. "lflnthesoclalsclencesandthehumanltles
subjectandobjectcometo beseenasldentlcal,"wtltesAgamben, "then
the ldea ofa sclencewlthoutobject anascicnza scnza e

ctte| ls not a
playfulpatadobutpethapsthemostsetloustaskconfetteduponthought
lnouttlme" ,S,vl ll] ,ttanslatlonmodlhed).Offetlngactltlcalfoun-
datlon fot the soclal sclences and thehumanltles ls thus not a mattet
of"play" and "patado"-to usethe keytetms ofthe poststtuctutallsm
ofthe petlod-but tathet "the most setlous task" wlthwhlch thought
hnds ltselfconftonted. We mlghtthenaskwhatlslnneedofcottectlon.
outconceptlonof/nea/cdgcotoutconceptlonoflts e/cctTheanswet
thatAgamben'sbookoffetslscategotlcal.both."Whatlsmoteandmote
ftequentlyconcealedby the endless shatpenlng ofknlvesonbehalfofa
methodologywlth nothlngleft to cut-namely, the teallzatlonthat the
objecttobegtasped hasultlmatelyeludedknowledge,"Agambenwtltes,
"ls lnstead teassetted byctltlclsm as ltsownspeclhc chatactet" ,S, vl
ll] , ttanslatlonmodlhed). Ctltlclsm's "speclhcchatactet" thuslles,fot
Agamben, ln the teallzatlon that not only has ctltlclsm's object"eluded
knowledge"lnthepast-aslmpleenoughclalm, andsomethlngthatfu
tuteeffottsmlghttemedy-butltalsoai//centinactedeseln the futute.
ltlsthlseluslveobjectofctltlcallnqultythatleadsAgambenthtoughthe
vatledtettalnsofmc/anche,tishism,ntas, andscmie/eg andbtlngs
hlm, athlsbook's close, tothepolemlcalpolntthatllatosawsepatatlng
phllosophyandpoetty.
Jhe Melancholy Angel
AtthecloseofIhcMan witheatCentcntAgambensawlnDtets
Mc/cnce/ia Ian emblem fot the angel ofattsttanded betweenpastand
H Cenera/SenceetheHuman 6,
ptetw|ththe tools ofthe cteat|ve ttades sttewu at|ts feetAgambeu
sawluDtet's|mageanallegot|calemblemfottheatouceh|stot|calaud
ontolog|cald|lemmatepteseutedbythet|seofaesthet|cs. luStan,Ag-
ambeutetutnsto Dtet'setch|uguot asau emblemfotsomestateof
fa|tsthat|tm|ghtallegot|callyexptess,but|u|tsowut|ghtaud|u|tsou
melaucholycoutext.
Th|shtstsect|ouofSmnzas|sded|catedtouudetstaud|ugatemera
ment themelauchol|c. otm|lleuu|a,melaucholywasthoughttobeuu-
detthespec|al|uBueuceofSatutnaud,|uAt|stotleswake,wasassoc|ated
w|ththeact|v|t|esofthescholataudthepoet, aswellasw|ththeascet|c
|dealsoftel|g|ousteBect|ou.Agambeuoetsatect|hcat|outoth|s|mage
thtoughwhatheseesastheueglectedhguteofie.luAgambeusv|ew,
oue elementoftheh|stot|caluudetstaud|ugofthe melauchol|ctempeta-
meuthas beeu cous|steutlym|ssedby modetu commeutatots H|s study
shows that the amotous aud etot|c compoueut ofthe auc|eut d|scoutse
atouudmelaucholyhasbeeuueglectedbyeveuthemostetud|tecommeu-
tatots-|uclud|ugtheauthotsofasummaoutets|couolog|calwotld
Kl|bausky, lauofsky,audSax.
Aftetttac|ugthegeuealogyofmelaucholyasmoodaudmalady|u
Westetuthought,Agambeuuotes,"lt|scut|ousthatth|sett|cconstella
t|ouofmelaucholyshouldhavesopets|steutlyescapedscholatswhohave
attemptedtottacethegenealogyaudmeau|ugoftetsMe/ence/.Auy
|utetptetat|ou-whatevet |ts ab|l|ty to dec|phet oue by oue the hgutes
|usct|bed|u|tsheldofv|s|ou-thatfa|lstocous|detthefuudameutaltel
evanceofblackb|letothespheteofetot|cdes|te|sbouudtobeexcluded
ftomthe mystetysoemblemat|callyhxed |u tets |mage" ,S, i |)
Accotd|ugtoAgambeu, w|thout auuudetstaud|ngofth|s esseut|al el
meutofthecultutalh|stotyofthe melauchol|c tempetameut, |tsexptes
s|ou|usuchwotksasDtetstema|usamystetyTh|s|suom|uotmattet
asAgambeuseestheallegot|cal|uteut|ou"oftetswotk"eut|telysub
tenddseesa| tothespacebetweeuEtosaud|tsphautasms,"and|t|sth|s
atoncemelauchol|caudetot|cspacethathew|shestochatt ,S, i |)
otAgambeu,themelauchol|c,l|ketheatt|staudthelovet,hasaspec|al
pteoccupat|ouw|thpoteut|al|tythathemeaustoexplote.
Theadd|ugoftheamotouscompoueuthelpsAgambeutouudetstaud
Dtetss|ugulatwotkaudtect|hesapo|utof|couogtaph|calh|stoty. 8ut
th|s|suottheoulyteasouhegoestosuchph|lolog|calaud|couogtaph|cal
leugthstopo|utoutth|slacuuaotAgambeu,melaucholy|snotmetely
H Ccncra/ScicnccethcHaman
anaffect,thespaceltmovesbtoodlnglyactosslsthespaceofcultuteltself.
"Thetopologyoftheuntealthatmelancholychatts,"hewtltes, "ls, atthe
sametlme, thetopologyofcultute",,| ) . lnAgamben'sanalysls,by
focuslngon the potentlalltles andposslbllltlesofthelmaglnatlon, on lts
fantaslesandphantasms,the melanchollcdlstanceshlm- othetselfftom
the occupatlons ofevetyday llfe. Aslde effect ofteRectlng on the pos-
slblelsthatltmakestheactualandthetealseemsuddenlydlstant."The
ttoubllngallenatlonofthemostfamlllatobjects,"wtltesAgamben,"lsthe
ptlcepaldbythemelanchollc",,| ) . Retutnlngtotheobjectssttewn
actoss the lowet sectlon ofDtet's lmage he wtltes, "The compass, the
sphete,themlllstone,thehammet,thescales,andthesttalghtedge,whlch
themelanchollcptojecthasemptledofthelthabltual meaulug. . . have
noothetslgnlhcancethanthespacethattheyweavedutlngtheep|phany
oftheunattalnableadnicdcd'inarra/i/c ,,z6y, ) . "Themedl-
tatlng angel," wtltesAgamben ofDtet'shgute, "ls not. . . theemblem
ofmanklnd's attempt, at the llmlt ofan essentlal psychlc tlsk, to glve
body to hls own phantasles and to mastet ln an attlstlc ptactlce what
would othetwlse be lmposslble to begtasped ot known" ,S, z6 y|y,| ,
ttanslatlonmodlhed) . Te questlonofpossess|onandknowledgelsthus
fotmulatedthtoughahantasm.lhantasylsnottheputgatotlalplaceofa
melanchollclmaglnatlonw|thouttelevancefotmotefundamentalaspects
ofcultute, but lnsteadltsmostptopetplace. Thls obscutedphantastlc
andetotlcspaceleadsAgambenbacktohlspolntofdepattute-aspace
heseesascommonto poettyaudphllosophy, aswellascommonto an-
othetdlchotomy, thatbetween cnemcntand /nea/cdgc Thlsphantas-
matlcspace,gllmpsedlnanetotlcallychatgedconceptlonofmelancholy,
lsfotblmsltuatednelthetentltelylnthesubjectnotentltelylntheobject,
butlnsteadlnwhathecallsa"thltdate"betweenthetwothatfotmsthe
commonthemeofthedlffetentpattsofhlslnvestlgatlon.
lnthenetsectlonofStanzasAgambenleavesmelancholytotheslde
and, soasto bettetdellneatethls "thltdspace" thathelocates"between
subj ectandobject," tutns to matglnal objects|ullmlualsphetes. Hee-
amlnesfetlshe, toys, andattwotksln the ageoftheltcommod|hcatlon,
ttaclngthemtothesamephantasmatlc"thltdspace"htstgllmpsed|nthe
anclentmoodsofthemelanchollc.Fetlshlsmplaysacenttaltolehetebe-
causeofhowltlsolatesltsobjectlnacutlousspaceuevetcleatlylocatable
lnelthetthesubjectottheobject.8ulldlngonFteud'sanalysls,Agamben
cont|nues. "Thefet|shconftoutsuswlththepatadoxofanunatta|nable
I
HCenera/ScienceetheHuman 6,
object that sat|shes a human need ptec|selythtough|ts be|uguuatta|n-
able" ,S, ,, |i] ). Th|ssttuctute|souethatAgambeu, tutu|ugftomthe
psycholog|cal to theeconom|cal,hnds|nMatx'sanalysesofcommod|ty
fet|sh|sm. "Thesupet|mpos|t|on oftheusevaluecottespouds, |ufet|sh
|sm, to the supet|mpos|t|on ofa patt|culat symbol|cvalue ou the uot
mal use ofthe obj ect.ust s the fet|sh|st nevet succeeds |u possess|ug
thefet|shwholly, because|t|sthes|guoftwoconttad|ctotyteallt|es, so
theownetofacommod|tyw|llnevetbeabletoeujoy|tslmultaueously
as both useful object and as value" ,S, ,; |,] ). ReBect|ugou oudou's
n|vetsal Expos|t|ou |ui,i audthe at|s Exposlt|ouof6;,Agambeu
seesthat"thettaushgutat|onofthecommod|ty|utoenchante

e/ectlsthe
s|guthattheexchaugevalue|salteadybeg|uulugtoecl|psetheusevalue
ofthecommod|ty"S, , |6 ,|tal|cs|uotlglual).Hetheututusluasec
oudaualogy,topoetssuchas8audela|tewhoembtacedthepsycholog|cal
att|hcesoffet|sh|sm,aswellastopsychologlstssuchas. Wluu|cott
audh|sstudyof"ttans|t|oualobj ects",thosehtstobj ects,suchasapleceof
bedd|ngotasctapofcloth,thatthech|ld|solatesftomtheextetualwold
aud apptopt|ates as hls own). Expaud|ugou these aualog|es,Agmbeu
states that the fet|sh|zed objects hete |u quest|ou tesemble oue auothet
|uthatthey"appateutlyptopetlybelouguelthettothe|utetualaudsub
j ect|ve notto the extetual audobject|vesphetes, butto somethlugthat
W|nu|cottdehnedastheateaof|llus|ou,'|uwhosepoteut|alspace'they
w|llsubsequentlybeabletos|tuatethemselvesbothluplayaudlucultutal
expet|ence",S,, 6] ). Th|s"ateaof|llus|ou"theubecomesoueofmauy
namesfotwhatAgamben|stty|ugtogtasp|uSmn theelus|ve"thltd
atea"ot"potent|alspace""betweensubjectaudobject."
Jhe Idea ol Ihilolo
Theth|tdsect|onofStansapptoachesth|s "poteutlalspace"ftom
a d|ffetent s|de. thtough the |dea offautasy|u th|tteeuthceututylytlc
petty. lt|sptecededbythelougestaud

mostcomplexded|cat|ouluAg
amben'soeuvte."Mau|busAbyWatbutgetRobettle|u/etllebeGott
steckt |m Deta|l' /geu||sque Henty Cotb|u etacques acauC'est ll
mltotspet|lleus',S,6;i] ).
The ded|cat|ou beglusw|th a motto takeu ftom thej oluedhauds
mani/us) of AbyWatbutgaudRobettle|u. "thedeatGoddellsluthe
66 HCcncra/ScicnccethcHaman
detalls." Agambenwas lntenselylntetestedlnWatbutgandhls motto,
teBected not only ln the yeatAgamben spent studylngat theWatbutg
lnstltute ,atthelnvltatlonofFtancesates,whoAgambenhadcometo
knothtough ltalo Calvln) , but also ln hls cltlng ofthe motto ln an
essayftom r;,, andlnhlslndltectevocatlonoflt lnanessayftomr|
lnwhlchhespeaksofphllologlcalattentlontodetalls,lnwhlch,aslthas
beensald,thedeatLotdllestohldehlmself" ,lGA, z, l,c rz, , z
r, ) . Watbutg,abtllllantandeccenttlcatthlstotlan, usedthlsexptesslon
as a petsonal motto ofsotts and would often clte lt to colleagues and
cowotkets at the lnstltute he founded ln Hambutg.

Whathe used lt
to sttesswas the need fot attentlveness to even the mostm|nute deta|ls
ofawotk, otofallfe,lnone'sseatchfotthemostfundamentalandfat-
teach|ngmattets.
Watbutg's at once playful and setlousdlctumtecalls the apptoach
ofoue ofhls many admltets-8enj amln-who fot h|s patt wtote that
to apptoach the "ttuthcontent" ofa wotk tequ|ted the most ptec|se
lmmetslon lnto the lndlvldual detalls of a glveu subject" ,8enj amln
GS, r. zc) . eatslatet, lnhls Lcttcren Hamanum, He|degget adopted
a slmllat stance, wtltlng that glven "the cuttent peuuty ofthe wotld,"
we need "less phllosophy andmotev|g|lant thought, less l|tetatute aud
motecatefot lettets" ,Heldegget r|, ,|). Suchacatefotlettets matks
Agamben's apptoach, and thtoughout Stanzshe dlsplays the etud|t|ou
andpteclslon ofaphllologlst, aswell as the guldlugseusethatw|thout
a detalled lnvestlgatlon oflmage and wotd, ttue ph|losoph|cal specula-
tlon ls lmposslble. Elsewhete dutlngthese sameyeats,heapptoachesthe
mostfundamentallns|ghtsofthepoettyofHldetllnandthephllosophy
ofeldeggetthtough aphllologlcal analysls ofthevlttuallyunttanslat-
ableGetmantetm Stimmang,see"ocazloneevoce" ln ll ;;) , and
ln Ihc Iimc IhatRcmainsheanalyzestheApostlelaul 'smesslanlsmby
glosslng the htst ten wotds, and onlythe htst ten wotds, ofthe Lettet
to the omans. To apptoach the fundamental dlalectlcalketnel ofthe
phllosophles ofHegel and Heldegget, Agamben tutns to a stlll smallet
element. thelndoEutopeantoot sc" asltlsteBectedlntheseph|loso-
phets'tetmlnolog|es,see ScHegel 'sAbsoluteandHeldegget'sErcignu, "
rz,|nl, 6; r6c ) . ln alatet essayontetm|nologyaudDett|da,
Agamben tematksthat"evena slmple punctuatlon matkcau acqu|te a
tetmluolog|calchatactet"andptoves|tnotonlythetebutalso|nanessay
on Deleuzelnwhlch the lattet's use ofcolonsaudell|psesateshowu to
HCenera/SenceetheHuman 6;
teveal Deleuzes most fundamental |ntu|t|ons about the |dea of|mma
nence ,l, zc).

The cottect|onof|nd|v|duallettets nttansct|pt|onsof

8enjamn'sd|fhculthandwt|t|nghasptovedtobeofgteatmpottance,as
wew|llsee|nalatetchaptet),andast|llsmalletdeta|ltowhchAgamben
accotdsspec|alattent|onfotmsthetop|cofthehnal,sem|olog|calsect|on
ofStanzaswheteAgambenanalyzestheslash,otbatt|et,), thatSaussute
|nttoducesbetweens|gn|hetands|gn|hed,see S, i,;f 6zf] )
lnshott, fotAgamben, asfot Watbutg, the |mpottanceofphlo
logcalattent|venesscouldhatdlybegteatet.lnAgambensanalys|softhe
conceptualm|gtat|onofSnmmungftomamus|calacoust|calsphete toa
psycholog|cal one, hewtotethteeyeatsaftetSmnzthat"thehstotyof
cultutesoftennoth|ngothetthanthehstotyofsuchd|splacements,of
suchdslocat|ons,and|t|sptec|selyfotth|steasonthatthe|ntetptetat|n
ofcetta|n categot|esandconceptsofthepasthaveoftengventsetoso
manymsundetstandngs" ,ll, ;).Agambenhndsapetfectexampleof
such|nthecaseoferes,wh|chbegan|natchacGteeceasthenameofa
theolog|calhgute-agod-onlytoevolveovettme ntoapsycholog|cal
hgute-thatof/eoe,seel,;)."lnth|sm|gtaton,"Agambenwttes,"the
pantheonofGteekgods-otlatet, theCht|st|anTtn|tysdsplaced,"
and"th|stheolog|caldiscanen|swhatwecallche" ,,)y, talcs
|not|gnal).Th|smechan|smwhchAgambensmplycalls"thehstoy
ofcultute"-|swhatptec|se|mmets|on|ntothedeta|lsofasubjectllows
usto undetstand. lt|sfot ths teason thatthetovenal amerstetm
and concept ofso much |ntetest fotAgamben, |n Staaswell sn
eatletandlatetwotks.Agamben sees |n|tawatetshedmomentofsuch
hstot|cal d|splacementThe"ptojectofagenetal sc|enceofthehuman,"
wh|chAgambendesct|besh|swotkasa|m|ngtowatddut|ngtheseyets
ofhs cateet, must be conductedat thelevel ofthe lettetw|th all the
m|gtat|ons,ttansfotmat|ons,d|slocat|ons,andd|splacementsofcategotes
andconcepts|mpl|edthete|n,l, ] )
Th|s| sa movement, howevet, thatgoesbothwaysnotonlymust
theabsttact|onsofph|losophytake|ntoacountthedetalsofphlology,
butthe desctpt|ve d|sc|pl|nes mustalso open themselves to ontologcal
d|mens|ons. ln one ofAgambens eatlyessays, wt|tten neatly ten yeats
befote Smnzs, he speaks to ptec|selyth|s pont, ptoclamng that "the
degtee to wh|ch l|ngu|stcsw|ll open a semologcal petspectve to the
study oflanguagew|ll be condt|oned by the extent to wh|ch t opens
|tselfto a mote ample ontolog|cal d|mens|on" ,A, ,) Atvtous
6 H Ccncra/ScicnccethcHaman
polntsAgambenhasspokenofthe"temptatlon"heexpetlencedtobecome
aphllologlst,LD) .OfthepetlodwhenhewaswtltlngStanzshenotes,
"ltwasdutlngtheseyeatsthatlcameclosesttowotklngasaphllologlst
lnthesttlctsenseofthetetm,butltwasalsothepetlodlnwhlchlbegan
toseethellmltsofsuchanapptoach",lGA,,z) . Ofthesellmltshealso
temated,Thephllologlstwhowlshestofollowhlsdlsclpllnetoltsllmlts
ls ln need ofphllosophy and, as letzsches expetlence shows us, must
at a cettaln polnt become aphllosophet" ,lGA, ,z). lt ls fot thls tea-
sonthatln StanzsAgambenwtltesofhow"Saussute teptesents . . . the
exttemely valuable case ofa phllologlst who, caught ln the net oflan-
guage, felt . . . the lnsufhclency ofphllology, andwhohad to become
aphllosophetotsuccumb" to thatlnsufhclency ,S, r,z rz] , ttanslatlon
modlhed).SlmonatvlshasteBected,"lamnotsutethat Agambenwould
wlshtothlnkofhlmselfasaphllosophetphllologlst,"butthetelsmuchln
Agamben'swotk-andnotonlyln-thatwouldlncllnetheteadet
tothlnkothetwlse,atvlszccc,,c) .
Agamben'sconvlctlon thatl tlsonlythtoughthe mostcatefuland
pteclse studyofthe detalls ofawotkthat one can one teach lts most
fundamental concluslonswas, ashlsdedlcatlonlndlcates, lnBuencedby
Watbutg.Thelattet'sfamousattentlontoetalllntextandlmageledto
asetles oftematkabledlscovetles. 8y examlnlngthefotmsandgestutes
ofeatlyRenalssanceattwlthunptecedentedcate,Watbutgcametoun-
detstandbettetthetolethatlmagesftompaganantlqultyplayedthetelu.
As hlspeetless eye fot detall ledhlmto uncovet subte andsutptlslng
cottespondences,hefoundhlslnvestlgatlonsleadlnghlmbeyondthetta-
dltlonal conhnes ofthe hlstoty ofatt, and he began to fotm a speclal
dlsclpllne.ltwasatthlspolntthatRobettKlelnentetedtheplctute-and
Agamben'sdedlcatlon. Kleln,llkeWatbutg,wasanatthlstotlanspeclal-
lzlng ln the Renalssance, and he oncetematkedthatthepathbteaklng
Watbutgwasthefoundetofadlsclpllnethat,"lnconttasttomanyothets,
exlstsbuthasno name" ,Klelnrc,zz|).What,then, lsthlssclencefot
whlchWatbutg-awtltetwhopossessedatateglftfotneologlsm-could
hndnoname`
ltwas not fotlackofttylngthatWatbutg possessed no name fot
the dlsclpllne he ploneeted. Eatly on ln hls studles lt became cleat to
hlm that the lnltlal deslgnatlon, Hlstoty ofAtt, would not sufhce fot
hls speclalputposes. The teasonfot thls was thatWatbutg's lnqultles,
thoughtheywete mastetplecesofpteclsefotmalandstyllstlcexposltlon
H Cenera/SenceetheHuman
and eanatlon featutlngtematkable feats oflconogtaphlcal deductlon
,as ln hls dec|phetlng ofthe ctyptlc asttologlcal |mages at the alazzo
SchlfanolalnFettata),weteonlypattlallyconcetnedwlthwotksofattln
thewaythatthedlsclpllneofatthlstotyhadcometovlewthem.Centtal
wotks oftheWestetn canon such as lollaluolo's potttalts ot 8ottlcell|'s
Primaocra lndeed lntetested Watbutg passlonately and setved to gulde
hls ,etenslve) teseatchandspate)wtltlng. 8utwhatlntetestedhlmst|ll
motethanwotksofattseenthtoughthelensofthe|tfotmalandstyllstlc
chatactetlstlcs,andplacedlnahlstotyoflnBuences,wetequestlonscon
cetnlngthefundamentalnatuteandfunctlonoflmages,andhlsdeta|led
studyledhlmbeyondtheconhnesofatthlstotylntosweeplngontologlcal
andanthtopologlcalspeculatlons.Watbutgsooncametooccupyhlmself
notonlywlthwotksofattbutalsowlthlmagesofallsotts-ftomantlq
ultytotheptesentday,ftomthehlghestachlevementslnthev|sualattsto
thelowestcatlcatutesoftheRefotmatlontothespottsphotogtaphyofhls
ownday. Althoughhewasahlghlyttalnedatthlstotlancapableofetu
dltedlsqulsltlononthemostpteclsedetallsoffotmalstudyothlstotlcal
lnfotmatlonftomuatttocentoFlotentlnedtessto8abylonlansymbol
ogy-Watbutg'sgoalwasD llnkatthlstotytoothetheldsoflnqu|ty to
psychology,ethnology, anthtopology,ph|lology,phllosophy, tellg|ou,and
stlllothetdoma|ns. W|ndsummatlzedWatbutg's s|ngulatapptoach ,ln
conttad|stlnctlon to the telgnlngfotmallstapptoaches |ntheh|stotyof
attofHelntlchWlBlnandAlolsR|egl) "twasoneofWatbutgsbas|c
convlctlonsthatanyattempttodetachthelmageftomltstelat|outotel|
glonandpoetty,tocultanddtama,lsllkecuttlngo|tsl|feblood",W|nd
iy, z,). Thls llmltlng aspect ofthe aesthetlc ,and fotmallst) ttad|t|on
thatAgambensovehementlyspokeoutagalnstlnhlshtstbookexptesses
thesamelmpatlencethatledWatbutgtofoundasclencethat,thoughlt
elsted,hadnoname.
Watbutgnevetsucceededlnnamlngthlslntetdlsc|pl|natydlsclpl|ne
dedlcatedtothestudyoflmagesandtheltcultutalttansm|sslon,thoughhe
dldcomeupwlthasetlesofptomlslngcandldates.thetelat|velysttalght-
fotwatdand shottllvedhuteecu/mre, followedbyche/e ehuman
eressien and hute e theche then by icene etheinteria/and
theshottetandslmplet icene). tshouldcomeasllttlesutpt|sethat
AgambentepeatedlyevokesWatbutglnconjunctlonwlth thlnketssuch
as 8enjamln, Leo Spltzet, Claude LvlSttauss, and

mlle8enven|ste
thlnketswotklngat the llmlts ofthelt tespect|ve dlsc|pllnes ,ph|lology,
c H Ccncra/ScicnccethcHaman
styllstlcs, anthtopology, and llngulstlcs) and lntetested ln the polnts at
whlchthemostpteclsehndlngslnthosedlsclpllnesopenedontothebtoad-
estquestlonslnthesoclalsclencesandthehumanltles ,seel,).
AdoptlngWatbutgsmottowasawayfotAgambento callfotcate-
fulteadlngandloolnglnhlsendeavotstobtlngtogethetdlspatateateas
oflnqulty-buttbetewasalsomotetobeheatdtheteln.Asthehtstpatt
ofAgambensdedlcatlonlndlcates,whatAgambenlsaspltlngtowatdhete
ls not onlyvlgllant attentlon to the mlnute detalls oftets and lmages
butalsotobteadownthebattletsthatdlvldethedlffetenttealmsofthe
soclal sclences andthehumanltles andthetebyopen thewayfot a "scl-
encewlthoutobject"thatcouldhopetobecome"agenetalsclenceofthe
human."
Acc//:/:o,or Culture
lnWatbutgswae,Agambenthenoffetssomethlngabsolutelyfun-
damental.adehnltlonofca/tarc "Evetycultute,"hewtltes,"lsessentlally
aptocessofttansmlsslonandofNach/c/cn" ,S,II2 rr ) . ThetetmNach-
/c/cnlsonethatAgambenleavesunttanslatedbutthathls Engllshttans-
latotdoesnot.Thelattettendetsltas"aftetllfe."Thenototlouslydlfhcult
tottanslateNach/c/cnlndeedevoesasottofaftetllfeandlscomposedof
wotdsslgnlfylng"aftet"and"llfe",nachmeanlng"aftet"andLc/cnmean-
lng"llfe"). Howevet, Nach/c/cndoesnotdeslgnate"atetl|fe"lntheway
ln whlch we ate accustomedto undetstandlnglt. ltdoes not tefettothe
aftetllfelnthe sense ofanethcrllfebeyondthls one, otofanothetwotld
beyond out own. lnstead, lt ls contlnued llfe lnthlswotld, andfot thls
teason lsmoteoften ttanslatedas"sutvlval."Thlsmaesthewotdsound
almostghostly, and lt lspethapsnowondetthatthewtltet ftomwhom
Agambenbottowedthetetm-Watbutg-oncedesctlbedhlswtltlngsas
"ghoststotlesfottbevetyadult. "
AgambenleavestbetetmlnGetmannotonlybecauseofthedlfh-
cultyofttanslatlnglt,butalsotodltecthlsteadettothetetmthatWatbutg
usedtodenotethecentetofblslntetests.the"sutvlval "ot"contlnuedllfe,"
theNach/c/cnoffotms-oflmages,poses,postutes,andgestuteslncul-
tutalattlfactsandwotsofattovetlongpetlods To bottowatleftom
one ofWatbutg's ftlends and colleagues, Etnst Cassltet, whatWatbutg
was sttlvlngto fotmulatelnhlswotkwas a thceesm/e/icrms.The
HCenera/ScienceetheHuman i
teasonWatbutgd|dnotchooseas|mplettetmsuchas/audthetea
sonAgambendoesuotdoso |n Stanzswheuheseeksto dehue cu/mre
|s that both th|nkets ate euv|s|on|nga mote dyuamlc telatlou betweeu
pastand ptesentthan the tetms ofatth|stotyot h|stotlogtaphyateac
customedto exptess|ng.Watbutgusedthe tetm Nach/e/enfot the same
teasonhespokeoftheequallyd|fhculttottanslatePatherme/,"pathos
fotmulae) . thepo|ntofh|s|nvest|gat|onswastouudetstaudthel|feaud
aftetllfe of|mages-to study|mages as "chatged" wlthpsych|ceuetgles
otsymbol|cl|fe. '

Thecottelateofthlscouceptlouwasthatlmagesftom
outcultutal past ate uotdead, goue, ot extlugulshed theyate atmost
dotmantandtema|u|ufusedot"chatged"wlththeeuetglesthatcultutes
haveluvested|uthem-adyuamlcpoteutlalthattheytetalu eveuwheu
they l|e fotgotteu fot decades, ceutut|es, oteveu louget "lu Watbutg,
Agambenwt|tes,"ptec|selywhatm|ghthaveappeatedasauuucousclous
sttuctute patexcelleuce-the lmage-lusteadshowedltselfto be a de
c|s|velyh|stot|cal element, thevetyplaceofhumau cogult|veactlvltylu
|tsv|talconftontat|onw|ththepast",,iOz4 luauothetessay,Agambeu
noteshowWatbutg"ttansfotmedthe|mage. . . |utoadeclslvelyhlstotlcal
anddynamlcelement",ME,| || . Watbutg'slatgestaspltatlouwas
toundetstaudauddesct|betheeuetgles|uhetlugluacultute'slmages
euetglesthatwete,|uhlscouceptlou,stotedluthoselmagesaudthatcould
l|ewa|t|ugthetelnfotceutut|esbefotebelugtevlvedluthelmagluatlouof
anewage,ashappeueddut|ugtheReualssauce ltwasthlssameeuetgetlc
concept|onofcultutalttausm|ss|outhatledWatbutgtoasetlesofueolo-
g|smscoluedtodesct|belmages|uvestedwlthapattlculatpsychologlcal
fotceotchatge,wh|chhealtetnatelytetmedengams, dnamegams aud
athes/rmu/e.FotWatbutg,lmageswetetheh|stotyofcultuteluctys
tall|zedfotm, andhe consequentlyfouuduoth|ugsowtougheaded aud
l|mlt|ngasthenat|onal|st|candd|sc|plluatydlvlslousthathadsptuugup
|nthesoc|alsc|encesandthehumau|t|esofhlsdayaud thatlmpededthe
ptojectofacomptehens|veundetstand|ugofthepsycholog|calpowetud
cultutalmean|ngof|mages.
"Eutopeancultute|s,desp|teevetyth|ug,"Agambeusttesses,"cou
setvat|ve,audlt|scousetvatlveptec|selytoheexteutthatltlsptogtesslve
audtevolutlouaty",S,Uz i,i| . FotWatbutgaudAgambeu,estetucul
tute|sa"onsetvat|ve"cultute|uthe,l|tetalseuseluthatltteudstocou
setve|tscultutalfotms-ltss|gus,symbols,audlmages Thlscousetvatlou,
howevet,lsthelastth|ugbutaueuttalttausmlss|ouofcouveutloualfotms
z Ccncra/SicnccethcHaman
andcontentsftomgenetatlonto genetatlon. Eutopean cultute, although
slngulatlydynamlclnltsvaluatlons ,"hot"lnthetetmsofathlnketwho
waslmpottantfotAgambendutlngthosesameyeats,Lvl-Sttauss),also
showsaslngulattendencytoptesetveottecycleltsfotms, evenwhenthey
havedlsappeatedftomthemaln tepettolteofacultutefotyeats,decades,
centutles,otlnsomecases,mlllennla.Thedutablllyofthesefotmsand
contentslswhatWatbutg-andaftethlm,Agamben-deslgnatedbythe
tetmNach/c/cn.
lnlatetyeats,Antonloegtl ,zcc,zr)calledAgamben"aWatbutg
ofctltlcal ontology," ptesumably both because he llnked, ln sutptlslng
andattlmesjattlngways,fundamentalphllosophlcalquestlonstopteclse
phllologlcal ones stemmlng ftom othet dlscoutses and dlsclpllnes, and
because ofthe exceptlonallyloghlstotlcal halllfe ot aftetllf

he saw
ln hgutes ftom antlqulty. WhenAgamben tematks that "hlstotlans of
attandlltetatuteknowthatbetween theatchalcandthemodetnthete
lsasectet appolntment,"helsexptesslnganldeaheshatesnotonlywlth
8enj amlnbutalsowlthWatbutgandthatthelattetlmpattedto abtoad
tange ofstudents ftom Wlnd to lanofsky, Cuttlus to Catlo Glnzbutg,
Gombtlch to Hotst8tedekamp ,CCC, z) At theheattofStanzs de-
talledanalyseslles anovetatchlnglnqultylntothenatuteofcultuteand
theptocessofltsttansmlsslon.Fotthosetettogtadeteseatchetswhostood
watchatthellmltsofthevatlousdlsclpllnesofhlsday, Watbutgcolned
a playful name-the "Guatdlans oflon." Kleln's obsetvatlon about
Watbutg'slnventlvenessglvesltselftothetleofanessayAgambenwtote
dutlngthesesameyeats,byWatbutgandtheamelessSclence",r;,),
lnwhlch Agamben comes to the concluslon that "lt ls llkely that such
a sclence as Watbutg's wlll have to temaln nameless as long as lts ac-
tlvlty has not penettated so deeply lnto out cultute as to ovetcome the
fataldlvlslonsandfalsehletatchlessepatatlngnotonlythesoclalsclences
andthehumanltles ftomoneanothetbutalsoattwotks ftomthestadia
hamaniera and lltetaty cteatlon ftom sclence" ,l, rcc rq , ttanslatlon
modlhed) .
ThlsshouldsoundpetfectlyfamlllattotheteadetofStanzs,
fotlt lspteclselythese "fatal dlvlslons and falsehletatchles" that, aswe
saw eatllet, ledAgamben to call fot a "sclencewlthout object." "lt ls to
behoped,"AgambentematkslnStanzs, "thatlnthecontextofaglobal
apptoachareccie tocultuteslmllattowhatWabutgenvlsloned,"phl-
lologywouldleatn tolntegtatethestudyoflmages lnto lts methods ,S,
y ). Thlsls,howevet, onlyone step to be taken audouebouudaty
H Cenera/ScienceetheHuman ,
to bectossed. Epand|ngonth|shope,Agamben lndlcates thebteadth
ofh|samb|t|onsfotth|snamelesssc|encebysuggest|ngthat"onlya dls
c|pl|ne of|ntetd|sc|pl|nat|ty' | s adequateto the lntetptetatlonofhuman
phenomena" ,S, rcz] ) . Th|ssamephtase,"d|sclpllneoflntetdlsclplln
at|ty,"alongw|tha"genetalsclenceofthehuman,"lsfoundattheendof
Agamben'snetbook, InncandHistes|stefetenceto "asclence
as ofyetw|thoutname," and thetebymakes cleat the lntetdlsclpllnaty
d|tect|on|nwh|chAgamben' sthought|smovlngdutlngtheseyeats,see
lH, i| r|] , ttanslatlonmod|hed) . Stanaslsanlntetdlsclpllnatybook
|nthat|tcallsonaw|deattayofmethodsandtetmsftomthedlsclpllnes
ofphllology, phllosophy, lconogtaphy, lconology, and poetlcs 8ut lt ls
lntetdlsclpllnaty|nst|llanothetwaylnthatAgamben'salmlstoovetcome
boththedlv|slonsthatsepatatetheselndlvldualdlsclpllnesandthemote
fundamental-andfotgotten-dlvlslonsbetweenpoettyandphllosophy,
cteat|onandctlt|c|sm.
A Oiscipline ol Interdisciplinariq
Asthesecondhalfofthecompleded|catlonglvenealletlndlcates,
latt, ofStanas|snotonlyaboutWatbutgandhls"dlsclpllneoflntet
dlsc|pl|nat|ty" |t ls alsoabout the space oflove as lt ls lnnovatlvelyde
sct|bed |n the poettyofthe thltteenth centuty-pattlculaty ln Le Re
mande/a Rese,thepetllousm|ttots|n questlonateftomthatwotkand
f:tmthepool|ntowh|chNatclssusgazes) .

WhatthegenlusofCotbln
andLacan ,geniisqueHenCer/in etacquesLacan) encoutagedAgam
bentolook|ntowetethemirerserideus thepetllous mlttotsoffantas
thatteBectoutown|mage.FotAgamben,the|nnovat|veelementofme
d|evaldesct|pt|onsoflove|stheltfocusonadteamllkeelement.Theclas-
s|cal wotld had l|ttle conceptlon ofa halluclnatoty "lmage" suspended
betweenlovet andbeloved.Thepetllousm|ttothetenamedlsthepool
ofNatc|ssus-apoolthatmetges wlththefounta|noflove andwhetea
phantasmat|c|magebecomesan|ntegtalpattofconceptlonsoflove.That
th|sphantasmatlcptesenceofthebelovedwasanuneasyonelsseenlnthe
ways |n whlch hgutes ftom antlqultysuch asNatclssus and ygmallon
wetetakenupbymedlevalpoetsandtelntetpteted.otthlsphantasmatlc
aspectoflovetobefullyundetstood|nltsnowlatgelyfotgottencontext,
thescholat,followlngAgamben, needstoadoptavatletyofapptoaches,
q H Cccra/ScicnccethcHaman
audCotblnaudLacau atehouotedfotthe luvaluableasslstaucetheyof-
fetluthls tegatd. ltlscleatthatboththluketsatetepteseutatlvemembets
ofthe"dlsclpllneoflutetdlsclplluatlty"heluvokes. Agambeuwtlteselse-
whete,fotlustauce,ofhow"thelmpottanceofCotblu'sstudlesfottheuu-
detstaudlngofstlluovlstlytlclsyetauothetptoofoftheueefotthesoclal
scleucesaudthehumaultlestoovetcomedlvlsloulutospeclallzeddepatt-
meuts,"andlnauessayftomizheapptovluglytefetsto Cotblu'sobset-
vatlousoutellglouspheuomeuology,see l, iz i] ,i|,f zi6f] ,ttausla-
tloumodlhed). Lacau'slutetdlsclplluatyapptoachlsmotewellkuowu
thepsychoaualysttoutluelylutegtatedcouceptsbottowedftoml|ugu|stlc
theoty, settheoty, lltetatytheoty, mathematlcal topology, outology, aud
othetheldslutohlspsychologlcalspeculatlous.
Agambeu'slutetdlsclpllnatystudyluStanzspteseutsmany|us|ghts
abouthetolcquestsaudloves, butltsmostptofouudlessoucoucetusthe
"possesslou"aud"eujoyment"theysoofteuuameaudthattheyshatew|th
ctltlclsm ltsel "Llke all authentlc quests " Agambeuwtltes, "ctltlclsm's
questcouslstsuotlutecovetlug ritreoarc ltsownobject,butlnsecutlug
thecoudltlousofltsluaccesslblllty",S,xvllll] ,ttauslatloumodlhed) .

lfthlstematklstobetakensetlously-andevetythlugaboutthepassage
ln whlch lt ls found encoutages thls-Agambeu, kulghtettaut ofctltl-
clsm,hasembatkedonacutlouseplstemologlcalquest.
The pleafota uewctltlclsmevokedeatlletlsaccompauled by the
obsetvatlouwlthwhlchwebegau. "Wheuthetetm cricismhtstappeats
luthevocabulatyofWestetuphllosophyltdeuotesluqultylutothellmlts
ofknowledge,lutothatwhlchltlsposslbleuelthettoposeuotgtasp."We
mlghtwoudetwhyAgambeuplacessuchsttessouasing, ottathet,ou
"thatwh|ch lt lsposslble nelthetto pose uotto gtasp."As |tstltleludl-
cates, Stanzaslsaboutaspace-audaspacellkenoothet.Thlslsuota
locallzable"teal " space but, asAgambeucallslt, a"phautasmatlcspace,"
a "poteutlal space"-whlch ls, lu fact, the space ofthought. lt ls thus
locatednelthetluthesubj ectnotlutheobject,audasatesultcauuevetbe
fullyaudhuallygtaspedbyasubj ectluthefotmofauobject.Thevatlous
stauzasofthebookatedemousttatlousofthlss|ugulatlyelus|ve|dea.
"The splltbetweeu poettyaud phllosophy," saysAgambeu, "testl-
hestothelmposs|bll|tyfotWestetucultuteoffullypossess|ugtheobject
ofkuowledge,fot theptoblemofkuowledgelsaptoblemofpossess|ou,
and evetyptoblemofpossesslou ls aptoblemofeujoymeut, thatls, of
lauguage)" ,S, xvll ll] ). The teadet ls faced hetew|thptoblems aud
H Cenera/ScenceetheHuman )j
ptesupos|t|ousthatated|fhculttolocate.hy, fot|ustance,shouldthe
ptoblemofkuowledgebeseeu asaptoblemofenjoymentAgamben fo-
cuses h|s atteut|ou, aswe saw, ou a d|v|s|on |n langage between the
wotdofpoettyandthewotdofthought"audhndsauewfotm|at|onfot
|t|utetmsofa"possess|ou"ofau"obect"ofkuowledgeoettypossesses
|tsobectw|thoutknow|ug|twh|leph|losophyknows|tsobjectw|thout
possess|ug|t",S,xv||lll] ) . Theptoblemthen|souenotofassut|ngthe
coud|t|ousofposs|b|l|tyfotessessien ofthe obects ofknow|edge ,as |u
aut) but|usteadofcouce|v|ugthem|uanewl|ght.Fotth|steason|t|s
petfectlycoheteutfotAgambeu to cla|mthat "||keal|athent|cquests
ct|t|c|sm'squestcous|stsuot|utecovet|ug|tsownobj ect,bt|nsect|ng
the cond|t|ons of|ts |uaccess|b|l|ty." The |deaevokedhete, wh|chw||l
beattheceutetofAgambeu'shfthbook, Idea e ese |snotoneofthe
guatd|aus ofa d|sc|pl|uaty|oukeep|ugthe|ttteasutesftomaptofaue
mass. lt|s|usteadalessouaboutthel|m|tsofteptesentat|on. lnth|sles-
sou l|e both the d|fhculty aud uovty ofSmnzsaud, |n thewotks to
follow,Agambeu's|deaofpoteut|al|tyThed|v|s|ou betweenph||osophet
audpoet,betweeukuowledgeaudpleasute,cottespoudsfotAgambeuto
a d|v|s|ou |u lauguage |tsfaud |s the teason fot "the utgencyfot out
cultuteoftecovet|ngtheuu|tyof|tsowud|v|dedwotd/unid//re
riaare/seta ,S,xv||l] ,ttanslat|oumod|hed) . Th|stecovety,
howevet, |ssubecttothectypt|ccaveatuotedeat||et tecovety net|uthe
fotmofpossess|ou.
Hetewecanatlastseethatthect|t|calct|tet|outhatAgambenbot-
towedftomtheeua c|tcle-thatawotkofct|t|c|smshouldconta|n|ts
owuuegat|ou" -wasuotadvancedasameteptovocat|onltcottesponds
|usteadto themostptofouud|uteut|ou ofth|s s|ugulatwotk. hat|s
secluded |n the smnzofct|t|c|sm," Agambenwt|tes, |s uoth|ug, but
th|suoth|ugsafeguatdsuuapptopt|ab|l|ty/'inare//t| as|tsmost
ptec|ous good" ,S, xv|| l] , ttauslat|on mod|hed).Toaskofa wotk
that|tcouta|u|tsownuegat|ou|stoask|ttoensutethe atta|nab|||ty
of|ts obect. That th|s |s au asp|tat|ou cousonautw|th the ph||osophy
ofthe book's ded|catee beats uot|ug. Ftom engand me|n!y2) to
"Theudofh||osophyaudtheTaskofTh|nk|ng" |n!y), e|degget
made a d|st|uct|on between a systemat|c tat|ona||ty audwhat he calls,
s|mpyeuough,th|nk|ng." Ihn/ng ase|deggetndetstandsandem-
ploysthetetm,|suottheamass|ugof|nfotmat|onaudthecatalog|ngof
elemeuts-th|ugsheassoc|atesw|ththe|usttumenta|teason,bteactat|c
HCcncra/ScicnccethcHaman
couttol, aud champloulug oftechuology thathave btought about such
tavagesasthedtopplugofatomlcbombs. Heldegget's thin/ing llkethat
whlchAgambeu advauces hete lu the uame ofa comblued ctltlcal aud
cteatlvedlsclpllueoflutetdlsclplluatlty, apptoachesltsobjectluafatdlf-
feteut fashlou-oue thatsttessesthe fuudameutal cxcricnccofthought
auddoesuotmeasuteltsaccopllshmeutbyltsstockplllugofobjectsof
kuowledge.
AlthoughAgambeu'steasousfotchamploulugadlsclpllueoflutet-
dlsclplluatltyateeasytouudetstaud,theeudstowhlchheputsthemate
uot always easy to gtasp. How ate we to euvlsage thls scleuce wlthout
object,thlsctltlcalquestwhosegoallsuotthetecovetyofalostobjectbut
the maluteuauce ofthe luvlolabllltyofthat obj ect`Theloglcofappto-
ptlatlou thatAgambeu adopteftomthe dedlcatee oftebookptovldes
adlffeteut llukwlth thlukets ofhlsday-allukwlth adlvetsegtoup of
FteuchHeldeggetlaussuchasDettlda,eau-Lucaucy,audothetswhose
ptluclpal couceptual questlou dutlug theseyeatswas thatoftheloglcof
ptopetty,ptoptlety, audapptoptlatlouluallltscouceptual,psychologlcal,
audecouomlcteglstetsAgambeu'sdlalectlcofsubjectaudobject,ptoptl-
etyaud apptoptlatlou, possesslou aud luvlolablllty, pleasute audkuowl-
edgels bestseeulusuchallght Ctltlclsm'sgoal, followlugAgambeu, ls
uottoselzeltsobject,uottosectetltawaylusactedcouhues,butlustead
to eusute thewotk's dutable fteedom. FotAgambeu, the muchdeslted
btldglugofthedlvlslou betweeupoettyandphllosophycau beeffected
oulylfafuudameutallydlffeteutcouceptlou ofthegoals ofthesedlscl-
pllueslsteached.
Jhe End ol the Quest
8etweeuthetltlepageaudtheptefaceofStanzslsaulmagethat
theugllshttauslatlouueglectstoluclude.ltscaptloulsL'amerc,daOtl
AppolllulslllaclDcsacrisHcgeramnetis. latlsllsi,|) ."Althoughthe
mauyothetlllusttatlous lu thewotkate teptoduced, thls ouelsuot-a
factallthemotesutptlslugluthatAgambeutefetstothelmageatsevetal
polutsluhlstext,see Sxvlllll] ,xlxl] , audi,ii,z] ) . Thlsluttoduc-
totyhguteoflovesuggestsmuchthatlstocomeluthepagesthatfollow,
ftom theopeulugsaud closlugs oflytlcpoettylu thebook's mlddlesec-
tloutothe8ottomeaukuotsofsemlologlcalaualyslswlthwhlchlteuds.
H Cenera/Sence theHuman ;;
At oue po|ut |u Smn, gloss|ug the poet|cs ofthe th|tteeuth
ceututylyt|caud|tstelat|outocoutempotatypsycholog|calconcept|ous
ofphautasm,Agambeuwt|tes, "Thephautasmgeuetatesdes|te, des|te|s

ttauslated|utowotds, audthewotdaf| dehnesaspacewhete|nthe

apptopt|at|ouofwhatcouldothetw|seuotbeapptopt|atedoteujoyed|s
poss|ble" ,S, iz i,|) . luthelovepoettythatAgambeuexpl|catesfoth|s
teadets, heseeshow" des|te, suppottedbyacoucept|outhatcoust|tutes
thesolecoheteutattemptbyWestetuthoughtto ovetcome the

tactue
ofmetaphys|calpteseuce, celebtates,pethapsfotthelastt|me|utheh|s
totyofWestetupoetty,|tsjoyousaud|uexhaust|blesp|t|tualuu|on'w|th
|tsowu objectoflove" ,S, i,o i|| , ttauslat|oumod|hed)Thephtase
"ftactuteofmetaphys|calpteseuce"m|ghtfotmanyteadetscalltom|nd
Dett|da'scelebtatedfotmulaeaudthe|tfollow|ugofafaultl|uebetweeu
speechaudwt|t|ug.Theftactutetowh|chAgambeutefets,howevet,uus
alougd|ffeteutl|ues-thesameouesw|thwh|chhebegauh|sbook He
|stefett|ugtothatwh|chsepatatespoettyftomph|losophyaudct|t|c|sm
ftomcteat|ou,thaukstowh|ch"poettypossesses|tsobjectw|thoutkuow
|ug |t wh|le ph|losophy kuows |ts objectw|thout possess|ug |t" ,S, xv||
lll]). Hete,thtoughthhguteofaphautasmat|caudmotethauphau
tasmat|clove,th|sftactute|sovetcomeaudauobj ect|satouce"kuowu"
aud"possessed."
luauatt|clecomposeddut|ugthesesameyeats,Agambeuwt|tes,
"Ouly because ttuth aud beauty ate ot|g|nally d|v|ded, ouly because
thought cau uevet fully aud |utegtallypossess |ts obj ect, cau thete be
loveofkuowledge-that|s,ph|losophy" ,G,iozo).Agambeutem|udsh|s
teadet that |fttuth aud beauty, kuowledgeaudeujoymeut, wete uevet
sepatated,thetecouldbeuoloveofouefottheothet. luaueatlyessay,he
tefettedtoph|losophyaudph|lologyas "the two|usepatablefacesofthe
metaphys|calptoject" ,S, i6i). luthewotkthatd|tectlyfollowsStan,
hecallsfottheplac|ugof"ct|t|calph|lolog|cald|sc|pl|uesouptec|selythe
samelevelaspoetty. oettyaudph|lologypoettyasph|lologyaudph|lol
ogyas poetty" ,lH, i|; i|| , ttauslat|ou mod|hed). WhatAgambeu |s
euv|s|ou|ug|suot,ofcoutse,metelyamattetofcomm|ss|ou|ugwotksof
phlologyftompoetsotcouv|uc|ugph|lolog|ststottythe|thaudatpoetty,
but|ustead,asAgambensays,"occupy|ug| as|te|uwh|chtheftactut|ug
ofthewodwh|ch d|v|des poetty ft

m ph|losophy |u Westetu cultute

becomesacousc|ousaudptoblemat|cexpet|euce" ,lH, i|; i|| , ttausla
t|oumod|hed). Such au expet|euce|suottheheal|ugofth|sftactuteot
A Ccncra/ScicnccethcHaman
theeudofctltlclsm'squest,ltlslusteadltsbegluulug.Attemptstochatt
thlstettalucogultaofthespacecomoutowotdaudlmage,thespaceof
poetlcphautasmaudphllosophlcalthought,ateattemptstomapacom-
mouspace,aspacethatAgambeucalls"thltd"luoueoftheessaysbecause
ltdoesuotslmplycottespoudtosubjectotobject,doesuotslmplyallgu
ltselfwlthpoteutlalltyotactuallty,audlsthetebythettulycommouspace
ofpoettyaudphllosophy.
Stanzsls awotkdlvldedlu awaylu whlchltsptedecessotwas uot.
Althoughltssepatatepattsludeedtelatetooueauothetluthemattetsaud
mauuetsdlscussedeatllet,theseateshlftlugtelatlousaudtheymakethe
uultyoftheptojectdlfhculttogtaspelsewhetethaulultspteface.ltshould
beuotedaswellthatthebook'suudetlylugambltlou-thefouudlugofa
"dlsclpllueoflutetdlsclplluatlty"ota "geuetal scleuceofthehumau" -ls
oue thatAgambeu sooujudged uuteallzableaudabaudouedluhls latet
wotks,thoughhehascoutluuedtoteRectouthecausesofthlsabaudou-
meut seeS, rc aud SL, ) . lutheAuglophouewotld, Stanzashas
becomeoueofAgambeu'sbest-kuowuwotks,butltlsdlfhculttomakea
casefotltasoueofhlsuuest.lthasmauytematkableluslghtsaudmuch
otlgluallty, but the chatge leveled at Agambeu's wotk that lts alms ate
vaguelystatedappllesto thlsbookwlthmotej ustlcethauelthettheoue
thatptecededltottheoueslmmedlatelytofollow-audoulyRcmnantse
Aaschaitzwlllptoveequallyopeutothatctltlclsm.
Scholium. n Erudition
H Cenera/ScienceetheHaman ;
Oueofthe mostcommou desctlptlons ofAgambeu'swotk,fond
luvlttuallyevetytevlewandessay, lsthatltls"etdlte"EvenAgamben's
hatshest ctltlcs teud to beglu byuotlngthls etudltlon ,befote chatglng
hlm wlth lts mlsuse) . Thete ueed beuothlngstptlslngln thls estlma
tlou.8yvlttuallyauystaudatd,Agambeudlsplaysadepthaudbteadthof
leatulugfotwhlch eradinenlsdoubtlessthebesttetm8ttodesctlbe
Agambeuasetudltelsuevetthelessastepawayftomndetstandlnghlste-
latlontothematetlalouwhlchhedtaws
lu "Etudltlou et ftlchlsme," Etlc Mchoulan asks, "What cold
Casslauus'sDeinsnmceene/ieram,8eau8tummel 'stle,lato's
Dtet's Me/ence/ia, 8audelalte's Les 8ljoux,' Gtandvllle's Les entes
Mresde/ oiehamaine,eau Reuatt's Le Laide /m/re, Alexandetof
Aphtodlslas'sDesensacemmani,Cavalcautl'sRimaterid/esn/naeie,
Atnauddellleueuve'sPrismedicina/is, audSaussute'sCearsd/inu
tiqae gnra/e have lu commou`" Mcholau zoo6, ,,). Hls answet ls,
"Theyshatethesameplace.GlotgloAgambeu's StanzsAudltlsetdl
tlou thatbtlugsthemtogethet" , ,,) . Mchoulaugoesonto speclthat
"thesetefeteucesdouottemaluoutsldeofAgambeu's] luvestlgatlonllke
ueuttal elemeuts awaltlug commeutaty,'' bt lustead ate dtlvlng fotces
thetelu,,,)Agambeu'setudltetefeteucesatesofatftomplaylngametely
suppottlng tole fot au ovetatchlug atgumeut that Mcholan sees "an
almost sutteallst poettylu the sutptlslugj uxtaposltlou oftefeteuces ln
Smn" ,,6).
Thetelsludeedsomethlugsutptlslug,andeveudlsotlentlug,abot
Agambeu'staugeoftefeteuce-auduotonlylu Smnzs luInnqand
Histewe hud a teRectlou ouhlstotlogtaphy alongslde one ou toys lu
Idea ePreseauluvestlgatloulutohtstphllosophylsfollowedbyonelnto
potuogtaphy. Ihe Ceming Cemmanilluks augelologywlth dlalectlcal
matetlallsmaud IheOenmovesftomRllke'spoettytothellfecyclesof
tlcs. lattoftheluceudlatyfotceoftheHemeSacertojectcanbefond
luAgambeu'scompatlughgutesftomauclentRomanlawwlthconcentta
tloucampptlsonets,aswellashls btluglugtogethetofhgutesuotmally
keptfatapatt,suchasuudetgtouudauatchlstGyDebotdandalj
tlstCalSchmltt.EatlletwesawAgambeusttessthellmltatlonsofdltect
o HCccra/cicccethcHama
thematlc tteatment ofcettaln questlons as well as hls deslte to fotm a
dlsclpllne oflutetdlsclpllnatlty. The questlon ofAgamben's etudltlou ls
thusalsothequestlonofhlstelatlontothepastandlnthlstespecttouches
dltectlyonthecenttalquestlouhe talses ln -thatofattulycte-
atlvectltlclsm.
CMAJLR JMRLL
P LrtQuc Ot thc LacCtC. In]n
and Hist Ibe Desocnn
]eence
InnandHiste|s apuzzl|ugaswell asptogtammat|ct|tle. lt
cau be best uudetstoodwheuwe obsetvethemauuet|uwh|chthet|tu
latcoucetusofAgambeu's th|td bookateta|sed. In/nqaud hutecot
tespoud,fotAgambeu,tottausceudeutalcategot|esofhumauexpet|euce
/ngageaudtime.Althoughasacouceptualpa|tin/nqaudhutepo|ut
to /ngageaud nme, thequest|ouofthe|ttelat|oush|ptooueauothet|s
uevettheless left opeu. luau essayftomthe same pet|od asIn/nqan

HuteAgambeu obsetves ofa d|fhcult passage |u 8eujam|u's thought

that"thecompat|sousuggested|uth|spassagebetweeulauguageaudh|s
toty,l|ugu|st|ccategot|esaudh|stot|calcategot|es,mayseemsutpt|s|ugat
htstglauce" ,,|,;] ). Thesutpt|seheasksh|steadetstoovetcomew|th
tespectto thecategot|es of8eujam|u's thought |sthe same oue h|s own
teadetsmustovetcome|uuudetstaud|ugsuchwotksasInandHute
What|smostsutpt|s|ugaboutth|sbook|s thel|uks|tmakesbetweeu
l|ugu|st|ccategot|esaudh|stot|caloues. Agambeu'sfollow|ugofthetwo
l|uesof|uqu|tyuamed|uh|s t|tlew|llleadh|mtoapo|utoflum|uous|u
tetsect|outhat,|utheyeatsaudbookstofollow,he|llcalletenna/i.
To teach th|slum|uous |utetsect|ouwheteAgambeuhudsh|skey
tetmaudgu|d|ug|dea,wemusthtstfollowthepathhetakestogetthete.
The subt|tle ofIn/nqandHiste|ud|cates au |mpottaut step |u that
d|tect|ou IheDestuctien e Exeience.tetaualysesofwhathecalled
z H CiqacethcDia/ctic
lu hls htst book a dcstracen eacsthcticsaud a dcstractien etraditien
auothetcallfotdesttuctloumlghtcomeasuosutptlse.8utwhatlsbelug
desttoyedhetelsvastetthauthedlsclpllueofaesthetlcsoteveutheldeaof
ttadltlou ltlscxcricnccltselWheteasluAgambeu'shtsttwobooksthe
desttuctlousatlssuewete oues fotwhlchhehlmselfwascalllug, thls de-
sttuctloulsouethathelsttylugtohalt.ettheteadetmlghtaskwhethet
hlscoucetulsj ustlhed,whethettheldeaofadesttuctlouofexpetleuce"ls
tobetakeusetlously. Fotallthetavagesthatmlghtbevlsltedupouaulu-
dlvldualotacultute,cxcricnccltwouldseem,lspteclselywhatcauuotbe
desttoyed.Auexpetleucecaubevacuousothottlhcltcaubettaumatlc,
luautheutlc,otfotgotteu butdoesltuottemaluexpetleuce`lsltuotthe
ouethlugthatcauuotbedesttoyedwlthoutextlugulshlugcousclousuess
ltself`Althoughlttuuscouttatytotecelvedoplulou,Agambeu's"desttuc-
tlouofexpetleuce"lsuotpatadoxlcallutheseuseofbeluglucoheteut.He
chooseshlsexttemefotmulatloutodeslguatewhatheseesasafuudameu-
talptoblem-acatasttophecouftoutlugmodetusoclety.
Adotuo's most elegaut book beglus wlth a bluut eplgtaph. Das
c/cn /c/tnicht,Llfe doesutllve"). lt ls meaut to luttoduce hls teadet
to the extteme stauce he wlll adopt coucetulug the despetate sltuatlou
aboutwhlchhefouudhlmselfwtltlug. Llfecoutluues,butlthasbecome
soeudaugeted, socottuptedaud debased, bymodetudevelopmeutsthat
fotAdotuoltscatcelyseems desetvlugoftheuame.Agambeu'svehemeut
desttuctlouofexpetleuce"caubeseeuluaslmllatllght.ltasllttlemeaus
theextlugulshlugofcousclousuessasAdotuo'seplgtaphtefetstotheeud
ofhumau exlsteuce. lt does ludlcate, howevet, attulydespetatestate of
affaltsthatmustuot,atauycost, beueglected.
lsolatlug the utgeucythat motlvatesAgambeu's extteme fotmula-
tlou,howevet,lsuotthesamethlugasuudetstaudluglt.Thecxcricncclu
questloulsdltect,petsoualexpetleuce-thatouwhlchoutcultuteplaces
lucteasluglylessemphasls. luthlstespect, theptoblemthatAgambeuls
addtesslugcouldbeseeu as soclologlcal, as aptoblemcoucetulugsoclal
fotmsofkuowledgeaudttausmlssloullkethoseauatchlcallyattackedby
GuyDebotdaudsystematlcallystudledbyllette8outdleu.Thlslsludeed
apheuomeuouweseeallatouudus,ouethatlseasyeuoughtocouhtmaud
thathas,lfauythlug,becomemoteptououucedluthethteedecadessluce
InnandHistewaspubllshed.Outgloballzedwotldauduetwotked
ageludeedofteuseem tohudllttle placeaudstlllless tlme fothtsthaud
expetleuce,audclatltyaboutwhatsottofkuowledgecottespoudstoout
H CnqueetheDm/cnc ,
coutlulygtowlugwealth oflufotmatlou ofteu seems l ueven shottet
supply. ltlstothlstadlcaldevalatlouofhtsthandexpetleucethehtst
haud expetleucethatfotmedthe cote ofthesoclal aud lutellectuall|ves
ofeatlletages-thatAgambeudltectshlsteadets'attentlon, and|t|sth|s
thatleadshlmtoadlaguoslsasexttemeas"thedeathofexpetleuce"
Eperience. From Ioverty to Oestruction
Thelougestoftheslxchaptetsthatmakeupthebook,"lnncyand
Hlstoty.AuEssayoutheDesttuctlouofExpetlence,"beg|ns|thanan
uouucemeut."Evetydlscusslouofexpetleucetodayshouldbeg|n|ththe
ackuowledgemeutthatltls no longet access|ble" ,lH, ,| , ttanslat|on
modlhed). lumllltauttoues,Agambeuclalmsthatmodenmanhasbeen
"exptoptlated esrerate| ofhlsexpetleuce" ,i, ,| ) . Thatth|sexptopt|a
tlouwlllptovemotethauapasslugcoucetulsattestedtobyhatAgam
beuhascalledluateceutwotk"themuselhcatlouofthewotldmmeq-
cazienede/mende| ",lR,6).Expaudlugouthemeaulugofthlsfotmula,
Agambeugoes ou to statethat"evetythlugtodaycau becomeMuseum
Musee| , becausethlstetmslmplyuamestheexposlt|ouofan|mposslbll
ltytouse,toluhablt,audteexerience" ,lR,6,ltallcsadded)Thlshatd
factfotms,followlugAgambeu,"oueofthefewcettalutlestegatdlnghlm
self"thatmodetumaupossesses,lH,i, ,| ). Thelmmed|atesoutceofth|s
hatshclalmseemstobeAgambeu'sobsetvatlousofmodetullfe,butltlsa
clalmuotwlthoutptecedeut.
atlyouluthlschaptet,Agambeucltesatleugthapassageheteln
8eujamlu"aseatlyasi,, . . . dlaguosedwlthpteclslouthepovettyofex
petleuce"thatchatactetlzesoutcultute,lH, i, ,| ). Theaualyslsluques
tloulsftom8eujamlu'sessay"xpetleuceaudlovetty."Thete8eujam|u
speaksofthelmmedlateaftetmathofWotldWatl.
McnrcturncdIromthcIrontinsilcncc. . . notrichcrbutpoorcrincommunicablc
cxpcricncc anmisi//arEhran. . . 4 AndwhatpourcdoutIromthcood
oIwar books tcn ycars latcrwas anything but thc cxpcrcncc Ehn that
is communicatcd orally . . . . Ior ncvcr had cxpcricncc Eahn bccn contra-
dictcd morc thoroughly. stratcgic cxpcricncc contravcncd by positionawarLrc,
cconomic cxpcricncc by ination, phyica cxpcricncc b huncr, mora cxpcri
cncc bythc rulingpowcrs.Agcncration thathad goncto sool inhorscdrawn
strcctcarsnowstoodinthcopcn amidalandscapcin whichnothin thcsamc
HCritiqacethcDia/cctic
cxccpt thc clouds with, at its ccntcr, thc thin, lragilc human body caught in a
lorcchcldoldcstructivc torrcnts andcxplosions. cnjaminSWz. ;iz. ;zGS
z. zi) translationmodihcd]
Thls dlaguosls ls ouethatAgambeuwlll dtamatlcally develop. eteas
8eujamluobsetvedaulmpovetlshmeutofexpetleuceluthewakeofacat-
aclysmlcwat that chaugedevetyfacet ofWestetucultute,Agambeu ob-
setves lt lu themostslmpleaudbaual ofevetyday actlvltles. "Today, "
he wtltes, "we kuowthatthe desttuctlou ofexpetleuce uo lougetueces-
sltatesacatasttophe,audthathumdtumdallyllfeluauycltywlllsufhce.
Fotmodetumau'savetagedaycoutalusvlttuallyuothlugthatcaustlllbe
ttauslatedlutoexpetleuce",lH,r,,] ) . otoulydoesAgambeugeuetallze
thetlmeaudplaceofthlsctlslslucommuulcableexpetleuce,buthealso
takes8eujamlu'sdlaguoslsofaeocrpofexpetleuce"audtadlcallzesltas
adcsactienofexpetleuce. "Whatlu8euj amlu'saualyslsftomr,,wasa
scatcltyaudftagllltybecomes,ueatlyahalf-ceututylatet,somethlugmote
luvaslve,aggtesslve,audthotough.
Events and Experience
Ttaclug thegeuealogyofAgambeu'scholceoftetm stlll leaves us
wlththequestlouofwhathemeausbylt`"xpetleuce,"Agambeuclalms,
lstobefouud
not in rcadingthcncwspapcr, with its abundancc olunrcachablyrcmotcbits ol
inlormation,norsittinginatrac am, notduringthcjourncythroughthcncth-
crrcalmsolthcsubway, norinthc dcmonstration thatsuddcnlyblocksthcstrcct,
notinthc cloudoltcargas slowly dispcrsing amidthc buildings downtown, nor
cvcn in thc rapid blasts olgunhrc lrom who knows whcrc, not in waiting at a
busincss countcr, nor invisitingthclantasylandolthcsupcrmarkct, nor inthosc
momcnts olsilcnt proximityamongstrangcrs inclcvatorsand buscs. IH ii
;6) translationmodihcd]
FotAgambeultdoesuotsucetobeactlve,tomoveabout, tohave eu-
couutets,toloseaudacqultethlugs,oteveutowltuessmotedtamatlcacts
suchaspolltlcalteslstauceaudvloleuceluotdettohavecxcricncc.et
evetwe tutu, he clalms, expetleuceeludes us. "Modetnman, "Agamben
wtltes, "makeshlswayhomeeacheveulugweatledbyaj umbleofeveuts,
buthoweveteutettalulugottedlous,uuusualotcommouplace,hattowlug
otpleasutabletheyate, uoue ofthemwlllhavebecome expetlence" ,lH,
H CnqueetheDia/cnc ,
i|6] ) . Howlslt,wemlghtask,thatwehave eoenthathlloutl|vesbut
noeeenceofthem`
TheltallanwotdthatAgambenemploys,eseriene, |sacognateto
thengllshwotdexerienceltdetlvesftomthesameLat|ntoot, erien
tia, mean|ngattavetslngofaplaceotspace,and thetebydes|gnat|ngthe
tesultsofsuch apassage. ltcovets toughlythesame fam|lyofmean|ngs
as, and offets no ptoblems ofttanslat|on lnto, Engl|sh evettheless, |t
doesptesentaptoblemofttanslatlon.AsAgambenmakescleat, thetetm
heemploys |sbottowedftom8enjamln, and lt ls hete that theptoblem
atlses. Wtlt|ng|nGetman, 8enjam|nd|sposedofnotonebuttotetms
to deslgnatewhat both ltal|an and Engl|sh denotew|th a s|ngleotd
Er/e/nisandEhrung Er/e/nu|san erience|nthe sense oftohave
anexpetlence,'someth|ngl|tetallyl|vedthtough,'teBected|nthewotd's
etymology ,lts toot ls e/en, to llve". ln Hs eu Li/eIt, acques says,
lhave galned my expetlence," andRosal|ndtepl|es, "Andyoutexpet|-
encehasmadeyousad" ,li. iz).Theexpet|encethatmakesh|msad,
j ustl|ketheexpetlencethatcan makeonew|seotw|cked, |s exptessed
lnGetmanwlthanetymologlcallyuntelatedwotd-andlt|sth|swotd
that8enj amlnsystematlcallyemployslnlovettyandExpet|ence,""The
Stotytellet,"andhlsothetwt|tlngsthattteatthlsthemeTodenote"l|v|ng
thtough" somethlng, thewotd that 8enj am|nemploys |s Ehrung,an
excellentetymologlcalmatchfoteeriencelnthatltmeansl|tetally"that
whlchlsttavetsed"). When8enj amlnspeaksofachange|nexpet|ence"
otapovettyofexpetlence,"heemploysthetetmErungbecause|t|s
Ehrungthatchangesyou,Ehrungthataffectsyou|nadutablesh-
lon,thatyouleatnftomandleanon,andthat|shandeddowntoyouby
ttadltlon. ,Acleat|llusttat|onofth|slsfoundlnthefactthatlnGetman
one canknowsomethlngnotbyEr/e/nubutonlybyEhrung). W|th
8enjamln's d|ctlon lnmlnd,we can see lnwhat senseAgambenspeaks
ofastateofaffaltstlchln slgnlhcant eoents" ,equ|valentto 8enj amln's
Er/e/nisse) yetdevoldofexpet|ence" ,equlvalenttoh|sEhrung) Many
thlngs ate |ndeed expetlenced |n modetn t|mes-mote than |n eatl|et
tlmes,|nfact-buttheseeoendonotcoalesce|ntoeerience|nthetta-
dltlonalsenseofthetetm.To thet|chnessofeventscottespondsapovetty
ofexpet|ence.
Oftoday's man"Agamben then tells us, "H|s |ncapac|tyto have
and commun|cate expet|ences ls one ofthe few facts about h|mselfof
wh|chhecanbecetta|n",lH, i,,] ,ttanslat|onmod|hed). What|smote,
H riiqace/hcia/cc/ic
ln outda edesttuctlonofexpetlence" that 8eujamlsawas atesult
ofthetavagesofWotldWatlnolougetnecessltatesacatasttophe".The
peacefulevetdaexlstencelnamajotcltls, fotthls eud, petfectlsufh-
clent",lH, i,,] ,ttanslatloumodlhed) .Agambeunotesthatexpetleucels
ttansmlttednotbtheexttaotdlnat"butbtheevetda,"audthatthe
abllltto shate andcommunlcateevetdaexpetlencehas beeu lost ,lH,
i,] ). We have, thetefote, events"-staggetlugquautltlesofthem-but
theateasslmllatedlntonotealexpetlence."
arbarism
ln a passage ftom xpetleuce aud lovett" thatAgambeu does
notclte,8enjamlnwtltes,lovettofexpetleuce Ehrangsarmat] thls
should notbeundetstoodto meauthatpeopleateeatulugfotuewex-
petlence. o, theloug to fteethemselves ftom expetleuce Ehrang]
,8ejamlnSW, z,|, GS, z zi,ttanslatlonmodlhed). 8enjamluclalms
thatsomethlnghasgouesotettlblwtouglnoutcultutethatcxcricncc
a htsthandexpetlence thatseemedselfevldent and lnaltetableto eatllet
genetatlons-lsthteatenedlnanagethatlsttaumatlzedbvloleuceonau
unptecedentedscaleandthatlsmoteandmotetellautounewtechuolo-
glesandmedla.xpetlence,"Agambenwtltes,hasltsnecessatcottela-
tlonnotlnknowledge, butlnauthotlt-thatlsto sa, luthewotdaud
lnthestot",lH, i| ] ,ttauslatlonmodlhed).Asfot8euj amlu,thefotm
ofknowledgelnquestlonlsonehandeddownlnpetson. theexpetleuce
Erhrang thatlscommunlcatedotall",8enjamluSW,ziz,z GS
z zi|] ) neof8enjamln's catdlnal concetnswas thettaclugofthlsloss
ofttadltlon to the stotles a cultute tells about ltsel andhowthat cul-
tutettansmltsthosestotlesftomgenetatlontogenetatlon.Agteatteadet,
audttanslatot,ofnovels, 8eujamlnsawaslgnofthelossofttadltlouaud
a decllue ln the attofotal stottelllng ln, pteclsel, the tlse ofthe uov-
el. What dlstlngulshes the novel ftom all othet fotms ofptose-falt
tales, sagas, ptovetbs,dtollet, jokes," 8eujamlnwtote,lsthatltsfouu-
datlon . . . nelthetcomesftomuotRowslutootalttadltlou" ,8eujamlu
GS, z iz6) Thelossofauotalttadltloulsthelossofuumedlatedcom-
muulcatlouaudsowstheseedsfotaweakeulugofthlsttadltlou. atllet
modesofttadltlonalcommuulcatlououwhlch8eujamlufocuses,suchas
thetelllugofstotles,have beeuteplacedluauageevetmotedepeudeut
HCritiqueetheDia/cnc ;
on a ss|ve and d|stanced |ntake of|nfotmat|on. pdat|ng8enj am|n's
analys|s,Agambennoteshow"slogans"haveteplacedmax|ms andptov
etbs,howpeoplehavelostasensefotd|tectexpet|enceandchoseneven
|n the ptesenceofthe mostastound|ngmonuments ,such as theAlham
bta) todocument,photogtaph) themftant|cally|nl|euoftak|ngthem|n
fotthemselves,seelH,i|;|). lndeed,anyv|s|ttooneofthewotldsgteat
museumsw|llcottobotateAgamben'scla|m. 8utthequest|onastowhat,
|fanyth|ng,m|ghtbedonetema|nsopen.
ln tesponseto suchad|agnos|s, a htst quest|on |swhatshouldwe
do` Fot h|s patt, 8enjam|n d|d not lose h|mself|n pess|m|st|c pted|c-
t|onsotl|betaldosesoselfp|ty,andhedoesnotencoutageh|steadetsto
tutn the|tbacksonacottuptedc|v|l|at|on andseeksolace|npt|m|t|ve
cultutesotthebosomofnatute. ln tesponsetothed|ssolut|onofttad|-
t|onalexpet|enceheasksas|mplequest|on lfth|sl|v|ngcont|nu|tyw|th
thepastand|ts ttad|t|ons hasbeen lost, what|sto be done nowWhat
poss|b|l|t|esfotneaexpet|enceateopen "Fotwhat|sthevalueofallout
cultute," 8enjam|nasks, "|f|t|sd|votcedftomexpet|ence Ehrung| "
,8enjam|nSW, z.;,z GS, z. zi,).

8enjam|n'stesponsetothes|tuat|on|s
"batbat|sm."Th|s|snotthebatbat|smofanatch|cv|olenceotthedesttuc
t|on ofttad|t|on's tteasutes, and |thas noth|ng ofthe ltal|an Futut|sts'
callfotthedesttuct|onofEutope'sgteatmuseums,tomakewafotthe
tad|callynew).ot|s|tthebatbat|smthat8enjam|nw|llevokeyeatslatet
|nh|s Iheses enthehi/eseheHiste, |nthefamousptonouncement
that"thete|snodocumentofcultutethat|snotalsoadocumentofbat
bat|sm" ,8enj am|n GS, i 66)And|t|salsonotthebatbat|smofapute
stateofnatute, ofnoblesavagesandpt|m|t|vecultutesnotyetcottupted
by telegtaph, telephone, telev|s|on, and the l|ke. The batbat|sm evoke
hete|sfteedomftomthewe|ghtofthepast,thefteedomftomconvent|on
that|sthetoughptov|nceofthebatbat|anandthatAgambenhadevoked
at the close ofh|s htst book |n connect|onw|th aa's tevaluat|on of
ttad|t|on.
Thelossofexpet|encenotedbyAgamben|nh|sth|tdbook|sanex
tens|onofthelossofttad|t|onexam|ned|nh|shtstbook.As|nthateatl|et
wotk,|nInnqandHisteh|sgoal|snots|mplytoundetscotethedatk-
nessofoutt|mes."Thepo|nt|s nottodeploteth|sstateofaffa|ts,wt|tes
Agamben," buttotakenoteof|t" ,lH, i, | ). atadox|callyenough, the
w|despteadtefusaltoexpet|enceth|ngshtsthandthatAgambend|agnoses
alsohatbots, foth|m, hope "otpethapsattheheattofth|sseem|ngly
A CritiqacethcDia/ccnc
seuselessdeulalthetelutksagtaluofwlsdom,"wtltesAgambeu,"luwhlch
we caugllmpsethegetmluatlugseedoffututeexpetleuce",lH,r, )e lu
themldstofthlsdltestateofaffaltsheagaluseesatadlcalposslblllty. Hls
wotktheubecomes"toptepatethegtouudluwhlchthlsseedcaumatute"
,lH, r, ).
Jhe Cenealo
_
ot Experience
AtthestattofInncandHteAgambeuspeakswlthamllltaut
volce, but as eatlyas the secoud patt oflts lultlal essay, he chauges hls
toue audtutushlsatteutlouto thehlstotyofldeas. "lu acettaluseuse,
theexptoptlatlou ofexpetleuce /sreienc dcdscricnz ,"Agam-
beuwtltes,"waslmpllcltluthefouudlugptojectofmodetuscleuce" ,lH,
r ic , ttauslatlou modlhed). 8ulldlugou couceptlous ftomoueofthe
fathetsofmodetu empltlcalscleuce, Ftaucls 8acou,Agambeustatesthat
"despltetepeatedclalmstothecouttaty,modetuscleucehasltsotlgluslu
au uuptecedeuted mlsttust ofexpetleuce" ,lH, r ) . Agambeuuotes
thatlu8acou'stetms"meteexpetleuce"wasmostofteuseeubyeatlymod-
etu thluketsasa "datkwood"aud a "labytluth" ,lH, r ) . Ftom 8a-
couto allleo,the htst steps towatdmodetuscleuce btoughtwlththem
adeulgtatlouof"mete"expetleuceaudamlsttustoftheseuses.Agambeu
seesthlsuowhetesocleatlyctystalllzedasluthehguteofDescattesaud
luthelattet'stadlcaldoubtastothevetacltyoftheexpetleucettausmltted
totheseuses,luthefotmofhlshypotheslsofama/ingnicsetoudecelv-
lugus pteclselythtoughseusotyexpetleuce).
The ftult of these htst steps towatd modetu scleutlhc thought
aud the cottespoudlug castlug luto doubt ofseuse expetleuce leads, lu
Agambeu'sgeuealogy, to a dlffeteuthlstotyofthe sa/cctofexpetleuce.
lu medleval phllosophy, theptoblem ofthoughtwas the telatlou ofthe
-coucelvedasagcncra/intcdcctotagcntintcdcctsepatateftomludl-
vldualseuse expetleuce-tothe mancoucelvedasallthoseludlvldual
lutellects who pattlclpate thtough thought lu the latget lutellect. Wlth
Descattes,thedlalectlcofthe encaudthemanthatwasceuttaltomedl-
evalphllosophywasteplacedbyadlalectlcofsa/cctaude/cct audwlth
ltcameauewstatusfotccricncc.
Oue ofthecousequeucesofthlschaugewasthatludlvldualexpetl-
eucebecamewhatlthaduotbeeubefote-afuudameutaleplstemologlcal
H CnqueetheDia/cnc
ptobl-becauseltwashtstlutheCatteslauftamewotkthat|ud|v|dual
expet|euceplayedadec|s|vetoleluthefotmatlouofthegteatetcetta|u
tlesaudtheattalumeutofthehlghestkuowledge.lutheeatl|etcoucep-
tlou-det|vedftomAt|stotleaudcod|hedbysuchhgutesasAqu|uasau
Avlceuua-humaukuowledgeaudd|v|uekuowledgewetesepatatebya
gulfthatwasuotto bebtldged. Exptessedd|ffeteutly, /nea/edge aud e
cricnccpetta|uedtotwodlffeteutaudlst|ucttealms. nea/edgewasthe
tealmofdlvluebelug,whlchoueaccesseduotasau|ud|v|dualthtough
|udlv|dual cxerience, but |usteadbypatt|clpat|ugthtoughthoughtau
falthluahlghettealm. Thegteattevolut|ou|umodetusc|euce," cla|ms
Agambeu,waslessamattetofoppos|ugexpet|eucetoauthot|ty,theargo
menmmexrcagalustthearmenmmexier/e,wh|chateuot|ufact|ttec
ouc|lable) thauoftefett|ugkuowledgeaudexpet|encetoas|uglesubject,
whlchlsuoueothetthauthe|tcoujuuct|ouatauabsttactAtch|medeau
polut.theCatteslauegecegte" ,lH,i i,| ,ttauslat|oumo|hed)
Theuextcatd|ualpo|ut|uthedevelopmeutofamodetucoucept|ou
ofsubjectlvltyaudsubjectlveexpet|euce|s,fotAgambeu,oue|uaugutate
byKaut.luAgambeu'svlw,the Cnquee ureReaen|sthelastplace
|uWestetumetaphys|cswhetethequestlouofexpet|euce|saccess|ble|u
|tsputefotm-thatls,w|thoutltscouttad|ct|ousbe|ugh|deuTheot|g|
ualsluwlthwhlchpostKaut|authoughtbeg|us|stheteuu|hcat|ouofthe
ttausceudeutal subj ect aud empltlcal cousc|ousuess |u a s|ugle absolute
subject" ,lH, ,z z| , ttauslat|oumod|hed) Theep|stemolog|calcontta
dlct|ousofthelud|vldualsubjectaudofseusotyexpet|eucethatDescattes
luttoduced|utoWestetumetaphys|calspeculat|ouaudthatthebt|ll|auce
ofKautbtoughtlutothestatkesttel|efbegauw|thHegelaudh|sabsolute
subject" totecedelutotheshadows. Hegel'smastetful d|alect|c,w|th|ts
uegatlouofexpetleuce"auduegat|ouofthemomeut"|nfavotofacou

tluuallypostpouedfututehotlzouofabsolutekuowledge"auabsolute
subjectlvlty,"|sfotAgambeuthebeg|uulugoftheeudofexpet|euce
Agambeu temluds hls teadet that Hegel's ot|g|ual t|tle fot
Phcnemene/eeSirit s IheScienceetheericnceeCenscieusness.
Ofthe Hegellau coucept|ou ofsubject aud expetleuceAgambeu uotes,
Thefactthatcousc|ousuesshasad|alect|calsttuctutemeausthat|tcau
uevet gtasp ltselfas au eut|tety, but|s whole ouly |nthetotal ptocess
ofltsbecom|ug."Healso uotesthat|uHegel'scoucept|ou, "expet|euce
ls . . someth|ugwh|chouecauoulyuudetgobutuevethave",l, ,||
Th|sobsetvat|ouleasAgambeuevetclosettoatop|cthatw|ll|ntensely
o A CinqacethcDia/ccnc
lutetest hlm lu the comlugyeats aud lu hls uext book. the hetltage of
Hegel 'sdlalectlcaudltstecoutseto"uegatlvlty." ,ThegoalofAgambeu's
uextbook, angagcandDcath,wlllbetochatt"theplaceaudsttuctute
ofuegatlvlty,"aswellastouudetstaudlts"otlglualsttuctute",seealsoLD,
xll] ,ttauslatloumodlued,audLD,xll ,] ) Hegel 'sdlalectlcbtlugswlth
lt,followlugAgambeu,a"couceptlouoftheuuapptoptlable inareria-
/i/c] auduegatlve chatactet ofexpetleuce," as, luAgambeu'spataphtase,
Hegel 's ldeaofthe "Absolute" becomes "oulyattheeudwhatltttulyls"
,lH, ,,o] , ttauslatloumodlued,seealsoLD,ioo i,] ). Agambeutheu
tematks,"Thesuptemacyofthedlalectlcluouttlme,fatbeyoudthellm-
ltsofthe Hegellausystem, begluulugwlth ugels'attemptto cousttuct
adlalectlcofuatute,hasltstootsluthlscouceptlouoftheuegatlveaud
uuattaluablechatactetofexpetleuce-thatls,luauexptoptlatlouofexpe-
tleuce",lH, ,,o] ) . The"exptoptlatlou"audcousequeut"desttuctlou"of
expetleucethatAgambeutefettedtoatthebegluulugofthebookasacul-
tutalpheuomeuouchatactetlstlcofoutmedlatlzedagelshetehlstotlcally
ttacedbackto thecouceptualpatadlgmthatgave tlseto lt. ltlsfotthls
teasouthatAgambeulatetsttessesthe"utgeutuecesslty"of"actltlqueof
thedlalectlc" ,lH,,,o] ) . 8efotewetututothlsctltlqueofthedlalectlc
audto thectltlqueofcouceptsofhlstotyaudtlmethatltwllllmply,we
ueedutsttoaddtesstheothettetmluAgambeu'stltle. inn.
Jhe Introduction ol Inlancy
lu hls sutvey ofpost-Hegellau attempts to coucelve ofthe Catte-
slausubjectaudofattausceudeutalexpetleuceofsubjectlvlty,Agambeu
tutushlsatteutlouuexttoDlltheyaud8etgsou.HeseesHussetl 'scctarcs
enIntcrna/IimcCemcieasncssasbtoadeulugtheltapptoachesaudbulld-
lugoutheltuudlugsaud, ludolug so, tepteseutlugastepfotwatdluthe
aualyslsofthetelatlouofexpetleucetokuowledge.AccotdlugtoHussetl,
"we have uo uames" fot out most fuudameutal expetleuce. out expetl-
euceoftlme ,lH, ,; ,,] ). Thlsobsetvatlou leadsAgambeuto luttoduce
atetmthatwlllptovedeclslvefothlmuotoulyluthlswotkbutlumauy
wotkstocome. inn.Agambeulsledtothlstetmvlaccricncc. "Does
amuteexpetleuceexlst`"heasks. "Doesauinnofexpetleuceexlst`"
,lH, ,; ,,] , ltallcs lu otlglual, ttauslatlou modlued) . AsAgambeu'shy-
pheuatlou ,lu-faucy) sttesses,the innlu questlou ls to be takeulltet
H CnqueetheDm/cnc i
allyasthestateofbelugwlthoutlauguage,theLatlutetminndeslg
uatesauluabllltytospeak). Agambeu'shlstotlcalexcutsus thus setvesto
ftameaquestlou aboutexpetleuceaudltslmpovetlshmentotdesttuctlon
asaquestlouaboutlauguage.
"lt ls Kaut's baslug the ptoblem ofkuowledgeou a mathematlcal
modelthatpteveutedhlm,asltdldHusset,ftomdlscetnlugtheotlglnal
place ofttausceudeutalsubjectlvltywlthlu language," clalmsAgamben,
"aud thetefote ftomcleatlyttaclug the boundatles sepatatlug the ttan
sceudeutalaudthellugulstlc" ,lH,q i , ttanslatlonmodlhed). 8aslng
hlsteRectlousouthellugulstlcaualysesof8envenlsteand,mostcenttally,
ou thelattet'sstudlesofptououus,Agambenconcludesthat"subjectlvlty
lsuothlugothetthanthespeaket'scapacltytoposlthlm othetselfasan
ege, aud cauuot lu anyway bedehuedthtoughsomewotdless senseof
belugouesel uotbydefettaltosomelneffablepsychlcexpetlenceofthe
ege,butoulythtoughallugulstlclttausceudlnganyposslbleexpetlence"
,lH,,y ).

Innqlsatetmthat,fotAgambeu,lslutlmatelyllnkedtoeten/
iullkethepoteutlalltyofAtlstotle'ssleeplnggeometet,achlld'scount
lessposslbllltlesotpoteutlalltlesateyettobedevelopedandmayotmay
uotbeteallzedAgambeulslutetestedluthepoteutlalltyoflauguage,and
thetetminnqallowshlmtoposeaquestlonaboutpotentlalltylndepen
deutofactuallzatlou.Agambeu'ssystematlcuseofthetetminqbegan
aseatlyaspattoueofStanzs,htstpubllshedluabbtevlatedfotmln;|)
luadeusepassagehesaysofthetoolssttewuatthefeetofDtet'stepte-
seutatlouofMelaucholythat, "asthetellcs ofapastonwhlchlswtltten
thedeulcclphetcaednica oflufaucy,theseobjectshavecaptuted
fotevetagleamofthatwhlchcaubepossessedoulywlththeptovlslonthat
ltbelostfotevet" ,S,zy, ). Thetelatlouofthlsldeatothatofan"ovet
comlug" ofWestetumetaphyslcs, fouudluthephllosophlcalptojecsof
Matx,letzsche, Heldegget, audDettlda,ls,fotAgamben,llnkedtothls
ldeaoflufaucy. Wtltluglui; ofInnqandHute,Agambenclalms
that"oulylfmaulsuottheaulmalwlthlogos,thealmalthatknowsto
speakchesaar/re ,butthelnfautaulmal. . . lsltposslbletoenetlntoa
teglouluwhlch, pethapsfotthehtsttlme,anovetcomlngofmetaphyslcs
becomesposslble" ,lS,ii,). lu anessayftomo,Agamben telates
hlsldeaofluucytothe"otlglnatylnfaucyinniaegnathathe
hudsluwhatHldetllucalledurrng/ichen

eit,ll,).Dlscusslons
ofinnqatefoundlnbothAgamben'sfoutthbook,anagean

Deat
z A CrtqacethcDia/cctc
,lntheldeaoanslnfantlledwelllng. . . lnlanguage,",z ,] )and
hlsuth one, IhcIdca ePresc,whlchoeatsachaptetentltledTheldea
oflnfanc"). AlthoughAgaoengtaduallaoandonsthetet innln
avototheoteall-encopasslngtetetcntia/i,hetealnslntetested
ln lt and, ln an eottto cltcusctloe a new conceptlon osuojectlvlt
wtlttentwenteatsatet InnandHiste, teatks, Letusconsldet
thelndlvldualllvlngoelng,the lnantlntheetologlcalsense,aoelng
whocannotspeak.Whathappenslnhl-andothl-lntheoent
hesasl'andoeglnstospeak`",A,rzrzr,] ). Latetonlnthatwotkhe
statesthatsuojectlvltandconsclousness,lnwhlchoutcultutebelleved
ltselftohavefoundltsutmestfoundatlon,testonwhat|smostptecat|ous
andftagllelnthewotld.theeventofspeech" ,A,izz,] ) .
Thetetm inn,asAgamoenundetstandsandemplos|t,| sthus
eant oothoteandlessllttallthan|susuallundetstood. ltdenotes
language'saosenceandthus, oextens|on,thepet|od|nhumaudevelop-
entoefoteanlnd|vldualhasleatnedto speak.Agamoen'ssepatat|onof
the wotd's two elements--setves to sttess thatwhat lntetests
hllstheptlvatlveeleent. lnaptefacewt|ttenfottheFtenchttansla-
tlonoInnandHiste,hewtltes,the|n-fancinnzia]wh|ch|s|n
uestlonlnthlswotklsnotaslplefactwhosechtonologlcalplacem|ght
oelsolated,notlsltsoethlngllkeanageotapschosomat|cstate",lH, |
vlll] ,ttanslatlonod|ued) .lthatwhlchw|llbelnuest|on|nh|swotk
lsnotaslplefactwhosechtonolog|calplace mlghtoelsolated,not|s|t
soethlngllke an ageotapschosoatlcstate," what, theteadetm|ght
ask,lstheteleftotlttooe`
Inn,fotAgaoen,lsanlntegtalpattofoutselvesandthecoteof
outexpetlence.Conttattothatwhlchanantluettadltlonafuts,"he
wtltes, anlsnot . . . the anlalwhlch has language butlnsteadthe
anlaldeptlvedoflanguageandtheteoteoollgedtotece|veltftoelse-
whete" ,lH, , ] , ttanslatlonod|ued) . 8thlsAgamoenmeansthat
weatenotootnwlththelanguageotlanguagesthatwllloecoeoutown
andlnwhlchwewlllexptessoutexpet|encesweustutstleatnlanguage
ftoouts|de.nlalsatenotlnfactdenledlauguage,"Agambenwt|tes.
On the conttat, theate alwas and absolutellanguage. ln them a
oeixsacrcdca tcrrcingnacthesactedvo|ceoftheunknow|ngeatth]
whlch Mallat,heatlngthe chltp ofactlcket, sets agalnstthehuman
volceas ancand nendcemesconeandlnd|v|s|ble] -kuowsuooteaks
otlntettuptlons" ,lH, ,z ,c] ,ttanslat|onmod|hed) .An|malsate"alwas
H CnqueetheDm/ctic ,
audab telylauguage,"luAgambeu'sfotmulatlou, becausethetelsuo
dlstauce otdlstluctlou betweeu slgulhet aud slgnlhed, uo uumot|vated
telatloubetweeuthesemlotlc,theleveloftheslgu)andthesemant|c,the
levelofmeaulug) lu theltcommuulcatlous.An|malsthuscommun|cate
immediate-ls,wlthoutthemedlatlonofas|gusystem,andfotth|s
teasoutheyate always audabsolutelyouewlth the|tlanguage. Human
speech,outheothethaud,lsacqultedaud,onceltls,med|atesoutcom-
muulcatlou. We ludeedachleveau lnest|mablega|n|usoh|st|cat|onof
commuulcatlou,butattheptlceoflmmed|acy.

Asatesult,weateawate
ofadlsjuuctlouthatwecanuevetdltectlyfotmulatethemed|at|ngeect
ofoutlauguagelsuotsomethlugwecanevetyfullygtas.AsAgamben
tematkedelsewhete,"To adoptau|mageftomW|ttgenste|n, manex|sts
lulauguagellkeaByttappedluabottlethatwh|ch|tcannotsee|spte-
c|selythatthtoughwhlch|tseesthewotld",GA,,,).
8ecauseweatebotn lnfants-that |stosay, |ncapableofatt|culate
speech-we must leatn lauguageWemaybethe speak|ngan|mal but
we ate also aulmals uul|ke auyothet|u thatwe ate botn |ncaable of
speech-ot mote ptec|sely, caa//eofspeech but not yet possess|ng |t.
Thlslssomethlugthatm|gtbeextessednotj ust|ntetmsofriianen
butalsolutetmsof etenna/iThe|n|t|al|natt|culatenessofthe|nfant|s
alsotheslgnof|tscapac|tytosayanymannetofth|ngandseakanyand
all lauguages. lt should come as l|ttle sutpt|se thatAgamben's student,
ttauslatot, audedltotDan|elHelletRoazen,authotofthehnestanalys|s
ofAgambeu's phllosoph|cal ptoject, chooses as thestatt|ngo|nt |nh|s
Eche//ias OntheergetnngeLangoage,zoo,)thefactthat,"asevetyone
kuows, chlldteu at htst do uotspeak" ,). Follow|ngRomanakobson,
Hellet-Roazeugoesoutouoteoueoftheconsequencesofth|sfactthat
"uo llmlts cau beset on thephoulcpowets ofthe ptattl|ng ch|ld" ,)
Actuallzlugllugulstlccapacltymeausleav|ugbeh|ndsomeofth|sund|f
feteutlated poteutlallty, aud fot thls teasou HelletRoazen wt|tes, |n an
lutultlou kludted to Agambeu's |u InnqandHute, that "lt |s as lf
theacqulsltlouoflauguageweteposs|bleoulythtoughanactofobl|v|on,
aklndofllugulstlc lufantlle amues|a. . ethasthelossofal|m|tless
phouetlcatseuallsthept|ceach|ldmustpayfotthepapetsthatgtanth|m
clt|zeush|plnthecommuultyofaslngletongue",n). t|sfotth|steason
thatAgambeu,l|keHelletRoazeu,seeslninnqtheslgnofthehuman
audthecentetofoutexpet|ence.
Wlththls|nlt|al undetstand|ngofthe|deaof|nfancy|nm|nd, we
| A CrinqacethcDia/ccnc
causeehow, lu thlshtstpattofInnandHiste,Agambeu'slutetest
hasmovedftomasoclologlcalctltlque ,auddeuuuclatlou) ofcoutempo-
tatyexpetleuceaudtheplaceltholdslumodetuludusttlalsocletlestoau
aucleut phllosophlcalquestloucoucetulugwhat dehuesthehumau. Fot
Agambeu,theesseuceofhumauexpetleucelstobefouudluwhathecalls
innaud luleavlugthatlufaucy behlud as au ludlvldual leatus lau-
guage.Thatwhlchweateleastabletoexptessaswemovebeyoudlufaucy
lstheuatuteofoutexpetleuceof-fotwhlch,asHussetuoted,"we
haveuouames,"audltlstothlsldeathatAgambeutheututus.
Jime and History
Aswesaweatllet,Agambeuauuouucedthe "utgeutuecesslty"of"a
ctltlqueofthe dlalectlc," butwehave uotyetuotedtheteasouheglves.
Hlsstattlugpolutlsaslmpleobsetvatlou.althoughMatxcoucelvedofa
tevolutlouatymodelofhte, ltwasuotaccompauledbyacottespoud-
luglytevolutlouatymodeloftimc. The "ttadltloual " couceptlouoftlme
employedbyMatxwas lll-sultedtohlstevolutlouatytask"audthus dl-
lutedthe Matxlst couceptofhlstoty"-becomlug, luAgambeu'swotds,
"thehlddeubteachthtoughwhlchldeologysuucklutothecltadelofhls-
totlcal matetlallsm" ,lH, r ,] , ttauslatlou modlhed) . "veu hlstotlcal
matetlallsm,"wtltesAgambeu,employlugthetetmthat8eujamlugaveto
hlsapptoach,asopposedtothedlalectlcalmatetlallsmofAdotuoaudthe
FtaukfuttSchool) ,has"ueglectedtoelabotateacouceptoftlmewotthyof
ltscouceptofhlstoty" ,lH, r ,] , ttauslatloumodlhed) .Agambeu'sctl-
tlqueofthedlalectlcwlllthusattempttooffetpteclselysuchatevolutlou-
atycouceptlouoftlme,audtoglvetheMatxlstcouceptlouofhlstotythe
esseutlalelemeutlthaslacked.
lu InnandHisteAgambeu offets abtlefaudlucldtevlewof
Westetu cultute's domluaut couceptlous oftlme. "vety couceptlou of
hlstoty,"Agambeuobsetves, "ls luvatlablyaccompauledbya cettalu ex-
petleuce oftlme that ls lmpllclt lu lt, coudltlous lt, ud theteby has to
beelucldated" ,lH,r ,] ) . Agambeueveu goes astep fatthet, clalmlug
uotoulythatevetycouceptlouofhlstotyhasamodeloftlmeptopetto
lt but also that "evetycultutels htst aud fotemost a pattlculat expetl-
euceoftlme, auduouewcultutelsposslblewlthoutaualtetatlouluthls
expetleuce." lt ls hete, theu, that hlstotlcal aualysls aud tevolutlouaty
H CnqueetheDm/cnc ,
actlvlt meetWhat lsat lssue|suoth|ugless than a "newcultute" aud
the"tevolutlouaty"pollt|csthat mlght bt|ug|tabout. "Theot|g|naltask
ofageuu|uetevolut|ou"Agambeuclalms,"lsuevetmetelytochaugethe
wotld,'butalsotochauget|me.'8ecause"modetnpol|t|calthoughthas
couceuttatedltsatteutlououh|stotyaudhasuotelabotatedacottespond-
lugcouceptoftlme," lt|sthlsctuc|algapthatAgambeuw|llseekto hll
,lH, i , ).
Agambeu's apptoach tothe quest|ouoft|me| s, uatutallyeuough,
thtoughthe|deaoftheinstantaud|tstelat|ontoacennnuum.Whatevet
thed|ffeteuces|uvat|ouspet|ods'audcultutesconcept|onsoft|meand|ts
passage,theWesthascous|steutlycons|detedt|measacennnuummadeup
ofsuccess|velyexpet|eucedinsmnts. lt|suottatetohnd ct|t|quesofhat
wedow|ththe|ustautsthatfotmthecont|nuumofoutl|ves,butct|t|ques
ofoutactual coucept|ous of|nstautaudcout|nuumatetelat|velytatels
uotthe teasoufot th|sfactthatthe t|meweexpet|euceasacont|nuum
composed of|ustauts|soueofthemostselfev|dentandunassa|lableas-
pectsofoutexpet|euce`Towhatm|ghtweopposead|alect|calconcept|on
oftlme|uwh|cheach|ustant|ssucceededbyanothetandthattogethet
fotmacout|uuumofcout|nu|tyaudchange`Aswesaw,Agambendehnes
cultuteas"htstaudfotemostapatt|culatexpet|enceoft|me"Although
uoouewouldd|sputethatcoucept|onsoft|mevatyftomcultuttocul-
tute aud that outcoucept|ou oft|me|ssofundamental that|t touches
ouevetyaspect ofoutexpet|ence,we m|ght st|llwondetwhattad|cally
uewcoucept|oum|ghtbeadvancedthatcouldsttengtheuMatx|stteBec-
tlouaudach|eveauewlevelofcoheteuceandeffect|venesslnshott,|s|t
posslbletohudaudfotmulateattulyreoe/unenaconcept|onoft|me`lt
lsth|squest|outhatInnndHiste, aswellasanumbetofwotksto
come, asp|testoauswet.
Jhe Jime ol History
Asdoesaueatl|etsect|ouofthebook-theonethattteatedtheques
t|ouofeerience-sect|ouofInnqandHutethat|sded|catedto
auewcoucept|ouoft|mebeg|usw|thapolem|calandptogtammat|chtst
sect|oufollowedbyah|stot|calsecoudsect|onthat|smotesobet|ntone
audph|lolog|cal|uapptoach.Agambeubeg|nsw|thachatactet|at|onof
theGteekcoucept|ouoft|measfundamentallycycl|cal,po|nt|ngtoa
A CritiqacethcDia/cctic
to'sfamousassettlou,lu Iimacas)that"thecteatotofthewotldcousttuct-
edamovlug lmageofetetulty, audAtlstotle's developmeut ofthls cou-
ceptlou."Westetumau'sluabllltyto mastet adrenciarc] tlme,audhls
cousequeutobsesslouwlthgalulug ltaudpasslug' lt,wtltesAgambeu,
"havetheltotlglusluthlsGteekcouceptoftlmeasaquautlhedaudluh-
ultecoutluuumofpteclseReetluglustauts,lH, , ] ,ttauslatloumodl-
hed) Theseedfotthedlalectlcalcoutluuumthatsuucklutothecltadelof
hlstotlcalmatetlallsmwasthus,luAgambeu'svlew,uoteceutluttusloult
wassowuatthevetyoutsetofWestetuphllosophy. Agambeu's ttaclugof
aseemluglymodetupheuomeuouto ltsclasslcaltootsluaucleutGteece
audRome,htstseeulu IhcMan witheatCentcnt,lsachatactetlstlcges
tutethattecutslumauyofhlswotks-suchas,tochosethemostfamous
example,luhlsaualysesofblopolltlcsluHemeSaccr.
Agambeu'shlstotlcalsutveyptoceedsftomtheGteektotheChtlstlau
expetleuceoftlme. To the classlcalcltculatotcycllcaltepteseutatlou of
tlmeChtlstlauexpetleuceopposedallueatmodelwlthattajectotymov-
lug"lttevetslblyftomCteatloutoeud"audwlthlts"ceuttalpolutoftefet-
euce lu thelucatuatlouofChtlst,lH, | ] ) . The uext tutuls slowlu
comlugaud ls aseculatoue.Agambeuttaces "the modetucouceptlouof
tlmetoa"seculatlzatlouoftectlllueat, lttevetslbleChtlstlautlme" ,lH,
] , ttauslatlou modlhed) .Theseculatlzatlouluquestlou takes the
fotm oftemovlug the goal aud eud ofthat tempotal coutluuum, wlth
the tesult thatwehaveacqulteda uotlou oftlme "emptled ofauyothet
meaulugbut that ofa ptocess sttuctuted lu tetms ofbefote aud aftet,"
whlchAgambeu sees as "detlved ftom the expetleuce ofmauufactutlug
wotkaud"sauctlouedbymodetumechaulcs ,lH, ] , ttauslatlou
modlhed) .
Hegel famouslysaldofaulustaut oftlme thatlt "ls uothlugothet
thau thepassageoflts belug luto uothluguess" ,quotedlu lH, ; z] ).
Thls"uegatlouofauegatlou"lsafuudameutalaspectofthedlalectlcaud
oueoftheceuttalpolutsouwhlchAgambeuselzes "Thedlalectlc,"clalms
Agambeu,"lsaboveallwhatmakesposslblethecoutalumeutauduulhca-
tlou . . . ofthecoutluuumofuegatlveReetluglustauts ,lH, ,] ) . lu
suchacouceptlou,thelustautceasestobetheslteofelthetkuowledgeot
actlouaudthetebyleadstoaulmpottautcousequeuce."Llketlme,"wtltes
AgambeuofthlsHegellau couceptlou, "whoseesseucelsputeuegatlou,
hlstotycauuevetbegtaspedluthelustaut,butoulyasaglobalptocess"
,lH,|] ,ttauslatloumodlhed) .WlthMatx,afuudameutalchaugelu
HCnqucethcDia/cn ;
thecouceptlouofhlstotywasluttoduced,ouel uwhlch-couctete
actlvltycoucelvedlu the couctete lustauce-ls seeu as declslve fothow
maukludcoucelvesltselfauddehueshumauuatute.Howevet,asAgambeu
beganbyuotlug,Matxdlduotelabotateatheotyoftlmeadequatetohls
ldeaofhlstoty" audluAgambeu'svlew, Matx'sldeaofhlstoty"canuot
betecouclledwlththeAtlstotellauaudHegellancoucept|ouoftlmeasa
coutluuousaudluhultesuccesslouofpteclselustauts" ,lH,ioo io,| ,
ttauslatloumodlhed).
Agambeu's hlstotlcal sutveyftom the Gteeks toMatxshows that
whattemaluscoustautluthevatylugcouceptlonsoftlme-betheycltcu
latotllueat-lstheldeaofthelustaut. "Auyattempttoconce|veoft|me
dlffeteutlymustluevltablycomelutoconB|ctw|thth|sconcept,"declates
Agambeu,"andactltlqueofthelustautlsthelog|calcond|t|onfotanew
expetleuceoftlme" ,lH, ioo io). tlt|qulngsometh|ngsofundamen-
taasoutcouceptlouoftlmeasasetlesoflustants comblu|ngtofotma
coutluuumlsuoeasymattet,audAgambeumustusetoolssu|tedfotsuch
actltlque. "Theelemeutsfotadleteutcouceptlouoftlme,"hecla|ms,
llescattetedluthefoldsaudshadowsoftheWestetncultutalttad|tlon,"
butfotpteclselythlsteasoutheyateuoteasytotecogn|eandassemble
,lH, oo o, ttauslatloumodlhed). evettheless, contlnuesAgamben,
weueedoulytoeluc|datethesesothattheymayemetgeastheetetsof
amessagewhlch|smeautfotusaudwh|chltlsouttasktovet|",l,
oo o).
Jhe Message earers
ThehtstofthesemessagebeatetsAgambeuhudsluGuost|clsmand
lts couceptlou ofa tlmewhose spatlal tepteseutatlou, Agamben atgues,
wouldbeabtokeullue",lH,oo). 8ecausefottheGuostlcthemes-
slaulclustautlsuotawaltedbuthasalteadyoccutted,"thetlmeofGuos-
tlclsm . . . lsaulucoheteutauduouhomogeuous tlmewhosettuthlsln
themomeutofabtuptlutettuptlon,wheumausuddeulyteal|esh|sown
coud|tlou ofbelugtesuttected" ,lH, io io6| ttanslat|onmod|hed).A
secoudelementlsfound|utheStolcs. luAgambeu'sv|ew, "theSto|cpos
ltsthellbetatlugexpetleuceoftlmeassomethlnguelthetobjectlvenotte
movedftomoutcouttol,butsptluglugftomtheact|onsanddec|s|onsof
mau",lH,ioio;| ).
ACritiqacethcDia/cctic
Te uexttwomessageoeatets ate moteteceutouesaudalteadyfa-
mlllattoAgamoeu'steadets.
Itisccrtainlynoaccidcntthatcvcrytimcmodcrnthoughthascomcto rcconccp-
tualizc timc, it has incvitablyhad to bcgin with a critiquc olcontinuous, quan-
tihcd timc. Such acritiquc undcrlics both cn amin's Ihcscs enthcPhi/esehe
Histerand Hcidcggcr's incomplctc analysis oltcmporaliy in BcingandHmc
1his coincidcncc in two thinkcrs so lar apart is a sign that thc conccpt olimc
which has dominatcd Vcstcrn culturc lor ncarly two thousand ycars is on thc
wanc. IH, oo;&) ]
Tlscoujuuctuteoflutetestl souetatAgamoeuhudsmotethaufottu-
ltous.luhlsvlew,Heldegget'sapptoachtothequestlouoftlmeopposesto
acouceptlouofcoutluuous,quautlhedtlmeauexpetleuce"attheceutetof
wlchlsuolougetthepteclse, Reetlug instantlullueattlme,butthe me-
mcntofautheutlcdeclslouluwhlchDascinexpetleucesltsowuhulteuess"
,lH, io, io] , ttauslatloumodlhed) . Heldeggetwasludeedluteuselylu-
tetestedlu suc momeuts-aud uotoulylu Bcingandmc. luhls lec-
tutecoutsefotiz,o, heauuouucedthat"temomeutlsuothlugothet
taute instantedccisiocncssluwlctheeutltesltuatlousuttouudluga
mode ofactluglsopeued" ,HeldeggetGA, z,o. zz|, ltallcs luotlglual) .
lu tat same lectute coutse, lu hls loug aualysls ofbotedom, Heldegget
wtltes, he movemeutoftlme cau oulyoeotokeu thtough tlme ltsel
ttoug thatwhlc ls oftlme's esseuce audthatwe, followlug etkeg-
aatd,callthemomeut.Temomeutlutettuptstlme'smovemeut,audcau
dosooecauseltlsoueoftlme'sposslollltles" ,HeldeggetGA, z,o. zz) .
Kletkegaatd ludeed oeu luvoked suc au "lustaut" ot"momeut" as the
ctuxoflstougt-temomeutweuGodtuudetslutooue'sllfeaud
ouels called to tlukaudactauew-audltlsutewakeofsuchacou
ceptloutatHeldeggetlsteRectlug. luauotetlectutecoutseafewyeats
latet,Heldeggeteveuspokeofaoteaklugotoutstlugoftecoutluuumof
tlmettoughatadlcalcouceuttatlououtefottultousmomeutotlustaut
,seeHeldeggetGA,,|. io)
Agamoeu's appeallug to 8euj amlu fot the putposes ofdeveloplug
a tevolutlouaty polltlcs ls uullkelyto sutptlse hls teadets, out the same
ls uot ttue ofls tecoutse to Heldegget. 8eujamlu's couceptlous wete
opeuly, lfat tlmes ctyptlcally, Matxlst. Heldegget's most cettalulywete
uot-outuelthetwetetheyopposedtolt.AsAgamoeutemludshlsteadet,
Heldegget declated luhlscttcrenHamanism, to thesutptlseofmauy,
H CnqueetheDia/cnc
thatI atxlstcouceptlouofhlstotylssupetlottoauyothethlstotlog
taphy , io,io] ). Agambeupushesthlsptox|mltyfutthetlncla|m|ug
thatHeldegget'scouceptlouof "cateSerge| "ls"luuowayopposedtothe
Matxlstfouudatlouofhlstotyluptaxls" ,H, io, io] ) .
etltl s uotwlth thlsaffect-cate-thatAgambeu coucludes, but
wlthadlffeteutexpetleuce. "Theteexlstsfotevetyoue,"hewtltes,"au|m
medlateaudavallableexpetleuceouwhlchauewcouceptoftlmecouldbe
fouuded",H, i] ,ttauslatloumodlhed).Thlsexpetleucels/easure
u the Nicemachean Ethics, Atlstotle says ofpleasute that |tls " |u each
lustautsomethlugwholeaudcomplete",clted|ulH, iUo] , ttanslat|on
modlhed). Agambeulsqulcktofocusouthetempotalconcet|onthat
cottespouds to such pleasute "Thed|v|dlugpo|ntthtouwh|ch etet
ultyaudcontluuousllueattlme| telatelsthe|nstantasad|sctete,elus|ve
polut.Agalustthlscoucept|ou,whlchdoomsauyattempttomastett|me,
thetemust be opposed oue wheteby the ttue s|te ofpleasute, as man's
ptlmaty dlmeuslou, lsuelthetpteclse, coutlnuous tlmeuotetetn|ty, but
hlstoty",lH, io|] ) . Hecoutluues
Iorhistoryis not, as thc dominant idcologywoudhavc it, man`s sctudc to
continuous lincar timc, butman`slibcrationIrom it. thc timc oIhistorand mc
/aisinwhichman, bythis initiativc,graspsIavorablcopportunityandchooscs
hiso Irccdominthc momcnt.|ustas thc, discontnuous,hnitc, andcom
plctctimcoI plcasurcmustbcsctagainstthccmptcontinuous,andinhntctimc
oIvulgar historicism, so thc chronological timc oIpscudohisto must bc op-
poscdbythckairological caire/gce| timcoIauthcntichistory . . . . utarvolu
tionIromwhichthcrcsprings notancwchronologybutaqualitativcaltcrationoI
timc a/aire/cairologiaj ) wouldhavcthcwciticstconscqucnccsandwoud
aloncbc immunc to absorptioninto thcrcuxoIrcstoration. IH, io, ,iii) , ital-
ics inoriginalj
Irogress and Rcvolution, or Empty,
Homogenous Jime
Aswe saweatllet, fot Agambeu, "evety t|me modetn thought has
cometo tecouceptuallze tlme, |thaslnev|tablyhadto beg|n w|th a ct|
tlqueofcoutluuous, quaut|hed t|me,"aud"suchact|t|queundetl|es" not
oulyHeldegget'seingandIimebutalso8eujam|n's Ihesesenthehise
eHute.AslslmpllcltluInnqandHuteandasAgambenmakes
r cc A CritiqacethcDia/ccnc
expllcltlualatetessay, fothlmthetelsaceuttalldealuthesedeusetheses.
thecouceptofmesslaulctlme",l,r6cz,z] ).
Thlsldealsouethat8eujamlueudeavotedtoexptessftomhl seatll-
estwotksouwatdTheLlfeofStudeuts,"ftomrr,,opeuswlththeobset-
vatlou, Thetels acouceptlouofhlstotythat puts ltsfalthlutheluhulte
exteut oftlme aud thus dlstlugulshes ouly the pace, ot lack oflt, wlth
whlchpeopleaudepochsadvaucealougthepathofptogtess" ,8eujamlu
S,z.,) .Thatwhlchlshetectltlclzed-aualvefalthlutheluevltabllltyof
hlstotlcalptogtess-temaluedacoustautcoucetufot8eujamluaudlsou
btllllautdlsplayluhlshual Ihcscs.Ashlswtltlugstutuedmoteaudmote
towatda theotyofhlstotlcal kuowledge, 8eujamlu'svlslou ofhlstotlcal
tlmeaudhlstotlcalcousclousuesscametobebasedouadesttuctlou"ot
explodlug"ofthetelgulugllueat"vlewofhlstotyaudacottespoudlug
modelofptogtess.luthlssameeatlyessay, 8eujamluwtotethattheele-
meutsofthehualstatedcsEndzastandcs] ateuottobefouudlufotmless
ptogtesslveteudeuclesbutatelusteaddeeplyembeddedluevetypteseut
asthemosteudaugeted,dlsctedlted,audmockedcteatlousaudthoughts"
,8eujamluS, z.,) ustas8eujamlupolutedto outofthewaycotuets
ofout cultutal pastaud pteseut as places whetethe elemeuts fot a uew
couceptlouweteto besoughtaudfouud,sotoodldAgambeu,clalmlug
thattheelemeutsofauewcouceptlou oftlmeweteto befouudluthe
folds aud shadows oftheWestetu cultutal ttadltlou"-aud uotleast lu
8euj amlu'sowuwotks.
Thtoughouthls Ihcscs,8eujamluattacksauldeologyofptogtessaud
ltscottespoudlugcouceptlouoftlmelutheptepatatotyuoteshemadefot
the Ihcscs8eujamluwtotethatacouceptlouofhlstotyllbetatedftomthe
schema ofptogtesslou lu empty, homogeuous tlme would huallytetutu
thedesttuctlveeuetglesofhlstotlcalmatetlallsm-solougdeactlvated
totheheldofactlou" ,8eujamluS, r . rz|c) .Thefotmulathat8eujamlu
employsaudAgambeuadoptsfotthemodeloftlmethatcottespoudsto
thls model ofptogtess ls empty, homogeuous tlme hemegcnc and/ccrc
cit] ,fouudluThesesr,r|,aud 8, see8eujamluS, r.;crr.;c|) .What
lsceuttalaboutthlsuewcouceptloufotwhlch8euj amlulsseeklugtohud
tetmslsthatltabaudousacouceptlou ofluhulte llueattlmefotamote
dyuamlcouethatdoesuotwaltfotauldealstatetobeteachedbutlustead
takesdeclslve actlouto chaugethecoutseofhlstoty. ltsgoallsto attest
themachluellkemovemeutofaptogtesslve ldeologythathasptovedso
easy fot the cousetvatlve powets that be to maulpulate. luau essay ou
H CrinqucethcDia/n i ci
sutteal|sm wt|tteu teu yeats eatl|et, 8eujam|u evoked the |mageof"au
alatm clock that t|ugs evety m|uute fot s|xty secouds" ,8euj am|u
zi,GS z.,io). Thedteamftomwh|chhesawatevolut|ouatymauk|ud
ueed|ugtoawakeu|sthatof|uev|tableptogtess. luthemostfamousofthe
Ihcscs,theoue|nwh|ch8euj am|n|uttoducesh|s|cou|c"augelofh|stoty,"
astotmdt|vesthataugelceaselesslyfotwatd. "Hewouldl|ketostopaud
stay," 8eujam|nuotes,"toawakeuthedeadandtomakewholewhathas
beeudashedtop|eces,butastotmblowsftompatad|se|thasgotcaught
|uh|sw|ugsw|thsuchv|oleucethattheangelcauuolougetclosethem"
,8eujam|uGS, . 6;)As8euj am|usaysattheeudofh|spatable,"What
we call ptogtess |s thustotm" ,8euj am|u GS, i. 6;, |tal|cs |uot|g|ual).
Th|sd|duotmeaufot8eujam|uthatth|ugsd|duotgetbettetovett|me
|tmeautthats|mplyassum|ugthattheywould,audthatthose|npowet
wouldseetoth|scomewhatmay,wasthemostdaugetousstauceonecould
take.Attack|ugth|ste|gu|ug|deologyofptogtessoutheeveofWotdWat
ll,8euj am|uwtote, "Thewoudetoccas|ouedby the factthat the th|ugs
weateatpteseutexpet|euc|ngatest|ll'poss|ble|uthetwent|ethceututy
|sbyuomeausaph|losoph|calwoudet" ,8enj am|u G, i. ;f seealso
8euj am|uGS,, ,;of).8ejam|u'sallus|ouhete|snotoulytoeatlyGteek
thought'slocat|ugtheb|tthofph|losophy|utheexpet|euceof woudet,but
also to the |deathat attulyeats|ghted commentatot cannot cont|nue
toBytheBagofptogtessw|ththesamecalmaud|thasgenetat|onsof
|utellectualsaudpol|t|c|aushavedoue.
lutheHandcxcm/rof8eujam|u's Ihcscsthatwaslostfotdecades
aftet8eujam|u'sB|ghtftomlat|saudthatAgambeuh|mselfted|scoveted
|utheBi//iethqucNanena/c thete|sauadd|t|onalthes|slt|splacedbe-
tweeutheseveuteeuthaude|ghteeuththesesaud|u|t8eujam|ntematks,
"luh|scoucept|ouoftheclasslesssoc|ety,Matxseculat|zedthecoucept|ou
ofmess|au|ct|me",8euj am|uGS,;.;,seealso8enjam|nGS, i iz,i)lu
auabbtev|atedh|stot|calsutvey8eujam|nlameutsthatsoc|aldemoctats
tookth|s|deaaudmadeof|tau"|deal,"audthateoaut|ansmadeof
|t au "eudless task" ,8euj am|uGS, ;.), see also 8enj am|nG, i. i,i).
"W|th theclasslesssoc|etydehued asaueudlesstask," 8eujam|ut|tes,
"empty aud homogeuous t|me become the autechambet |n wh|ch oue
wa|tedw|th mote otless equau|m|ty fot the tevolut|ouaty s|tuat|ou to
eutet,"audfot8euj am|uthete|suoth|ugsodamag|ngfotatevolut|ouaty
pol|t|cs thausuch complaceucy ,8euj am|uGS, ;.;, see also enjam|n
GS, . z,i).lnmauytespects,outwotldseemsafa|tet,safet,bettet,mote
ioz A CritqacethcDia/cnc
humaue wotld thau that ofoue huudted ot hve huudtedyeats ago. lu
othettespects,thetelstoomfotcautlouaudcausefotptudeucewheuem-
ploylugthosetetms.8eujamluheldptogtesstoajustlyhlghstaudatdaud
sawtoomauylapsesaudtoomauydaugetstowattautuuwavetlugfalth.
Thlugsmayptogtess,butwemustwotk,ludlvlduallyaudcollectlvely,to
futthetthatptogtess.
Jhe Jime O the OW
lutheArcadcs Precct, 8eujamluwtote that "tbedlalectlclaumust
have thewludsofwotldhlstotyluhlsothetsalls" ,8euj amluGS, ,,i).
Fotthatdlalectlclau,8eujamluadded,"thluklugmeaus.settlugsall.Hea
theyatesetlslmpottaut.Wotdsatesalls.Howtheyatesetmakesofthem
coucepts",8euj amluGS, , ,i,ltallcsluotlglual).Oueofthemostlmpot-
tautaswellasmosteulgmatlccouceptsthat8eujamluemployedtottyto
catchthewludsofhlstotyluhlscouceptualsallswaswhatheopposedto
"empty,homogeuoustlme"audcalleda"couceptofthe pteseutasuow-
tlme ctztzcit] ,8euj amlu GS, i.o| see also 8eujamlu GS, i.oz). lu
thefoutteeuththesls8eujamluwtotethat"hlstotylstheobjectofacou-
sttuctlouwhose place ls uotthatofhomogeuous,emptytlmebutls lu-
stead hlledwlthuow-tlme oenctzcitc//tc] " ,8euj amlu GS, i.oi).
Thetetmthat8eujamluchosetollbetatethedyuamlceuetglesoftevolu-
tlouatythought lsauuuusualoue aud, asatesult, uoteasytottauslate.
lu Getmau,ccitusually meaus "coutempotatytlmes" ot "the ptes-
eut tlme," aud phllosophets ftom Schopeuhauetto letzsche to Helde-
ggetusedltasadetogatotytetmfottheuattowlycoutempotaty,thatls,
asupethclaltlmefocusedoulyoutheheteauduow,wlthuoseusefotthe
tlmesofthepastotthoseofthe futute). lu 8eujamlu's hauds, howevet,
ctztzcitls glveu a dlffeteutvaleuce aud a uew dyuamlsm. "owtlme"
lscoucelvedofluthe mostlltetal posslble seuse as acouceptlouoftlme
focusedouthe tadlcal oppottuultythatevetymomeutbtlugswlthlt
otto employ the tetms ofAgambeu's apptoach, ou the dyuamlc instant
tathetthauoutheptogtesslve auduotmallzlug centinaam. Suchacou-
ceptlouwouldgtasp thepteseutmomeutluaudfotallltstevolutlouaty
poteutlal.
Agambeu sttessed the ueed to ptobe "the folds aud shadows of
theWestetu cultutalttadltlou" fot actltlqueofthe lustaut, aud oueof
H CrinqaeetheDia/ctic io,
hls most lmpottaut dlscovetles l s fouud lu 8eujamlus hual theses. lu
8eujamlu'swake,Agambeuadoptedthlsmodelofauowt|me, g|v|ug|t
thekludteduame/aire/eaudlluklug|ttoa"catasttophe"thatheseesas
ougolug,fotmoteoubothofthesetetms,seetheschollatothlschaptet)
aire/elsbestuudetstoodluopposltlouto chrene/e, audth|ttyyeats
latetAgambeu tetutuedtothefotmettetmsoastooppose|ttothelattet
,seeS,;,).Llke8euj amlu,Agambeuemployscatastreheuotlutheseuse
ofaecasebutlusteadlutheseuseofacrisisaudtheueedfotadec|slve
tespousetolt.Aswesaw,Agambeuhascla|med,"l amuot|uthesl|ghtest
lutetestedluapocalyptlcptophecles, buttathet|utheways |uwh|che
mlghttespoudatthepteseutt|metothecatasttopheluwh|chel|ve",L,
i).Thatth|stespouseeutallsatecouceptuallat|ouoftimelssometh|ug
thatAgambeumakespetfectlycleatasheadds,udthesoleosslblllty
wehavetottulygtaspthepteseutlstocouce|veof|taseudsieamEn

e
zaden/en ,L,).Theeudluquest|oulsuottheeudofthewoldot
theeudoftlmebuttheldeaoftheeudasamodelotpatadlgmfotamode
ofthluklug audllvlugthat lsuotwaltlugfot dlalectlcal completlou ot
messlaulcfulhllmeut,au|deathatw|lltesutfacelatetlu|sthought,aud
luthlsbook,astheldeaoftheptofaue).Agambeualsosaysthatth|st|me
oftheuowastlmeoftheeud"was8eujam|usldeaaudh|smess|au|sm|s
abovealltobeuudetstoodaftetth|sfash|ou",L,i)Hetewecaucleatly
seewhat ls so myst|lug aboutAgambeusaud8eujam|us-tecoutse
to the ldeaofthe mess|aulc,wh|chwewlll tetutu to at the eudofth|s
book. Hlsldeals uot ofapocalypse but ofimmediaq lt |s uotwaltlug
fottheMesslahtocome,|tlsactlugasthoughHewetealteadyheteltls
fotthlsteasouthatAgambeuwlllsayuotouly,aswesaweallet,thatthe
ceuttal ldealu 8eujamlu's Ihesesls "mess|au|ct|me," butalsothat "the
patadlgmfotuudetstaudlugthepteseutlsmesslau|ct|me",L,i)Hete
Agambeu makes petfectlyexpllclt thatwhat ls at lssue lsapatad|gm
otmodel-fotoutactlou.To uudetstaudbettetth|scouceptlouoft|me
audlts"messlaulc"elemeuts,howevet,wemustexamluemotecloselythe
methodthat8eujamluaudaftethlmAgambeueuv|s|oued
rc| A CritiqacethcDia/cnc
Dialectical Method, or Jhe Irince and the Frog
TbecbaptetlnInncandHistetbatfollowsAgamben'scallfota
tevolutlonatyconceptlonoftlme, Tbeltlnceandthe Ftog. Theues-
tlonofMetbodlnAdotnoand8enj amln,mlgbtseemathtstglancean-
ecdotal-a sott ofaftettbougbt to tbe latget questlons tbe book talses
Wbenexamlnedclosely,bowevet,lttevealswbatAgambenlsendeavotlng
toadaptftom8enj amln'sldeaofblstoty,andwby
lnmodest pbllologlcal fasblon, tbls cbaptet beglns wltb tbe texts
tbatltwlllanalyzeandexpllcate.twolonglettetswtlttenlnr,. Thehtst
ls ftomAdotnoto 8enj amln, acknowledglngtecelptofthelattets essay
TbelatlsoftheSecondEmplteln8audelalteonbehalfofthelnstltute
fotSoclalReseatcb,wblcbbebelpedtotunandwhlchwasthenlocatedln
ewotkltexptessesdlsappolntmentandoffetsttenchantctltlclsmThe
secondlettetls8enjamln'stesponsesentftomlatlstoewotkamonth
latet Tbeessayon8audelaltewasofpattlculatlmpottanceto botbpat-
tles.TbelnstltutefotSoclalReseatcbwastbenfundlng8enjamlnsstudy,
andAdotnobadbeenboplngto btlngblsftlendmotecloselylnllnewlth
themetbodologlcalalmsoftbelnstltute Fot8enjamln,theessaywasto
benotblnglessthanamodellnmlnlatutefottbemasslveArcadsPrecct
bebadbeenatwotkonfotneatlytenyeats
Aftetcltlngtbetwo lettetsatlengtb,Agambencatefullyexamlnes
tbeltatguments Toundetstandtbedebatemotefully,howevet,weneedto
ttacetbestotybackastepfattbettbanAgambendoes 8enj amlnhadmet
wltbtheAdotnos,bewasanoldftlendofAdotnoswlfe, Gtetel)befote
tbecoupleleftfotewotk.Tbe meetlngtooklacelnSanRemo, and
dutlnglt8enj amlnandAdotnooftenspokeofldeasofrcdcmnenandtbe
toletheysawtboseldeasplaylnglntbelttespectlveptojectsAdotnowas
fasclnatedby8enjamln'sgatgantuaneffotttocaptutetbepbyslognomy
andpbantasmagotlaoftbenlneteentbcentutytbtougbadlspatatemass
ofdocuments centeted atound tbe patadlgmatlc latlslan atcades, and
8enj amlnwasequallylntetestedlnAdotno'swotlnptogtessonWagnet
utlngtheseconvetsatlonsandtbelettetsthatfollowed,thetwothlnkets
exploted tbe commonalltles and dlffeteuces ofthelt conceptlons ofthe
toleoftbectltlc,aswellasdebatlngthemeanlngandlmpottanceofsuch
categotlesastedemptlon
ln tbe wotks ofboth wtltets, rcdcmnen found ltselfln unllkely
company The tetm ftequeutly appeats ln passages chatactet|ed by
HCrinqueetheDia/ecnc io ,
phllophlcal and soclologlcal sophlstlcatlon that seemed to leave llttle
placeotaconceptandcategotythatwas,toallappeatances, atel|glous
one.FotAdotno, redemnenentetedhlsphllosoph|calp|ctute|nd|alectl
cal fotm and was shaped by a Matxlst otthodoxyhe held deat. ltwas
somethlngontheotdetofadlalectlcalhotlonand|tsactualatta|nment
wasamattetnotto belmmedlatelycontemplated. 8enjamlns|ns|stence
on the tetmwas evety blt as centtal andlntense, thoughmoted|fhcult
to chatactetle. Whatevet lt was, 8enjamlns usewas not d|alect|cal |n
thesamefashlonasAdotnos, andthelattetcametovlew|tasdwelllng
somewhetebetweenthena|velymyst|cal,themess|an|c) andthena|vely
hlstotlcal,theanatch|c). FotAdotno,8enjam|nsMatx|smwasbecomlng
lncteaslnglylncohetent.
Whete these tens|ons came to a headwas |n the|t concept|ons of
materia/ismAdotnosptoblemw|th 8enjam|ns unotthodoxtecoutse to
Matxandhlsdecldedlyundlalect|caluseofthetetmredmnenwaswht
hesawasltsfaultyotlnsuclentmatet|al|sm.Th|svaclllat|ng,uncetta|n
matetlallsmthat,lnAdotnosvlew,8enjamlntt|edtoaccommodatetohls
othetateasoflntetest-suchasewlshmyst|c|sm-d|d,lnAdotnosv|ew,
adlssetvlcetobothmatetlallsmand8enj am|nsothetlntetests.Theywete,
Adotno wtote, "lntellectualtoolswhose movementsyouthandtes|sts at
evetytutn ,lH,, ii] ).
Adotnos chastlslng of8enjamln fot |nsufhc|ent matet|al|sm led
8enj amln to makeapolemlcald|st|nct|on |nhls lastwt|t|ngsbetween
dia/ecnca/matera/ismofthesottptact|cedbyAdotnoandh|sownbtand
ofmatetlallsm,whlchhecalledhuterica/mateia/ism,theen|gmat|ctta|ts
ofwhlchatesketchedlnhls Iheses

Fot8enjam|n, theh|stot|calmate-
tlallstslngleshlmselfoutfothlstefusaltoth|nkw|th|nthecategot|esof
contlnualptogtessandalongthe l|nes ofaptogtesslvemodelofh|stoty.
ln 8enj amlnsvlew, Adotno was not fteeftomsuch fa|th|n theptogtess
ofhlstoty,evldencedlnhlsdlalectlcalmethod), and8enjam|ntema|ned
skeptlcalabouttheuseAdotnomadeof"thecategotlesofptogtesslveand
tegtesslvelnhlsstudyofWagnet,seeAdotnoand8enjam|ni|,,;
Wlth thls backgtound|nmlndwecantutn toAgambenseluclda-
tlon ofth|s methodolog|cal exchange that |s so chatged w|th petsonal
tenslon.Agambenbeglnsh|sanalys|sbyacknowledg|ngthefundamental
soundnessofAdotnosct|tlque. "thtsts|ght,"hewt|tes, "theobject|ons
to 8enjamlns essaythatAdotnovo|ces |nhls lettet seem cottect" ,lH,
izz] ttanslatlon mod|hed). He catefully teads between thel|nesof
o H CritiqacethcDia/ccnc
Adotno'slettettbe tealcbatgeltcontalns.Altbougbbeavoldssaylngthls
lnsomanywotds,Adotnohnds8enj amlnfalllnglntonotblnglesstban
vulgatmatetlallsm-amatetlallsmtbat, lnMatxlstottbodoxy, fallsto
glvesufhclentplaceto tbealllmpottantptocessofmedlatlonbetween
sttuctuteandsupetsttuctute,seelH, ii,iirzzz, ) Agambenmakes
cleattbatAdotnobasgoodteasontomakesucbobjectlonsandtbatftom
Adotno'sdocttlnalpolntofvlew, bls atgument seemspetfectlycohetent
,lH, i; rz, , ttanslatlonmodlhed) Adotnolstbusjustlhedlntbeobj ec-
tlonsbemakes,andaltbougbbedoesnottefetdltectlytoEngels'oftclted
lettetlnwblcbtbelattetsttessedtbatonlylntbehnallnstancelspto-
ductlonthedetetmlnlngblstotlcalfactotlnacultutalcteatlon,Agamben
polnts to tbebomologyofthectltlque,seelH, ii iz,] ) Adotnosttesses
tbeneedfotunlvetsalmedlatlon,tefetstothetotalsoclalptocess,and
sees botb oftbese as necessaty steps ln the matetlallst dlalectlc-steps
tbat 8enj amlnbas elthetneglectedottefusedto take Tblshtstpattof
Agamben'sessaysetvestosttesstbedocttlnalsoundness ofAdotno'sob-
j ectlonsandtbemotlvatlonsbeblndblscallfotamotedlalectlcallysound
metbod.
Aftet undetllnlngtbelegltlmacyofAdotno's obj ectlons,Agamben
adds,TbetetemalnsonlytheptoblemtbatAdotno's]ctltlquelsdltected
atatextwblcb,asanyonewhohasteadtheessaylnquestlonwlllknow,ls
petbapstbemostlllumlnatlnganalyslsofaglobalcultutalmomentlnthe
blstotlcaldevelopmentofcapltallsm,lH, iirz,] ). Tothlsnonnegllglble
polnt Agamben adds the cutlous fact tbat lnAdotno's lettet a ctltlque
foundedonsucblnconttovettlbledocttlnalbasesemployssttangethetotl-
caldevlcestoacbleveltsend,andbehndsltpuzzllngtbatAdotnoshould
bavefelttbeneedtobottowtetmlnologytbatwouldseemmoteapptoptl-
ate to tbe tecbnlcal vocabulatyofexotclsm and eccleslastlcal anatbema
tbantoalucldpbllosopblcaltefutatlon ,lH, ii rz, , ttanslatlon modl-
hed) Agamben patses tbls dlfhcultybycloselyexamlnlngwbatAdotno
sees undettbebeadlngs dlalectlcs and medlatlonAdotno'sfocuson
tbetoleofmedlatlonleadsblmtotell8enj amlnatonepolntlnhlslettet,
lwlll exptessmyselflnasslmpleand Hegellan a mannet asposslble
,cltedlnlH, ii; rz|] ) AgambenastutelyttacesthlsalluslontoHegellan
medlatlon to lts soutce ln IhcPhcnemcne/eg eSirit. The medlatot
lntetposlngltsgoodofhcesbetweensttuctuteandsupetsttuctutetosafe-
guatdmatetlallsmftomvulgatlty,wtltesAgamben,lsthetefoteHegellan
dlalectlcalhlstotlclsm -whlch,addsAgamben,llkeallgobetweens,|s
HCinqueetheDm/cnc io
ptomptlndemandlngltsdue.Tblsduetakestbefotmoftenounclngtbe
conctetegtasp ofeacbslngleeventandeacbptesentlnstantofptax|sln
favotofdefettaltotbehnallnstanceoftbetotalsoclalptocess" ,lH, U
iz,] ,ttanslatlonmodlhed)
Toacettalnextent, tben, Hegel andblsdlalect|cateat lssuebete,
andAgamben seesAdotno as belng fundamentallyal|gnedwltb Hegel
on tbls questlon. lt ls at tbls polnt tbatAgamben declslvely entets tbe
debateonmatetlallstmetbodvlatbecategotyofcausallty-tbemednen
tbat matetlallstottbodoxyplaces betweensttuctute andsupetsttuctute.
Agambenclalmstbattbeldeatbatsttuctute,otmatetlalbaseandsupet
sttuctutestandlnatelat|onsblpofcauseandeffecttooneanotbet|slse
andlslnfact notb|nglesstbana"scatectow" ,lH, i z, ttanslat|on
mod|hed)."Evetycausal|ntetptetat|onoftbetelat|onshlpbetweenmate
tlalbaseandsupetsttuctute,"wt|tesAgamben," lscompllcltw|tbestetn
metapbyslcsandptesupposes tbedlvlslonofteal|tyl ntotwod|stlncton
tologlcal levels" ,lH, iz, ttanslatlonmodlhed. lftb|s |sso, tbenlt
wouldgoagalnstbedtlvlng|deabeblndMatxsmatet|al|sm-tbeptoject
ofstandlngpbllosopbyonltsbeadandofmetg|ngtbeotyandptax|s|nto
a slngle system. Agamben contlnues "A matet|al|sm tbat conce|ved of
economlcfactotsas cauarimaln tbe samesense|n wblcbtbe Godof
metapbyslcs lscausasuiandhtstptlnc|pleofalltb|ngswould beonlythe
obvetseofmetapbyslcsandnotltsovetcom|ng" ,lH, iz| , ttanslat|on
modlhed) Heteagalnsucbamatetlallsmwouldbeunwottbyoftbetask
tbatMatxsetfotlt.Tbematetlal|smtbatAgambenatgues|sttulyMatx's
ownlslnacettalnsenseamatetlallsmwlthoutmed|at|on|ntbemannet
lnwblcbHegel,Engels,andAdotnoenvlsloned|t.
Tbepatbleftopenfotsucbattulytadlcal-andfot8enjam|naud
Agamben, a ttulyMatxlst-matetlallsmwouldtben be notoneofd|a
lectlcalmedlatlonotcausaldetetmlnatlonbetweensttuctute andsupet
sttuctute, but one ofdirectcerresendenceotunmediatedenn,lH, izo
iz] , ltallcs ln otlglnal, ttanslatlonmodlhed. Tbe expet|enceof|ntense
polltlcalengagementtbat8enjamlnbadattbesldeofAsjaLasledhlm
tonewtblnk|ngabouttbetelatlonsb|pbetweentbeotyandptax|s,exem
pllhedlntbeptom|semadelnalettettoMattln8ubettbath|swotk"w|ll
bedevoldofall tbeoty . . . . lwanttowt|tea desct|pt|on ofMoscowat
tbeptesentmomentlnwb|cballfactuallty|salteadytbeoty' " ,8enjamln
GS,l Tbus,fotAgamben,"tbeonlyttuematet|al|sm|sonethat
tadlcallyabol|sbes tb|ssepatat|onbetweensttuctuteandsupetsttuctute|
r c A CritiqacethcDia/cctic
and sees ln conctete blstotlcal tealltynot tbe sum ofsttuctute and su
petsttuctutebuttbe unmedlatedunltyoftbetwotetms lntbe tealmof
ptaxls ,lH, rzc rz] , ttanslatlon modlhed) Altbougb Adotno lndeed
comptessed tbe Matxlst dlstlnctlon between tbeotyand ptaxls to a te
matkableextent-saylng,fotlnstance,tbatptaxlslstbepowetsoutceof
tbeotyandtbattbeotylsnotonlyapattoftbewbolebutalsoamoment
oflt, fotlfnot,ltwouldnotbeabletoteslsttbespelloftbewbole-be
nevettbelesskepttbemdlstlnctftomoneanotbetlnawaytbat8enjamln
andAgambendldnot,AdotnoGS, ro.o).
8ydltecttefetencetoMatx,andbydlstanclngblmselfftomEngels'
posltlon)Agambenlaysclalmon8enjamln'sbebalftoaputetandmote
autbentlcMatxlsmtbanAdotno,andtbeMatxlstottbodoxytowhlchhe
oftenadbetes, employs. lfMatxlsnotconcetnedto specltbewayln
wblcbtbetelatlonsblpbetweensttuctuteandsupetsttuctutelstobecon
sttued,wtltesAgamben, and bas nofeatofbelngoccaslonallyconsld
etedvulgat,'ltlsbecauseanlntetptetatlonoftblstelatlonsblplnacausal
senselsnotevenconcelvablelnMatxlsttetms-afactwblcbtendetssu
petRuoustbedlalectlcallntetptetatlonlntendedto temedytbls ,lH, rr
rz] ) . lfMatxnevetfeatedvulgatmatetlallsm,''wtltesAgamben,ltwas
becauseMatx'stbougbtwasopetatlngwltbafullydlffetentconceptlonof
ptaxls.Adotnofeltbebadtottavetsewbatbecalled,cltlng8enjamln,tbe
lcywastesofabsttactlontoattlveatblsownconceptlonofanegatlve
dlalectlc,Mllet-oobmzcc,,66r) .Agamben'sconcetn,bowevet,lsnot
wltbnegatlvltyotwltbadlalectlcabletottavetsesucbgteatdlstancesof
coldaosttactlon,butwltbtbelmmedlacyofblstotlcalteasonandptaxls
besees8enjamlntakeftomMatx.AltbougbltlslnllnewltbHegeland
tbeblstotlogtapbytbatfollowedlnblswake,Adotno'smatetlallsmlsseen
byAgambenaslnconslstentwltbwbatlnMatx'sconceptlonofblstoty
andllfe-wasmosttevolutlonaty.tbematetlallsmtbatwouldtevolutlon
lzepbllosopbyandftomwblcbanewconceptlonofcausalltywouldRow
lnstead ofdefendlng 8enjamln agalnst Adotno on tbe gtounds tbat lt
doesn'tultlmatelymattetwbetbet8enjamlnwassufhclentlymatetlallstln
blsapptoacbotnot, asmanyctltlcsbavedone, andlnsteadofconcedlng
toAdotno tbat bewas tbe bettet Matxlstbutthat8enjamln's ldlosyn
ctatlcapptoacbalsobasltsownnotlnslgnlhcantmetlts,Agambentakesa
dlffetenttack. HepbllologlcallydemonsttatestbataltbougbAdotnomay
bavebeenmotedlalectlcalthanblscottespondent,bewasnotmotemate
ria/tlnanautbentlcallyMatxlst,andauthentlcallytevolutlonaty,seuse.
H CnqueetheDm/cnc io
8yaddtesslngthetelatlonoftheotyandptaxlsthtoughaseemlngly
lncldentalexchangeoflettets,Agambenapptoachesnotonlyaquestlon
thatllesatthecentetofthettadltlonofMatxlstphllosophy,butlsoone
ofthe elements ln 8enjamlns thlnklng that has ptoved most dutably
mystllng Adotno was lndeed one ofthe htst to talsethe questlon of
the telatlonshlp oftheotyto ptaxls ln 8enjamlnswotk, buthewas fat
ftom thelast. Scholem dld the same andwas dlstutbedbywhathesaw
as 8enjamlns ptoxlmlty to consetvatlve thlnkets ofhls day The anat-
chlc note sttuck ln cettaln of8enjamlns essays mde the quest|on stlll
motedlfhcultfothlslntetptetetstodecldeon.lnamuchteadessayftom

iz, tgen Habetmassttessedwhathechatactetledasdublouslycon

setvatlve elements ln 8enjamlns thought, aswell s what he tetmed "a
hlghlymedlatedtelatlontelatlvetopollt|calptaxls" -amattetconcetnlng
whlch, followlngHabetmas, "8enj amlndldnotmanagetoachlevesu
hclentclatlty" ,Habetmasi, ).Dett|da,lnwhatAgambenfelttobe
a fundamental mlsundetstandlng, sawtheatguments of"Thetllque
oflolence"asapptoachlnghgutesemployedlnthealFlnalolut|on.
otafewteadetshavefound8enjamlnstematksonvlolenceandh|sen
thuslasmfotexttemeandxploslvechatgesandchangesslmllatlydlstutb-
lng. lt lsthlshlghlychatged heldthatAgambensubtlyentets, thtough
hls analysls of8enjamlnandAdotnos eplstolatyexchange, adthathe
endeavotstoclatlfy
lnthethltteenthofhls Iheses,8enjamlnexpllcltlyattacksthetelgn-
lnghlstotlogtaphlcalconceptlon ofptogtess ofhlsday, clalmlngthatthe
empty,homogenoustlme"ltposltsdemandsafundamentalctltlque-"a
ctltlque oftheconceptofptogtess" ,8enjamlnGS, i.;oi).Telllngly, |t ls
pteclselythls theslsthatAdotno slngledoutupon htsttecelvlngthetext
,mote than a yeat aftet 8enjamlns death). At thls tlme, Adotnos col-
labotatot Max Hotkhelmet was no longet llvlng ln ew otk ,havlng
movedtolaclhclallsades),andAdotnowtotetohlmwlthasummatyof
thecontentsofthe Iheses "lflwetetolndlcateapolntwhetewedlvetge
ftom 8enjamlns theses," wtote Adotno, "l would polnt to the i,th. So
cettalnlydoestheconfotmlstvlewofhlstotylmplytheconceptlonoftlme
ashomogenous contlnuum, sollttlelsltto beteducedtotheexpetlence
oftlme",lettetftomuneiz,i|isee8enjamlnG,;;;|) Stlllspeaklng
ofthlssamethesls,Adotnocontlnues"8enj amlnseemstomehetetobe
caughtuplnldeallsm,"befoteconcedlngthat,"thetelssomethlnglnthe
questlonoftlmeassuigeneru"Fot8enj am|n,whtlsatlssue|spteclsely
no A CrqacethcDia/cctic
andunabasbedlyanexpetlenceoftlme,andAdotnolstooshatpateadet
notto seethls. ltlspteclselytbls polntthatmostdeeplydlvldesthem
and tbat lntutn lles at tbe centetofAgamben's own teectlons on the
phllosophyofhlstoty.
GlventbechaptettbatptecedesltlnInnandHte,Tlmeand
Hlstoty,wlthltskaltologlcalconceptlonoftlmethatwouldbeadequate
totheMatxlst conceptlonofhlstoty), ltshouldcomeasnosutptlsethat
AgambenendsblscbaptetonAdotnoand8enjamlnwlthahnalcallfota
newconceptlonoftlme.Fotthetlmehascometoendtheldentlhcatlon
ofblstotywltbaconceptlonoftlmeasacontlnuousllneatptocessand,to
tbls end, to undetstandthatthedlalectlclscapableofbelngahlstotlcal
categotywlthoutneedlngto falllnto llneattlme. ltlsnot the dlalectlc
tbatbastobeadequatetoapteexlstlng,vulgatconceptlonoftlmeonthe
conttaty, ltlsthlsconceptlonoftlmethatmustbeadequatetoadlalectlc
tbatlsttulyfteedofallabsttactness' ,lH,rz, r,r] ,ttanslatlonmodlhed).
ltlscleatthattbedlalectlcpetselsnottobedlsmlssed,butalso thatan
apptoptlately tadlcal conceptlon oftlme should accompany the tadlcal
conceptlonofblstotyandptaxlstbatlsMatx'spbllosopblcalhetltage.
TblswldeneddlalectlcalpetspectlvecanbelpAgamben'steadetbet
tetundetstandtbescopeandalms ofblstbltdoook. Hesees expetlence
endangeted notonlyby tbe commodlhcatlon and commetclallzatlon of
evetydayllfe,butalsobyguldlngconceptlonsofblstotyandptogtess.The
polemlcalelementlnInncandHistelstatgetedatdlalectlcalconcep-
tlonsofblstotlogtapby,aswellasatldeasoftlmeattendantuponthemand
ftomwblcbevenMatx'stadlcaltevaluatlonofestetnmetaphyslcsdld
notmanagetollbetateltselHete,aselsewhete,Agamben'scallsshould
not, bowevet, be mlstaken fot anatchlc ones. Whatbe advocates ls not
anAttaudlan evacuatlon ofmeanlngotasutteallstchamplonlngofthe
lncomptehenslble, butlnsteadateconceptuallzatlonofoutplace lnhls-
totyandoutldeasontlme,aswellastheselzlngoftheposslbllltlesopen
tous. Outpetllousstateofaffaltsbtlngswlthltaposltlveposslblllty,and
thedesttuctlveptojectfotwhlchAgambenatgueslstobeconductedln
thenameofthatposslblllty.
H CnquetheDm/ecnc III
:cholium enjamin's Ih-s-s:a:h-Ph:/:s:,h
:Hu::,or Jhe Floodgates ol Enthusiastic
Misunderstanding
Shottly aet 8enjamlus death, what came to be called h|s Iheses
n thePhi

sHutwetesenttoh|sft|end8ettolt8techt.pon
tecelv|ngthem, thelattetwtote ln h|sj outnal, "neth|nksw|thhottot
schrec/en| ofhowt|nythenumbet|softhoseeveu|napos|t|ontoday
tom|sundetstandsuchawotk"see8enjam|nG, i izz).8techtwasnot
theonlywtltettonotehowdlfhcult|twastoapptoachand undetstand
8enjam|nsfantast|callycondensedtheses.lnalettettoaxotkhe|m
etwt|ttenlnFebtuatyi|o,8enjam|n,wt|t|ng|nFtench,tematkedthat
"thesttlppeddownchatactet /ecaractreui/ thatlhadtog|veto
thethesesd|ssuadesmeftomsend|ngthemtoyouas|s" ,8eam|nG,
i izz,thlslettetlsoneofahandfulwtltteutocloseGetmauft|endsthat
8enjamlncomposedlnFtench) .lnalettettoGtetelAdotnowt|ttenaf
monthslatet, |nAptlli|o, toaccompanythe Ihesesandthatwasnevet
sent, 8enj amlnwtote, lnmotethanonesenselsthetextteduced"andl
donotevenneedtotellyouthatnothlngl|esfutthetftommym|ndthan
theldeaofpubl|shlngthesenotes ,notto speakofdo|ngso|nthefotm
youw|llhndhete) astheywould open theoodgatestothemostenthu-
slastlcmlsundetstand|ngSieardndementhusmnschenMierstandnu
randIren " ,GS, i. izz6,izz,).
lnthewakeof8enjamlnsdeathhvemonthslatet,th|s|deathatlay
futthestftom hls mlndcametopass, aud |ndeed, aet alougpet|odof
lnattent|on,these Iheseshavebecomethesubjectofnosmallmeasuteof
enthuslastlc mlsuudetstandlng. So dense that they appeat at po|nts al
most enctypted, they take up a mete eleven pages ofthe thousands ln
theseventhlckvolumesof8eujamlnscompletewotksbutthewealthof
enthuslasm, undetstandlng, and mlsundetstandlng to whlch theyhave
glven tlse ate wlthout equal |u hls wotk, ot pethaps that ofany othet
modetntheotlstTheyhave,asthe|tteadetsknow,aluc|d,stenogtaph|c
powet,aswellasatateemot|onal|ntenslty8enjam|nwtote|ntheunsent
lettetto GtetelAdotno clted eatl|etthat "hewataudtheconstellat|on
ltbtoughtwlth|tledmetosetdownafewthoughtsaboutwh|chl can
saythatl have guatdedthem fot some twentyyeats-|ndeed guatded
r r z A CritiqacethcDia/ccnc
them tom mysel ,GS, r. rzz6). 8enjamlnwtote these sttlppeddown
enttlesat theendor, andthebeglnnlngofi|o,andthelmmedlate
lmpulseappeatstohavecomeftomtheHletStallnpactthatwasacause
ofsuchshockanddespaltfotsomanycommunlstlntellectualslnEutope
andelsewhete. 8eoteReelnglatls,8enjamlngavethe IhcscstoHannah
Atendt,who wasto takethem to ewotkand pass them along to the
lnstltuteotSoclalReseatch,whlchhadtelocatedftomFtankfutttoew
otk. ltwasonlyatet8enjamln'sdeaththatshewasabletodoso.
8enjamln's Ihcscsweteslowtoatttactlntetest.Theywetehtstpub-
llshedlnthesptlngofr|zbythelnstltutefotSoclalReseatch ,lnacol-
lectlonentltled wa/tcrBcnaminzamCc cht),butthepubllcatlontun
was exttemelyllmlted and thevolumewas nevetotsaleln bookstotes.
Thehtstmajotpubllcatlonofthe IhcscswaslntheGetmanjoutnalDic
cacRanchaa upon Adotno's tetutn to Getmanyln r,o andwas ac-
companledbyAdotno'sessayChataktetlstlkWaltet8enjamlns.ltbeats
tecalllnghetethatwhenAgambenbegantowtlteabout8enjamlnlnthe
late r6cs andeatlyrcs, thelattet'swotkwasnotyetpattlculatlywell
known When,howevet, 8enj amln'swotkdldat last begln togatnetslg-
nlhcantattentlon, hls Ihcscswetequlcklyseen assomethlngoanlntel-
lectualtestament. ln the lnttoductlonthatAdotnocomposedto accom-
panytheltlnltlalpubllcatlon,he calledthempteclselythat. thetexthas
becomeatestamentDcrxtistzam rmchtisgcaerdcn] ,8enjamln
GS, r. rzz,r. rzz|). lnalettettom Scholem toAdotno tom r|,, when
theotmethadatlasttecelvedthe Ihcscs,heconcutted,althoughhecom-
pllcated the exptesslon by tefettlngto them as an enctypted testament
cin crmchtnisinChrn] ,8enjamlnGS, .c) .Agambencleatlysees
the Ihcscslnthlssameposthumousllghtantepeatedlyattemptstode-
ctyptvatlouspassagestheteln.Aswesaweatllet,onewayofapptoachlng
InnandHistelsasaglossothecategotlesofhlstotlcalexpetlence,
ptogtess,tlme,andmethodptesentedlnthe Ihcscs.Thlslsttueoanum-
bet ofAgamben's othet shottet and longetwotks as well . Onewayof
undetstandlng IhcIimcIhatRcmainslsasalong,patlent,andabsolutely
lngenlousglossothehtstof8enjamln's Ihcscsonthephllosophyofhls-
toty. StatceExcctiencontlnueslnthlsvelnand,aswewlllseelatet,can
beseenas,amongothetthlngs,anequallylngenlousglossof8enjamlns
elghththesls.
H CnqueetheD/cc II]
Scholium II. Jhe Mow ol Kowabiliq
WesawluInnqandutethatAgambeuspokeofelemeutsfot
adlffeteutcouceptlouoftlme"thathesawlaylugscattetedluthefolds
audshadowsoftheWestetucultutalttadltlou"Hefouudsuchdlspatate
elemeuts luAtlstotellauleasute, lu Stolc luuovatlou, aud lu theteBec-
tlousoutlmeleftbehludbyHeldeggetaud8eujamluWeueedoulyto
elucldate these," Agambeu coutluued, so that theymay emetge as the
beatetsofamessagewhlchlsmeautfotusaudwhlchltlsouttasktovetl-
",lH,ooo] ). Althoughltmayuotbelmmedlatelyappateut,Agam
beuasksthatthlsstatemeutbeuudetstoodqultelltetally lt|s|ufactthe
euuuclatlouofthemostslugulatofAgambeusmethodolog|calptluclples,
whlchlsasdeclslveasltlsdlfhculttodesctlbe,audwhlchappllesuotouly
toauldeaoftlmebutalsotothetlmeluwhlchldeasategtasped
lu Checes'i/centemeraneeAgambeuwtltesthathlstotlausofatt
audlltetatutekuowthat"betweeu the atchalc audthemodetu thetels
asectetappolutmeut" ,CCC, z,) . OfIhe me IhatRemainsAgambeu
tematked, "l thlukthatbetweeu laul's Lettet to the Romaus aud the
pteseutluwhlchwellvethetelssomethlugthat8euj amlucalledasectet
appolutmeut",LAM,i.luamoteluductlveveluhetematkedelsewhete,
"Thetelsalwaysapattlculatmomeutluwhlchouecauhtstttulyuudet
staud somethlug," aud added, "Waltet 8euj amlu called lt the momeut
ofkuowablllty" ,L, i; Thls commeuttells usthatAgambeu,follow
lug 8eujamlu,tejectsthe ldea that all texts ate equallyteadable,equally
uudetstaudable, atallmomeutsofthelthlstoty luAgambeusvlew, rea/
uudetstaudlug-auuudetstaudlugthatwouldbemotethauthepasslve
teceptlouofatext,thatwouldcoutaluadyuamlcelemeutaudacapacl
fotdevelopmeut-ptoceedsalougdlffeteutllues.
"achuowlstheuowofattlculatkuowabllltyedsetztutm
etzt einer /esnmmten Er/enn/ar/eit| ," 8eujamlu wtote lu lt, ttuth ls
chatged to the butstlugpolutwlth tlme. ,Thls exploslou coluldes
wlththebltthofautheutlchlstotlcaltlme,thetlmeofttuth)" ,8eujamlu
,|6,GS, ,ttauslatloumodlhed)Heteaudelsewhete,8eujamlu
coulduothavebeeumoteemphatlcabouttheldeathatthetelatloushlp
betweeu pastaud pteseut lu such a momeut should uot beuudetstaud
alougcouveutloualtlmelluesltlsuotthatwhatlspastcastsltsllghtou
whatlspteseut,"hesays,"otthatwhatlspteseutshedsltsllghtouwhatls
past."lustead,hesttessesthelmpottauceofauowofkuoabllltyet
r r| CritiqacethcDia/ctc
dcrEr/cnn/ar/cit] ,teRectlngalessllneatandmotecomplextelatlonsblp
ofpasttoptesentEvetymomenttben"beatslntbeblgbestdegteetbelm-
ptlntoftbepetllousctltlcalmomentuponwblcballteadlnglsfounded
8enjamlnr,|6,, GS, ,,,ttanslatlonmodlhed) 8enjamln'slsnota
pbllologlcaltbeotylnaconventlonalsense,yetltlsnonetbelessabllo-
loglcaltbeotylntbesensetbatltlsconcetnedwltbmetbodsofteadlng
,8enjamlnemployslnblsnotestbepbtase"nowofknowabllltymoteot
lesssynonymouslywltb"nowofleglbllltyctztdcrcs/ar/cit] )Hete
tbedeclslveandmystetlous-elementlsfottultousoppottunlty-otln
otbetwotds,/aires Fot8enjamln, "lntealltytbetelsnotaslnglelnstant
tbatdoesnotbtlngitstevolutlonatyoppottunltywltbltltwantsonlyto
begtaspedasaspeclhconenamelyastbeoppottunltyfotacompletely
newsolutlonto acompletelynwtask 8enjamlnGS, .,.|, ltal-
lcslnotlglnal,seealso8enj amln GS, r rz,r) . lntbesameveln8enjamln
wtote, "Tbe tevolutlonaty tblnket summons and valldates tbe unlque
tevolutlonatyoppottunltyofaglvenpolltlcalsltuatlon 8uttbelattetno
less summons andvalldates tbe tblnket blmselftbtougb tbe moment's
powettounlockatealmoftbepasttbatbadupuntlltbatpolnttemalned
closed 8enj amlnGS, .|).
8enj amln'smostdeeplyfelt,andleastundetstood,pbllologlcalcon-
vlctlon was tbus tbat all documents oftbe pastbe tbat past tecentot
temote-ate netequallyteadable atall tlmes. 8ecause oftbedegteeto
wblcbsucbaconceptlontunscountettoottbodoxpbllology, wbete tbe
opetatlveelements ate etudltlon, appllcatlon, lntelllgence, andpatlence,
blsvlewwas notwldelyembtaced Tbetelsmucbtbatlsslngulatabout
Agamben'sdevelopmentof8enjamlnstbougbt,butnotblnglssoslngulat
as tbls aspect Agambens apptoacb can tbn be undetstoodonlylfone
beatslnmlndtbatltlmpllestbata"blstotlcallndexmystetlouslygovetns
"tbenowofknowabllltyofaglven text,wblcbasAgambenmakescleat
ls"tbeabsoluteopposlteoftbecuttentptlnclpleaccotdlngtowblcbeacb
wotkmaybecometbeobjectoflnhnltelntetptetatlonsatanyglvenmo-
ment,TTR,r|, r,|] ) e ltlstblsptlnclple,tbls/aire/eg, tbatlendssucb
utgencytoAgamben'ssoclal,polltlcal,andontologlcalclalms.Tbecon-
stantsblftlngofpetspectlveeffectedbyblstotlcalcbangeclosesandopens
llnesofblstotlcalslgbtAxestbatbadbeenblockedfotcentutlesotlonget
ate llbetated, andlongobscutedelementssuddenlycome to tbesutface
oftbe page Evetybltas centtal fot InnandHuteaswas bls con-
tlnuatlon of8enjamln's dlagnoslsofan lmpovetlsbment ofexpetlencels
H CnqueetheDia/en ,
Agamben'scont|nuat|onof8enjam|nsteBect|ononheptess|ngneedfot
atad|calteconceptual|zat|onofnme.Acotollatyofhenewconcept|on
oft|methatAgambencallsaka|tology|sanewconcep|onofh|sot|ca

ttansm|ss|on. ln amote tecentwotk 8enjam|ns "nowof leg|b|l|y"-ot

ashealsocalled|t "nowofknowab|l|y" -|sseenbyAgambenofotm
agenu|nely8enjam|n|anhetmeneut|cpt|nc|ple" ha he has done h|s
utmosttoput|ntoptac|ce,TTRi|,
_

j
.

Follow|ngthe|deatha8enjam|nadncedandAgambenadoped
theteatet|meswhenhefotu|tousencounetofexandteadetallowsfot
al|ghn|ngl|kegl|mpse|ntotheheatofawotk-wh|challowsheteadet
todec|phetsometh|ngthahadlongtema|nedoccluded. l|sh|smomen
that8enjam|ndesct|bedas"pet|lous"andonwh|chhecla|medha"all
tead|ng|sfounded." lnh|sfoosteps,Agamben |ssek|ngogahethe
elementsnot onlyofaka|tologytha |sa tad|callyd|ffetentconce|on
oft|me, atad|callyd|ffetenconcep|onofhetela|onsh|pofinsmnto
ennnuum, but also ofa ka|tologyofthough and tead|nghemseles a
/aire/eg ehteria/transmsien Theceta|nyofsuch encounets of
pt|v|legedposs|b|l|t|esoftead|ngandundetsand|ngcannotbemehodl

cally calculatedotconhtmed, yet, asAgamben stesses theyate "|nno

wayatb|ttaty,"botnastheyateof"anecess|ty"and"anex|genceowh|ch
onecannotbuttespond",CCC,

o
j
. Suchexpet|encesatefeltandcona|n
atevolut|onatyelementoffa|th,otexptessedohetw|seafa|h|ntevolu-
|onatythought.
Asthepteced|nghasmadecleat,Agambenadoped8enjam|ns|dea
ofa"nowofknowab|l|y" ,ota"nowofleg|b|l|ty") bunoonlyd|dhe
adopt8enjam|ns|dea,healsofoundthecleates|nsanceof||nh|sown
expet|ence oftead|ng 8enjam|n. ln Ihe Iime IhatRemainsAgamben
says oflauls lettets and 8enjam|ns Iheses, "l do no th|nk | can be
doubtedthatthesetwo fundamental . . . texs . . . sepatatedbyalmos
twothousandyeatsandbothwt|ten|ns|ua|onsoftad|calct|s|sfotma
constellat|on. . . whose t|meofleg|b|l|yhasnowcome" ,TTR i|, i,,| ,
ttanslat|on mod|hed). Even mote expl|c|ly he tematks |n h|s pteface
tothelal|aned|t|on of8enjam|nsHradsreet, "lf||sttuehahe
dec|s|vemomen|nh|soty|salwaysundetway 8enjam|nsposhumous
wotkhaspunctuallyatt|vedfot|smeet|ng",AE v|||.
n CritiqacethcDia/ccnc
Scholium III. Kc:s
Tbe moststtlklngneologlsm ln InncandHistels /aire/eg. ln
tbeptecedlngdlscusslonwesawltstelatlontomodelsoftlmeandblstoty,
but sometblngoflts own blstotyalsobeats notlng. eusfatbetedmany
cblldten,buttbeyoungestoftbese,accotdlngtolonofCblos,wasaltos.
TbeGteekwotd/aires,petsonlhedbytbeyoutbfulgod, basptovednoto-
tlouslydlfhculttottanslate.olessableaHellenlsttbanClcetoclalmed
tbatltwasslmplyunttanslatable,andlatetcommentatotsbavebeenbatd-
ptessedtohndaslngletetmtoencompassallltexptesses.Followlngcon-
text and cltcumstance, tbe ttanslatlons attlved at bave been "oppottu-
nlty, tbeptopet otptopltlous moment, "occaslon, "advantage, "the
ptopetmeasute,and"ptopottlon.
AltbougbAgambendoesnottefettotblsgodottodeplctlonsofblm,
tbe lmage ofaltosbelpsclatlAgamben's use oftbetetm. lausanlas
tepottstbattbetewasanaltattoaltosatOlymplaandtbattbegodwas
potttayed tbete as a bandsome, wlnged youtb beatlngscales tbat wete
about to tlp. Tbe tlpplng scales wete lntetpteted as lndlcatlng tbat tbe
momentofdeclslonotmomentofttutb-tbemomentoffavotableoppot-
tunltyot-wasat band. 8ut /airesbelngatbandwasnotenougb,
onealsobadtogtasplt.Fottblsteason,tbegodbadaslngulatbaltstyle
longlntbeftontandsbavedlntbebackbelssometlmesdeplctedwltbbls
baltgatbetedlntoafotwatdpolntlngponytallofsotts,slmllattotbatof
asamutal) .Tbecutlousbaltstylewastakentosaysomethlngaboutsucb
declslvemomentsofttutb. lfonewantedtoselzetbem,oneneededtobe
teadyandtodosoastbeyattlved
Wltb tbls explanatlon oftbe hgute cottespondlng to Agamben's
neologlsmlnmlnd,wemlgbtaskwbatsottoftempotalmodelwouldcot-
tespondtosucbahgute.Tbemodellscleatlyoneofamomentofttutb.a
momentofdeclslvelntetventlontbatlntettuptsacontlnuumandcbanges
tbecoutseofblstoty. ltlsbetetbatwecanseebowtbls"nowtlmecot-
tesponds to wbatAgambencallsa /aire/eg and to 8enjamln's eeit
nowtlme] .lnawotkwtlttenmotetbantwentyyeatslatethesaysofthe
lattet tbat 8enjamln "endows the tetmwltbthe same qualltles as those
pettalnlngto tbe he nn /aires tlmeofthenow] lnlaul's patadlgm of
messlanlctlme,TTR,r|,r,,] )
CrinqaeetheDm/cnc
Scholium IV. Oialectics at a Standstill, or
Means and Ends
AlthoughAdotuoslugledoutthethltteeuthofthe Ihesesastheoue
that best dehued hls dlffeteuces ftom 8eujam|n, 8eujam|u h|msel ln
aletettoAdotuo'sw|fe, Gtetel, polntedto a d|eteuttheslsasclat|
lug h|s |uteut. l dou'tkuow towhat degtee the|t tead|ngw|ll sutpt|se
you,ot,whatlwoulduevetwlshfot-coufuseyou.lnanyevent,l' dl|e
to dltectyouespec|allyto theththesls. ltwlllalloyouto tecogn|e
thecoucealedbutcous|steuttelatlouofthesecons|detat|onstomyeatl|
etwotk" 8euj am|u GS, . zz6.Thethes|s|nquest|onexpl|c|tlyd|st|n
gulshesthemethodofthematetlal|sthlstot|auftomthatoftheh|stot|
auwhoseaddltlouoffacts|susedtohllupthehomogeuousandempty
tlme" ofttadltloualh|stotlogtaphy ,8euj am|u GS, ;oz. Thought |n
volvesuotoulythemovemeutofthoughts," 8euj am|nwt|tes, but also
thelt fteezlug Sn/tedang| " ,GS, i.oz). The method ofthe matetlal|st
hlstotlau, he theu adds, |uvolves a mess|aulc ftee|ng Sn/te//ung| of
eveuts-otexptesseddlffeteutly, atevolut|ouatyoppottuulty|nthehght

fottheopptessedpast",GS, i.o,). Howatewetouudetstaudth|s ftee

lugofthoughtsaudeveuts-audlnwatseuseatewetouudetstaud|tas
messlau|c"`Howdoesauattest|ugofthecoutluuumofh|stotytepteseut
atevolutlouatyoppottuu|ty"fotallthat|nthepasthadbeeuopptessed`
lul|ghtofthed|fhcultyofthesequestlous,|tseemsltwasnotw|thouttea-
southat8eujamluwottledthatthlsthes|smlghtcoufuse|tsteadet.
Ouewayofapptoachlugthemattet|stoask,Whatwouldamethod
lookllkethatd|duotfuuctloudlalectlcally, aftetthefash|ouofaMatxlst
hlstotlogtaphlcalotthodoxythat8euj am|utooktotask,but|usteadabol-
lshedthesepatatloubetweeusttuctuteaudsupetsttuctuteaudsawthe|t
uumed|ateduu|ty"luthetealmofptaxls"`Thebeglun|ugofanauswet
tothlsquestloulsseeu|uthecouceptlouofat|meofthenow" audte
messlaulcfteez|ugofeveuts" ltentalls.Tocoucelveofptax|saudtheoty
asoue|salsotometgemeanswlthen,aud|uth|sl|ght|tshouldcomeas
uosutptlsethatAgambeueutltledalatetwotkMeanstheutEnd,i6 .
Meausw|thouteud" lsmeant notlutheseuseofau|uab|l|tytod|st|u-
gu|sh oneftomtheothet, but|usteadasa teject|onof|usttumental|ed
tatloualltyandofttadlt|oualmodelsofh|stot|calcausal|ty.Agambensays
ofthe|deasexptessed|u8eujamln'sEp|stemologlcalt|t|calteface" to
h|s OigneCerman agcDramathatthey |mplyad|alect|c|nwhlch
rrs CritqacethcDia/ctic
otlgln and end ate ldentlhed wltb one anotbet and ttansfotm one an-
otbet,andltlstblssameldeathatbeendeavotstoexptesselsewbete,l,,
,r ,ttanslatlonmodlhed) To advanceanldeaof meanswltboutendls
nottocbamplonnonsenseotanatcbylnstead,tbetltleexptessespteclsely
wbatAgambencallsfotlnInnandHisteactltlqueoftbedlalectlc,
acottectlvetoadlalectlctbatwouldseeallmeansandmomentsasmeans
andmomentstoaptogtesslveendTbeptoblemwltbtblsendlsasslmple
as can be. lt nevet occuts ltlspusbedendlesslyfotwatdlnthe fotm of
tbedlalectlcwboseendwlllconfetonalleatlletmomentstbeltsenseand
meanlngby tefetence to tbetotalltytbatwlll lllumlnatethem, butthat
nevetcomes. Agamben'sctltlqueoftbedlalectlclnInandHiste,
as well as ln subsequentwotks, ls above all a ctltlque oflts conceptlon
oftc/ce/eg, ofafaltb lnblstotlalptogtesstbatmust, lnthe fullnessof
tlme,teacbltstc/esandacbleveanldealstate.8enjamlnwastespondlngto
tbeteleologlcal conceptlonofblstotytbatbesawdomlnatlngnlneteentb-
centtyblstotlogtapby, andlnblswakeAgambenattackedtbeldeaofa
tedemptlvedaywbenallpolltlcalandsoclallosseswlllbetestotedandtbe
people'ssottowswlllend.
Aftetcltlngapassage ftomtbe Phcnemcne/eg eSirittbatbeglns
wltbHegel 's declatatlontbattbeTtuelstbewbole,Agambenoutllnes
tbe tole oftbe pattlculat ln tbematcb ofsucb a ptogtesslve blstotlcal
dlalectlc. Glosslng tbls centtal passage, bewtltes, Slncetbe absolute ls
consequence,'andonlylntbeendlstbetettutb,'eacbslngleconctetemo-
mentoftbeptocesslstealonlyasputenegatlvlty'wblcbtbemaglcwand
ofdlalectlcal medlatlon wlll ttansfotm-ln tbe end-lnto tbe posltlve
Tbetelsbutasbottstepftomthlstodeclatlngtbatevetymomentlnhls-
totylsmetelyamcansteancnd",lH,ns rz, ,ltallcsadded) To concelve
ofevetymomentasameanstoanendlstoconcelveoftbemomentsofllfe
as negatlves awaltlngtbe maglcwandofaptogtesslve, dlalectlcalmodel
ofblstotyto come alongtodeveloptbem-sometblngtbatcan bappen
onlyattbeendofblstoty'scoutse,wbentheTtuetbatlsthewholecan
btlngtbemtogetbetlntbemeantlme-andtbemeantlme,fotAgamben,
lsallwebave-tbeyatebutmeanstoanendthatwecannotgllmpseand
wbosename,andallbl)lsregcss. ltlsfotthlsteasonthatAgambenttles
todosomethlngexceptlonallydlfhcult.toconcelve,followlng8enjamln,
ofadlalectlcfteedftomallabsttactness,lH, iz,i,i] )
Fot 8enjamln, the absttactlon that enteted the dlalectlcd|dso, as
wesaw, tbtougha modeloftlme as endless ptogtess To ftee lt ofthls
H CnqaeetheDia/cnc
absttactuesstequ|tedad|ffeteutmodelof t|met oteplace|t.luthepas-
sage c|tedeatl|et |u wh|ch Agambeu speaks ofa "d|alect|c fteed ftom
all absttactuess, hetefets tothephtase" d|alect|csatastaudst|ll" tha
8eujam|n left as a legacyto h|

tot|cal matet|al|sm, audw|thwh|ch |t

mustsoouetotlatetteckou ,lH, iz, i,i|) oc|tat|ou|sg|veu,butthe
en|gmat|cexptess|on|uquest|ou, d|alect|csatastaudst|ll," |sfouud|u
notesonh|stot|calmethodwt|tteudut|ugthesamepet|odasthe Iheses
and pteseuted thete |u oppos|t|ou to the |dea of empty, homogeuous
t|methatwas exam|uedeatl|et,8euj am|uG, . lt|sptec|selyth|s
coucept|outhat|usp|testheftee|ugofthoughtaudact|outhat,|uthesev-
enteeuththes|stowh|ch8eujam|upo|uted|uh|slettettoGtetelAdotuo,
tevealstheatch|swotkhasttaced.
Fewphtases |u 8eujam|us wt|t|ugate sopul|ugasthe " d|alec-
t|cs at a staudst|l thatAgambeu cla|ms 8eujam|u " left asalegacyto
h|stot|cal matet|al|sm, audw|th wh|ch |t must soouet otlatetteckou."
|alect|cs at a staudst|ll -and 8eujam|us cotollaty coucept|ou, "the
d|alect|cal |mage,wh|ch|s exam|ued |uhaptet|x-atepteseuteda
teRect|ngthat |t |s uot thatwhat|s past casts |ts l|ght ou thewhat|
ptesent, otthatwhat |s ptesent sheds |ts l|ght ouwhat|spast" |ustead,
whathasbeencomestogethet|uaRashw|ththeuow" ,8euj am|ui,
|6, GS, ,,;). Thequest|ou,howevet, m|ghttema|uhyshouldth|s
be calledd|alect|cs ata/ At htst s|ght, 8eujam|us exptess|ouseems a
s|mple couttad|ct|ou |u tetms. hethet |t be the llatou|cd|alect|cofa
d|aloguelead|ngptogtess|velytowatd|llum|uat|ouotaHegel|aud|alec-
t|cofh|stot|calaudsp|t|tualactual|at|ou, the|deaofthed|alect|c|tself
seemsuuequ|vocallytoevokesometh|ugthattakesplace|uaudovett|m.
"Ftee|ngotbt|ug|ug|ttoastaudst|ll wouldseemtospell|tseud-the
endofthed|alogue,theattest|ngoftheptocessofactual|at|ou.Theau-
swettoth|sobject|oul|es|uhow8enjam|uusesthetetm.Although th|s
use|ssttateg|c,|tdoesuotdeuotesabotag|ugthemach|ueofthed|alect|c.
Thed|alect|c|suevetsometh|uggtaspedby8euj am|u,otbyAgambeu,
as s|mplyto bedesttoyedot d|sm|ssed. Howevet, class|callyd|alect|cal
coucept|ous oft|me aud h|stoty, w|th the|t fa|th |u |uev|table ptogtess
towatdamotejustaudsp|t|tually|utegtatedstate-afa|ththatfouud|ts
ctowu|ugexptess|ou|uHegelsph|losophy,ate|uueedoftad|caltev|s|ou.
The|deaofcout|uualptogtess|ut|me|ssostubbotuabel|efthat|tmust
becouuteted,fotbothth|ukets,w|thtad|calmeasutes.
8eujam|us "d|alect|cs at a staudst|ll " |s patt aud patcel ofh|s
r zc CritqacethcDia/cnc
conceptlonofmesslanlctlme-oftlmechatgedwlth whathecallsmes-
slanlclntenslty.We wllltutntotheldeaofthe mcssiaiclnChaptetTen
ofthlsbook,butfot the momentltsufhcestosttessthatboth8enjamln
andAgambenemploythetetmlnslngulatfashlon. Fotthem,amcssianic
ldeaofhlstotylsnotonelnwhlchwewaltfottheMesslahtocome,end
hlstoty, and tedeem humanlty, but lnstead ls a patadlgm fot hlstotlcal
tlmelnwhlchweactasthoughtheMesslahlsalteadyhete, otevenhas
alteadycomeandgone.WhatlssodlfhcultaboutAgamben'suseofthe
tetmmcssianiclshowtadlcallyltlstobedlstlngulshedftomtheaeca
tic.Agambensaysthattoundetstandmesslanlctlmasltlsptesentedln
laul 'slettetsonemusthtstdlstlngulshmesslanlctlmeftomapocalyptlc
tlme,thetlmeofthenowftomatlmedltectedtowatdsthefutute,LAM,
,r).Tothlsheadds,lf hadtottytoteducethedlstlnctlontoafotmula,
lwouldsaythatthemesslanlclsnot,asltlsalwaysundetstood,theendof
tlme,butthetlmeoftheend ,LAM, ,r).Themodeloftlmecottespond-
lng to thlsldeals onethatno longetlooks fotltsdeclslvemomentlna
moteot less temote futute, butlnsteadhndsltlnevetymlnuteofevety
day, ln thls wotld and ln thls llfe, and lt ls thtough suchexptesslons as
dlalectlcsatastandstlll andmeanswlthoutendthatthetwothlnkets
almtotetutnoutgazeftomthedlstantfututetotheptesslngptesent.
Tobtlngtbedlalectlctoastandstllllstbusnottohaltsomeslngulatl-
tynegatlngptocess,thellbetatlngofmanftommachlnellkethought,but
tbecteatlonofatevolutlonatyconceptlonofhlstotylnwhlchknowledge
lssltuatednotlnanlmposslblefutute, but, thtoughexplodlngthecon-
tlnuumofhlstoty,tlghtnowThedlalectlclnquestlonlsatastandstlll
notbecauselthasstalled,notbecausethewlndsohlstotyhavegoneout
ofltssallsotbecauseanatchlcactlvltyhassabotgedltsmachlnety The
standstllllsbtlef-andoppottuneltdenotesthefottultousmoment,the
favotableoccaslontobegtaspedthat,lfltls,wlllptovetlchwlthpotentlal
fotanew-andvetydlffetent-statt.
CMAJLR LUR
hc !urc !Otcntat
y
Ot
cQrcscntatOn. Ida ] Prse
eaePrese ls composedofth|ttythteeshottchaptets. Eachpos-
es the same questlon-that of"the pute potent|al|ty ofteptesentat|on
ltself-lnnovelfashlon,andeachbeatsasymmettlcaltltleomeaddtess
classlcalph|losophlcalteeisuchas"Theldeaofthen|que,""Thelde
ofTtuth, "TheldeaofAppeatance, "TheldeaofThought,"and"The
ldeaofLanguage" Othetstteatmotepetsonalmattetsl|ke"Theldeaof
Love,"TheldeaofHapplness,and"Theldeaofhame."ome|nvoke
polltlcal concepts, such as "The ldea ofowet," "The ldea ofust|ce,"
"Theldeaofleace, and "Theldeaofommun|sm,"wh|lest|llothets
ateconcetnedwlthtellglousconceptlonsl|ke"TheldeaoftheLastudg-
ment. etevetyoneofthese chaptets|sllkelytosutpt|se|tsteadetfot
theteasonthatltdoesnotaddtesswhat|sannouncedlnltst|tle-atleast
notdltectly. Fewofthethlttythteechaptets|nIdea ePreseevetdltectly
namethe" ldeaundetwhoseheadlngtheyatewt|tten,andmanyseemto
avoldnotonlythenamebutalso thetoplcltsel "The ldeaofommu-
n|sm, fotlnstance, d|scusses notthetheotyotptact|ceofcommun|sm
but,lnstead,potnogtaphy. "TheldeaofThought"d|scussesunctuat|on
matks,and"Theldeaofthen|que" mult|l|ngualpoetty "Theldeof
theuse" tettacesHeldegget'spedagog|cal tact|ceswh|le"Theldeaof
uslcdedlcatesallbut|tsclos|ngl|nestohenomenolog|calanalysesof
affect.lnevetycase, these"|deas"extessmotethanwhat|sstatedhete,
andlnevetycasetheyextesssometh|ngthtAgmbenhndsfundmen
r zz IhcarcPetcnna/ipeRcrcscntanen
talabouttbeldeaponstudy, tbeydelnfactexplotetbeldeatbeyname,
albeltnevetlndltect,tbematlcfasb|on.Tbeftusttatlonofateadettutn
lngtotbese|deasfotsolutlonsandhndlngwbatlookfatmotel|keapo
tlaswouldbeeasytoundetstand,buttbatsameteadetdelvlngmotedeep
lylntotbebooklsllkelytoseeltslndltect|onlnanewllgbt.
Idca ePrescbeglnswltbanldea unllke tbosetbatwlllfollowlt
TbeldeaoftbeWotk. ndettblsbeadlngwe hndontbebook's tltle
page ananonymousengtavlngtltledEtosRavlngon a Snall ,see ll, l
r ) . AswltbtbelmageofknotstbatsetvedasStanzs'emblem,tbeteadet
lsleftto pondettbelmage's|mpottandltstelat|ontotbebookltopens.
TbelmageofEtoswtltblngatopasnalllsasttlk|ngoneand|sbatdlya
common lconogtapblcal motlf. Etos ls mote commonlydeplctedatop a
dolpbln,telnfotclngtbebtaclngspeedofblsdeslte,wbeteasasna|lseems
tomovecountettotbeswlftnessofblsamotousdeslgns Altbougbtbeen
gtavlngcontalnsanlconogtapblcalpatadox,ltlsalsoanlmagetbatcanbe
declpbeted.Llketbelmageofadolpblnwltbanancbotwtappedaound
lttbattbeenetlanpubllsbetAldoManuzlocboseasblsemblem,Etos
RavlngonaSnalllllusttatestbeLatlnmottostina/cntc, tomakebaste
slowly.8yplaclngtbetltleldeaoftbeWotkabovetblslmageAgamben
g|vesnotonlyanldeaoftbelndltectlontofollow, butalsooftbesottof
patlentandlmaglnatlveattentlonbewlllaskofblsteadets
Tbls lndltectlon beglns, fot Agamben, w|tb an anecdote datlng
ftom ,zA.D. as tbe Empetotustlnlan, act|ngontbeadv|ceofagtoup
ofantlHellenlc advlsots, dectees tbe oslng oftbeAtben|anAcademy,
tbetebyputtlnganofhclalendto paganpbllosopbyandsend|ng|tlntoex
lle ln tbecompanyofslxotbetGteekscbolats,

Damasclus,tbelastbead
oftbescboolfoundedbyllato,joutneysto tbecouttoftbelets|ank|ng
bostauusbltvan. Oncetbete,bedelegatesbls pbllosopblcaldutlesat
tbe letslan coutt to younget colleagues andgoes lnto secluslon so as to
devotebls hnalyeatsto awotkentltledHeriasandSe/atiensCenccrning
FirstPrinci/cs
AsAgambentelates, tbe dlfhcultyofDamasc|us'undettaklngsoon
leadstoftusttatlon anddespa|tAftet tbteebundteddays andas many
nlgbts offtu|tless wotk-punctuated by despa|t|ng notes, ptesetved |n
blsmanusctlpt,sucbasMayGoddoasbepleases]w|tbwhatlbavejust
wtltten-beattlvedatanapotlabecouldnotovetcome,seell,]z io] ).
Agambenwtltes,ltlseattbattbatwb|cblslnquest|on -thosehtst
ptlnclples named lnDamasclus'tltle-cannevet betbemat|ed-not
IhePurePeten/iperesetanen iz,
eveu s|ucompteheus|ble-aud cauuotbeexptessed eveu as|uexptess-
|ble",ll,z,io| ,ttauslat|oumod|hedTheapot|athatfollowedpagan
ph|losophy|utoth|shtstex|leaudthat|suamedhete|souefam|l|atto
Agambeusteadets ftomthetwobooksthatd|tectlypteceded|t, Smnzs
aud LangoageandDeath that thel|m|tsofwhat cau be uudetstoodaud
expessed ate themselves |ucompteheus|ble aud |uexptess|ble-at least
wheupteseutedd|tectly.
The despoudeucythatDamasc|us |s sa|dtohave falleu|uto |u h|s
seatchfotapot|asaudsolut|ouscoucetu|ughtstpt|uc|plesws,howevet
ttausfotmedbythes|mplestofth|ngs
LamasciuslicduphishandIoramomcntandlookcddownatthcwritingtab
lctonwhichhchad bccn notinghisthoughts. Suddcnlyhcrcmcmbcrcdmcpas
sagc in thc bookonthc soul inwhich thcphilosophcrcomparcdthcpotcntity
oIthcintcllcctto atablctonwhichnothingiswrittcn. Howhadhcnotthought
oIitsooncr: I yy~y|,iiiz) translationmodihcdj
Tbepbllosophetteettedtohete|sAt|stotlewho,|uh|s OntheSeuad-
dtesses tbe quest|ou ohow we ate to uudetstaud the m|ud's capac|
ot coucelvlug oth|ugs pt|ot to, ot |udepeudeut o the|t actuly be-
|ugthought As|mpletotmulat|ouofthe same quest|ou|s, Howatewe
tocouce|veothepoteut|alofthought`Toclat|h|s coucept|ou,At|sto-
tleemploysauovel|mage.Eveubefote|tth|uksofag|veuth|ug,t|sto-
tlesays, what them|ud| th|uksmustbe|u|tj ust3 chatactetsmaybe
sa|dtobeouawt|t|ugtabletouwh|ch3 yetuoth|ugactuallystaudswt|t-
teu",|oaAt|stotlei|,6) .

Oallthequest|ousambeutteats|uh|s
wotks, th|s oue-the telat|oush|p beeeu the categot|es ofpoteut|al|
audactu|ty-|s themostceuttalaudthe mostab|d|ug dofallthe
lmages heemploys to|llusttateth|s telat|oush|p, thewt|t|ugtablet|sthe
ouetowh|chhemostoeutetutus.
Thesametedempt|velys|mple|magethatcomestoDamasc|us|uh|s
houtoueedl|betatesh|mftomtheapot|aw|thwh|chhe|scouftoutedaud
allowsh|mtocout|uueh|swotk.lttem|udsh|mofsometh|ugalltooeas|ly
fotgotteu."theult|matel|m|tthatthoughtcauteach|suotabe|ug,aplace,
otath|ug, uomattethowfteeftomevetyaudauyqual|ty but|ustead|ts
owuabsolutepoteut|al|ty/reria

se/umetenz| ,theputepoteut|al|ty
oftepteseutat|ou|tself/uraetenzd//raresentienestea| ,l,,|
iz| , ttauslat|oumod|hed. At|stotle's |mageofawt|t|ugtabletouwh|ch
i z IhcParcPetcntia/ipeRcrcscnmnen
nothlnghasyetbeenwtlttensptlngstothemlndofDamasclusandallows
hlmtoseethegllmmetofabeglnnlng,ll,yiz| ).
Aftet the lnttoductoty allegoty ofthe apotlas and solutlons of
Damasclus,AgambenoffetshlsthlttythteeldeasConftontedwlththelt
lndltectlon, onemodeofptoceedlnglsto ldentlandlsolatethe cxetcrc
ftom tbe csetcric lndeed, one petfectly legltlmate way ofchatactetlzlng
thesechaptetswouldbetosaytheyatedlvldedbetweenan cxetcriccon-
tentthatwhlchtheyostenslblydlscuss-andamote csetcriconethatls
namedlnthelttltlesandtooeteadbetweentheltllnes.lnothetwotds,the
telatlonoftltletocontentmlghtbeseenasa//cgerica/ 8enjamlncalledfot
aphllosophlcalundetstandlngofallegoty,8enjamlnGS, i. iy).8ecause
allegoty ls an lndltect and eluslve mode, attalnlngsuch a phllosophlcal
undetstandlngwas no easymattet. Ftom hlsmastetful essays on ltoust,
aa, 8audelalte, andmanyothets,wlththelttendencyto telyless on
classlcal atgumentatlon than on Rashes oflnslghtexptessedln attestlng
lmages,tohlshnalandunhnlshedArcadcsPrecct-aunpatalleledexpet-
lment ln lndltectlon-the seatch fotsuch apbllosophlcalundetstandlng
ofallegotylscoupledwlthasttateglcuseoflt8enjamln'sldeaofallegoty
lsnotonlyahlstotlcalfotm,ltlsalsoanldeaoffotmonewlthptofound
afhnltlestotheldeaofptoseptactlcedlnAgamben'shfthbook
lnconnectlontohlsldeaofallegoty, 8enjamlnwtoteofhlsldeaof
theagmcnt. Thevalueofftagmentsofthought,henoted, lsthemote
declslvetheyate]thelesstheseftagmentscanbedltectlyallgnedwlththe
fundamentalconceptlonundetstudyThebtllllanceoftheteptesentatlon
depends onthemjust asthatofamosalcdependsonthequalltyofthe
glass,8enj amlnGSi. zo) .Thlsallegotlcalapp

oachandtheftagmentaty
method lt lmplles leads 8enjamlnto a cutlous methodologlcal ptlnclple
thatcouldeasllyhavesetvedasIda ePrescsmotto. methodlsdetout
,8enjamlnGS,i. zo) .8enjamlnevokeshetethelltetalmeanlngofmcthed
,path) to hlghllght thevlttues oflndltectlon ln cettaln phllosophlcal
undettaklngsAttuemethodofthesottheenvlslonsmustallowfotmany
detouts,whlchoftentlsksbecomlnglndlstlngulshableftomadetoutlnto
thelnessentlal Theftagmentsthathll 8enjamln's books, suchashlsex-
petlmentalptosewotk Onc wa Strcct,ttylnevetchanglngfotmstofol
lowthlshnellnebetweenessentlalandlnessentlal,methodanddetout.As
notedeatllet,lmmedlatelyaftetthepubllcatlonofIdca ePrescAgamben
tematkedofhlswotkthat,fotme,teRectlngonthefotmsthoughttakes
hasalwaysbeencenttal,andlhavenevetbellevedltposslblefotathlnket
IherePetenna/iperesenmnen t z;
t oevadeth|sptoblem,as | fth|uk|ugwetesomehowuoth|ugmotethau
s|mplyexptess|ugop|u|ousthatwetemoteotlesst|ghtcoucetn|ugag|veu
atgumeut.ltec|selyth|sceuttal|tyoffotmmakesfottheptox|m|tyofo-
ettyaudph|losophy" ,lGA,yy) 8eujam|ubegauh|s Ogn eCerman
IragcDramaw|ththedeclatat|ou, "lt |s oftheesseuceofh|losoph|cal
wt|t|ugtobecout|uuallycouftoutedaueww|ththeptoblemofteptesenta-
t|ou," audIdea ePrese|sjustsuchauewcouftoutat|ouw|ththeptoblem
oftepteseutat|ou,8euj am|uGS, i. zo).Totecogu|eth|schatactet|st|cof
ph|losoph|calwt|t|ug-thatw|thevetyueweffott|tposesanewquest|ous
abouttepteseutat|ou-|stoaskthequest|outhatAgambeufollows|Idea
ePresethatof"theputepoteut|al|tyoftepteseutat|ou."
Apptopt|atetoau|uqu|tythatbeg|usbyta|s|ngthequest|ouof "the
putepoteut|al|tyoftepteseutat|" -thequest|ouofthetepteseutat|ouof
thoughtaud|tsl|m|ts-theboscouteutsaudfotmsateuufam|l|atand
sh|ft|ug.Aswesaweatl|et,|uStanzaud|uIn/nandHteAgambeu
calledfotmotecteat|vefotmsofct|t|c|sm.Th|scallhudstwotespouses
|nIdca eresc.Thehtst|sthed|sappeatauceofmauyofthecouveut|ous
ofacadem|cwt|t|ug,suchasfootuotesaudexpl|c|tl|uksbetweeusect|ou.
luAgambens outth book thesecouveut|ous ateabaudoued |u favo of
a mote expet|meutal, ftagmeutaty, audcteat|ve|deaofptose-ouethat
takesup|u|tsfotmwhatStanzoetedas|tscouteut. theovetcom|ug
ofthe"auc|euteum|ty"thatllatosawsepatat|ugph|losophyftompoetty.
Agambenswotkhad showu s|uce|ts beg|uu|ugau |mpat|eucew|thcet-
ta|uacadem|ccouveut|ous-whathetefetsto|ualatetessayas ceniancn
oiresseria but|uIdea ePreseAgambeumotecompletelyabaudous
theacadem|cfotmsofh|seatl|etbooks ,8lS, u;). Th|s|mpl|c|tct|t|que
|smadeexpl|c|t|uau|utetv|ewthatcloselyfollowedthebookspubl|ca-
t|ou. "otes,quotat|ousmatks, b|bl|ogtaph|caltefeteuces, see alsosaud
thel|ke,"Agambeustated,"tefettoasubjectofkuowledgeeuscocedl|ke
a veutt|loqu|st beh|ud the speak|ug subject"-aud Idea ePrese makes
cleat that he w|shes to avo|d such veutt|loqu|sm ,lGA, yy. "Fot th|s
teasou,heuotes,"todaysacadem|cptose|ssoofteud|sappo|ut|ug,"w|th
|tssepatat|ouofau"autheut|cexpet|euceoflauguage"ftom" kuowledge"
,lGA,yy)
To d|sm|ss cetta|u academ|c couveut|ous does uot, howevet, tep-
teseutatad|cal bteakw|th thepast. lustead, |tfotmsacouuect|ouw|th
d|ffetent elemeuts ofthatpast. Asked |u au |utetv|ew to uame, ftom a
"methodolog|calpo|utofv|ew," h|s|utellectualmastets,Agambeugavea
r z6 IhcParcPetcnna/ipeRcrcscnmnen
sutptlslnganswet. "Ratbet tbantbenamesofmastets,"besald, "lwould
llketolndlcatetwofotmal modals tbatbaveconstantlylnspltedme tbe
medleval commentatyand tbe btlefand etudlte notes oftbe gteatpbl-
lologlsts oftbe nlneteentb centuty" ,LSl, |,). Tbls lnspltatlon and tbe
btlefandetudltefotm lttakeslsonptouddlsplaylnIdca ePresc. eat
tbebeglnnlngofInncandHisteAgambenlnsettedatelatedfotmal
modellntobls analysls.a"gloss ,seelH, r,f ff. ). Ovettbecoutseof
tbebook,aswellaslnsucblatetonesasHemeSaccr, IhcEndethcPecm,
and Ihc IimcIhatRcmains,g/esscsbecomeafundamentalelementlntbe
otganlzatlon ofbls wotks. Tbe tetmg/ess ls not an absttuse one ,many
teadets may tecall amesoyce's exbottatlon to "wlpeyoutglosses wltb
wbatyouknow"),butltsblstotyandmeanlngatewottbtecalllng.Engllsb
and ltallan detlve tbetetmftom tbe Latlng/essa ,meanlnga fotelgn ot
obscutewotd).Ag/esstbusdenotesatetmtbatdemandsexplanatlonand,
byextenslon,tbatexplanatlonltselltls, lnotbetwotds, apolntoftet-
mlnologlcal clatlhcatlon, but ln Agamben's bands, botb ln Innand
Hteand ln tbewotks to follow, glosses ate sometblngmote. At tbe
endofInnandHisteAgambencltesasaslgnoftbectlslsoutcultute
lsttavetslng"tbelossoftbecommentatyandtbeglossas crcanocfotms"
,lH, r|| r|| , ltallcsadded) .Tblscommentmaysoundsutptlslngglven
tbat we atellttlelncllnedtodayto tblnkoftbe cemmcntaandg/essas
bavlngoncebeencteatlvefotms. Concetnedastbeyatewltbtetmlnologl-
cal clatlhcatlon, tbeyseem to bequlntessentlally cteatlve.Agamben,
bowevet sees otbet posslbllltles bete-ones tbat be explotes ln Idca e
Presc.
A Irisoner to Representations
Apptoptlatelyenougb,tbehtstoftbe"ldeaslnIdcaePrescls"Tbe
ldeaofMattetmatcria] .Llketbecbaptetstocome,tblsonelsbtlefand
elllptlcal. ltlscomposedoftwopatagtapbstbattteatseemlnglydlstlnct
anduntelatedtbemes. /angaagcand dcath. "Fottbosewbobave badlt,
Agambenbeglns"tbedeclslveexpetlencesaldto besodlfhculttotelate
lsnotanexpetlenceatall. ltlsnotblngotbettbantbepolntatwblcbwe
teacbtbellmltsoflanguage",ll,, r, ,ttanslatlonmodlhed) . As dldIn
nandHister, caePresctbusopenswltbtbequestlonofcxcricncc.
lnsteadofcltlngan"lmpovetlsbment,"decllne,ot"deatbofexpetlence
IhePaPeten/iperesenmnen iz;
seen|nthel|ghtof thesoc|alandh|stot|calfactotsfocusedou|utheeatl|et
wotkhetethel|m|tsofexpet|enceatesetbysometh|ugeleeut|tely the
l|m|tsoflauguage."Thetewhetelanguageend,"wt|teAgambeu,"|ut
whetetheuusayable indici/i/| beg|ns,buttathetthemattetoflauguage
materia d/are/| ,ll, , i,| , ttanslat|on mod|hed). Two th|ugs
named bythewotd matermate btoughttogethet|nAgambeus exptes-
slon. maerand matcia/ Macrlsmeanthete|ntheseuseofbothtaw
matcria/andthatwhlch|satlssue-thematterathand.Agambencout|u-
ues.Hewhohasnevetteached,as|uadteam,thatwoodl|keubstauceof
language qaesm/igeasestanzd/ /inga| thattheanc|entscalledsi/oa
temalns,evenwhenhe|s s|lent,apt|sonettotepteseutat|ous" ,l, , i,| ,
ttanslat|onmod|hed). 8utwhat|sth|s sttangemattetandhowm|ght|t
conhneustoteptesentat|ons`
The second patt ofThe ldea ofMattet" comes to a couclus|ou
aboutdeaths|m|lattotheonethehtstpattcametoabout/ngage.Aswe
saweatl|et,hewho excriencesthel|m|tsoflanguage,|ts"mattet")ceases
tobeapt|sonetto|tsteptesentat|ons.Thesecondpatagtaphofth|sbt|ef
|dea,"lnalum|noustecap|tulatlouoftheconcetnofAgambeusptev|
ous book, tutnsftom/ngageto death. Thosewhohavehadneatdeath
expet|ences, Agamben obsetves, wete uevet ttuly dead, fot |fthey had
beentheywouldnevethavebeenabletotetutn.ot,fotthatmattet,ate
theyl|betatedftomthenecess|tyofdy|ngoneday. "owevet,"hewt|tes,
"theyatefteedftomtheteptesentat|onofdeath" ,l, y;i,| , ttanlat|on
mod|hed). ln a b|t ofpatabol|cw|sdom llke much thatfollows |nIdea
ePrese, Agamben expla|ns that "th|s |s why, when asked about what
happeuedto them, theyhavenoth|ngtosayaboutdeath, but theyhnd,
howevet, mattet materm| fot manyfasc|nat|ngstot|e andfablesaout
theltllfe",ll, , i,| ,ttanslat|onmod|hed)."TheldeaofMattet"ptoves,
then,tobeaboutetena/thepotent|allty|uhet|ng|noutlanguage
andthatlsthettuemattetofoutl|ves.Atlstotletematks|n Ontheea/
thatmattetlspotentlal|ty," and|tlsth|s|deaasmuchasauyothetthat
Agambenfollows,|rzar,Atlstotler|,,).
Aswesaweatllet, when askedto commentonhlsbookAgamben
spoke of an "authentlc expet|ence of language," of|ts connect|on to
knowledge,"andofhowtheldeaofptosethatlsfound|umuchacadem|c
wtltlngfalselysepatatesthesethlngs.Amongothetth|ngs,Ia ePrese|s
thenanattempttoavoldthlssepatat|on.8uthowatewetov|ewth|sun|ty
ofknowledgeandlanguage,andhowatewetotelate|ttoAgamben|deas
i z IhcParcPetcnna/ipercscntanen
ofptose andpotentlallty ln aptefacewtltten fottheFtenchttanslatlon
ofInnandHisteln i Agamben offets somethlng ttulytate ln
blswotk. aressien dci. lffot evetyauthot theteexlsts a questlon
blcbdehnestbe metioamofblsthought,"hewtltes,ln bothmywtlt-
ten and nwtltten oooks, l bave stbbotnly putsed only one ttaln of
tbogbt.wbatlstbemeanlngoftbetelslangage',whatlstbemeanlng
of lspea' " ,lH, ; ] ) . Tblsstbbotnlyptsedttalnoftboghttbat
moves tbtogbAgamben's wtltlng ls tben glven a name-a name that
lendstblsptefaceltstltle. cxcrimcnmm/ingoac.
Wbat ls thls cxcrimcntot cxcricncc oflanguage tbat Agamben
evokes hete Wbat ls leatned thtough such an cxcrimcnt ot galned
ftom sch an cxcricncc ,botb tetms detlve ftom the same Latlnwotd,
cxcrimcntam) oflanguage Agamben dehnes cxcrimcntom /ingoacas
an expetlence lnwhlchwhatlsexpetlencedlslanguageltself//inga
stcssa] . . . aitheat/ngaagc cxcricnccdd this er thatsigingreesi-
tien, /atasthcarcctthatencsca/s, that/ngaagc cxists dc/arette
chcsiar/i, chc oisia /ingoaie] ,lH, q-; lxx] , ltallcs ln otlglnal) As
wlthwbat8enj amlnenlgmatlcallycalledputelanguagercincSrachc] ,"
tbeqestlonlsbowto ndetstand-and putsue"-athoughttbatseeks
to lnqltenotlntothemeanlngofspeclhc ptoposltlons inlanguagebut
lnstead lnto the mattet oflanguage," lnto the pute fact" that thcrc
/ngaagc. Wbatls tbe natteofanexpetlencelnwhlchwhatlsexpetl-
encedlslanguageltself"Whatlstobeundetstoodlnotexpetlencedofa
tealm wbete, asAgambendesctlbeslt, one can onlyencountetthepute
extetlotltyoflanguage aracstcrieritdc// /inga] ,lH, xl] ) The
onlywayto answetthesequestlonslstoloomotecloselyatAgambens
ldeasaboutthemattetandexpetlenceoflanguageandltstelatlonshlpto
blspbllosopbyofpotentlallty
lt ls agalnstthebackgtondoftblsexpetlenceoflanguagetowhlcb
Agamoenalludes tbatbelsolatestbeinnthatplayedschalatgetole
ln tbe wot be ls looklng oac on eleven yeats latet lnfancy," wtltes
Agambenlntbesamepteface,lsancxcrimcnmm/ingacofthlsklnd
one lnwblcb the llmlts oflangage atesoghtnototsldeoflangage,
lntbedltectlon oflts tefetent, otlnanexpetlenceoflanguageassucb
ascricnzadi/ingaaiecemcta/c] ,lnltspteselftefetence",lH, y x] ).
lftblsl stbecase,lftblslstbeinnlnwblchAgambenlslntetested,the
qestlon temalns as to boan expetlence ofsucha pte extetlotltyof
langage" canlleattbeotsetofanlnqulty, ofhowltcanbeltsguldlng
IheParePetenna/iperesmnen iz
thteadtathetthau|tseudpo|ut. lhtasedd|ffeteutly, howm|ghtsuchau
expet|eucecoust|tutethemenoamofh|sthought`
The ressien de i quoted eatl|et |s |udeed someth|ug tate |u
Agambeuswotk,but|t|suottheoulyoueof|tsk|ud.lualectuteg|veu|u
Llsboutwoyeatseatl|ethehadoffetedauothet"lcouldstatethesubject
ofmywotkas au attempt to uudetstaud the meau|ug ofthevetb can
e/ere| .Wbatdolmeauwheu lsay l cau,lcauuot ` ",l, i;; z] ). The
teadet ofthesetworessiensdeihas ample teasou to feel petplexed.
WbeteaslutheFteuchptefaceftomiAgambeudeclatesthattheques
tlouthathasguldedh|swotkhasbeeu hatthemeaningetheren
aagehat/hemeaningesea/ |utheL|sboulectuteg|veutwo
yeats eatllet he clalmedthat "the subjectofmywotk" |s "au attempt to
uudetstaudthevetbcan. Doesth|sd|vetgeuces|mplytepteseutthemost
uatutalth|ug|uthel|feofaph|losophetauevolut|ouof|utetest`luothet
wotds,dothetematkstepteseutash|ft|ugoffocusftomaph|losophyof
e/enna/itoaph|losophyof/ngage Th|swouldbeauatutal coulu
sloutodtawwete|tuotfotAgambeusstatemeut|uawotkftomi,that
pb|losophy, "|ultsdeepest|utult|ou,"|s"acousttuct|ouofauexpet|euce
oftbeposs|bleassuch" ,l, .) lfth|sstatemeut|suotauevolut|ouof
coucetu,wem|ghtcoucludethat|t|sa couttad|ct|ou botu ofa set|es of
occas|oualessays. Howevet,thetealsotema|ustheposs|b|l|tythtweate
couftoutedw|tbsometh|ugmotecomplexthatthesetworessiensdi
uotoulyatecompat|blew|thoueauothet,butcomplemeutoueauothet.
M|ghtweuotseethesetwodt|v|ugquest|ous beh|udAgambeuswotk
hatthemeaninge `1sea/aud atde ImeanahenIsa `1can,
ILanntastwo exptess|ousofas|uglequest|ou` Moteptec|sely, s |t
poss|bletouudetstaudthequest|ou hatthemeaninge`1sea/asa
questlou about poteut|al|ty, as "au attemptto uudetstaudthevetb can"
To dosowouldbetouudetstaudAgambeu's|ufaucyaudtheexerimen
/am/ingaebel|uksw|tb|tasauexpetleuceof areetenna/i, audtodo
tb|swouldbetogtaspthedeepafhult|esbetweeuAgambeusldeaofptose
audblsldeaofkuowledge
[::omIoc:
Agambeuscouceptlouofpbllosopby-audofpoteut|al|ty-|s|ut|-
matelyllukeduotj usttolauguage,buttowhathetepeatedlycallsau"ex
iyo IhcParcPetcntia/ipercscnmnen
petlenceoflanguage.Tbe questlon posed byAgamben'stworessiens
dcils, whataea/ditmcantesccthctaestatcmcnts `1sca/and`1can
d crcssingasing/c thingWblletoseebumancteatlvltyasctystalllzed
lnevenoutmostquotldlanusesoflanguage-wbatWllbelmvonHum-
ooldtcalledtbelnhnlteuseofhnltemeans-lsaptovocatlveldeawltb
atlcbblstotysttetcblngtoptesentdayllngulstssucbasoamCbomsky,
lt ls not,bowevet,tbeonetbatAgambenls evoklngbete.We canseetbls
lntbefacttbatAgambendoesnotbeglnbyevoklnglnblscxcrimcntam
/ingacamessage ofposslblllty ,l can) lmplled lnevetylspeak, but
lnsteadsometblngmote slngulat andsttange To attemptto answettbe
questlons posedabove,wemusthtst undetstandwbatAgamben mlgbt
mean bytbeputeextetlotltyoflanguage. Tblslsnotacommontoplc
ottetm,butneltbetlsltatotallylsolatedone.To tbeendofbettetundet-
standlnglt, letustutnto adlffetent cxcrimcnmm/ingactbatofan-
otbetmodetnpbllosopbetoflanguagewboseteRectlonsdevelopedftom
tbose ofHeldegget and 8enjamln andwbo, altbougbbe bad no dltect
connectlonwltbAgamben,sbatesblsldeaoflanguagetoatematkableex-
tent. laul deMan.
eMan'smostfamousaswellasblsmostnototlousattemptatef-
fectlnganexpetlmentoftbe klnd tbatAgambendesctlbeslsfound ln a
talk on 8enj amln's essay Tbe Taskoftbe Ttanslatot g|ven at Cotnell
nlvetsltylniy lntblshnalpetlodofdeMan'swotkwbenbebasaban-
donedtbepbenomenologlcaldlalectlcofblseatlletwtltlng,bedesctlbes
anexpetlenceoflanguageteducedtosometblngllkeltsgtammatlcaltudl-
ments.lnblseffottsatdeclpbetlngwbat8enj amlncalledputelanguage
be evokes anexpetlenceoflanguage tbatls notanexpetlenceoftb|sot
tbatslgnlfylngptoposltlonbut,tobottowAgaben'sfotmulatlon,oftbe
putefacttbatonespeaks,tbatlanguageexlsts.
eManstateslntblslectutetbat8enjamln'slanguageofpatbos,
language ofblstotlcal patbos, language oftbe messlanlc, tbepatbos of
exlleandsoonandsofottb,teallydesctlbesllngulstlceventswblcbateby
nomeansbuman. Sotbatwbatbecallstbepalnsoftbeotlglnalbecome
sttuctutal dehclencleswblcbateoestanalyzedlntetmsoftbelnbuman,
debumanlzedlanguageofllngulstlcs . . . one ls lmpelledtotead rcinc
Srachc pute language as tbat wblcb ls tbe most sacted, wblcb ls tbe
mostdlvlne,wbenlnfactln8enj amlnltmeansalanguagecompletelyde-
voldofanyklndofmeanlngfunctlon,/angoagcahichaea/d/carcsigi-
cr, ahichaea/d/ccem/ctcdcoeideanscmanticnctienahatsecocr
IheParePetenna/ipesenmnen i ,i
,deMani6,6, |tal|csadded). Speak|ng|n"Read|ugaudH|stoty"
,contempotaty to th|s lectute) ofth|s same essay by8eujam|u, deMau
statesthattheex|stent|alpathosof8enjam|ustext| |scouutetbalauced
by the fact that these bottomless depths oflauguage ate also |ts most
man|festandotd|natygtammat|cald|mens|ous",deMani6,6z).hat
|sfot8en am|ncouched|nalanguagefullof mess|au|c"expet|euce|sfot
deMan a tad|cal expet|ence ofthept|vat|ve, wh|ch hecalls|u th|s talk
the |nhuman."W|sh|ngto fotestallm|sundetstaud|ng, deMau says of
th|ssutpt|s|nghgutethatthe |nhuman|snotsomek|ndofmystety,ot
sectet-|t|sl|ngu|st|csttuctutes,theplayofl|ngu|st|ctens|ous,l|ugu|st|c
eventsthatoccut,poss|b|l|t|eswh|chate|nheteut|nlauguage-|udepeu-
dentlyofauy|ntentotanydt|veotanyw|shotauydes|tewem|ghthave"
,i6, 6). lt |s cleat that de Man would have found a mote fel|c|tous
fotmula|nad|ffetentpt|vat|veconsttuct|on, suchasahamanotnenha
man,becausetheinhamanhasbecometesetvedfotthoseth|ugsthatate,
|n ttuth, alltoohuman),butth|s shouldnotpteveutusftomtty|ugto
undetstandwhathea|medtoexptessthtoughh|s |mptomptuexptess|on
,thetalk|sttansct|bedftomatecotd|ngand,asdeMansspatenotes|ud|-
cate,hewasspeak|ngextempotaneously).hatdeMan|sendeavot|ugto
statehete|swhatheseesasattemendousexptopt|at|vefotce|nlauguage.
lnHdegeeseReadingdeManwt|tes, e douotpossesslauguage|n
thesamewaythatwecanbesa|dtopossessuatutalptopett|es. ltwould
bejustasptopetot|mptopettosaythatweateaptopettyoflanguage
asthe tevetse" ,deMani i6o). ln thegenetalseusethat coucetusus
hete,whatth|stematk|nd|cates|sthecommoupo|ntthatuu|testh|ukets
asd|vetseasdeMan,8lanchot,ancy,Dett|da,Foucault,andAgamben,
wh|ch |s the|nhet|tanceofthe He|degget|an d|alect|c ofapptopt|at|on
andptopt|etyasaph|losoph|calptoblemcencerning/ngage lt|s|nth|s
l|ght, then, thatwe can see thatwe would do bettet to undetstandthe
expet|ence|nvokedbydeMan undetthes|gnofthe inhamanas ak|n to
whatlaulCelanonce tefettedtoasgo|ngbeyondwhat|shuman,step-
p|ngtoatealthat|stutnedtowatdthehuman,butuncanny,"audthat|s
anexpet|enceof/ngageassach,Celani6,|z|,,i,,. izttansla-
t|on mod|hed) . Language |s undoubtedly tutned towatd the humau,"
and th|s tutn|ng d|st|ngu|shes man. ln th|s sense, language |s the last
th|ngbut|nhuman,but|talsodoesnottemovethat|nlanguagewh|ch|s,
wh|leastepp|ngtoateal,"uncanny."
Desp|tethetad|calexptopt|at|vefotceconveyed bydeMaushgute
iyz IhcParcPetcnna/ipeRcrcscntanen
oftbelnbuman,oneundsanotbetugutetbatexptessesdeMan'smost
petsonal aeriaeven mote fully ln anotbet oftbeselate essays so often
matkedoyavettlglnousconclslon,deManstates tbat tbeoottomllne,
lnantas well as Hegel, ls thcresaic matcria/i ethc /cttcr, and no
degteeofoofuscatlonotldeologycanttansfotmtblsmatetlalltylntotbe
pbenomenal cognltlon ofaestbetlcjudgment ,deMan i, o, ltallcs
added) Weatebeteconftontedwltbanexpetlenceof tbeputeextetlotlty
oflanguagelntbefotm ofanexpetlenceoflanguage's matcria/i. Tbls
matetlallty,wblcbdeManelsewbetecallsinscrtien,lslanguageteduced
to lts gtapblc tudlments, matetlallty concelved as tbe matetlalltyofan
lnsctlptlonlnsbott,ltlsanexpetlenceoflanguage,toemployAgamoen's
desctlptlon wltbwblcbwe oegan, notas tbls ottbatslgnllngptopo-
sltlon, out as tbe pute fact tbat one speaks, tbatlanguageexlsts L|ke
Agamoen, de Man exptesses, ln anotbetessayftomtblspetlod, ades|te
fotagteatetconcenttatlononsucbexpetlencesamongscbolats,desctlolng
tbetetutntopbllologyfotwblcbbelscalllngasanexamlnatlonoftbe
sttuctutesoflanguageptlottotbemeanlngltptoduces,tbusconfotm|ng
pteclselyto tbeexpetlencedesctloedeatllet-anexpetlenceoflanguage
notastblsottbat s|gnlfylngptoposltlon ,de Man i, ).etfotde
Man tbls expetlence oftbe matetlallty otmattetoflanguage lswbat
olocksaccesstojudgmentsofallsottsandpteventstbecettalnandstable
enunclatlon ofptesupposltlons, ptoposltlons, and postulates tbatwould
fotm tbe oases fot aestbetlc and etblcal pteceptsTblsexpetlenceoftbe
matetlalltyoflanguage,oflanguageunvelledlnallltscbllllnglmpetson
allty, temoves, lndeMan'sunalteRectlons, tbeeplstemologlcalfounda
tlonsoflanguage-andwltblt,tboseofaestbetlcandetblcs
hc wattcr O an
[
ua
[
c
lnAgamoens Tbe ldeaofMattetwe undapassagetbatpteclse
lyml ttotstblsexpetlencetbatdeManundssodevastatlngWbetelan
guageends,aswesawAgamoentematkeatllet,lsnotwbetetbeunsay
aoleoeglns,outtatbettbemattetoflanguage Hewbobasnevetteacbed,
as ln a dteam, tbat woodllke suostance oflanguage tbat tbe anclents
calledsi/oatemalns,evenwbenbelssllent,aptlsonettoteptesentatlons
Heteweateconftontedwltbpteclselytbesameexpetlenceoftbematetl
IheParePetenna/iperesentanen iyy
al|tyoflanguagethatwefound|neMan-yetw|thasl|ghtbutdec|s|ve
d|splacement.
FotdeMan, asw|thAgamben,whetelanguage"ends" |t|s|ndeed
notthe"unsayablethatbeg|nsbut|nstead"themattetoflanguage."hat
|smote,wboevetfa|lstoconductth|stad|calexerimenmm/inaae of"the
mattetoflanguage" |s dest|ned to tema|n, fot bothth|nkets,a"pt|sonet
toteptesentat|ons,capt|vetothe|deaofanunsayableessenceattheheatt
oflanguagethatone|scons|gnedfotevettostt|veaftetandnevettoteach.
Thetwo |ntetptetat|ons atethus |dent|cal |nthe|tessent|alcootd|uates.
Agamben's essays "Language and H|stoty L|ngu|st|c and H|stot|cal
Categot|es|n8enjam|nsThought"and"TheMess|ahandtheovete|gn.
TheltoblemofLaw|nWaltet8enjam|u"matchdeMans|nthe|tluc|d
acceptancethat8enj am|n'sconceptof "putelanguage"sact|hcescommu-
n|cat|on fot commun|cat|v|ty-that "pute language" |s a lauguage that
commun|cates nomean|ngothetthan |tselfandthus,|nasense,s|mply
ptesentsthemattetoflanguage. 8othdeMansandAgambens ct|t|ques
oflanguage, |nfotmedbyexpet|encesofthematet|al|tyoflauguageak|n
towhat8enjam|nhnds|nttanslat|on-anexpet|ence of"theputeexte-
t|ot|tyoflanguage-tesult|natecogn|t|onoftheexptopt|at|vefotceof
language.8ut|t|satth|spo|ntthatthetwoct|t|quesd|vetge.
lndeMansv|s|onoflanguage|t|s|mposs|bletoavo|dbecom|uga
"ptlsonettoteptesentat|ons"fotanylongetthan thebl|nkofaneye,aud
th|sexpet|enceof"themattetoflanguagematks, aswesaw, the|ttevo-
cableendpo|ntotendgameofa teRect|onthatmusttenounceanyhope
ofoffet|ngafoundat|onfoteth|csotaesthet|cs.hatl|esbeyond|sonly
anendlesscycleoffotgett|ngandtemembtancethatdeManhtsthnds|n
letzsche'sspeculatlonsonlanguage ,mostcenttallyh|s "OnTtuthand
LlelnaonmotalSense)andthatoffetsne|thet|ssuenothope. lt|sfot
thls teasonthattb|sexpetlenceofthematet|al|tyoflanguagelsassoc|ated
|n de Man'slatewotkw|thstuttet|ng, loss, fall|ng, fa|lute, automat|sm,
tbe|nhuman,anddeath. Agamben'sth|nk|ngonthematter-the
-oflanguageptoceedsd|ffetently.Foth|m,th|sexpet|enceof
language, thls expet|ence ofwhathe calls elsewhete "thepute med|al|ty
ofhumancommun|cat|on, |nsteadofengendet|ngthed|sappeatauceof
thebumanandtheeth|cal|ndeMan'sgtammat|calmach|uat|onsoflau-
guage,offetstefoundat|onofaneth|csandanaesthet|cs,ttausfotm|ug
i hcParcPetcntia/ipeRcrcscntatien
tbeaeriatbattbemattetoflanguagefotmedfotdeManlntoacaeria
,MW,

8efotegolngfattbet,letusllngetfotamomentovettbls movement
ftom aeria to caeria, ftom dead end to fottultous outcome. Tbese
tetmsofttansltlonatetbemselvesfoundlnanessaybyAgambenwbete,
lndlscusslngtbetoleoftetmlnologylntbewotkofettlda,bewtltestbat
tbe apotlas ofself-tefetence . . . do nothndtbeltsolutlonbete, tatbet,
tbeyatedlslocatedand . . ttansfotmedlntocaerias ,l,zi;,,z),ltallcs
lnotlglnal) .Towbatdoestbebeteoftblstematktefetlttefetspteclsely
totbatwblcbwebavebeenconsldetlng-tbecocntematcrotcxcrimcn-
tam /ingoac,l, zi; ,z] ) . Tbls polnt ls ecboed lnanotbet contextftom
tbesesameyeatswbeteAgambenwtltestbatnotabletatcbyoftypes,llke
tbeoneptoposedbyRusselltbtsolttltatedtbeyoungWlttgensteln)but
onlyatbeotyofldeaslslnaposltlontodlsentangletbougbtftomtbeapo-
tlasofllngulstlcbelng,otbettet,tottansfotmtbemlntoeupotlas) ,CC,
; ] ) . Tbecxcrimcnmm/ingoac,Agambenelabotates,doesnot,asa
commonmlsundetstandlnglnslsts)autbotlzeanlntetptetatlveptactlcedl-
tectedtowatdtbelnhnltedeconsttuctlonofatext,notdoesltlnaugutatea
newfotmallsm.Ratbet, itmar/sthcdccioccocntemattcr, andindeingse
ecnsenteancthics ,l,zi ,,] ,ltallcsadded) . ln RcmnaneAaschai,
Agamben wtltes, Modetn pbllosopby, wblcb sttlps tbe ttanscendental
subj ectofltsantbtopologlcalandpsycbologlcalatttlbutes,teduclngltto
aputelspeak,'lsnotfullyawateoftbettansfotmatlontblsteductlonef-
fectswltbtespecttotbeexpetlenceoflanguage,ltdoes nottecognlzetbe
facttbatlanguagelstbetebydlsplacedontoanasemantlclevel aniane
ascmantice] tbat can no longet be tbat ofptoposltlons ,RA io io] ) .
Tblsasemantlclevel l snoneotbettbantbemattetoflanguage,andon
tblslevelwltboutptoposltlonanewptoblemptesents ltsel ltlscleatly
not enougb slmplyto note tbe ptesence ofsucb a dynamlc tevetslblllty,
sucbattansltlonftomaeriato caeria.Wemustalsoendeavottoundet
stand bowAgambenjustlhestbeessi/i/io tbeetcntia/ifot, sucba
ctltlcaltevetsalHowlslttbenposslblefotanexpetlenceoflanguage,an
expetlenceoftbemattetoflanguagetoopenontoanetblcsAswesaw
eatllet, Agamben fullytecognlzes tbe exptoptlatlve fotce oflanguage
tbatwblcbpullsstatementslooseftomtbelteplstemologlcalfoundatlon,
andltlsbete,atlast,tbatwecanobsetveblmeffectlngasllgbtbutdeclslve
dlsplacement.
IheParePetenna/ipeReresentanen i,
Lthics lor Heretics, or n Eliminating
the Lnsayable
lnatalkftomizentltledLectuteonEth|cs"g|venatthe|nv|ta-
t|onoftheHetet|csSoc|ety|nCambt|dge,|ttgenste|ntematked,"lam
temptedtosaythatthet|ghtexptess|on|nlanguagefotthem|tacleofthe
exlstenceofthewotld,thoughlt|snotanyptopos|t|oninlanguage,|sthe
exlstenceoflanguage|tself |ttgenste|ni,,|,||,|tal|cs|not|g|nal) .
Th|sconcept|onoflanguageandthefotmulat|onthat|ttgenste|ngave
to|tate|mpottantfotAgamben. Th|sexpet|enceof"them|tacleofthe
ex|stenceofthewod,"l|ketheexpet|ences ofAgambenanddeMan, |s
basedonanexpet|enceoflanguage-anexpet|enceofthemetectthat
wespeaktathetthanofanexpet|enceofsometh|ngotothetconta|nedot
exptessed|nag|venstatementotptopos|t|on.

lntheclos|ngwotdsofth|s
talk|ttgenste|nstates, "Mywholetendencyandlbel|evethetendency
ofallmenwhoevettt|edtowt|teottalkEth|cs otRel|g|onwas to tun
aga|nsttheboundat|esoflanguage. Ihis ranningagainstthe aa/ear
cageect, a/se/atehee/ess" ,i,,||,|tal|csadded).
Thed|splacementthatAgambeneects|nh|stheotyoflanguage
|n h|s expet|ment on and expet|ence of language-can be seen w|th
patt|culatclat|ty hete. De Mans latewotk|s|n petfectagteementw|th
lttgenste|ns assessmentofthehopelessnessoftunn|ngup aga|nstthe
boundat|esoflanguageAgamben,lnh|sownfash|on,concuts.Runn|ng
up agalnsttheboundatlesoflanguagefotAgamben, asfotdeManand
Wlttgensteln, ptom|ses only dls|llus|on and d|sappo|ntment. The ques-
tlonlleslnwhatelsethlslessonteachesandwhatothetposs|b|l|t|esptes-
entthemselves.WhatAgamben deduces ls thattesolv|ngthe apot|asof
langagelsnotanoptlon,thattendetlngallptopos|t|onsttanspatentand
unamblguouslslmposslble.8utth|slsnottantamounttosay|ngthatonly
despalt awalts thosewbo ptoceeddown th|s path. An escape ftomthe
ptlsonofteptesentat|ons,ftom theapot|asoflanguage,w|llcomenot|n
thefotmofttanspatentlanguageotunmed|atedttuthbut|nstead|nout
llbetatlonftoman|deaoflanguagesl|m|tsbe|ngllkeacage,lock|ngus|n
andoslngusoffftomsometh|ngbettetandbt|ghtet-someunsayable
essencely|ngbeyondoutgtasp.
As h|s |dea ofmattet |nt|mates, fot Agamben the bats ofsuch a
cage ate fotmed by ptec|sely th|s |dea ofthe ansaa//. ln a lettet to
Matt|n8ubetftom i6, 8enam|nwtote ofh|s asp|tat|on "to el|m|nate
,6 IhcParcPetcnna/ipeRcrcscntatien
tbeunsayableftomlanguage,8enj amlnG8, r.,z6) . Tblswasobvlously
not to bedone by pute poetlc comptebenslveness-bysaylng allltwas
posslbletosay, leavlngnosubj ecttaboo andnoRowet,lea otstoneun-
named.8enj amln'syoutbfulambltlonlslnfactnoteasytogtaspbecause
tbe ansaa//cseems to be ln no need ofellmlnatlon-because lt ls al-
teadyandbydehnltlonellmlnated.Wbatcouldweasspeaketsevetdoto
ellmlnatetbatwblchwecouldnevetbope tosaylnthehtstplace`Wbat
8enj amln undetstands undet tbe slgn oftbls fotmula-tbe ctystalllne
andputeellmlnatlonoftbeunsayablelnlanguage -lstoellmlnateftom
languagesometblngtbatlnblsvlewbasnoplacetbete

Thlswastbeldea
tbatlanguage beatslnlts foldssometblngtbatfottbemomeuttemalns
unsayablebuttbat,lnatedemptlveRasb,couldllgbtupoutdatknessand
temovealldoubts,uncettalntles,andenlgmasftomoutwotldTheunsay-
ablecastsasbadowon tbesayable,andthlslswbat8enj amln-andlnbls
wake,Agamben-wlsbestoellmlnate.
To c/iminatcthcansaa//clstbustotemovetbeldeaofasectetbld-
denlnlanguage'sfolds,tbeldeaofabllndlnglyfullptesenceoftbougbt,
meanlng, and belng tbat out alltoobuman language falls to teacb. ln
tbe last llnes ofangoagc andDcath, Agamben wtltes, Tbe cthes, bu-
manlty's own, ls not sometblng unspeakable ot saccrtbat must temaln
unsaldlnallptaxlsandbumanspeecb ,LD,ro6r,, ). 8enj amlnwlshed
toellmlnatetbeunsayablepteclselybecauseltwasunsayable.Tbemeans
foteffectlngtbls-ellmlnatlngwbatwaslmposslbletoellmlnatebecause
ltbadnevetbeenptesent-laylntecognlzlngtbeldeaoftbeunsayablefot
wbatltwas. amystlhcatlon. ln tbls conceptlon,wbatblndets outeffotts
toundetstandoutpastandoutptesentlstheleatbattbeunsayablewlll
somebowbecomesayable.lnanessaypubllsbedtbesameyeatasIdca e
Presc,Agambenwtltestbatwbatlsunsayablelsnotwhatlanguagedoes
notatallbeatwltnesstobut,tatbet,wbatlanguagecanonlyname,l,ro
r,r ). WbatAgambentbusseekstodemystlfylstbeldeaofsomemattet
tbatllesbeyondtbellmltsof languageandwboseunsayablesubstancewe
mlgbtsomebowteacb.AltbougbtheanalysesofdeManandWlttgensteln
ate,followlngAgamben'steasonlng,petfectlycottectlntheltcootdlnates,
tbeystoponestepsbottoftbeltuntecognlzedgoalTbeymakeoftbeapo-
tlasofllngulstlcptesupposltlonsomethlngunsayable-andtbetebymake
abondageofwbatsbouldbeallbetatlonAmotelntegtaltesponsetoout
language, followlngAgamben, would be to accept lts llmlts and cease
plnlngfotanunsayableotsactedspeecbbeyondtbeoueweknowWhat
IheParePeten/ipeReresentanen i ,
one| s leftw|thaftetsuchanexpet|enceoandexpet|mentw|th,lauguage
|sav|s|onoflanguageasfoundeduotonattauscendeutalptesuppos|t|ou,
andnotonthesh|ft|ngfotmsofttans|totyptesuppos|t|ous,but|nsteadou
whatAgambenevocat|velycallselsewhete|nIdea ePrese"the|nuocence
oflanguage /innecenzad/ /ingoae ,ll,iz | ). The|nuocenceof
language|sth|sabsenceofptesuppos|t|onexpet|encednotasalackota
loss but as, s|mply, outl|ngu|st|cnatute-asthatwh|ch|sttulycommou
toall. Th|satt|tude|stheonethatAgambenw|llcometocallarene
apptoachtolanguageandl|feandthatwew|llexam|ue|umotedepth|u
th|sbookshnalchaptet.
At the end ofan essay ent|tled "Language " e

egget tematks,
oth|ng l|es |n advauc|ng a new not|on oflauguage. Evetyth|ugl|e
|nleatn|ngtodwell|nthespeak|ngoflanguage" ,e|deggetGA,iz.,o).
WhatAgamben|sadvocat|ngthtoughh|sph|losophyoflanguage|spet-
fectly|nl|new|thh|sfotmetteachetspos|t|on andoffetsnewmeansfot
|ts undetstand|ng. Agamben |s not tty|ng to offet a d|ffetent v|s|on of
languagethanthatw|thwh|chothetph|losophetsoflanguage,suchasde
ManandW|ttgenste|n) opetated.At|ssue foth|m|nstead|s ad|ffetent
expet|ence ofthel|m|tsoflanguage-|n e|deggets metaphot|calteg|s
tet, ad|ffetentwayof/ioing|nlanguage-andfot th|s teason he places
suchsttessonboththeexerimenta/andtheexerienna/|nh|sexptess|on
exeimentam/ingoae
ln eatl|etchaptetswe sawAgamben'sbel|ef|n the dynam|ctevets
|b|l|tyofdespetates|tuat|ons,and th|s bel|ef|sequallyteectedhete ln
anothetchaptetftom Idea ePeJeTheldea oftheLastudgment"
Agambenwt|tesofhowthepowetoflanguagemustbetutnedbackupon
language|tselTheeyemustsee|tsbl|ndspot.Thept|sonmust|mpt|son
|tself.Onlythenw|llthept|sonetsbeabletoleave",ll,,ttauslat|ou
mod|hed) . Th|s ctypt|cstatementevokesnotthettavets|ngoflauguage
|ntosomecleatetempyteanofthoughtbutthetutn|ngofthe|deaofthe
unsayableaga|nst language|tsel becausefotAgambenwhat|sttulyuu
sayable|sonlylanguage|tself-thatwehavelanguage. ncefteedftom
the|mpt|son|ng|deaoftheunsayable, languageneednolougetseemto
usapt|son.Wew|llbefteetoleavebeh|ndusauexpet|euceoflauguage
as negat|v|ty, pun|shment, cutse, andconstta|ut. FotAgambeu, oue|s
fteet|nalanguagethatnolongetbeatsasph|ul|keen|gma|u|tsh|ddeu
heatt.lt|sfotth|steasonthat|nIdeaePfeJe th|ssamecom|ugupaga|ust
thel|m|tsoflanguage|s,|napoet|cteg|stet,l|ukeduot,as|udeau,to
i y IhcParcPetcntia/ipeRcrcscntatien
hgutesofstuttetlngand sllence but lnsteadto tbe expetlenceofnotblng
lesstbanlnspltatlon,ll,o o| ).
Sucbllbetatlonbasapolltlcalcottelatlvetbatwlllslowlybutsutely
movetotbecentetofAgamben'stbougbt.lnapassageftomblsnextbook,
IhcCemingCemmanit-lmpottantbetebecauseltallowsustoconnect
tbeeatlletsoclologlcalteRectlonsonlanguageandexpetlenceofInnc
andHisterwltbtbellngulstlcandontologlcalteRectlonsofLangaagcand
DcathandIdca ePresc aswellaswltbaspecttumofpolltlcalpatadlgms
tbatAgambenfocusesonlnsucbwotksasHemeSafr-bewtltes,Even
motetbaneconomlcnecessltyandtecbnologlcaldevelopment,wbatdtlves
tbenatlonsoftbeeattbtowatdaslnglecommondestlnylstbeallenatlon
ftomllngulstlcbelng,tbeuptootlngofallpeoplesftomtbeltvltaldwell-
lnglnlanguagedadasaadimeraoita/cncda/ingaa| ",CC, y | )9 Hete
webavesometblngtbatathtstslgbtlsblgblyenlgmatlc.adltectconnec-
tlonbetweenanexpetlenceofllngulstlc allenatlon andan expetlence of
polltlcalallenatlon. lntbewotks andyeatsto come,bowevet,Agamben
wlll sttlve to make pteclselysucb connectlons, telatlng ontologlcal and
llngulstlcteRectlonstosoclalandpolltlcalptoblems.
Wltbtblswldenedpetspectlve lnmlnd,letusatlasttetutnto tbe
questlonwltbwblcbwe began. lnseatcb oahtstptlnclple, Damasclus'
apotlabecomesacaeriaattbemomentbeteallzestbatwbatbebaduntll
tbenbellevedbebadbeentblnklngofastbeOne,astbeabsoluteOtbet
otbougbt,wasnotblngotbettbantbemattetamatcria| ,tbepotentlal-
lty aetcnza| oftbougbt ,ll, y iz| , ttanslatlon modlhed) . Hete we
hnd thc mattcretheaghtln no tespect opposed, but lnstead lntlmately
and dltectlyllnked, to thcetcntia/i etheaght

And lt ls bete wbete

tbe mattet oflanguage and tbe potentlalltyoftbougbt convetge so
tbatwecanatlast answettbequestlonposedattbeoutsetoftblscbaptet
astowbetbettbesetwoquestlons-Wbat ls tbe mattcre/angaagc and
Wbatlstbeetcntia/itetheaght-beseennotonlyascompatlble
questlonsbutalsoastbesamequestlon.Tbeanswetlscs.
Jhe Idea ol the Enigma
lnlts lnltlalfotm lntbehtst edltlon ofIdca ePresc Tbeldeaof
tbeEnlgmabeglns,Wealwaysandonlyateftlgbtenedbyaslngletblng.
tbettutb.Tblsenlgmatlcdeclatatlonlsfollowedbyaquallhcatlon. Ot
IheParePeten/ipeRresentanen iy
motepteclsely, theteptesentatlonwefotmoflt" ,ll,io; , ttauslatlon
modlhed).Thlsteptesentatlon"wefeatlsnotaglventtuethlugthatwe
mlghthndhottlble ot unbeatable ,thatwewllldle,fot lustauce), uotls
ltthetevelatlonofsomelndlvldualfactotstateofaffaltsthatlstettl
lng otunbeatablefot out vlslon ofoutselves ,such asa ttuth about out
past) . ThefeattowhlchAgambentefetstegatdssomethlngmoteeluslve
the ttuth"-otmotepteclsely, theteptesentatlonwe fotm oflt." Thls
leadshlmtoafuudameutalconcluslon Theonlyttuetepteseutatlonls
onethatalsoteptesentsltsdlstanceftomthettuth" ,ll,io; | , ttausla
tlonmodlhed). Agambensctltetlon fot theoulyttue tepteseutatlon" ls
asteasonableasltlsunfulhllable,audltscotollatycaubefouudluThe
ldeaofT tuth"wheteAgambentefetstotheabsenceofanyhualobjectof
knowledge" ,ll, , y| ). Anuncettalntyptlnclple applledto htstphllo
sophlcalptlnclpleslsaslmposslblelnptactlceasltlsdesltablelntheoty.
We can lndeedfotm teptesentatlons ofwhat we belleve to be ttue, and
wecanconcludethatoutteptesentatlonswlllnevetwhollycolncldewlth
wbatwebellevetobetbeessenceoftbatttuth, butthlslsnotsomethlng
wecan-atleastnotlnanyconventlonalmaunet.
Tbe ldea ofthe Enlgma ls btoken lnto numbeted sectlons and
tbehtstoftbeseendswltbthetematksjustclted.Wlthoutttausltlon, as
elsewbete ln the book, tbe next sectlon beglnswlth anothet mattet an
anecdote.ltconcetnstbescbooltefettedtolnthebooksopenlngllnes
llatosAcademy-andtelatesalectutethattheaglngllatolssaldtohave
glventbete.Thlslectutewaseagetlyantlclpatedbyllatosstudentsbecause
ltstltleannouncedatevelatlonofthebestandhlghestofallthlugsaudthe
exptesslonoftbevetyessenceandheatt ofhls phllosophy TheGood."
Attheappolntedhouttheaudltotsassembled,butwhattheyheatdwasfat
ftomwhattheyhadexpected.Tothegteatconstetnatlouofanaudleuce
that was sald to luclude llatos btlghtest students aud most atdeut fol
lowets ,lncludlngAtlstotle), themastetspokenotoftheGood,theTtue,
andthe8eautlfulbutofmathemancs-numbets,llnes,planes,andthe
movementofthestats.Aftetalougexamlnatlouofthesetechulcalmat
tets,heoffetedacoucluslonasbtlefasltwas bafBlng theGoodls the
One",seell,io ;| ).
Agambenlendsacettalnauthotltytothlsapoctyphallucldeut.He
doesnotatttlbutelttoldleandunconhtmedgosslp ,thatls,hedoesuot
saythatltnevethappeued), audhedoesnotatttlbutelttomlschleblt
tetness, otsenllltyonthepatt oftheaglngphllosophet ,thatls,hedoes
r|c IhcParcPetcntia/ipeRrcscnmnen
notsayltbappenedbutmeantnotblngfotpbllosopby).lnsteadbeseestbe
ctyptlcdlsunctlonbetweentltle ,TbeGood)andcontent,matbemat-
lcs) asabsolutelycenttaltowbatllatobadspentblsllfeteacblng.lnthls
fasblon,Agambenwtltes, llato, wbobad alwayswatnedbls students
abouttbe dlfhcultles entalledlndltecttbematlctteatment ofptoblems,
andwbolnblswtltlngsbadwllllnglylncludedhctlonsandstotles,blmself
becamefotblsstudentsamytbandanenlgma,ll,rc 6 , ttansla-
tlon modlhed) Followlng tbe subtle loglc ofIdca ePresc, tbls passage
canbeteadasanlndltectcommentatyontbelndltectcommentatlestbat
makeuptbebookustasllato,fatbetoftbedocttlneofldeas,announced
tbatbewoulddlscusstbeGood"andtbenundettbatbeadlngdlscussed
matbematlcalptocedutesandptlnclpleswltboutoffetlngatbematlccon-
nectlon llnklngtbe two toplcs, Agamben'sldeasputpottto dlscussone
tblngandptoceedbydlscusslngaseemlnglyuntelatedmattet.
ZI
Tbeldea
ln questlon ls tbat ofteptesentaolllty, tbe same ldea announced eatllet
wbeteAgamben, dlscusslngtbehtstptlnclplesofamasclus, stated, lt
lscleattbattbatwblcblslnquestloncannevetoetbematlzed-noteven
aslncomptebenslole-andcannotbeexptessedevenaslnexptesslble,ll,
{z-{{ c ,ttanslatlonmodlhed)
Agamoenclalmstbatllatoslndltectmetbodssetvedfotblsstudents
asawatnlngagalnsttbematlctteatmentofquestlons FotAgamben,
tblsapptoacblsdltectlyllnkedtoadangettbatllatowaswellawateof.
tbe dangetofteptesentatlons and tbe danget oftbe belleftbata tevela-
tlonwlll come tbatwlll benotateptesentatlonofatblngbuttatbet tbe
unmedlatedtblngltsel Tbls lstbe most fundamentalandomnlptesent
ldea ln Idca ePresc
ZZ
llato lndeed appeats to baveseen a ptoblem ln
dltecttbematlctteatmentofpbllosopblcalquestlons,andtblswaspetbaps
tbeteasonbewtotenottteatlsesoffetlngsucbtteatmentofquestlonsbut
lnsteaddlaloguestbatdtamatlzedpbllosopblcalteRectlonTblswaspet-
bapsalsotbe teason bedldnotsbyawayftomlncludlnghctlonssucbas
tbeallegotyoftbecaveottbemytbofAtlantlslnblswotks.ltwaslntbls
sensetootbattbehguteattbecentetoftbedlalogues,Soctates,clalmsto
knownotblngandtobeamldwlfefottbougbt.Flnally, ltwaspethapsfot
thlsteasontbatAtlstotlesaldofllato tbatbewtoteneltbetnpoettynot
lnptosebut,asAgambentecalls,lntbeltmlddletetm,seell,q ) .
Tblsmlddletetmwasnotblngotbettbananldeaofptose,anldea
thatsttessedtbedlfhcultyofexptesslngtbenatuteofldeas,andtbena-
tuteoftblngs lntbebookdltectlyptecedlngIdcaePresc,Agambenbad
IhePurePeten/iperesentanen ii
fouud|uHe|degget, Hegel,W|ttgeuste|u,audothetswhathecalledthe
ot|g|ual couuect|ou ofthe ptoblem ofbe|ugw|th |ud|cat|ou" ,L, i;
z,| ) Th|sexptessed|tselfasaftactute|utheplaueoflauguagebetweeu
show|ug aud say|ug, |ud|cat|ou aud s|gu|hcat|ou, that ttavetses the eu-
t|te h|stoty ofmetaphys|cs audw|thoutwh|ch the outolog|cal ptoblem
|tselfcauuotbefotmulated" ,LD, i z;| , ttauslat|oumod|hed Latet|u
thatwotkAgambeu wtote that pethaps ue|thetpoettyuotph|losophy,
ue|thet oerse uotrese w|ll evet be able to accompl|sh the|t m|lleuu|a
eutetpt|sebythemselves.lethapsoulyalauguage|uwh|chtheputeptose
ofph|losophywould|utetveueatacetta|upo|uttobteakapattthevetse
ofthepoet|cwotd,aud|uwh|chthevetseofpoettywould|utetveueto
beudtheptoseofph|losophy|utoat|ug,wouldbethettuehumaulau-
guage" ,LD, ; | , |tal|cs|uot|g|ual . Th|stematkallowsustofollow
theatcofluvestlgat|outhatleadsftomAgambeusfocusouwhatd|v|des
phllosophytompoettyluStanzstohlsfocusouthel|m|ts auduatute
ooutlauguageluIdeaePrese.Theptoblemsof|ud|cat|ou,s|gu|hcat|ou,
aud tepteseutabllltythatatedltectlytteated|u Langoage andDeathate
uotdleteut oues thau thoseludltectlyexplotedlu Idea ePrese. luau
essayoullatopubllshedayeatbefoteIdea ePrese,Agambeucla|msthat
otllato, the tb|ugltself|suotath|ug |t|sthevetysayab|l|ty, thevety
opeuuessatlssuelulauguage,wh|chlauguage,audwh|ch,|ulauguage,
wealways ptesuppose aud fotget" ,l, y, i| , |tal|cs |u ot|g|ual, ttausla
t|oumod|hed .

luauothetessaypubl|shedthesameyeateut|tledThe
ldeaofLauguage,"Agambeu|utetptetsthecouceptofreoe/nen|uth|s
l|ght,cla|m|ugthatthemeau|ugoftevelat|ou|sthathumauscauteveal
thatwhlchx|ststhtoughlauguage,butcauuotteveallauguage|tself" ,l,
o z| ,ttauslat|oumod|hed.Agambeuseu|gmat|c|deas-suchasThe
ldea ofthe Eu|gma" -ateeu|gmat|cfot a cleat teasou-ouehav|ugto
dow|thlauguage. Thesame|sttueeveu ofh|s |deaofthe|dea" The
ldea,"hewtltes, |suotawotd . uot|s|tav|s|ouofauobjectouts|de
lauguage,thete|suosuchobject,uosuchuusayableth|ug|t|saoiene
/ngoageitse" ,l,; y,| ,|tal|cs|uot|g|ual.Agambeus|deasatemeaut,
l|kellatosemblemat|clectuteouTheGood,"asawatu|ugaga|ustd|tect
themat|ctteatmeut"ofcetta|uptoblems-patt|culatlythemostfuuda
meutalouescoucetu|ugthel|m|tsoflauguageaudl|fe
8euj am|u oucewtote that ascholalyd|sc|pl|ue thatpteteuds to
ftee|tselfftomallthat|sesotet|c|sau|llus|ou,"audh|swt|t|ugbeatsw|t-
uesstohowttuehetema|uedtoth|smax|m,8eujam|uGS |.,). luthe
iz IhcParcPetcnna/ipeRcrcscntanen
ptogtammatlcptefaceto hls Orign eCcrman agc Drama 8eujamlu
uoted,Thetelsauesotetlcelemeutptopettophllosophlcalmethodthat
ltcauuotdlscatdotdeuyaudthat,wetelttoglvewayto,woulddesttoy
lt",8eujamluGS, i. zo;) .ltlsthlsldeamotethauauyothetthatAgambeu
followsthtoughsuch8eujamlulauptactlcesastheattoftheftagmeutot
theatt ofcltlugwlthout quotatloumatks whlchwewlll lookatmote
closelylu the htst schollum to thlschaptet). lhllosophlcal method cus-
tomatllyalmsattheexotetlcaudthesystematlc,butfot8eujamluasfot
Agambeu,oueofphllosophy'smostptofouudlessous-whlchlsalsoa les-
souaboutlauguage-lsthatdltect,exotetlc,systematlctteatmeutofldeas
doesuotexhaustthem.lotthlsteasouaspeclalldeaoftepteseutatlouaud
aspeclalldeaofptoseatecalledfot.
To tetututo The ldeaoftheulgma, oue ofthefew addltlous
madeto thetextofthesecoudltallauedltlouofIdca ePresclsasectlou
placedatthatchaptet'soutset.lultwehuduotoulyastatemeutofputpose
fotwhatwasoollquelyexptessedlutbeotbetsectlousofthlschaptet,out
alsoastateeutofputposefottbeoookasawbole.Tbemostfuudaeu-
talchatactetlstlcoftbeeulgma,wtltesAgamoeu,lstbattheexpectatlou
omystetyltglvestlsetolsluevetycaseuuavoldaolydlsappolutedfotthe
teasou that lts solutlou couslsts pteclselylu sbowlug that lt was ouly lu
appeatauceau eulgma ll, ,) . Thls lsuotoecausethe eulgmawas a
falseeulgmaaudmlghtthetebybesucceededbyattueoue, butbecausea
ttueeulgmalslusoluble.8ydehultloultssolutlouwouldtevealthatltwas
uotaueulgmaaftetall.ustastheteadeteutetsIdca ePrescbyttavetslug
a thteshold"-thestotyofamasclus aud hlsapotla-so too

oes he
otsheexltlt. ullkeltsptedecessot,thethtesholdattheeudofthewotk
beats a tltle. Kafka efeudedAgalust Hls lutetptetets." lullght ofthe
ptecedlug, lt should come as uo sutptlse that the book uowhete uames
Kafkaotauyofhlslutetptetets.ltbeglusbyuotlugthatthemostdlvetse
legeudscltculateaoouttheluexpllcable",ll,iy;iz;| ). Agambeutheutells
ataleaooutthecutteutguatdlausoftheTemple" ll, iy; iz;| , ttausla-
tloumodlhed) .Theoulycouteutoftheluexpllcable-audluthlsllesthe
subtletyofthedocttlue-couslstsluthecommaud-ttulyluexpllcable
xplalu ' . . . Outlllusttlousfathets-thepattlatchs-hudluguothlugto
explalu,seatchedtheltheattsfotawaytoexptessthlsmystetybutfotthe
luexpllcabletheyfouuduomotehttlugexptesslouthauexplauatloultsel
Theoulyway-theyatgued-toexplaluthatthetelsuothlugtoexplalu
lstoglveexplauatlous.Auyothetstauce, lucludlugslleuce, selzesouthe
IheParePen/iperesenmnen i|y
luexpllcabletooclumsllyexplauatlousaloueleave|tlutact. . . . Empt|ed
ofthe|tcouteut,explauat|ousthusfulhllthelttask.8utatthepo|utwhete
explauat|ous, byshow|ugtheltemptluess,leaveltbe, the |uexpl|cable|t-
selflslujeopatdy. Oulytheexplauat|ouswete, |uttuth,|uexpl|cable,aud
thelegeudwasluveutedto explaluthem. Whatwasuottobeexplalued
lspetfectlycoutaluedluwhatuolougetexpla|usauytlug" ,l, iyiy
iz] )
Reachlugthel|m|tsof lauguage,thetoplcof thehtstsectlouofThe
ldeaofMattet")otthellmltsofl|fe ,thetoplcoflts secoudsect|ou)|ud|-
catesfotAgambeuthatthetevelatlouswehopefotcauuevetcomeluthe
fotmofamessageota thlugllkeothetmessagesotth|ugs|uoutwotld.
Theycauuevetpteseutthemselvesasthed|scovetyofth|s otthatobj ect
ottheheat|ugofthlsotthatlujuuctlou.Theldeahetelsthatwhatoccuts
lutevelatotyexpetleucesofwhatevetuatutelsuevetthetevelatlouofthls
otthatpattlculatthlug,whlchwouldbeathlugllkeothetthlugsluthe
wotld, justas avocatlou lu the seuseluwh|chAgambeucouce|ves |t ls
uevetthevocatlou to do thlsotthatslugleaudpatt|culatthlug.Attue
tevelatlonlsatevelatlouofposslbllltles, auopeulugoftheheldofposslbll-
ltytathetthau ltsuattowlug.ltls,luothetwotds,whatDamasc|ussaw
uuwtltteuouthewaxtabletbefotehlm.Whatlstevealed lu suchexcep
tloual momeuts lsthat thete lsuo hual sectet thlug thatwe dlscovet|u
thlswotld.luauessayouElsaMotaute,Agambeudlscusseswhatshecalls
thecelebtatlouofthehlddeutteasute"luhetCanzene theHappyew
auduhappyMauy." Readlug|tsclos|ugllues,hecomestothecouclu
slouthatthetteasutelshlddeuuotbecausesomeoueotsometh|ugbut|ed
otcovetedltovetbutbecause|t|suowexposed. . . |utheabsoluteaudde
spa|tlugabseuceofallsectets" ,E,io] ) . Th|s|ssomethlug,howevet,
to be -llke8eujam|u's ldeaofptose. Outstate|s-tochoose
a tetm towhlchAgambeu lucteasluglytutusluthe books to follow
reneThlsueeduotbeexpetleucedasau|mpt|soumeut,apot|a,otloss,
audouthecouttatyltcauaudshouldbev|ewedasauoppottuu|ty. Such
teallzatlousfteeusftomwa|t|ugfotatevelatlouaudthetebyleavetheheld
ofoutactlvltyopeutouewposslb|l|tlesheteauduow
lu auessayou 8eujam|uwtltteu thtee yeats befotethepubl|cat|ou
ofIdea ePrese,Agambeucltestheptepatatotyuotefotthe Ihesesenthe
Phi/eseheHuteluwhlch8euj am|uevokesh|s"|deaofptose."fau
expetleuceoflauguagethatwouldalsobeacelebtat|ou"of|t8eujam|u
says, Thls|sthe|deaofptose|tselwhlch|suudetstoodbyallhumaus
r|| IhcParcPetcntia/ipeRcrcscntanen
just as the lauguage obltds ls uudetstood by those botu ou Suuday"
8euj amluGS, r. rz,).OthlspassageAgambeuwtltes, luatadlautab-
btevlatlou, 8eujamluexptessedtheteluoueohls deepest luteutlous" l,
| ,] , ttauslatlou modlhed). Thls allows us to uudetstaud bettetwhy
Agambeu chose to tltle hls bookas he dld. lu thls tagmeut 8eujamlu
alsowtltesthatthemesslaulcwotldlsthewotldocompleteaudlutegtal
actuallty"8eujamluGS,r. rz,,cltedbyAgambeulul,| ,] ) . lusuch
awotldocompleteaudlutegtalactuallty," 8eujamluwtltesluauothet
vatlaut, hlstotylsuotwtltteu. ltlscelebtatedasaestlval.Asaputlhed
estlval,howevet,ltdoesuothavethechatactetoacetemouyaudkuows
uohymus.ltslauguagelsateedptose,aptosethathasbtokeuthechalus
ofwtltlug" 8eujamlu GS, r . rz,,). lu thls estlvlty wlthout estlval the
dlvlsloubetweeusactedaudptoaueuolougethasauyhold. ltlswlthout
tltebecausethetelsuothlugtodlvlde sactedptactlcetomptoauelle
tom allewheteall lllumluatlouswouldbeptoaue oues. Such awotld
uolougetwaltsotauyttausceudeutalcousectatlouotculmluatlou, aud
whatltcelebtatesltcelebtatesuowThelauguageltemploys ls, tomout
petspectlve, aualmostlucoucelvableoue-ateedptose"thathasbto-
keuthechalusowtltlug."
luthe meautlme,thetels study-butstudycoucelvedoluauew
llght. luoueothesectlousadded to thesecoudedltlouoIdca ePresc
TheldeaoStudy,"weteadthatstudylscrsclutetmluable.Whoevet
hasspeutloug houts toamlugamoug bookswheuevetytagmeut, evety
codex, evetylettetoue comes actoss seems to opeu auew path, lututu
qulcklyabaudouedot a ueweucouutet . . . kuowsuotoulythatstudy
cauhaveuottueeud,butalsothatltdesltesuoue"ll,|,) .

Agambeu
coucludes, Thlsstina /cntc, thls shuttllugbetweeu bewlldetmeutaud
lucldlty,dlscovetyaudloss,passlouaudactloulsthethythmostudy"ll,
6||| ,ttauslatloumodlhed) .
IheParePenna/ipeReresentanen i|,
Scholium I. Jhe Art ol Citing
Vthout Quotation Mark
LlkeTheldeaoftheWotk"wlthwhlchltbeglus,theIdea ePrese
coutalusauumbetoflmagesoffetlugslleutcommeutatyouthesuttouud
lugatetlal.Thesecoudltallauedltlouteplacessomeoftheselmagesaud
addsstlll othetsTwo ofthemoststtlklugaddltlousatelmagesofWaltet
8eujamlu elthet lsaphotogtaph otdtawlugofthemauhlmself-au
uelthet,lufact,pteseutsltselfathtstslghtashavlugauythlugwhatsoevet
todowlth8eujamluThehtstlsacomposltestteetmaplluklugauout-
moded8etlluwlthauequallydatedaples,seelDl, ,). luatadlolutet
vlew,Agambeutefetstoexpetlmeutlugwlthascauuetaudlluklugalaue
lu8etlluwlthaboulevatdlulatls,"aswellassttesslugtohlsutetlocutots
that8eujamlu'sdesctlptlouofapleslsamougthehuestevetwtltteu,see
LD) lulluklugthesetwoctuclalcltlesou8eujamlu'slutellectualltlu
etaty,AgambeupethapshadlumludapassageftomtheBer/inerChren
i/luwhlch 8eujamlu,wtltlugto hlssou, uoted that fotalougtlme
fotyeats,lufact-lhavetoyedwlththeldeaoftepteseutlugthespaceof
llfe-blos den Raam ds e/e"Bies] -gtaphlcally thtoughthe fotm
ofa map" ,8eujamlu GS, . |). The secoud ofthese lmages added to
thelatetedltloulstheteptoductlouofapageofuoteswtltteuouyellowed
Saulellegtluostatlouatylu8eujamlu'sctyptlcaudueatlyllleglblehaud-
wtltlug,tecogulzableuotoulybythosewhohaveseeu8eujam|u'sdlfhcult
sctlpt,utalsobecauseltcoutaluswhatappeattobedtaftsof8eujamlu's
essayTheStotytellet",seelDl,,).
These vlsual cues coulduot be mote apptoptlate, fot Ida ePrese
owes aslugulat,lfdlscteet,debtto8eujamluaudto thevatletyoffotms
heexplotedluhlswotk.Aswesaweatllet, Idea ePrese

vetytltlecomes
ftomatematkmadeby8eujamluluauuupubllshedftagmeut.ohete
luthepagesofIda ePresedoesAgambeuuotethathls tltlelsbottowed
ftom 8eujamlu thls tematk, howevet, seems to coufotm pteclsely to
8eujamlu'sdeslgus lthasuotceasedto sttlke hls teadetsthat8eujamlu
had aslugulattelatlou to cltatlou. Heoucewtotethatthectaofthe
ctltlc"tequltedatheotyofctltlcalcltatlou",8euj amluGS,. ii).What
does lt meau to clte crinca/ Toaccompauyhls theoty, 8eujamlualso
developedactltlcalracnceofcltatlou.luhlsOnea Seet,helufotmed
hlsteadetsthat,cltatlouslumywotkatellkeatmedthleveswhoemetge
suddeulyaud tob lelsutelysttollets oftheltcouvlctlous" ,8euj amluGS,
r IhcParcPetcnna/ipeRrescntanen
. r,). He tbus uses cltatlous sttateglcally, they ate patt oftbe guetllla
watfate bewages agalust tbe ptecoucelved uotlous ofblsteadet. lu au
essayouKatl Ktaus,8eujamluslugles blm outfot bls dlabollcalskllllu
cltatlou, audfot bls abllltyto makecltatlousat ouce "save audpuulsh"
,8eujamlu GS, z.,,ff. ). 8utlt ls lu aftagmeutftom bls Hrcades Preect
tbat8eujamlumakesblsmostpuzzllugclalmsaboutcltatlou. Tbetebe
sttesses tbe uecessltyofcultlvatlug "tbe att ofcltlugwltbout quotatlou
matks,8eujamlnGS, , ,z).
Tbetecaubellttledoubttbatfot8eujamlu"tbeattofcltlngwltbout
quotatlou matks was a ptovocatlve fotmula wltb a ptovocatlve luteut.
betewasauuuquestlouablemeasuteofsubvetsloulult,slmllatto tbat
wblcb 8eujamlusawln sutteallst mentagc whlcb lu tutnwould lufotm
tbecltatlonaldearncmcntoftbeLetttlstsandSltuatloulsts. 8utappeat
auces notwltbstandlug, ltwas uotau apologyfotplaglatlsm otfalsecl-
tatlou, aud eveu less was lt a plea fot pbllologlcal lazluess, au auatcblc
callfottbedeatboftbeautbotottbetetmluatlouofauautbot-fuuctlou.
Altbougb8eujamluoffets no futtbetexplanatlon ofwbatbeeuvlsloued
uudetthebeadlugoftblsspeclalatt,ltcleatlyluvolvedatecouceptuallza-
tlouofcentctaudaatheri audbasmucblucommouwltbAgambeus
dlaguosls ofcoutempotatyacademlcptoseaspetfuuctotyaudasbavlug
dlstauced ltselfftomau autbeutlc expetleuceoflauguageaudlts llmlts.
uotlugauautbototautbotltyouamattetlsawayofpaylugtespectto
tbelt otlgluallty, but as 8eujamluwell kuewaudofteu obsetved, cltlug
autbotltlescauj ustasofteubeusedtoeudadebateastobegluoue.

To
cltewltboutquotatloumatkslsto offettbeldeawltboutthelmptlmatut
ofauautbototautbotlty.Tblstequltesoftheldeatbatltstaudotfallou
ltsowumetltsauduotuudautomatlcsuppottftomltsllueage.lsewbete
lu IhcHrcadcs Preect 8eujamlu compates cltatloual footuotes to bllls
sllpped uudet tbegattets ofwomeufot blte. Hls seusltlvltyto tbe less
teputable sldes ofcltatlou was pattlculatly keeu, aud "tbe att ofcltlug
wltboutquotatloumatkswas,fotblm, tobeptactlcedlutbeuameofa
putetcltatlououetbatcould botb "saveaud"puulsh."
ueoftbeltoulesoftbectltlcaladulatlouwltbwblcb8eujamlus
wotkswetebelatedlymetlsbowofteubelscltedasauautbotlty.Atevlewet
ofoueofAgambeusmote teceutbooksclalmedtbat"Agambeudoesuot
speakfotblmselbutlsaulmltatotofvolcesEinStimmenimitater| . . . ev-
etytbltdtematkofblslu tblsvolumelsamoteotlessfteepatodyofoue
ftomWaltet8eujamlu",Kaubezcc,,|r)

Tblstematkshowsaseusltlvlty
IherePetenna/iperesenmen i| ;
toAgambeu'ssoutcesbutm|ssessometh|ugfuudameutalabouthowthey
ate used. Agambeu's method ofeugag|ugw|th 8eujam|u|suu|queaud
complex, but|t|suotpatod|c. Mote thau auy othet th|uketofh|sgeu
etat|ou,Agambeuhastakeuset|ously8eujam|u's|deaofc|tat|ouw|thout
quotat|ou matks. otouly d|d he ded|cate asect|ouof Ihe Iime Ihat
Remainsto d|scuss|ugthemot|ves beh|udth|ss|ugulatatt, buthe has
ofteu ptact|ced|t h|mself-auduowhetemotethau|uIdea ePrese,see
TTR,,f zf] ) .
r IhcParcPetcntia/ipeRcrcscnmnen
Scholium II. Jhe Idea ot enj amin
ustas Ida ePresccau bedlvldedlutoau cxetcricaudau csetcric
couteut, so too cau Agambeu's passlouate eugagemeut wltb 8eujamlu.
We saweatllettbeabsolutelydeclslve luRueucetbat 8eujamluexetclsed
ou Agamoeu. Tbls cxetcric couteut ls fouud lu Agambeu's pbllologlcal
wotkou8eujamluaudbastakeutbemostvatledfotms.Asuotedeatllet,
Agabeulsuotoulyoueof8eujamlu'smostkuowledgeableaudluslgbt-
ful commeutatots, be also setved fot auyyeats as edltotoftbe ltallau
edltlou of8euj amlu's completewotks. 8eyoud mauaglug ctltlcal aud
edltotlal affalts, Agambeu couducted tbe tematkable detectlvewotk of
uneattblugbltbettolosttexts. Asbasofteu beeuuoted, 8eujamlu'suual
wotkswetesubjecttogteatttavallsoutbeltwaytoptlut.Tbemauusctlpts
aud otbet matetlals tbat 8eujamlu left lu bls latls apattmeutwbeu be
RedtbecltywetecouuscatedbytbeGetmau occupylugfotceaudtbeu,
tbtougbacutlousettot,uledwltbtbeatcblvesoftbePariscrIagcszcitan
lu lebtuatyr, tbe Gestapootdetedtbe desttuctlouoftblsatcblve,but
tbewotketssabotagedtblsattempt,tbetebysavlugtbesematetlals ,aloug
wltb8eujamlu's)ftomdesttuctlou,seeScbolemr,,rff. ,8eujamluGS,
.,z,)TbeseatcblveswetetakeubytbeRusslausaudkeptfotufteeuyeats
befotebelugtetutuedtoGetmauylurcaudplacedluaGetmauDem-
octatlcRepubllcatcblve,utstlulotsdamaudtbeulu8etllu. ulylur,
audrwasaccessgtautedtoscbolats.
Tblswas uot, bowevet, tbeoulysutptlslugdlscovetyoflts sott.A
secoudtecovetyoflost matetlal came about tbtougbAgambeu'suudlug
lu tbe Bi//iethqacatiena/cau lmpottaut setofpapetstbat 8eujamlu
badeuttustedtoGeotges8atallleaudtbatbadgouemlsslug,ptesumably
sepatatedftomtbe papets tbatau aglug 8atalllebelped llette Mlssacto
uud lu otdet to seud tbem toAdotuo luAmetlca. 8atalllebellevedtbat
all oftbe papets 8eujamlu bad left wltb blm bad beeu tecoveted, but
Agambeu's detalled study oftbe cottespoudeuce gave tlse to doubts ou
tbls mattet, aud aftet a moutb ofseatcblug tbtougb tbe atcblves be at
lastdlscovetedtbemlsslugmauusctlptsaudpapetslurr. Tbesepapets
wete uotAgambeu' s ouly uud. He also dlscoveted typesctlptssavedby
8eujamlu's ftleudHetbett8elmote-8lumeutballur, tbesetemalulu
Agambeu's possesslou, as does a Handcxcm/arof8euj amlu's Ihcscs en
thcPhi/eseheHiste, tbeotlgluofwblcb,"uotetbeplquededltotsof
IheParePetenna/iperesenmnen :q
8eujamlu'scompletewotks,"thepetsoulupossesslouofthemAgambeu|
guatdsluslleuce",8euj amluGS, ;,z6) .

Alougslde thls astoulshlug phllologlcal heldwotk ,cousldetlughow

mauyothet detectlves wete ou the case),Agambeu has made lmpottaut
cottectlousto cettalu of8eujamlu's textsalteadylu ptlut. The mostte-
matkableofthese coucetu asluglelettet each. Oueofthem lsfouud lu
State eExccnen, whete heshowsthatthe Getmau edltots' emeudatlou
ofthephtaseEsg/tcinc/arec/eEschate/ege,"thetelsa8atoqueeschatol-
ogy")toltsopposlte,Esg/t/eine/arec/eEschate/ege,"thetelsuobatque
eschatology"),waspetfectlylllegltlmateaudwasauovethastyteactlouto
theltluabllltytofollowthedlfhcultatgumeutthat8eujamluwasmaklug
,seeS,,6,] ). Thlsphllologlcalatteutveuesslsoueveumotelmptesslve
dlsplaylu Ihc IimeIhatRcmainswhete,luglosslugthesuspeuslouofthe
dlvlslousthatsepatatemeu,suchasew/Geutlle,cltcumclsed/uucltcum-
clsed,mattledslugle,audsofotth),Agambeudltectshlsteadetsatteutlou
toacutlouspassagelutheHrcadesPreectwhete8eujamluemploysaslu-
gulatmetaphotfotthedlvlsloubetweeuwhatcamebefoteaudwhatcame
aftetaglveuhlstotlcaleveut. Hedesctlbesltasbelug"llkealluedlvlded
by theApolloulau luclslou aieeineStrec/e, die nachdemaenhcn
Schnittgetei/tair" ,8eujamluGS, ,.,).Agambeupolutsout thatthls
compatlsou,asltstaudslutheGetmauctltlcaledltlouof8eujamlu'swotks,
makesuoseuse,fotuowheteluGteekmythologylsthetetefeteucetoau
polloulauluclslou."8euj amlu'shaudwtltlugwasuototlouslydlfhcultto
declphet,towhlchauyteadetoffacslmllesof8eujamlu'smauusctlptscau
attest).tetexamlulugthemauusctlpt,Agambeusuggestedthtalthough
the llleglble ilslufactaullleglble i, thehalfleglble elsahalfleglble e
8eujamlu was uot tefettlug to the godApollo-kuowu fot uo uotable
dlvlslouotcut-buttothepalutetApelles ,seeTT, ,o ,z|)Agambeu
tecallsllluytheEldet'saccouutofhowApellespaldavlslttofellowpalutet
ltotogeuesaud,outhlsoccasloudlsplaylugthehelghtofhlspalutetlyatt,
dlvldedlutwoauluctedlblyhuelluedtawubyltotogeues-adlscovety
he used, aswewlll seelatet, to elucldate a mattetlylug atthe ceutet of
8eujamlu' s-audhlsowu-thought.
luaddltloutoptovldlugthesephllologlcalsetvlces bothbefoteaud
aftetIdea ePrese, Agambeu haswtltteu audpubllshed etudlte aud lu-
slghtfulstudlesofspeclhc questlousaudptoblemslu8eujamlu'swotks,
such as "Waltet 8eujamlu aud the Demoulc Happluess audHlstotlcal
r ,c IhcParcPetcnna/ipercscntanen
Redemptlou" aud "Lauguage aud Hlstot. Llugulstlc aud Hlstotlcal
ategotles lu 8euj amlu's Tbougbt" ,botb collected lu Petcnna/itics) .
He bas focused bls exegeses ou tbose couceptlous tbat bave beeu most
teslstaut to uudetstaudlug, sucb as tbe telatlousblp oftbe blstotlcal to
tbe llugulstlc, aswell as sucb tetms as tbe mcssianicaud tbe dia/ccnca/
imagc, aud bas employed classlcal pbllologlcal atgumeutatlou to make
hlsclalms. Howevet, lt ls uotoulylutbe ttadltloualmodesofauuota-
tlou, commeutaty, ctltlclsm, cottectlou, aud pbllologlcal dlscovety tbat
Agambeu bas eugagedwltb 8eujamlus tbougbt. Alougslde tbls cxetcric
eugagemeuttbetelsauequallylmpottautcsetcricoue lublswotks, aud lt
lstblseugagemeuttbatlsousucbsttlklugdlsplayluIdca ePresc.
IhcParcPetcn/iercscnmnen i , i
Scholium I I I . Reading Vat Vas Mever Vritten
ueoftbesttaugestexptesslous luAgameu'swtltlugls "teadlug
wbatwasuevetwtltteu" ,see,fotlustauce,l, , ,o] ,audl,i, z,,] ) . lts
sttaugeuess stems ftomWaltet 8eujamlu, wbo, altbougb bewas uot|ts
autbot,tepeatedlyemployedltlutbeuotesfotblsHrcadcsPrecctlutbe
mostteveallugofblsusesoftbe pbtase, 8eujamluwtltestbattbe "ttue
blstotlau" ls be otsbewbo teads"wbatbasuevetbeeuwtltteu" lu "tbe
ookofllfe" ,8euj amlu GS, i. iz,). Wbat task does 8eujam|u couude
totbe "ttueblstotlau,"audwbylsAgameu solutetested|ult` Do botb
meumeaumetelytbeeffotttoteadbetweeutbellues,toteadtbesutext
oftexts-otlstbetesometblugmotetbeyateseeklugtoexptesstbtou
tblspatadoxlcallujuuctlou`
lu IhcEnde IheaghtAgameuwtltes, "Wespeakwltbtbevolce
wedouotbave,audwblcbbasuevetbeeuwtltteu,"audaltbougbtbeclta-
tlouftom8eujamlulswltboutquotatloumatks,Agameudoesd|techls
teadettoasoutce.nngenc,|,|"l,,) .Wbeuwetututotb|spassagewe
uudAutlgouesaylugtoCteou,"ldlduottb|ukauytblugwblcbyoupto
cla|medsttougeuougbtoletamottalovettldetbegods audtbe|tuuwt|t-
teuauduucbaugluglaws"Hntigenc,|,|).Howevetp|votalamomeuttb|s
mayelutbeplay, tbeteadlugoftbeseuuwtltteuauduuchaug|ugd|v|ue
laws,asopposedtotbecbauglugmottalouesthatCteoutepteseuts) does
uotseemtocottespoudtowbatAgameubasevokedelsewhetewltbth|s
fotmula, coucetued asltlswltb tbed|vlde betweeu tbe mottal aud tbe
dlvlue, audbetweeupt|vateaudpubllcobl|gatlous.ElsewheteAgameu
employs8eujamlu's eulgmatlcpbtaseto speakofAyWatutgs aualy-
ses of tbe ftescoes lu tbe Scblfauolapalace as "teadlugwbatwas uevet
wtltteu" lutboselmages ,, ;) .AsAgameu makes cleat, Watutg|s
uotteadluglutotboselmagessometb|uguotalteadypteseut|utbem.He
ls lusteadlook|ug aud teadlugwltbmoteatteut|ouaud etud|tlou tbau
auyoue bad lu ceututles, aud ls tbeteby able to solvetbe lcouogtapb|c
tlddle tbe lmages bad loug posed. 8ut wbeu we tutu ftom Watutg's
patbbteaklug lcouogtapblcal studyackto Agameuwe see sometblug
mote tbau metely luslgbtful teadlug. lu glosslugwbatWatutg called
tbe"dyuamogtams" -lltetally,slguscbatgedwltbpoteut|allty-fouudlu
tboseftescoes,Agameusays, "Tbe beaveuly coustellat|ous ate, |u tb|s
seuse, tbe ot|glual textluwblcbtbe lmagluatlou teads thatwh|chwas
uevetwtltteu" ,, ;) . Wbat, tbeu, doestblscut|ousfotmof"tead|ug"
r , z IhcParcPetcnna/ipercscntanen
deuote Does lt slmply tefetto laws uuwtltteu because tbey belouguot
to tbe spbete oftbee/is ,wbat teou tepteseuts) but to tbe ei/es ,tbe
uuwtltteulawsoffamllybouotaudobllgatlou tbatAutlgouefollowed) `
lsltteadluglutbeexteudedseusetbat8eujamlumlgbtbaveglveutobls
lutetestluoccultputsultssucbasasttologyaudgtapbology,audtoblsex-
petlmeutswltbbasblsbaudoplum,wbetebybettledtotead"tbatwblcb
wasuevetwtltteu because lt luvolves teadlug tbatwblcbls luexptesslble
lulauguage
ueauswetlstbat8eujamlu-audlublswake,Agambeulsas-
pltlug to tead uot justwotds but, lmptobably euougb, gcstarcs. lu tbe
famously deuse u tbe Mlmetlc apaclty, 8euj amlu speaks of tbe
ttauslatlou oftbe mlmetlc capacltyftom tbe tealm ofdauce, asttology,
audtbeexamluatlouoftbeeuttallsofsactluclalaulmals-tealmsdltectly
expetleucedtbtougbtbeseuses-towbatbecallstbe inscnsi//ctealmof
wtltlug, wblcbcoustltuteswbatbe calls tbefullestatcblveofuouseusu
ous tesemblauce ,8eujamlu GS, z. zr,) . 8euj amlusaysoftbls teadlug
ofwbatwas uevetwtltteu tbat tbls teadlug ls tbe oldest. tbe teadlug
befote all lauguages das Lcscn oeracrSrachc| ,8eujamlu GS, z. zr,) .
Tblsoldestteadlugls uottbeu ateadlugofa couteut commuulcated lu
lauguage,butsometblugmucbclosettoateadlugoftbecommuulcatlvlty
oflauguageltsel Tbeteadlugbefotealllauguage"lstbeu tbeteadlug
oftbatwblcbwasuevetwtltteulutbatwbatbasuevetbeeuwtltteuaud
yetlsteadlspteclselywbatcauuotbewtltteu,otsald,lulauguage.
Tbeauswettotbequestlouposedeatlletastowbatkludofteadlug
8eujamlulsluvokluglstbeubotbslmpleaudcomplex.Tobegluwltb,ltls
ludeeduotteadlugluauylltetalseuse,butlusteadafotmoftbluklug
atbluklugaboutetcntia/iToexptess tbls mostfuudameutalptoblem,
tbe supteme tbemeofmetapbyslcs,Atlstotleevoked blswaxtabletou
wblcbuotblugbad,yet)beeuwtltteu.8eujamlu'seulgmatlcpbtase-aud
lublswake,Agambeu'scltatlousoflt-offets apatapbtaseofAtlstotle's
lmage.To teadwbatwasuevetwtltteulsawayofteadlugtbepoteutlallty
lubetlug lu tbougbt aud llfe. Sucb lmages asAtlstotle'swax tablet aud
sucbfotmulaeas8eujamlu'steadlugwbatwasuevetwtltteu"teBectbow
out tbluklugabout poteutlalltyls coudltlouedby actual cltcumstauces.
fuecessltywetblukofpoteutlalltytbtougbsomefotmofactuallty,aud
tblsappllesaswelltoteadlugasltdoes to otbetactlvltles. 8utteadlugls
always mote tbau tbe meteptocesslugofapage-tbestocklug, stotlug,
audullugofuults offact otuctlou. Wbeuwetead,weasslmllate botb
IhcrcPetcnna/iesmnen I j ]
tbetualltyoutbepagel uftoutofus audsometblugmote-wbatwe
outselves btlugto tbeteadlugtable, tbe mostgeuetal uameofwblcb ls
tbepoteutlalltyoftbougbt.Toteadwbatbasuevetbeeuwtltteulstbusto
teadluacteatlvefasblou-tbeoulysottofteadlugtbat,fotAgambeu,ls
ttulywottboutwblle.
r , IhcParcPetcn/ipecrcscntanen
Scholium IV. Jhe Storyteller
ueoftbegtoupsof8eujamlu'smauusctlptstbatAgambeutecov-
etedlsuotesfotblsfamousessayTbeStotytellet.Glveutbesottofbook
tbatca ePresclsltsbouldcomeasllttlesutptlsetbatAgambeucbose
toteptoduceapageoftboseuoteslultseell,). Tblsluclusloulsapt
uotoulyoecauseoftbebook's lutlmatecouuectlouto auumbetofldeas
ftom 8euj amlu'swotks butalsobecauseoftbestotytelllugelemeuttbat
lsattbefoteoftbewotk.
fca ePrescAgamoeulatettematked, lttledto tesuscltatetbe
tesoutcesofwbat ollescalledslmplefotms.tbeapology,tbeapbotlsm,tbe
auecdote,tbeeulgma,tbefable,lGA,,z) . Wbattbesesbottaudslmple
fotmsbavelucommou lstbelt narratocelemeut, aud tbls lsauelemeut
tbatAgambeu employedwltb ueweuetgyluIca ePresc, aud tbatbas
temaluedafuudameutalaspectofblswtltluglutbeyeatssluce.Agambeu
begau auessaycomposed dutlugtbesame petlod as Ica ePrescasfol-
lows. utlugtbewlutetofr,, lutbeteglouofag-Hammadl ,Hlgb
gypt) , tbltteeu papytus codlces wete fottultously fouud by a gtoup of
fellablu, butledlu tbe saudluau eattbeuwatejat. Tbe codlcesbad be-
louged to a Guostlcllbtaty, ttausctlbedluoptlc,wblcbdatedbackto
about tbe mlddle oftbe fouttb ceututyA.D. ltwas ulgbt, tbe fellablu,
tlted,satdowutotest. Suddeulytbealtgtewcoldet,asbappeuslutbese
teglous. Tbefellablutotetbepagesoftbteeoftbesecodlces, covetedwltb
lucomptebeuslble cbatactets, audbututtbem luotdet to beatwatetfot
tbelttea. . . . lasslugftombaud tobaud,botbtbeteusutvlvlugcodlces
audtbeftagmeutsoftbeotbettbteeeudedupoutbedeskofTogoMlua,
dltectotoftbe optlcMuseum lu alto . . . ,Al, r) . Tbesubsequeut
fateoftbesesctollslswellkuowu,butofspeclallutetestfotgtasplugtbe
fotms employed lu ca ePresc ls tbe stotytelllug fotm tbatAgambeu
adoptsbete.
Tblslsbyuomeausapassluglutetesteltbetluslmplefotmsotlu
uattatlveapptoacbes, audludeedmauyessays ftomtbeseyeats couldbe
added totbellstofexamples. llfteeuyeats latet, Ihc IimcIhatRcmains
lucludedasectlououtbeptopetuudetstaudlugofgess ascoucetustbe
legeudstbatbavebeeubaudeddowuabouttbellfeoflaul) ,audtbebook
tbatfollowslt, IhcOcnMananHnima/, beglusluadlstluctlyuatta-
tlve key. lu Mllaus i//ietcca Hm/resianatbete ls to be fouud a copy
ofa Hebtew 8lble datlug ftom tbe tbltteeutb ceututy aud coutalulug
IhcParcPetcnna/iercscntanen : j j
pteclousmlulatutes 0 4 0 " ,O, I ] , ttauslatloumodlhed Stlllmotete-
ceutly, Agambeu's essay"ymphae" lsdedlcatedtoexplotlugWatbutg's
couceptlou ofthelmagebut lucludes uumetousuattatlveasldes, suchas
tbecutlousstotyoftheldlosyuctatlcautodldactattlstHeutyDatget,te
latedwlthsucbdetallsas Datget' s hlcagoaddtessaudthepteclsedate
wbeubls laudlotdeutetedbls apattmeut aud dlscoveted the fautast|cal
wotksbehadleftbehlud.lutthetlustauceswouldoulybelabotthepolut,
but uudetstaudlugAgambeu's ldeaofptose,whlchlsalso hls ldeaofa
cteatlvectltlclsmeuvlslouedlu Stanzs,tequltesthathls teadet atteudto
tbeseslmplefotmsaudtheuattatlvesthataccompauythem
LMA JLK VL
!rOm oQcctacc tO ohcKnah.
Ihc Cming Cmmanip
Asked lu au lutetvlew followlug tbe publlcatlou ofIdca e Presc
wbetbettbetewas acouuectloubetweeublsteRectlousou lauguageaud
tboseoupolltlcsAgambeuteplled,es,apowetful couuectlou,"audtbe
teasoubegavewasasslmpleasltwassweeplug. becauselauguagelstbe
commou elemeuttbatlluksallmauklud" ,lGA, ,,) . ltlstblsldeaofa
commou elemeut tbat lluks tbewotks ftom IhcMan theat Centcnt
tbtougbca ePrescto tbemoteexpllcltlypolltlcalteRectlousofAgam-
beusuextbook, IhcCemingCemmanipaudtbose,sucbasHemeSaccr,
tbatwlllfollowlt.
Altbougb lt beglus a uewatcofpolltlcal teRectlou, lu botb fotm
aud couteut, Ihc Ceming Cemmanit closely tesembles tbe wotk tbat
ptecededlt. TbeacademlcappatatusofAgambeusutstfoutbooks , Ihc
Man witheat Centcnt, Stanzas, Inn andiste, aud Langagc and
cath)-tbelt footuotes, blbllogtapblcal tefeteuces, aud expllclt lluks
betweeu sectlous-ate abaudouedlu favot ofa mote couceuttated aud
ftagmeutatyldeaofptose. Tbetels, bowevet, afuudameutal dlffeteuce
betweeu tbe two books. lu subtle aud ludltect fasblou, Idca ePrescll-
lusttated sometblug tbat ouly subtlety aud ludltectlou could lllusttate.
bow easlly dltecttbematlc tteatmeut ofquestlous cau mlss tbelt polut,
audbowexpectatlousoftevelatloucaumlsleadusluouttepteseutatlous
ofutst aud uual tblugs. Wbeteas tbe eatllet wotk offeted ldeas," tbe
latetoueoffetssometblugtbatAgambeuwlllcall,luthlswotkaudtbose
to come, aradigms-a wblcb wlll spatk sucb couttovetsy lu Heme
FremSccta/cteShc/inah i , ;
SaccraudRcmnantseHaschuitz.As Agambeutemludshlsteadetl uIhc
CemingCemmani,thetetmaradigmslmplymeaus"example."etashe
sbowslubotbtblswotkaudlatetoues,exemplatltylsuevetaslmplemat-
tet.fwbat,tbeu,atetheludlvldualsectlousofhlsslxthbookcxam/csot
araigsTbeauswetlsglveulutbewotk'stltle thccemingcemmani
Jhe Idea ot Communi
q
IhcCemingCemmaniwaspubllshedlu io audthusluthelm-
medlateaftetmathofthefallofthe8etlluWall. usutptlslugly,ltsteBec-
tlousoucemmaniatecloselylluked-tobottowachaptettltleftomAg-
ambeu'sptecedlugbook-to"TheldeaofCommuulsm."8ut hcCeming
Cemmanils atespouseuot metelytothegeopolltlcaleveutsofltsday,
butalsoto the coutluuatlouofadebateou theldeaofcommuulty.Atthe
ceutet oftbls debatewetethecommuualcouceptlousaudexpetleucesof
Geotges8atallle.lui,,Agambeu'sftleudeauLucNaucypubllshedau
essayoutbosecouceptlousaudexpetleuceswlthatltlebottowedftom8a-
tallle "TbeluopetatlveCommuulty."Thatsameyeat,Mautlce8lauchot
publlsheda bookleugth espousetoNaucy'sessayeutltled Ihcnaiea
a//Cemmani. 8lauchot'sbookboteaueplgtaphftom8atallle-"The
commuultyofthosewhohaveuocommuulty"-aud,takeualougsldehls
tltle,ltseemedtomakeacleatstatemeut.Thepolutof8lauchot'sspecula-
tlouswasuottodlsavowtheldeaofcommuulty, but|usteadtohuduew
fotmsfotlt.
8lauchot's Ihcnaoeua//Cemmanisoughttofotmauewldeaof
commuultybyuegatlugallthose thlugs thathadhlthetto beeu glveuas
otgaulzlugptluclplesfotcommuultles. Theldeaofcommuultyappeas,
atutstslght,petfectlyluuoceut,focusedasltlsouacommoualltyofex
petleuceauddedlcatedtobtluglugaboutthecommougoalofacommou
good.8ut8lauchottecallsfothlsteadetstheldeologlcalusestowh|chlt
basbeeuputaudthecatasttophlctesultsthathaveeusued.Tocoucelveofa
uewcommuultytbatcouldtakeupthecommuulstBagwhetelthadbeeu
abaudoued luvolved, fot hlm, explotlug "the appateutlyhealthy sainc|
otlgluofthemostuoxlous maain| totalltatlaulsm",8lauchoti,,).
8lauchotsaw hls depattedftleud 8atallle's tottuous teBect|ous ou
commuulty-hlled as theywete wlth such quallhcatlous as "uegat|ve,"
"l mposslble," "luopetatlve," aud"luavowable"-assolmpottautecause
r , Fremcctac/teShc/inah
tbeycattledtbeclatltyofdespetatlou.lu8atallle'swake,8aucbotasplted
to sketcb au ldea ofa commuulty tbat would uot be subject to belug
co-opted by totalltatlau fotces. lt bad seemed to 8atallle tbat tbe ouly
commuultytbatwouldbelmmuuetotblsdaugetwouldbeacommuulty
tbatoffeteduoctltetlafotexcluslouwbatsoevet.ctltetlafotexcluslou
meaut,ofcoutse,uoctltetlafotclusloueltbet,audbetelswbetetbedlf
cultyaudtbesttaugeuessoftbetojecttstbecameapateut.Wbatevet
fotmltmlgbttake, ltwascleattbatsucbacommuultycouldbaveuoset
tequltemeutsauduocoudltlousfotoelouglug.
8laucbot' s bookdlduotspelltbe eudoftbls dlscusslou, audtbtee
yeatslatet,lur,aucypubllsbedauexpauslouofblseatlletldeasou
tbe questlou ,luabookemploylugtbesametltleasblslultlalessay, Ihc
Inecranoc Cemmani) . Asbad 8laucbot, aucy cbose uot to focusou
coucteteaualysesofludlvldualcommuultlesluctlsls-sucbascommuulst
oues-lufavotofatteudlugtoaglobalctlslslutbevetyldeaofcommu-
ulty.TbetelgulugWestetucouceptlou ofcommuultyseemedto aucy
able ouly to exptess ltselfas luexptesslble ,tbe luavowable commuulty)
ot to dlsplayltselfas dysfuuctloual,tbeluopetatlvecommuulty), audfot
tblsteasouwasludespetateueedoftefotmulatlou.Asbadbeeublslultlal
essay, aucy'sbookwasbotbdlaguostlcauddecousttuctlve.lutbemost
cultutally ptevaleut ldeas ofommuultybe fouud a petvaslve uostalgla
fotalost "otlglualcommuulty" ofouesottotauotbetwboseoutlluebe
eudeavoted to ttace-aud to decousttuct. "Tbelost otbtokeucommu-
ulty,"bewtote, "caubeexempllhedluallkludsofways audbyallkluds
ofpatadlgms.tbeuatutalfamlly, tbeAtbeulauclty,tbeRomauRepubllc,
tbehtstbtlstlaucommuulty,cotpotatlous,commuues,btotbetboods
ltlsalwaysamattetofalostageluwblcbcommuultywastlgbtlywoveu
audbeldtogetbetbybatmoulousbouds. . . botuofofltsowulmmaueut
uulty, lutlmacy aud autouomy" ,aucy rr, ). Tbls uostalglc ldea of
auotlglualcommuultywas, fotaucy, best exptessedtbtougb afotelgu
tetmtbeGetmauwotd Ccmcinscha, wltbltsfocusoucommoualltyof
meaulugaudactlou.pposedtotblsldeaofcommuultywaswbataucy
sawblmselfllvluglua Ccscdscha, a"soclety"wltbltsdallyalleuatlous
audltsgtaduallossofcommouuotms,values,audmeaulug.
Tbe tespouse tbat aucyoffeted to coutempotatysoclety's alleu-
atedldeaofcommuultywasaulujuuctloutobewatyofappealstoalost
"otlglual commuulty""wbetbet tbls . . . lseffectlvely tettospectlve ot
wbetbet,dlstegatdlugtbetealltlesoftbepast, ltcousttuctslmagesoftbls
FremSecmc/teShe/inah i ,
past 1 tbesakeof auldealot ptospectlvevlslou" ,Naucyii,1O) . Sucb
ptomsedtetutustoau"otlglualcommuulty,"bewascateful tosttess,wete
mostofteu made lu tbe uame ofcousolldatlugstate powe

aud ueuttal
lzlugpolltlcaldlsseut. aucyalso uoted tbattblswasuotmetelyamod-
etuptoblem. "Wesbouldbesusplclousoftblscousclousuess,"bewtote,
becauselt seems tobaveaccompauled tbeWestetuwotldftomltsvety
begluulugs,atevetymomeutlublstoty, tbe Occldeutbasteudetedltself
vuluetabletotbeuostalglafotamoteatcbalccommuultytbatbasdlsap-
peated" ,aucyii,1O) . Tbepolltlcalcousequeucesoftblsuostalglaate,
asaucylscatefultopolutout,auytblugbutuegllglbleModetuhlstoty
lstlcblucaseswbeteauappealtoau"otlglual," "uutaluted," "lutegtal,"
aud fully "uulhed" commuulty bas beeu put to the datkest ofeuds
tbatsame"appateutlybealtbyotlgluoftbemostuoxloustotalltatlaulsm"
evokedby8laucbot.ltlstblspattofoutcommuultles-ashatedlouglug
fota"lost"putlty-tbattotalltatlaupolltlcalmovemeutshaveused asa
tatloualefotvloleutlyputglugaudputllugthebodypolltlc.FotNaucy,
asfot8lauchot, out telgulugWestetucouceptlousofcommuultyatelu
ueedoffuudameutaltevlsloubecauseofbowlutlmatelytbeybavebecome
llukedtoldeasofuatloual,taclal, ottellglousuultyaudputlty.lftheldea
ofcommuulty, aud a cottespoudlug ldea ofcommuulsm, ls to sutvlve
lts pteseutctlsls, fot both 8laucbot aud Naucylt ls oulyou the coudl-
tloutbatltdlscovetuewmeausfotdlscusslugwhatcommuultleshavelu
commou.
lt ls agalust tbe backdtop fotmed by thls debate tbat Agambeu
publlsbedblslessdespoudeutlytltled IheCemingCemmani

To aslg-
ulhcaut exteut bls stattlugpolutwas tbe sameas that of8lauchotaud
Naucy-justas ltwould befotwotkstbat appeated soou aet lt, such
as 8euedlctAudetsou's Imagned Cemmanines iy) aud Dettlda's Ihe
Pe/itics eFricnh i|) All ofthese tblukets begau byuotlugtbat
commuultlesbavealwaysbadctltetlafotbelouglugaudhavealwaysotga-
ulzed tbemselves atouud these ctltetla-whethetuatloual,geogtaphlcal,
taclal, tellglous, ot otbet. veu wbeu tbe coudltlous ofbelouglug have
beeu llbetally fotmulated aud Bexlbly lutetpteted, the tesult has uoue-
tbelesstoutluelyluvolvedexcluslouaudlsolatlou,audsoouetotlatetthe
putlty ofldeutlty aud tbe ptotectlou ofteal ot symbollc tesoutces has
becomeasubjectofvloleutcouteutlou.luthefaceofthesefacts,allthese
tbluketssttovetofotmulateauldeaofcommuultythatwouldbelmmuue
r c FremScctac/cteShc/inah
to bostlle takeovet, aud all tau up agalust tbe tbeotetlcal aud ptactlcal
ptoblemposedbyacommuultywltboutctltetlafotbelouglug.
Do all commuultles uot ueed, lfuot a commou euemy, at least a
uulfylugpolutaudatallylugctysoasto boudtogetbetasacommuulty
8otb 8laucbot aud aucy-calllugou tbe Heldeggetlau pbllosopbeme
Mitscin be|u-togetbet -evoke a commuulty tbat bas lu commou a
posslbllltyto /ctecthcrancessi/i/itd tte-eusemble] ,8laucbotr,,
,z ltallcs lu otlglual) . bls opeu aud dlfcult-to-deue belug togetbet
wouldtemaluattbeceutetofaucys teRectlous-mostptomlueutlylu
blscinSina/rP/ara/,r) -butwouldalsotemaluexceptlouallydlf
cultto fotmulatelucouctetetetms lsltposslbleto coucelve ofacom
muultywbosemembetssbateuotblugbutbelugudlfso,bowdoesoue
fotm sucba commouallty Llk 8laucbotaudaucy, Agambeu ptoved
equallylutetestedlusucbabelugtogetbet,"butbeapptoacbedtbeques
tloubyasetlesofsutptlslugtoutes.
8atallle's teRectlous ou tadlcal cbauge lu tbeldeaofcommuulty
wetelutlmatelyllukedtoblsldeasouHegel 'sdlalectlc,audltsbouldcome
asuosutptlsetbat8laucbot,aucy, audDettldaalsofollowedtblsfuu
dameutaltbtead.Accotdlugtoalltbtee,Hegelteplledtotbecommuual
questlouoftbetelatlouofludlvldualpatttopolltlcalwbolewltbthedla
lectlc. Succeedluggeuetatlous ofpbllosopbets, ftom Kletkegaatd to tbe
pteseut,sawHegel scouceptlouoftbetelatlouofpattlculattouulvetsal,
patttowbole,astbeballmatkofblsgeulusaudasafeatofpbllosopblcal
btllllaucetbatltseemedlmposslbletosutpassotescapeftom. luapoem
wtltteudutlugblsyoutb,Hegelptoclalmed,Letustbtowtbeslugulatlty
luto tbe te " lot blm, tbe tole ofuegatlou was esseutlal to tbe move
meut ofblsdlalectlc, audwbatwas at ouce uegatedaudsubsumedlua
latget uultywas tbeslugulatlty. Hegel scouceptlouofuegatlouwas-as
Agambeu bad lllusttated lu bls fouttb book, Langaagc anDcath, tbe
subtltle ofwblcb was IhcP/acc ecatioi-as fat as posslble ftom a
slmpleotstatlcoue. luHegel sdlalectlc,tbepattlculatlty-wbetbetltbe
tbelustautlutlmetbatAgambeuaualyzedlunninHiste,otaulu
dlvlduallusocletywbombewouldfollowlu IhcCemingCemmani-s
atouceuegated"audsa"-aache/cn,touseHegel 'sceuttalex
ptesslou. be pattotpattlculatls lltetallytalsedup asauexample aa
hc/cnmeaus lltetallyto llft up") as well as suspeudedotauuulled ,the
gutatlve meaulugofaac/cn) . lu tblspetspectlve, tbeexemplatypatt
lsoflutetesttbtougbaudtbauksto thewbole ltexemplles. Tbtowlug
FremSccmc/teShc/inah i i
tbeslugulatltylutotbeutewas,fotHegel,t ollveftomthewatmtboflts
ttausfotmatlou luto sometbluggteatet uulvetsallty Hegel sawabsolute
pattlculatltyaudabsoluteuulvetsalltyaspetfectlycompatlble,audasmlt-
totlugoueauotbet.Altbougbsomeludeedsawbls dlalectlcasoffetluga
wayto coucelve ofwbatwould otbetwlse be lucobeteut-thepattlculat
otslugulat-otbetssawlultsometblugdaugetous. Adotuo,apetceptlve
audpolemlcalteadetofHegel,wtotetbat"wltbcoldbloodeddeclslveuess
Hegel opted . . . fot tbellquldatlou oftbe slugulat dicLiqainen dc
csendcrcn| wltbtbetesulttbat"uowbeteluhlsthlukluglstheptlmacy
oftbewboleovettbepattttulyputlutoquestlou" ,AdotuoGS, |. ). ot
Adotuo, tbls ludlctmeutofHegel's metaphys|cswasalsoauludlctmeut
ofblspollt|caltbeoty luhlsNcganicDi/cncsAdotuoptocla|medthat
"a ttueptepoudetauce ofthe pattlculat would uotbeattaluable except
bycbauglugtbeuulvetsal " ,Adotuoi,, ,i,) ltlsatthls po|utofphllo-
sopblcalcouvetgeuce-wbetetbepattlculataudtheuulvetsalwouldbe
"cbauged"-tbatAgambeubeglus IhcCemingCemmani
lotAgambeu, tbe debateabout tbe ldeaofcommuultywas at the
same tlme a debate about etblcs Au ethlcs wotthy ofthe uamemust
sttlvetocoucelvebowmaukludmlgbtllvetogethet,how|tm|ghtllve|u
acommuultyofcommougoals,aspltatlous,audcouceptlousthatwould
uotdegeuetate,ashassoofteubeeuthecase,lutosceuesofexcluslouaud
vloleuce. "Tbetecaubeuottuehumaucommuulty,"wtoteAgambeu|u
auessayftomi|thatechoestematksmadeby8lauchotaudaucy,"ou
tbe basls ofaptesupposltlou-be lt a uatlou, alauguage, oteveuthea
ptlotl ofcommuulcatlouofwblcbhetmeueut|csspeaks" ,,| ,| ) lt|s
tblsfuudameutalldeatbatbecameblsfocusslxyeatslatetlu IhcCeming
Cemmani.TbegoaltbatAgambeudoesuotshyawayftomeuv|s|oulug
lstbesameouetbatAdotuobaduamed-tbatofchauglugthetelat|ouof
pattlculatto uulvetsal-audtbebolduesswltbwhlchheapptoachestbe
questloudlstlugulsbesbls wtltlugsoucommuultyftomthosethatcame
befotelt.AltbougbAgambeulsuotalouelufaclugauapotlaluthe|deaof
commuulty,blscaeria-swayoutofthlslmpasse-lsttulyuu|que.
Vatever
Glveutbeptecedlug,ltlsuotsutptlslugthatAgambeubeglus Ihc
CemingCemmaniwlththetelatloushlpofthes|ugulatltytotheuu|vet
z FremScctacteShc/inah
sal,butwbatlssutptlsluglstbeuullkelytetmbeemploys. uhatcocr.Tbls
ludlffeteut-souudlugwotd ls takeu uot ftom teeuage slaug but lustead
ftom tbe austetevocabulatyofscbolastlc pbllosopby, by ttauslatlug tbe
Latluqaed/i/ctTbeWbatevetaa/anqac luquestloubete,"Agambe
wtltes,telatestoslugulatltyuotlultsludlffeteucewltbtespecttoacom-
mouptopetty,toacoucept,fotexample.belugted, beluglteucb,belug
Musllm),butoulylultsbelugsachasitis ,CC, ,ltallcsluotlglual) .
Tbe uhatcocrwltb wblcbAgambeu tbus beglus ls uotludlffeteuce seeu
ftomtbepolutofvlewoftbeuulvetsal,wbeteallpattlculatltlesateoflu-
dlffeteut lmpottaucewltbtespect to tbeuulvetsaltbatglves tbem tbelt
meaulug,tbeldeabelugtbatoulyuulvetsalsptovldeuswltbtbemeaus
ofuudetstaudlugpattlculatcases,audwltbouttbemwewouldhudout-
selves lostamldawotldofuameless slgulatltles) . WbatAgambeu uses
tblscutloustetmtoeuvlsloulslusteadslugulatltyseeuftomauufamll-
latslde-tbatoftbeslugulat.Tblswouldbetbeslugulatltyseeuasslu-
gulatltyot,luAgambeu'sdeceptlvelyslmplefotmulatlou,asltls. "Tblsls
auldeaofslugulatltyuotofludlffeteutlmpottaucebut,outbecouttaty,
coucelvedoflu all lts tlcbdlffeteuceftomotbetslugulatltleswbatevet
tbeymaybe.
Tottulytblukofsometblugasltls"tepteseuts,bowevet,adauutlug
couceptualcballeuge, audltlsto tblscballeugetbatAgambeuteplleslu
tbepagestbatfollow. lteutalls,asAgambeulsqulcktosttess,uotmetely
tbluklugoftbeslugulatltylutetmsofltsptedlcates otptopettlessucb
asbelugted,"beluglteucb,"belugMusllm"buttoseebeyoudtbem
soastogtasptbeslugulatltyltselTblslsauemlueutlyteasouablegoal,
fot slugulatltles ate ludeed always mote tbau tbe sum oftbelt absttact
ptedlcates. To tbluk ofa tblug ludepeudeut o fot lustauce, tbtee of
lts most obvlous ptedlcates ,sucb as ted," lteucb," aud Musllm") ls
uot pattlculatly dlfucult, but to tbluk oflt ludepeudeut ofauy aud all
ptedlcates lsauotbetmattet. Tblscouceptualdlfucultylsmlttotedbya
llugulstlcoue.Wemaypetcelvetbewotldluallofltstlcbaudludlvldual
slugulatlty, buttoexptessltassucblsauotbetmattetfottbeteasoutbat
outlauguagelsmadeofaudftomgeuetalltles.Agambeuclalmstbatwbeu
a slugulatlty ls coucelved ofuot metely as a fuuctlou oflts ptedlcates,
slugulatltyls. . . fteedftomtbefalsedllemmatbatobllgeskuowledgeto
cboosebetweeutbelueffabllltyoftheludlvldualaudtbelutelllglbllltyof
tbeuulvetsal ",CC, ). Tbataslugulatltywouldbecaugbtbetweeuin-
/i/iaudintc//ig/i/ilseasytouudetstad.Aslugulatltylsin//c
FremSccmc/teShc/inah iy
becausewbatlsslugulataboutltlsuotsbatedwltbauytblugelse-aud
fottblsteasoultlsuameless ltcaubecome intcig//coulybyvlttueof
ltspattsaudptedlcates.Altbougbtblsldealscleateuougb,wbyAgambeu
clalmstbatlttepteseuts,lufact,"afalsedllemma"temalusopeu.
Singular Examples
Agambeu's seatcb to coucelve ofaudexptess aslugulatltytbtoug
a medlum-lauguage-wbose esseuce ls geuetallty leads blm ftom tbe
scbolastlc uhatcocrqaed/i/ct) toauatouce exttaotdluatyaudevetyday
ugute tbatoftbe cxam/c. IhcCemingCemmaniatguesfottheneces-
sltyoftecouceptuallzlugtbeslugulatltyaudtheneedtouudaradis
exemplatyugutesaudfotms-tbtougbwhlcbto concelveauewtelatlou-
sblpbetweeupattaudwbole,ludlvldualltyaudcommuulty,pattlculatlty
auduulvetsallty."Ouecoucepttbatescapestbeautluomyotheuu|vetsal
audtbepattlculat,"Agambeuwtltes, "basloug beeu famlllatto us tbe
example" ,, iy| ). Tbecxam/ctepteseutsawayoutoftblsant|uomy
becauseltlsueltbetaslugulatltyuotauulvetsal.ltlsatoncesetapattas
auexample-aslugulatlytepteseutatlvelustauce-aswellaslncludedas
aulutegtalpattoftbatofwblcbltlsauexample.lutblsltbelougstobotb
spbetesaud, fotAgambeu, offetsapatadlgmfoteuvlsloulngadlffeteut
telatlousblpofpattlculattouulvetsal.
luadeclslvesteptbatwllluotoulyguldeAgambeu'stbluk|uglutbls
bookbutalsoptovldetbecoucealedllukbetweeultaudblsteBectlousou
thcstatcecxcctienlublsuextoue,beatguestbatweshouldcoucelveof
sing/rincspteclselyaswecoucelveofcxam/s.

Wbeueuvlslouedaftet
tbe fasblou ofau example, tbe slugulatltyls uo lougetttapped lu a dl-
lemmafotclugustocboosebetweeulueffabllltyaudlutelllglblllty.lnstead
oftbe dlalectlcal opposltlou ofpattlculatltyaud uulvetsallty, Agameu
offets,vlatbeuguteoftbeexample,auoudlalectlcaltelatloulnwblcbtbe
slugulatltyotexamplelsatouceamembetoaudexcludedftom,tbeset
oftblugsltexempllues.Exam/csoccupyaseemluglypatadoxlcaltelatlou
touulvetsalltyaudpattlculatlty, buttblsdoesuotpteveutusftomuslu
tbem-audltlsfottblsteasoutbatAgambensuggeststhatexamples"ate
"exemplats g/icscm/ oftbecomlugcommuulty",II i||) Tbey
ate,bowevet,uottbeoulyoues.
lutbepagestbatfollow,tbeCemingCemmanicoutluuesltsseatch
fot cxcm/rsotaradigsoftbls comlug communlty. Tbe tematkable
r FremScctac/cteShc/inah
bteadtbofAgambeu's|utetestsaswellasb|scomm|tmeuttwbatbecalled
|uStanzas"ad|sc|pl|ueof|utetd|sc|pl|uat|ty"leadsb|mfataueld.Hew|ll
dtawuotoulyftom scbolast|ctetm|uologybutalsoftomsucbd|spatate
uelds asl|ugu|st|cs,log|c,settbeoty, tbeology, l|tetatute,audpb|losopby.
He w|lltutu ftom tbe uct|oualugutesofSw|sswt|tet RobettWalsetto
tbe teal eveuts |uT|auaumeuSquate,ftom"tt|ckstets"aud"fakes"totbe
tbeolog|calcouuudtumspteseutedbytbetesuttectedbod|esofcauu|bals
audtbefateofcb|ldteuwbod|ebefotebe|ugbapt|zed.8utamougallof
tbese sttauge aud s|ugulat "exemplats" oftbe com|ug commuu|ty, oue
uguteoccup|esaspec|alplace.
Jhe Singular Scrivener
Ateadettutu|ugto IhcCemingCemmanistableofcouteutscould
uotbeblamedfottb|uk|ug|twasabookabout|ud|ffeteuce.ltsutstcbap-
tet |seut|tled"Wbatevet"aud|tslast "lttepatable."Tbeoueat |tsmld-
po|utwouldsuppotttb|s|dea,uamedas|t|saftetHetmauMelv|lle'sbeto
of|ud|ffeteuce,8attleby. Sucbateadet's seuse tbat IhcCemingCemma-
ni|sabookabout|ud|ffeteucewoulduot,|ufact,bewbollywtoug.ltis
|udeedabookabout|ud|ffeteuce, butau |ud|ffeteuceofattulys|ugulat
sottaudtb|scaubeseeuuowbetesoeatlyas|u|tsd|scuss|ouofMel-
v|lle'ssct|veuet.
Tbecbapteteut|tled"8attleby"appeatsatutsts|gbttobe|usttauge
compauy. Altbougb |t m|gbt coujute up |ud|ffeteuce, |twould seem to
bave l|ttle to do w|tb tbe tbeolog|cal coucepts uamed |u otbet cbaptet
t|tlessucb as "ltom L|mbo," "Halos," aud "Sbek|uab"just as |t
would bave l|ttle to do w|tb tbe pb|losopb|cal coucepts uamed |u st|ll
otbetcbaptett|tlessucbas"lt|uc|p|um|ud|v|duat|ou|s"aud"tb|cs."
Asw|tbtbosetetms, bowevet,Agambeubascboseu 8attlebyfotb|sex-
emplatypoteut|al|ty.
Wbeu we tb|uk ofMelv|lle's sct|veuet aud b|s bauut|ug tefta|u,
"l would ptefet uotto, " |t |s d|fucult to |mag|ue wbat m|gbt be pata-
d|gmat|caboute|tbet b|s s|tuat|ou ot b|s tespouse to |t. Agambeu does
uotcoucetub|mselfw|tbpb|lolog|cal,l|tetaty, otb|ogtapb|calquest|ous,
sucb aswbetbet tbestotyowesmoteto loe otD|ckeus, otwbetbet |ts
eu|gmat|cptotagou|st|sbased mote ou a ft|eud ofMelv|lle'sotou tbe
autbotb|msel lufact,Agambeu seems at utstuot to coucetub|mself
FremSccmcteShc/inah I6,
wt estotyatall.Tutulugtotblscbaptet,wehudsometblugwebave
seeuefote.auytblugbutwbattbetltlegaveustoexpectAswastbecase
fotmauyoftbecbaptetsluIdca ePresc,tbetltulattoplclshtstaddtessed
lutbecbaptet'shualllues.luplaceofadlscusslouofMelvllle'seulgmatlc
cbatactet, wbatwe hud ls sometblug else famlllatftomIdca ePresc a
dlscusslouofAtlstotle'scategotlesofpoteutlalltyaudactuallty-tbesame
categotlesbebademployedtbehguteoftbewaxtablettotepteseutaud
tbatbadbelpedDamascluscomeallttleclosetto"htstptluclples."Wbeu
AgambeuatlasttutusftomAtlstotleaudpoteutlalltyto8attlebyluthe
cbaptet'shualllues,betellsustbat"8attleby, asctlveuetanescriian|
wbo doesuotslmplyceasewtltlugbutptefetsuotto,' wtltesuoth-
lugbutblspoteutlalltytouotwtlte Metcnzdi nnscicrc| " ,,
,;,, ttauslatloumodlhed).8utwhyshouldAgambeubelutetestedlu
8attlebyaudblsptefeteucefotuotwtltlug,audwhatdoeslthavetoteach
usaboutcommuulty`
Melvllle'stalefamouslycloseswltbtbecty,"Ah8attlebyhumau
lty ",Melvlllei;,|,).FotAgambeu,8attlebylsasttaugeaudsolltatyhg-
ute,butouewbo,lfluslugulatfashlou,lsahgutefotmaukludAlthough
Agambeudoesuotmeutlouoteveualludetothestoty'ssubtltle-Stoty
ofWallStteet"-belscleatlyawateofltWallStteetwaslultlallythellue
tbatdlvldedcoloulstsftomuatlves,the"clvlllzed"ftomthe"savage,"aud
aftettbewallfell,wbatcametodlvldeludlvldualswaswhatWallStteet
couttolledtbeBowofcapltalNotoulyls8attlebythelusttumeutofalaw
tbat falls to dlspeusejustlce eveuly aud equally, but healsoexetclsesbls
ptofesslou at tbe eplceutetofcapltallsm-tbetewhete, luatx'swotds,
tbe "wotld's false ptluce" tules most mlgbtlly, aud ctuelly Atthe foot,
tbeu,oftblsmassvecapltallstmac}luethatlegallzesluequalltyaudlujs-
tlce,8attlebycboosesclvlldlsobedleuce,fotbls coudltlouallsuothluglf
uotclvllauduotbluglfuotdlsobedleut. 8uthlslsuo otdluatyclvlldls-
obedleuce8attlebydoesuotcboosetbepeuovettheswotdauddoesuot
usetbepowetofteasouaudtbetotlctodeuouucecoetclouaudlujustlce
Hedoesuot,lufact,deuouuceauytblug.Hlsclvlllsobedleuce,lfltcau
eveubecalledtbat,lsadualdlsobedleucelutbatheuotoulyptefetsuotto
dowbattboseatouudblmdo,copyouttbelawaud, motegeuetally,obey
tbecouveutlousoftbeday),bealsoptefetsuottoptovldewhatmoteaud
moteatouudblm demaud. auexplauatloufothlsslugulatbehavlot. Hls
teplylsuevetmotesttldeuttbautbegeutlecoudltloual, "lwouldptefet
uotto,"yetwlthlthedoublydehesthepowetsthatbe,coufouudlugaud
r FremScctac/teShc/inah
coufuslugtboseatouudblmuot oulybyuot dolugwbat ls askedofblm
butalsobyuotoffetlugauyexplauatloubeyoudblstlddllugteply. Some
lutbestotytaketblsasaffectatlou,otbetsseelultalazluesstbatdemauds
dlsclpllueaudasttougappealtotbeAmetlcauwayaudtbecapltallstwotk
etblcetnomeaussufucetofotce8attlebytotakeup blspeu.
ltlstblspecullattefusaltbatcaptlvatesAgambeu.oteveuMelvllles
nattatotpteteudstouudetstaudtbeteasousbeblud8attlebysptefeteuces.
8utetepattlugwltbtbeteadet, beuotesattbeeudofblstale, letme
say, tbat lftbls llttleuattatlvebas sufucleutlylutetested blm to awakeu
cutlosltyastowho 8attlebywas, audwbatmauuetofllfebeledptlotto
tbe pteseutuattatotsmaklugblsacqualutauce, l cau ouly teply, tbat lu
sucb cutlosltyl fullysbate, butamwbolly uuabletogtatllt" ,Melvllle
r,,) .Alltbesame,wemlgbtmakeeducatedguessesastotbecauseof
8attlebysmalalse.Tbellfeofaulueteeutb-ceututysctlveuet,llketbellfe
ofblscteatot)wasuotaj oyfuloue,audteasousabouudastowbyauludl-
vldualmlgbtuudblswotkdeptesslugotdegtadlugaudmlgbttbeutefuse
tocoutluuelt. letbapsltlstbelawbecoplestbatleadstoblsdespalt, ot
petbapsltlsblsexpetleucewotklugasacletkattbeDeadLettetfuce
luWasblugtouwbete"ouettaudsofllfe,tbeselettetsspeedtodeatb"
tbatsowedtbeseedsofblsultlmatedespaltaudblsdeclsloutobavedoue
wltb wtltlug ,Melvllle r, ,). 8ut ueltbet tbe uattato uot tbe teadet
kuows fot sute lflt was sottlug tbese stacks oflettets sectetlystamped
mcmcntemeritbatbtougbtabout8attlebysuualteslguatlou-otlfltwas
sometblugelseeutltely.
Agambeu ls fascluated by tbe ugute of8attleby aud Ihc Ceming
Cemmanilsbutouelustauceoftbls.HebadalteadydlscussedMelvllles
sctlveuetluca ePrescaudlutbeessay"loutGlossesfotKaa,"pub-
llsbedayeatlatet,audplacedblmattbeceutetofbotbauewspapetattlcle
eutltled 8attleby o Louget Wtltes" aud a loug essay ou poteutlallty
audcoutlugeucyeutltled"8attleby, otuoutlugeucy" ,publlsbedwltb
acompaulouplecealso ou 8attleby by Gllles Deleuze) . luall oftbese
lnstauces, Agambeu escbews effotts to explalu 8attlebys ptefeteuces
tbtougb tecoutse to psycbology. Agambeus blstotlcal slgbts ate ofteu
focused ou dlstautpoluts, aud llkeWatbutgbefoteblmbe sees ecboes
audevocatlousofaucleutuguteslutbemostmodetusettlugs.lutbecase
of8attlebyssuspeudedpeubeseesauautlquegestuteouewlthadls-
tluctlyAtlstotellaullueage.
lot Agambeu, wbat 8attleby exempllues ls uot ouly tefusal of
FremSecmc/teSh/inah i 6;
uuacceptablecoudltlous,uotoulyclvlldlsobedleuce,butalsopoteutlallty
asweateleastusedto coucelvlugoflt We ateludeedwellaccustomed
to cousldetlugpoteutlalltytbat couvetts ltselfluto actuallty, but tblugs
stauddlffeteutlywltbapoteutlalltytbattemaluspoteutlal.Atlstotleasks
bowweatetocoucelveofapoteutlalltytbatuevetattalussucbactuallty,
aud Agambeu uuds au auswet to tbls mllleuulaquestlou lu 8attleby's
ptefeteuces,sttesslugtbat8attleby"wtltesuotblugbutblspoteutlalltyto
uotwtlte."Tbequestloutemalus,bowevet,astohowweatetoteadsuch
awtltlug. lotAgambeu, Melvllle's sctlveuetoffets a slugulatauswetto
Atlstotle'squestloubyexempllluguot tbe poteutlalltytedeot te /e
tbesldeofpoteutlalltythat lspetfectlyfamlllattous-buttbepoteutlal-
ltynettodootnettobe
lubls compaulouplecetoAgambeu's essay, Deleuzesttessesclll
dlsobedleuce,aud8attlebylstepteseutedasabetoof"thlzomatlc" tesls-
tauce, a sectet saboteut, a guetlllaopetatlve, uulocatable, uuasslhable
byastateappatatustequltluguxedatttlbutesaudcleatdemaudssoasto
subjectcltlzeus to ltswlll. lot Deleuze, 8attlebyexempllhes aueluslve
tespouse to a state's system ofcouttol based ou ldeutlhcatlou, aud bls
dogged tefusals allowblmtosllptbtough tbeholeslultsuet. 8attleby
sbowsDeleuzebowouemlgbtbeau effectlveoutlawluouthypetsupet-
vlsedwotld. Tbls aspect of8attleby

s eulgmatlcchatactet also lutetests

audeugagesAgambeu-butastbeptecedlugtematksludlcate, ltlsuot
tbeoulyoue.Tbeotbetlevellsbestseeubytecalllugthehgutetbatplayed
soceuttalatoleluAgambeu'seatlywotks in/nq
Tbepteseuceoftbeldeaofetenna/iluAgambeu'swotkdoesuot
begluwltbblssystematlc useoftbe tetm lubls secoud book, Stanzs,
tbeldea ofpoteutlallty ls pteuguted by tbeldeaevoked thetelu of"tbe
uuuulsbed i/ nennite| wltb lts sttess ou tbe actual seeu ftom tbe
petspectlve ofpoteutlallty,S, y, u. z) luIdea ePrese, tbetetm /ten
plays aslmllattole ,seell, , y| ) 8ut ltls lu tbe tetm in/nthatwe
uud tbe mostslgulucautautecedeutfotetenna/iluAgambeu'swotk.
Tbls ceuttal coucept, fouudlutbetltleofAgambeu'stbltdookIn/n
andHiste) aud to wblcb a cbaptet ofbls hftbbook Ida ePrese) ls
dedlcated,gtaduallydlsappeatsftomblspagesasltlsteplacedbyeten-
na/i. In/nls supplauted, lt appeats, because lt focuses ououly oue
sldeoftbepoteutlalltytbatAgambeulseudeaotlugtofotmulate.hlsls
mostcleatlyseeuluadlstluctloutbatAgambeuhudslmpottauteuoug
to sttess lu "8attleby, ot Ou Coutlugeucy," luwbat bas thus fat beeu
FremScctac/teShc/inah
tbe leastuudetstoodcbaptetofHemeSaccr,"loteutlalltyaud Law), as
well aslu Ihc CemingCemmani. lu all tbteeplacesAgambeututusto
Avlceuua'sdlstlugulsblugofdlffeteut types ofpoteutlallutellect. ueof
tbesetypesls"matetlal poteutlallutellect,wblcb"tesemblestbecoudltlou
ofacblldwbomaycettalulyouedayleatutowtltebutdoesuotyetkuow
auytblug about wtltlug, aud wblcb tbeteby cottespouds to Agamoeus
inn,l,zz;) .Tbls"matetlalpoteutlallutellectlsdlstlugulsbedby
Avlceuuaaud followlug blm, byAgambeu-ftom "posslble poteutlal
lutellect,wbetelu tbecblldbas beguutowtlte outbas uotyet masteted
lt, aswell asftom auotbetpoteutlallutellect. "acompleteotpetfectpo-
teutlalltytbatbelougstotbesctlbewbolslufullpossesslouoftbeattof
wtltluglutbemomeutluwblcbbedoesuotwtlte,wblcbcottespoudsto
8attleby's case ,l, zz;) .

Au inntcauuotwtlteotspeak-yet. Tbe
cblldsllugulstlcpoteutlalltylslateutaudmay,butueeduot)beactlvated
followlug tbe cltcumstauces oflts developmeut. 8attlebylsa telated, lf
less beatteulug, ugute. He"ptefets uot to wtlte-aud meaus tbls qulte
lltetally. Hlssltuatloulsuottbatofaulufautwbocauuotspeakotwtlte
wbatAvlceuua called "matetlal poteutlal lutellect-fot be bas alteady
actlvated tbls poteutlallty. 8attlebypossessestbefacultlesofspeecb aud
wtltlugwbatAvlceuuacalled "complete otpetfectpoteutlallty-aud
basalteadysbowublmselfqultecapablelutbesedomalus.Tbemystetyof
tbetale,audtbesoutceofAgambeuslutetest,lstbat8attlebybascboseu
totemoveblmselfftomcommuualcltculatlou, bascboseu to ceaseem-
ploylugblspoteutlallty. Agambeucalls ousucb a seemluglyludlffeteut
uguteas8attlebytotepteseutputepoteutlalltybecausetbelattetstolldly
tefusestocouvettblspoteutlallty,towtlte)lutoact.
lu InncandHteAgamoeu sttessed tbeexemplatyvalueofa
dlffeteutsbottstotytbatmlgbtbelpusclatlfyblslutetestlu8attleby. He
wtoteofLudwlgTleck's"TbeSupetRultyofLlfelullgbtoftbecoutem-
potatystatusofludlvldualexpetleuce, "Wbeubumaukludlsdeptlvedof
effectlveexpetleuceaudbecomessubjectedtotbelmposltlouofafotmof
expetleuceascouttolledaudmaulpulatedasalabotatotymazefottats-lu
otbetwotds,wbeutbeoulyposslbleexpetleucelsbottototlles-tbeutbe
tejectlou ofexpetleucecauptovlslouallycoustltutealegltlmatedefeuse
,lH, | , ttauslatloumodlued) . To sbutof tutuaway, ottuueoutlu
sucbexttemecltcumstaucesls,fotAgambeu,alegltlmatetespouse-otlu
blswotds, "alegltlmatedefeuse.lualatetlutetvlewAgambeullukstbls
ldeatoAteudt,uotlugtbatteudtoucesaldthatwbeuevetyouebecomes
FremSccmc/teShc/inah 6
uutbluklugly cattled away, tbosewbo thluk uud themselves uupto-
tectedaudtbelttefusaltojolutheotbetsbecomesltselfafotmofactlou"
,A, lll) . luacbaptetftomMcans theatEndeutltled "luThlsExlle,"
Agambeudesctlbes,fotblsowupatt, justsuchauexpetleuce. luIn/n
anHistebeclalmstbatlutbefaceofthe ctlsls ofmodetuexpetleuce
tbatbedlaguoses,"auyoueptoposlugtotecovetttadltloualexpetleuceto-
daywouldeucouutetapatadoxlcalsltuatlou.lottbeywouldbavetobe-
gluutstofallwltbacessatlouofexpetleuce,asuspeuslouofkuowledge"
,lH, z, ] ) . udetexttemecoudltloustbeutststepmayuotuecessatlly
bedltectaudattlculateteslstauce,butlusteadsuspeuslouotwlthdtawal.
TblslstbepatbtbatAgambeusees8attlebyfollowlug,butltlsoulyapatt
of wbatbesees.ltlsuotoulytheacaa/cholceofaglveufotmofteslstauce
otself-ptotectloutbatsolutetestsAgambeu,butalsotheputepoteutlallty
towblcbhetestluestbtoughthesuspeuslouofhlspattlclpatlou.
Agambeu's "8attleby, ot Ou outlugeucy" beglus by uotlugthat
"asasctlveuet, 8attlebybelougsto alltetatycoustellatlou" thatlucludes
AkakyAkaklevlch, 8ouvatd aud cuchet, Slmou Tauuet, aud tluce
Mysbklu-othetmastetful audmystetlous lltetatycopylsts ,see,y).
"8ut8attlebyalsobelougstoaphllosophlcalcoustellatlou,"headds,"aud
ltmaybetbatltalouecoutalustheugutemetelyttacedbythelltetatycou-
stellatloutowhlch8attlebybelougs",,y) . Thls"phllosophlcalcoustel-
latlou"lsthesameoueevokedlutheuuallluesofthechaptet"8attleby"
lu IhcCemingCemmani. Outhlsoutologlcallevel, 8attlebytefusesto
couvettblstlchesofpoteutlalltylutotheteadymoueyofactualltylflua
"lltetatycoustellatlou"8attlebylsadespaltlugauddlscousolateugute,lu
tbe"phllosophlcalcoustellatlou"thatlutetestsAgambeuamoteheatteu-
lugugute ls seeu. Thls coustellatlou, though ltlucludes sucbhgutes as
Lelbulz'spytamldofposslbledestlulesaudNletzsche'setetualtecutteuce
ofthesame,

basatltsglowlugceutetAtlstotle'sdlscusslouofpoteutlallty.
8attlebyptefetstokeep the waxtabletofhlsposslbllltlesblauk,audltls
betetbatAgambeuteadsaspeclalmessagefothlscommuultytocome.
artleby in China
Agambeu tutus ftom tbls uctloual ugute to a teal oue-audoue
ftomthemostteceutblstoty-fot auothetexampleofluopetatlve tesls-
tauceaudpolltlcalpoteutlallty. Asatule, thosewho exetclsethelttlght
i;o FremScctacteShc/inah
aud dutyofclvll dlsobedleucedo so lu tbe uameofspeluccauses aud
wltbavlewtotbetlgbtlugofcettaluwtougs. lullgbtoftblsfact, 8lau-
cbot fouud tbe motto ofltauce's May i, "wltbout ptoject sansre
ct| ,ofsucblutetest. lotblm,ltwastbe"uusettllugaudfottuuate tal-
lylugctyofwbatbecalled"aulucompatablesoclety ,8laucboti,, ,z) .
"ullke ttadltloual tevolutlous,' 8laucbotcoutluued, speaklugofMay
i,tbegoal"wasuottotaketbe8astllle,tbeWlutetlalace,tbeEscot
tbe atloualAssemblyobjectlves wltbout lmpottauce-aud uot eveu
toovettutuauoldotdet, butto allowaposslbllltyof/cingtegcthcrtte-
eusemble] to demousttate ltselfludepeudeut ofauy utllltatlau lutetest
,,z,ltallcsluotlglual). Tblssame"belugtogetbettbatweevokedeatllet
lswbat8laucbotuudsmostexemplatyabouttbetututbeeveutsofMay
i took. Agambeutoowlllptovelutetestedlusucbadlfuculttoclt-
cumsctlbe"belugtogetbet,butbewlllapptoacbltbyauuullkelytoute.
lutbeuualcbaptetofIhcCemingCemmaniAgambeututustotbe
studeutptotestsvloleutlysupptessedluTlauaumeuSquatetougblyayeat
ptlottoblsbookspubllcatlou. IhcCemingCemmanisutstcbaptetbad
beguuwltbtbequestlou,"Wbatlsaslugulatlty`Tblsuualcbaptetopeus
wltbtbequestlou, "Wbatcouldbetbepolltlcsofwbatevet qaa/anqac|
slugulatlty, tbat ls,ofabelugwbose commuultylsmedlateduotbyauy
coudltlouofbelouglug,belugted, belugltallau,belugCommuulst) uot
bytbeslmpleabseuceofcoudltlous ,auegatlvecommuulty, sucbastbat
teceutlyptoposedlultaucebyMautlce8laucbot),butbybelouglugltself
artcnz stcssa| ,CC, , ;| ) . Tbe "uegatlve commuulty" tbat
8laucbotluvokedls, fotAgambeu, lusufucleutbecauselt takes oulytbe
utst step towatdtevlslugtbeldeaofcommuulty,ltkuowswbatto teject
but uot wbat to put lu lts place. Regatdlug tbe questlou tbeu posed
"Wbatcouldbetbepolltlcsofwbatevetslugulatlty` -Agambeuclalms
tbata "betald ftom 8eljlugcattles tbe elemeuts ofa tespouse ,CC, ,
;| ) .
Wbat Agambeu fouud exemplaty about tbe demousttatlous l u
8eljlugwasuotwbattbeydemaudedbutwbattbeydldnet demaud."Wbat
was most sttlklug about tbe demousttatlous oftbe Cbluese May,

be
wtote,"wastbetelatlveabseuceofdetetmluatecouteutslutbeltdemauds
,democtacyaudfteedomateuotloustoogeuetlcaudbtoadlydeuuedto
coustltutetbetealobjectofacouRlct,audtbeoulycouctetedemaud,the
tebabllltatlouofHuaobaug, was lmmedlatelygtauted) ,CC, , ;| ) .
utbefaceof tblugs,tblsfactmakestbevloleucewlthwblcbtheChluese
FremSccmcteShc/inah i;i
goveteuttespoudedtothesedemousttatlousallthemoteluexpllcable.
etAgambeuclalmsthat"thedlsptopottlou lsoulyappateut" aud that
"tbehlueseleadets acted, ftomtheltpolutofvlew,wlthgteatetlucldlty
tbautheWestetuobsetvetswhoweteexcluslvelycoucetuedwlthadvauc-
lug lucteaslugly less plauslble atgumeuts about the opposltlou betweeu
democtacyaudcommuulsm",,,6;] ). The"lucldlty"oftheChluese
leadetscouslsts lu thelthavlugseeuqulcklyaud cleatlywhatwas most
daugetousfotthemaudtheltlutetests. otAgambeu-asfot oucault,
Deleuze, 8lauchot, aud aucy befote hlm-a state wlll toletate otga-
ulzed audattlculateptotestfatmote teadlly thau uudehuedopposltlou.
Asocletywhoseceuttalsttategyfotcouttollsobsetvatlouaudlocallzed
coutalumeutseesltsgteatestthteatluthatwhlchltcauuotldeutl.Such
seemluglydlsotgaulzedauduumotlvatedteslstaucels,ftomthlspolutof
vlew,thevetylast thlug butauodyue.Whatls most thteateulugfotthe
statepowetsthatbelswhatdeptlves themoftheltmosteectlvemeaus
oftespouse, aud ltlsluthlsllghtthatAgambeuspeaks ofa "lucldty"
dlsplayedbythehlueseleadets.
lu the llghtcastbythlshualchaptet, lt becomes cleat thatwhat
Agambeusawlu 8atebywasa ouemausltluofthe mosttadlcalsott.
HlsclvlldlsobedleuceshateswlththeTlauaumeuptotestetslts telatlve
abseuceofcouctetedemaud. 8ecausetheuatuteofhlsdlscouteutlsuot
statedaudbecausehecauuotbepteclselyldeutlhedluhlsteslstauce,hls
pteseuce, llkethatofthe hlueseptotestots, lufutlates those lupowet.
luAgambeusvlew,whatttulyptovokedtheChlueseauthotltleswasthe
ptotestots' tefusal to make mote couctete demauds that could theu be
gtautedotdeuled,tevlsed,ottldlculed.Themuteluslsteuceofthesepto-
testots,thelttejectlouofuotjustouelucldeutotaspectofacottuptsyste
butthatsystemasawhole,madetheltptotestpattlculatlythteateulugto
tbestate-audexplalus,fotAgambeu,thevloleucewlthwhlchltwasmet.
otthlsteasou,aseemluglylucoheteutlusuttectloumay, luouttlmes,be
themosteffectlve-audthemostexemplaty. ollowlugAgambeusloglc,
the most thteateulug thlug lmagluable fot a state-be lt commuulst,
democtatlc,otothet-lsabllllou8atebyssaylugtheywouldptefetuot
tocoutluuetollvelutheltsocletyasltls. luthehualwotdsothebooks
uual chaptet, Agambeu uotes, "Whetevet these slugulatltles peacefully
demousttatetheltbeluglucommou i/ /ere crccemmanc| , thetewlllbe
aTlauaumeu, audsoouetotlatet the taukswlll appeat" ,CC, |)
8atebylsthusattulyexemplatyslugulatltyluthathelsthebeatetofa
i ;z FremScctac/cteShc/inah
lessoulpotetlallty, alessoullketbat oftbepbllosopbetwltb blsstylus
suspededaoveawaxtaletouwblcbuotblugbasyetbeeuwtltte, as
well as a patadlgm fot actaa/teslstauce oftbe most slugulataud, fot
Agambeu,uecessatysott.
opcCtaCc and ohcknah
lutbelddleofalettet to GetsbomScbolemftom ii, tbeyouug
Waltet8euj amlu lutettupts a catalogue ofbls teceut teadlgs to askbls
ftleud,"WbatdoesShc/inahmeau ,8eujamluG8, i. iz) .Tbequestlou
tbat8ejamlposedwasatouceslmpleauddlfuculttoauswet.Shc/inah
ls aHetewtetmmeaulugtbevlslblemaulfestatlouoftbe Dlvlulty,ltls
sttouglyassoclatedwltb/ight-aglotyottefulgeutllgbtsymbollzlugtbe
Dlvlue lteseuce, lu tbewotds of Ihc OxrdEng/h Dictiena-a
etymologlcallyassoclatedwltbaseseoftestotdwelllug,ltdetlvesftom
atetmbavlugbotboftbesemeaulugs) . lt lstblsseuseoftbewotdtbat
oueuudsseculatlzedlusucb metapbotlcal usagesas Geotgellots "tbe
goldeu suullgbt beamedtbtougb tbedtlpplgbougbsllke a Sbekluab,
to wblcb sbe lmmedlately adds fot clatlucatlou, "otvlslble dlvlue ptes-
euce ,lloti,,z). Tbeologlausbaveftequeutlyldeutluedtblsvlslble
glotywltbwbatwassbowuluetyfotmouMouutSlual, audbtlstlau
tbeologlausbaveusedltouoccasloutotefettoesusbtlst.Tblslsotb
aslmpleaudcomplexauswetto8eujamlusquestlou.Glvlugastlllmote
slmpleaudmotecomplexauswet,bowevet,lsatasktbatAgambeuasslgus
blmselfl IhcCemingCemmani.
Tbe peultlmate cbaptet of Ihc Ceming Cemmani ls etltled
"Sbekluab. Altbougb Agambeu bad dwelt eatllet lu tbe book ou
8ejamlaud o tbe tbeologlcal coucepts tbat Scbolem commuulcated
to blm, tbls cbaptet begls ueltbet wltb 8eujamlus youtbful questlou
uotwltbScbolemslatetaswetsuoteveuwltbadeultlouoftbetetm
,tbetebyleavlugmayteadetsposlugtbemselvestbesamequestlouasbad
tbeyouug8ej amlu). "Sbekluab begluswltbuomeutlouoftbeologyot
dlvluepteseucewbatsoevet,ut,lustead,wltbGuyDeotd.
lutbeluttoductloutbatAgambeuwtotefottbeltallauttauslatlou
ofDebotds Cemmcnmrics enthcSecic ethc Sccmc/c,i) tbete lsa
sectloeutltled"Tlauaumeu. Substautlalpattsofltateteptoducedvet-
atlm lu tbe ldeutlcallytltled uual cbaptetof Ihc CemingCemmani,
Fremcctactehcnah i

tbougbtbefollolugpassagelsuo. ppeataucesuolbsaudug, be
spectaculat-democtatlcotldotgau|za|ouuowemetg|ugtuusthet|skof
belugtbewotsttytauuybumaublsotybasevetseeuaudaga|ustwb|ch
teslstauceauddlsseutwlllbeevetmoted|fucul-allthemotesoas,uow
mote cleatlytbauevet, bls otgaulzat|ouwlll bave as |ts| taskto seeto
tbe saroioa/ehamanit in an inha/ita//c aer/d an mende a/ita/i/c| "
,MW,; ;i| ,lallcs|uotlg|ual,tauslaloumod|ued). Thetetmshat
Agambeucboosesbetecouldbatdlybemoteexteme,uotcouldthestakes
bedeemedhlgbetDebotdwasatbluketas|uceud|atyaud|uc|s|veasauy
ofblsgeuetalou,audtboughbewasaset|ousoue,hewasuotalwayscou-
sldetedassucb.H|sealyaualysesofamed|at|zedglobalsoc|ety'smeaus
ofcommuulcatlouaudcouttolatew|houtequal,audthepted|ct|oushe
madehaveptoveu uucauu|lyaccutate. Nevetheless,aud|uadatklyht-
|ugltouy, |lsbemed|a|zed,scctaca/ar|mageofDebotdthathaspte-
va|led.baofbeplayfulLet|s,the|usutgeutS|tuat|ou|st,the|uveutot
ofsagedeveuts,audhealcobol|cauatch|st.Whathasbeeusttessedhas
beeulessbesttaeglsotstyllstbautheulmmaketwhosemostfamous
ulm, CricsinFaoereSadc, cous|stsofwoaltetua|ugmouochtome|-
ages audaloofd|sttess|uuo|se,otheauthotwhodemaudedthatoue
ofb|sbooksbepubl|shedwlthsaudpapetcovetssohat|twouldtubaway
betlesoue|tbets|deof|t.
FotAgambeu, howevet, Debotd ls a s|ugulaly set|ous aud t|me
lyugute-oueo wbosememotyhe ded|cated h|s e|ghth book, Mcans
witheatEnd. Tbete|u he t|es ba "Debotd's books coust|tute the
cleatestaudmosseveteaualyslsofthem|set|esaudslavetyofasoc|ety
batby uow bas exteuded|ts domlu|ouovetthewholeplauethat |s
tosay, tbesocleyoftbespecacle|uwblchel|ve" ,MWE, ;, 6|). lu
Ihc Ceming CemmaniAgambeu utusoDebotd's owu deuu|t|ou of
tblsceuttaltetm "Tbespectacle|scaplaltosuchadegteeofaccumula
tloutbatltbecomesau|mage",c|ed|uCC,y 6,| ) . Agambeuseesth|s
spectaculatuatuteofcouempotatycap|tal|sculute,|h|s|ucteaslug
depeudeuceou medlatlzed lmages, as hav|ugd|te cousequeuces fot the
coustlutlouaudcoustuct|ouofcommuu|t|es-cousequeucesthathave
takeust|llcleatetshape|uheyeatss|ucethepubl|cat|ouofDebotd's Ic
SecictethcSccta/c|ui6;,socleatthatgambeutematked|uoueof
h|smos teceutbooksha"coutempotatydemoctac|es"asawholem|ght
bestbedesctlbedas "hesocletyoftbespectacle" G |) . Wheuthe
tealod|sttausfotmed|utoau|mageaud|magesbecometeal,"wt|tes
r ; | FremteShc/inah
Agambeu,tbeptactlcalpowetofbumauslssepatatedftomltselfaudpte-
seutedasawotlduutoltself ,, ; ,| ). WbatAgambeusees Debotd
expettlyoutlluluglstbeuuotbluglesstbautbedomluautmodetufotmof
alleuatlouseeulucoutempotatycommuultles.
Aftetctedltlugebotdfotblstematkablefoteslgbtcoucetulugtbe
gtowlugtoleoflmageslucoutempotatycapltallstcultute,Agambeututus
to amoteptesslugquestlou. Today, lutbeetaoftbecompletettlumpb
oftbespectacle,wbatcaubeteapedftomtbebetltageofDebotd,,
?o || ) . Agambeupostpouesauswetlugtblsquestlou,developluglustead
Debotd'sldeaoftbe. luauattlclefotaultallau uewspapetpub-
llsbedayeatbefote IhcCemingCemmani,Agambeubadwtltteu,"ltls
cleattbattbespectaclelslauguage,tbevetycommuulcatlvltyce
manicatioit| otllugulstlcbelugofmauklud ,S,z) .Tblsboldequatlou
tepteseutsafuudameutalexteuslouofDebotd'sdeuultlouaudlsouetbat
Agambeuwlllluslstou,tepeatlugltvetbatlmuotoulylublsluttoductlou
toDebotd's Cemmcntaricsbutalsolu CemingCemmani,see,?o
|| ). lotAgambeu,tbetetmlscoucetueduotoulywltbimagcs,
as Debotdbadsttessed, butalsowltb aerds uotoulywltb tbeRoodof
commetclallzedlmagestbatlstbeballmatkofoutmedlatlzedcultute,but
alsowltbsometblugluvolvlugallaspectsofbumaucommuulcatlou.
Z
lotAgambeu,tbecousequeuceofbsexteuslouofDebotd's
ftomimagcto aerdls tbat"afulletMatxlauaualyslssboulddealwltbtbe
facttbatcapltallsm,otauyotbetuameouewautstoglvetbeptocesstbat
todaydomluateswotldblstoty) wasdltecteduotoulytowatdtbeexpto-
ptlatlouofptoductlveactlvlty, butalsoaudptluclpallytowatdtbealleu-
atlouoflauguageltsel oftbevetyllugulstlcaudcommuulcatlveuatute
ofbumaus,oftbat/egeswblcboueofHetaclltus'sftagmeutsldeutluedas
tbeommou ,, ?o || ) 0 apltallstalleuatlou lsuotoulyalleuatlou
ftom tbe matetlal coudltlous ofoue's owu ptoductlou ,wotk) , but also
alleuatlouftomtbemeausbywblcbouemlgbtsbatetbatwblcblscom-
mou.AgambeuatguestbattbeDebotd'stetmfottblsextteme
fotm ofalleuatlouls so batmful fot tbewotld's commuultles because
lts alleuatlug fotce sttetcbes so fat. Tbe teacbes uot ouly luto
outbomes tbtougb tbe ldeologlcal messages ttausmltted byout medla,
but also luto outvety"medlallty-outcapacltyto commuulcatewbat
we bave lu commou. Tbe -luAgambeu's wldeued use oftbe
tetmlsatctoss-putposeswltbtbeldeaofcommuultybecauseltuudet-
mluesbumau commuulcatlvltylubotb imagcaudaerd. 8yvltlatlugtbe
FremSccmc/teShc/inah i ;,
meausof autbeutlccommuulcatlou,tblsmodetufotmof socalalleuatlo
uudetmluestbemeausofcousttuctlugacommuultytbatmlgbtfteeltself
ftomaloglcofexcluslouaudvloleuce.
TbeauswettoAgambeu'squestlouastowbatmlgbtbeteapedftom
Debotd'sbetltagelstbustobesougbtuotoulylulmagebutalsoluwotd.
lt luvolves botbteallzlugtbedltestatesoftbewotld'scommuultlesaud
uudetstaudlugtbattbescLtac-tbealleuatlugmeausofcommuulcatlou
cbatactetlstlcofludusttlallzeduatlous-coucetusuotoulyimagcsbutalso
outvetycommuulcatlveesseuce-out/ngagc. etthetelsstlllmoteto
tblsbetltage. "TbeexttemefotmofthlsexptoptlatlouoftheCommouls
tbe spectacle, tbat ls, tbepolltlcswellve lu," wtltesAgambeu " butthls
also meaus tbatlutbespectacle outowullugulstlcbelug/nesastcssa
natara /ingisnca| comesbackto us luvetted" ,CC, || ) . Agambeu's
utstbookeudedwltbtbesewotds"ccotdlugtotbeptluclplebywhlcblt
lsoulylutbebutulugbousetbattbefuudameutalatchltectutalptoblem
becomesvlslblefottbeutst tlme, att, attbefuttbestpolutofltsdestluy,
makesvlslbleltsotlglualptoject" ,MWC,ii, i;z|) . FotAgambeu, as w
sawluCbaptetOue,"wbetetbetelsdauget,alsogtows/thatwhlchsaves,"
audltsbouldtbeucomeasuosutptlsetohudAgambeuwtltlugthat"thls
lswby,pteclselybecausewbatlsbelugexptoptlatedlsthevetyposslblllty
ofacommougood thevloleuceofthespectaclelssodesttuctlve, /at /r
thcsamcrcasen thcscctac/crctainssemcthing/i/caesinicei/i/ithat
can /cascdagainstit ,CC, | ltallcsadded Whatcau be teaped
ftom Debotd's betltage, tbeu, lsuotoulyclatltyabouttheexttemltyof
outsltuatlou, butalsotbemeaus tbtougbwblcbwemlghttevetselt.
To say,bowevet,tbattbeexttemltyofoutsltuatlou,tbelmmlueuce
ofcatasttopbe,btlugswltblttbeposslbllltyoftevetsalstllltellsusuotblug
aboutwbattbls"posltlveposslblllty"isotbowweatetoemployltAuau-
swetto tblsquestloulsuotlmmedlatelyglveu,butAgambeu'satgumeut
doesuoteudbete.Wltboutttausltlou, bemovesftomblslutetptetatlou
oftbe spectacle to a patable about tbe Sbekluab. Tbls dlaguosls oftbe
spectaclebetellsus,"lsvetyslmllattowhattbecaballstscalledthelsola-
tlouoftbeSbekluab'audatttlbutedtoAbet,oueoftbefouttabblswho,
accotdlugto acelebtatedHaggadahoftbeTalmud, euteted luto atdes
,tbat ls, luto supteme kuowledge ,CC, 8: ||) . Agambeutheu offets
blsteadetsacouclsevetslouoftbeHaggadabluquestlou
i FremScctac/teShc/inah
For rabbis thc story says, cntcrcd Iaradisc. cn Azzai, cn oma, Ahcr and
abbiAkiba . . . cnAzzai castaglanccanddicd . . . cn omalookcdandwcnt
mad . . . Ahcrcutothcbranchcs . . . abbiAkibalclt unharmcd. CC, &6
6;) , cllipscsinoriginal]
Hetewe cau atlastoegluto uudetstaudtbeteasoutblscbaptetoeatstbe
tltle Sbeuab ,tatbet tbau, fot lustauce, Sectacle) outtbe couuec
tloutoDeootd'saualysesofoutmedlatlzedagetemaluslutbedatk.To ll
lusttatetblsuullkelypatallel,Agamoeutbeuwtltes.
1hcShckinahisthclastolthctcnSchrot,orattibutcsolthcdivinity, thconcthat
cxprcsscs thcvcryprcscncc olthc divinc, itsmanilcstationorhabitationoncarth.
itsword. "Ahcrscuttingothcbranchcs" isidcntihcdbythccabalistswiththc
sinolAdam,whoinstcadolcontcmplatingallolthcSchrotchosctocontcmplatc
thc hnal onc, isolating it lrom thc othcrs and in this way scparating thc trcc ol
knowlcdgclromthctrccol lilc. CC,&6;)]
ustas be dld wltb Deootd's scctac Agamoeu exteuds tbe Haggadlc
Shc/inahto eucompassuotjustvlslolepteseuce outalsowotd. uce
bebasdouetbls,blspatalleloecomescleat.lutbepataole, 8euAzzalaud
8eu oma, completelyovetwbelmedoytbeexpetleuce, atesoouleout
ofaccouutasouedlesaudtbeotbetgoesmad.Tbetemalulugugutesou
wbomAgamoeuuxesblsatteutlouateet,wboseuamemeausthet")
audRaoolAoa.tbougbRaooloaleavesuubatmed,etdoesuot.
Tbebatmdouetoblm,bowevet,lsuoteasytoldeutl,llketbemaduess
aud deatb oefalllugtbeotbeto ugutes) . Abet cuts tbeotaucbes" aud
tbeteoy, ltseems,attemptstolsolateaudmastetaslugleaspectoftheDl-
vlulty. 8ydolugso,bowevet,besevetstbellvlugcouuectloutokuowledge
audlslewltboulytbeappeatauceofkuowledge.lutbetetmsusedeatllet
lutbecbaptet,beootalustbescctac/cofkuowledge,outuotltsteallt.
lutblscoudltlouofexlle,Agamoeuwtltes,tbeSbekluabloseslts
posltlvepowetaudoecomesbatmful,tbecaoallstssaldltsuckedtbemllk
ofevll ),,z, ). Wbat,bowevet,doesltmeaufottbeSbekluab-fot
dlvluepteseuce-toloselts posltlvepowet audoecomebatmful`leatly
lt meaus to lsolate lt-lu pteclsely tbe same fasblou as tbe spectaculat
otgaulzatlouofcoutempotatyludusttlalsocletlesbaslsolatedthemeaus
ofcommuulcatlou ftom auytblug ttuly cemmen tbat tbeymlgbt com-
muulcate.Tbecoutempotatyscctac/c, llketbecuttlugoftbeotaucbeslu
tbestotyftomtbeHaggadab,suckstbemllkofevll lutbatltlsolates
appeatauceftomoelug, tbemeausofcommuulcatlouftomauycommou
esseuceotuatutetocommuulcate.
FremSccmc/teShc/inah i;;
ambeulsluttlguedeuougbbytblspatabletotetellltatuofewet
tbautbteeotbetpolutslubls wotk.'' luthepatable,RabblAk|baleaves
tbegatdeu uubatmed,butbowaudwby|s uot made cleat, audtheques-
tloutemalusastowbatAgambeuseesasexemplatyluRabblAk|bascase.
TbeoulymeausbywblcbwbatAgambeucalls"auautbeutlchumaucom-
muulty"couldbecoustltutedwouldbeouthebaslsofwhathedesct|bes
as "tbeuuptesupposableauduuptesupposedpt|uclple . . . that, assuch,
coustltutesautbeutlcbumaucommuultyaudcommuulcatlou",,]j z].
HetetooweatecouftoutedbyaptoblemHowcauapt|uc|plethat|suot
oulyuuptesupposedbutuuptesupposablebethebas|sfotacommuulty
otfot that mattet, fotauyth|ugatall`Aud howwould oue eveu catch a
gllmpseofsuchaueluslveptluclple`Theauswetto th|s secoudquest|ou
lstbtoughtbecxcrimcnmm/ingacexam|uedeat|etthtoughauexpet|-
euceof"aputeeveutoflauguagebefoteotbeyoudallposs|blemeau|ug"
,see ,|i|zz] . lutheptefacewtltteufottheFteuched|t|ouofIn/n
andHute, ftom tbesamepetlodwheuAgambeuwas atwotkou Ihc
CemingCemmani,bewtltestbat"thehtstoutcomeoftheccrimcnmm
/ingac. . . lsatad|caltevlslou ofthevety|deaofCommuulty" ,lHy
xlv] . Agambeusees|uthls ccrimcnmm/inacthemeausfottad|cally
tecouce|vlugthevetyldeaofcommuulty. luothetwotds,theteasousuch
auexpet|euceaudexpet|meutateofsuch|mpottaucefotAgambeu|sthat
auewcouceptlouofcommuu|ty|suotto behadw|thoutauewcoucep-
tlou ofthatwh|chls most commou lauguage. Fot thls teasou we cau
uowbettetseewbyAgambeusttessedthatthetewasludeeda"powetful
couuect|ou" betweeuhlsteBectlousoulauguageaudthoseoupol|t|csto
befouudlutbeldeatbat"lauguagelsthecommouelemeutthatl|uksall
meuaudwomeu" ,lHy xlv] ,lGA,,,).
lu tbe same patabollc cbaptet ftom Ihc Ceming Cemmaniwlth
wblcb we begau out examluatlou ofthe spectacle aud the She|uah,
Agambeuwtltes.
JhisisthcscnscinwhichthcisolationoIthcShckinahcxprcsscsthcconditionoI
our cra. Wcrcas undcrthcold rcgimc thc cstrangcmcnt oIthccommunicativc
csscncc oIhumans took thc Iorm oIa prcsupposition mat scrvcd as a common
Ioundation,inthcsocictyoIthcspcctaclcitismisvcrycommunicativit thisgc-
ncric csscncc itsclIi. c. , languagc) , thatis scparatcd into an autonomoussphcrc.
, &z ,,)
lu outsocletyofthespectacle, the btauches oflauguage have beeu cut
ftomthel|vlugtteeofexpetleucsepatat|ug,luthelauguageofthepat
i ; FremScctac/cteShc/inah
able, tbe ttee ofllfeftomtbe ttee ofkuowledge. Tbls ls, fotAgambeu,a
patableofulblllsm, oue tbatDebotd'sspectaclelsolates. lutbeptecedlug
cbaptet,wesawAgambeulluktbemattetoflauguageaudtbetbluklugof
poteutlalltytowbatbecallsaucxcrimcntam /ingaac. lublscouceplous
ofspectacle aud Sbekluab, beexteudstbls ldealuto tbepolltlcal spbete.
"Wbat ls lu questlou lu polltlcalexpetleuce, "bewtltes, "ls uotablgbet
eudbuttatbetbelug-lu-lauguageltself",M, z| ) . lottblsteasou,
tbe "cousequeuceoftbe cxcrimcntam /ingaaclstbat, aboveaudbeyoud
tbecouceptsofapptoptlatlouaudexptoptlatlou, tbatwblcbdemaudste-
Rectlou ls tbeposslbllltyaud tbe modalltles ofacc asag ,M, ;
,| , ttauslatloumodlued,ltallcsluotlglual) .

Tbeccrimcntam/ingaac
tbatAgambeu desctlbeslstbus,fotblm,tbe"uulquematetlalexpetleuce
posslbleofoutgeuetlcesseuce",M, z] ) .
lihilism, or the Complete Consciousness
ot Ianguage
lutbeessay"TbeldeaofLauguage,"Agambeudeclatestbat"weate
tbeutstbumau belugswbobavebecome completelycousclous cescicnt
oflauguage," audclalmsfuttbettbat"tblslstbeopetulcautevolutlou
tbattbetbougbtofouttlmelubetltsftomulblllsm",l,, ,,| ) . 8efotewe
cauuudetstaudtblsslugulatcousclousuessoflauguageweueedtouudet-
staud bettettbe llue oflubetltauce. lubls essayou8attlebyaudcoutlu
geucy,Agambeutefets to "tbeuugtatefulguest-ulblllsm-wltbwbom
weatealltoofamlllattoday" ,l, z,).

leveuyeatseatllet, luLangaagc
andDcath, Agambeubad dedlcatedblmselfto explotlugtbefotmsaud
fuuctlousofuegatlvltyluWestetupbllosopblcaltbougbtaudbadevoked
tbetelutbenihi/ismbeyoudwblcbcoutempotatytbougbtaudptaxls,lts
polltlcs')baveuotyetveututed" ,LD, xlll ,] , ltallcsluotlglual, ttausla-
tloumodlued) .Agambeu'seutetptlselutbatbookwas"coucelvlugoful-
blllsmdlffeteutly"tbaumodetutbougbtbadbltbettodoueaudluvolved
uudetstaudlugwbatbecalledmauklud's"uugtouudeduess/asaainn
datca| ,otuegatlvegtouud ndamcnte ncgatioe| )"-a couceptlouwe
utstsawlutelatloutoAgambeu'sldeaofvocatlou,LD,xlll| ,ttauslatlou
modlued).Tbeldeaofulblllsmaudbowltlstobeuudetstoodlsevoked
at uumetous poluts luAgambeu'swtltlugftom tbepetlodsuttouudlug
Langaagc andDcath. lu au essay ftom r, be tefets to "coutempotaty
FremSccmc/cteShc/inah i;
tbougbt,lultssomuambulautulblllsm,"audluauothetessaywtltteuthe
yeatbefote,beclalmstbatwbeteas "ulhlllsm . . . lutetptetstheextteme
tevelatlouoflauguagelutbeseusethatthetelsuothlugtoteveal,thettuth
oflauguagelstbatltuuvells tbeothlugofall thlugs. Theabseuceofa
metalauguage tbus appeats as tbe uegatlve fotm ofthe ptesupposltlou,
audtbeotblugastbeuualvell,tbeuualuameoflauguage",,,io| ,
,] ) . ltlslmpottauttouotehetethatAgambeudoesuottejectauex-
petleuceofulblllsm,hetejectslutetptetlugltluthewtougshlou.The
facttbat"thetelsuothlugtoteveal "lstakeultselfasthesubjectoatev-
elatlouaudacatasttophlcouespelllugthelossofmeaulug,commoual-
lty, audauyldeaofcommuultybasedoulauguage. WhatAgambeueu-
j olushlsteadetstodolstolutetptetthlstevelatloudlffeteutlyuotas"the
othlugofallthlugs"themeauluglessuessofexlsteucebutastheab-
seuceofuualtevelatlouaudthefalseuessoftheldeathathumauhlstotyls
uufoldlugwltbaptogtesslveputposeluvlew.
Tblsldeaofasactedttuthtobetevealedattheeudohlstotylsbet-
tedbyauldeaofulblllsmthatAgambeueudeavots tostaudoultshead.
lottblsteasoubeclalmstbat"tbetaskofphllosophyls. . . tobeassumed
exactly at tbe polut at whlcb coutempotaty thought seems to abaudou
lt",,,] ) Tbetaskofphllosophylsthusto befouudluawakeulug
ftomthls "somuambulaut"stateaudcoutoutlugthe"uuwelcomeguest"
tbatlsulblllsm. ltlsfotthlsteasouthatAgambeuwtltesluthelastllues
ofLangagcandDcaththat"thecthes,humaulty'sowu,lsuotsomethlug
uuspeakable otsaccrtbat must temalu uusald lu allptaxls audhumau
speecb.eltbetlsltauotbluguess,whoseuullltysetvesasthebaslsfotthe
atblttatluessaudvloleuceofsoclalactlou.Rathet,ltlssoclalptaxlsltsel
bumauspeecbltselwblcbbavebecomettauspateuttothemselves" ,LD,
ici,,] ) . Tbatnihi/ismpteseutsadaugetlsvlslbleluthevetyfotmofthe
wotd, butuudetstaudlugAgambeu'scouceptlouofltlsfatftomslmple.
Touudetstaudthlsnething,wemustuudetstaudthesemcthingthatlttlsks
occludlug luthlscase, ltluvolvesthedlfuculttaskofdetetmlulugwhat
ltwouldmeaufot"soclalptaxls" aud "humauspeechltself"to" become
ttauspateuttothemselves."ocleatauswettothlsquestloulsoffetedlu
Langagc andDcath, butoue offetedlu Ihc Ceming Cemmaniaud
luthe"Copetulcautevolutlouthatthethoughtofouttlmeluhetltsftom
ulhlllsm."
Wlththlsldeauowlumludwecautetututotheuatuteothlstevo-
lutlou.luauothetessayftomthlspetlod,Agambeugoessotastodehue
i o FremScctac/cte Shc/inah
pbllosopbyltselfastblsexpetleuce. lbllosopbylstbeattempt. . . tobe-
comecousclousoftbemeaulugoftbefacttbatbumaubelugsspeak" ,l,
;,| ) . Tblstematkableassettloulsecboedluabostofessaysaudbooks
wtltteulutbeyeatstbatfollow, audtblssutptlslugblstotlcaldlaguossls
oue tbatAgambeu tetutus to lu Ihc CemingCemmanit. Hete be tells
blsteadettbattbeetaluwblcbwellvelsalsotbatluwblcbfottbeutst
tlmeltlsposslblefotbumaustoexpetleucetbeltowullugulstlcbelug
uot tbls ottbatcouteutoflauguage, but lauguage itsc,, ,, ltallcs
added).8utwbatdoesAgambeumeaubyoutbecomlug"completelycou-
sclousoflauguage"`Audbowlsltposslbleuotoulyfotauludlvldualbut
fotaueutlteagetoexpetleuce"lauguageitsc
lu aslmllatvelu,Agambeuwtltestbat"tbeage luwblcbwellvels
alsotbeageluwblcb, fottbeusttlme,ltbasbecomeposslblefotmau-
kludto expetleuceltsowullugulstlcesseuce-uottblsottbatllugulstlc
couteutotttueptoposltlou,buttbectitscesca/in ,MW,ii,z| ,
ltallcslu otlglual, ttauslatloumodlued) . Tblsexpetleuclugoflauguage's
esseuce lscoucelvedoflu slugulat fasblou. "Tbeexpetleucelu questlou
bete does uot bave auy objectlve couteut aud cauuot be fotmulated as
aptoposltlou tefettlugto astateoftblugs otto ablstotlcal sltuatlou. lt
coucetusuotasmtcbuttatbetau oflauguage",MW,z| ,ltal-
lcsluotlglual) .Asbadbeeutbecasefotblscxcrimcnmm/ingac,wbatls
atlssuebetelstbesamemattetoflauguagetbatAgambeusawleadlugto
auexpetleuceoftbepoteutlalltyoftbougbt."Tblsexpetleuce,"Agambeu
sttesses,"mustbetbeucousttuctedasauexpetlmeutcoucetulugtbevety
mattetottbepoteutlalltyoftbougbt /matcriastcssae/etcnzdc/
cnsicre] ,MW, z] , ttauslatlou modlued) . Tbe tefeteuce bete to
poteutlallty ls a famlllat oue, but ou tbls polltlcal tettalu, wbat does lt
meautobavesucbauexpetleuceofposslbllltyaudpoteutlallty, audbow
caultleadtoauewldeaofcommuulty`
Advauclug Debotds luslgbts coucetulugmodetu medlatlzed socl-
ety,Agambeuslgualsacbauceoffetedtocoutempotatysocletybytbevety
alleuatlou lt ls expetleuclug. lot Agambeu tbe soclety oftbe spectacle
teRects maus alleuated llugulstlc uatute lu luvetted fotm, aud be tbus
tefetstoau"exttemecstrcma]

exptoptlatlouoflauguageeffectedbytbe
spectaculatstate" ,MW, ii, i| ,ttauslatloumodlued) .luauessaypub-
llsbedtbesameyeat,io)as IhcCemingCemmani,Agambeutefets
to a "tbtesbold ofde-ptoptlatlou dcreriienc| aud deldeutlhcatlou
ofall modes aud all qualltles-a tbtesbold luwblcb tbose modes aud
FremSccm/cteShc/inah i i
qualltlesutstbecomeputelycommuulcable",MWE,ioo] ,ttauslatlou
modlued) .Agambeu'suseofthetetmsrecr, crerianen,auddcreri
atientesembletheltuselu lteuchphllosophy,mostuotablylu Dettlda's
wtltlug) aud ate best uudetstood thtough Heldegget's use of them.
Heldegget's dlalectlc ofthe ptopet aud the lmptopet-ofEigcnt/ic/cit
aud |ncigcnt/ich/cit-astodo uotwlth auygteatetotlessetcottectuess
ofcouductbutwlthadlalectlcofbelouglugaudtheethlcaltamlhcatlous
ofsuchadlalectlc.luHeldegget'sphllosophythetelsuospeclalotspeclhc
csscncctoelthetstate,theptopetlsmetelyafotmofthelmptopet,audvlce
vetsa.lotAgambeu,thlsHeldeggetlaudlalectlchasthegteatesttelevauce
pteclselyluatealmwheteHeldeggetwas mostteluctautto placelt the
teal oflauguage. lotAgambeu, lauguagehas uorecrmeaulugaud
uorecrcouteut. ltlsa medlumfotcommuulcatlou, a medlum made
upofuumotlvatedslgusthatthtoughtheactlvltyaudlugeuultyofmau
ateusedtocommuulcateauastouudlugattayofthlugs.Developlugthls
Heldeggetlau luslghtluthesamedltectlou ashedoesthe llugulstlc lu-
slghtsofSaussuteaud8euveulste,Agambeuattlvesataslugulatldeaof
lauguageaudatltscotollatyluaslugulatldeaofcommuulty.
Agambeu's exptesslou "exptoptlatlou oflauguage" thus cau aud
shouldbe uudetstood lu a slmple seuse ltls theteudetlugcommouof
whatouethoughtofasoue'sowuaudoulyasoue'sowu-ptovluceot
ptopetty. lollowlugthe Hldetllulau ptluclple thatwe saw lu the htst
chaptetofthlsbookaudthatlssuchafuudameutalelemeutluAgambeu's
thought, thls"exptoptlatlouoflauguage,"althoughdevastatluglultse
fects,lsalsotheutststeptowatdattuly"fteeusage"ofthatwhlchlsmost
commou. outmeausofcommuulcatlou.Thlsdlsasttousstateofaalts,
whlchAgambeucalls"theexttemeexptoptlatlouoflauguageeffectedby
thespectaculatstate," btlugswlthlt, howevet, a posslbllltyfot chauge.
lu thls spectaculat soclety, saysAgambeu, "we eucouutet outowu llu-
gulstlcuatuteluvetted. lotthls teasou ,pteclselybecausewhatls belug
exptoptlatedhetelstheposslbllltyltselfofthe Commou), thespectacle's
vloleuce ls so desttuctlve, but fot thls same teasou, the spectacle lso
coutalussomethlugllke a posltlve posslblllty thatcau be used agalust
lt" ,MWE, ii, iz] , ttauslatloumodlhed) . luAgambeu'scouceptlou,
"thespectacle'svloleuce"lsuotthevloleucethatthewotld'smedlatepott
ou-beltthedocumeutatyfotmofthevloleuceofmllltatycouBlctsot
theuctloualoueofvloleuteutettalumeut-butthevloleucetheyembod
Thevloleuceluquestlouls thatdouetothemeausofcommuulcatlouby
z FreScctac/cteShc/inah
asystem tbat pteteuds to commuulcate evetytblug, to llukall ludlvldu
alsaudbtlugtogetbetallspbetes,but lusteadeffectslucteasluglsolatlou
audalleuatlou "lutbespbeteoftbespectacle,Agambeutematkedlua
teceut lutetvlew, "tbe medlapteseuts a lauguage tbat bas beeu dtalued
ofmeaulugTbeptoblemtbeulleslubowouemlgbtllbetatetbemeaus
ofcommuulcatlou so tbattbeydo uotagalu fallpteyto tblslsolatlou
aud sepatatlou ,lWl, z) . Tbe socletyoftbespectaclebas become so
complete, tbe alleuatlou so wldesptead, tbatweate offeted aptlvlleged
gllmpseofsometblugtbatlsuotmallyobscutedbytbemessage. tbeme
dlumltselfTbattbemedlumlstbemessagelswbat,followlugAgambeu,
wecauseewltbuuptecedeutedclatltytoday,audtblslswhathemeaus
wbeubewtltestbat, "We ate tbeutsthumaubelugswbohave become
completelycousclousoflauguage,j ustasltlsfottblsteasoutbathewlll
auuouucetbat"tbougbtuudsltselffottbeutsttlme,today,couftoutedby
lts task wltbout auyllluslou audwltbout auyposslbleallbl " ,MW, iii
) Reuteu8os,zoo,,z,z)asks, "auwe setlouslyaskpeopleto
fotfelttbesecutltyoftbeltlmagluatylutegtlty,ldeutlty,bome, tace, class,
audsoouAgambeusauswetwouldseemtobetbatwealteadybave,aud
tobe,asbesays,"wltboutallbl meaustobewltboutexcusefotdefettlug
tbeselzlugoftblsoppottuulty
Tbeabovewouldeutallateevaluatlouofoutcouceptlouoftbemeaus
aud euds ofblstoty, audwouldtequlte a tecouceptlou oftbe ldeawltb
wblcbwebegautblsstudy.tbeldeaofvocatlou.ltlsfottblsteasoutbat
Agambeuclalms,"Tbefacttbatmustcoustltutetbepolutofdepattutefot
auydlscoutseouetblcslstbattbetelsuoesseuce,uoblstotlcalotspltltual
vocatlou,uoblologlcaldestluytbatbumausmusteuactotteallze ,,
, , ) Agambeusttessesbetesometblugof wblcbevetysetlousmodetu
obsetvet lsawate. tbelmpovetlsbmeutofpolltlcal dlscoutse audtbe lu
cteaslugtellauceouspectaculatsltuatlous,souudbltes,audtbeseemlugly
eudlesstesoutcesofpubllctelatlous TblssltuatloulsseeubyAgambeuas
tepteseutlugactlslsfotcommuultlesofallsotts, butblsauswetlsuota
geuetalsttlkeotcommuulstcouttol.ltlslusteadacallfotatevaluatlouof
tbecategotles tbtougbwblcbwevlewoutpolltlcallaudscape. Tbemost
ptesslugpolltlcalaudetblcalquestloufotAgambeulsbowtoeucoutage
ustosubmltouttbougbtaudoutlauguagetoacoustautteuovatlou,oue
tbat mlgbtcouutet tbe fotces tbat seek to lusttumeutallzeltaudtbete
by uudetmlue lts commouallty. lot tbls teasouAgambeuwtlteslu Ihc
CemingCemmani
FremSccmc/teShc/inah i ,
Lvcn rc than cconomicncccssityand tcchnologicaldcvclopmcnt, what drivcs
thc natons oIthc carth toward a singlc common dcstinyis thc icnation om
linguistic bcing, thc uprooting oIall pcoplcs Irom mcir vital dwclling in lan-
guagc. . . Contcmporary politics is this dvastating smsnmm/insthat
all ovcr thc planct unhingcs and cmptics traditions and bclicIs, idcologics and
rcligions, idcntitics and communitics. Cnly thosc who succccd in carrying it to
complction-withoutallowingwhatrcvcals to rcmainvcilcd in thc nothingncss
thatrcvcals, butbringinglanguagcitsclItolanguagc-willbcthchrstcitizcnsoa
communitywith ncithcrprcsuppositionsnor statc, whcrcthcnulliingandd-
tcrminingpowcroIwhatis commonwillbcpacihcd. CC, y
[

:s
Thlspaclhcatlouoftheuullllugpowetofthecommouaudthellbeta
tlouofltsllbetatlugpoteutlltyls,asambeuhas uotceasedtosttess,
uoslmpleaalt, audltlsthustomotecouctetelypolltlcmattetsthathe
wllltutulutheessaaudbooksfollowlug IcCemingCemmuni. luau
essayomzoozambeuwtotethat"oulylucldltyaudlmagluatlou,eed
at ouce omaglugldeologlesaudallbetalspectaculatctedo, cautestote
maukludtothespaceoftheltcltles, "audltlstowatdtheemployofsuch
lmagluatlouaudtheseatchfotsuchlucldltythathlseottsluthecomlug
yeatswlllbedltected ,S)
r | FremScctac/teShc/inah
Scholium . |acques Derrida and Aher, or
Jhe Cutting ot the ranches
TbemeanlngandlmpottancetbatAgambenasctlbestotbeHagga-
dlcpatabledlscussedlntblscbaptetateeaslettodlscetnwbenweevoke,
as does be, contempotatyugutes ln anessaypubllsbedtbesameyeatas
Ihc Ceming Cemmani, Agamben tetells tbls stoty-wltbanaddltlon.
tbeuguteofAbetlsldentluedwltbacontempotatytblnketandaptesent
danget.TbattblnketlsacquesDettldaandtbedangetlsnlblllsm.
lnPardcsTheWtltlugoflotentlallty,"Agambenllnksthepatable
totbecxcrimcntm/ingacofsucblmpottancetoblsldeasoulauguage
andpotentlallty,dlscussedlnChaptetFoutofthlsbook).Thecutt|ugof
tbebtancbes,"AgambenwtlteslnPards," ls an ccrimcnmm/ingac,
an expetlence oflanguage tbat conslsts ln sepatatlngbotbspeecb ftom
tbevolceandptonunclatlon ftom lts tefetence.Aputewotdlsolatedlu
ltselwltbneltbetvolcenottefetent,wlthltssemantlcvaluelndeunltely
suspeuded tbls lstbedwelllngofAbet, tbeOtbet,' lnlatadlse" ,l, zo;
,|] ). FotAgamben, Dettldatesembles tblsOtbet,Abet. nableto ac-
cepttheunalconsequencesoftbls ccrimcnam/ingac,beundsblmself
ttappedlntbeapotlasofself-tefetence,''thetebyconslgnlngdeconsttuc-
tlontotbeexlleoftetmlnology"wblcbAgambenalsocallsanobstluate
dwelllnglntbeexlleoftbeSbeklnab",l,zo ,,o] ,zr ,6,] ). Howatewe
toundetstandtblspataleandtbe sevetej udgmentltpasseson Dettlda's
tbought
8efoteanswetlngtblsquestlonwesbould notetbatAgamben's te-
latlon to Dettldaand deconsttuctlon lswltbout patallel lnblswotk. lt
ls slngulatly, and at polnts lntensely, polemlcal, yet cbooses wbat seem
tbeleastpolemlcalmeansfotltsexptesslon-tbelndltectonesofpatable,
patallel, aslde, and alluslon. lt sbould then come as llttle sutptlse tbat
tbls telatlonsblp bas been a soutce ofmucb cutlosltyand confuslon ln
tbectltlcallltetatuteonAgamben.Mostcommentatotsagteetbatltlsof
fundamental lmpottauce. SlmonMotganWottbamwtltestbatoneal-
mostfeelstbattbeentltemomentumofAgambeu'sctltlcalte-elabotatlons
ofvlttuallytbewboleueldofpost-Enllghtenmenttbougbt, notto men-
tlon bls fasclnatlng te-encountets wlth medleval texts and ph|losophy,
bullds ultlmatelytowatds actltlque ofdecousttuctlon" ,Wotthamzoo;,
o). 8ut wbatlstblsctltlqueAdam Thutschwellhuds that gambeu's
vlttual cbatge . . . ls tbe batshest that cau be leveled. that Dett|da, ot
FremSccac/teShc/inah i ,
tatbeeconsttuct|on . | s tbefalseMess|ah" ,zoo,, i;|). Fotbetpatt,
Eva Geulencla|mstbat "wb|le|nh|seatlytextsAgambenc|tesDett|da
as an uncond|t|onal autbot|ty an/cdingtcHatertt| aud leuds some of
Dett|da's] essays bag|ogtapb|cal tta|ts hagegahischc gc| , w|th the
HemeSaccrset|es, ct|t|c|sm ofDett|damouuts" ,zoo, z;) . Com|ugas
|tdoes|ntbeutstmonogtapbded|catedtoAgamben'sthought,Geulens
assessment|s tematkablefotbowmucb|tm|sses.hettacesth|schauge
|nAgamben's att|tude to a d|ffetence ofpb|lolog|cal op|n|ou coucetn-
|ng 8enjam|n's essay "Towatds a Ct|t|que of|olence." Although thete
was |ndeed sucb a d|sagteement, |twas fat ftomthehtst, aud Geuleus
cbatactet|zat|ouettsnotonly|nneglet|ugdecadesofeatl|etoppos|t|on,
butalso|n|tsdesct|pt|onofAgambeus|u|t|altelat|outoDett|da The
twoph|losophetseujoyedft|endlytelat|ons ,theywete colleagues atthe
lat|s|an Ce/gc Intcrnanena/dPhi/esehithat Dett|dahelpedfouud),
andAgambended|catedboththeessay"TheTh|ugltselaudachaptet
ofIdca ePresctoDett|daTb|sdoesnotmean,howevet,thatthetewasa
po|nt|ntbe|ttespect|vedevelopmeutswhentheywete|ucompleteagtee-
ment,andst|lllessdoes|tmeantbatAgambenmovedftom"hag|ogtaph|
cal " adbetence to apostatetej ect|on,bowevetappeal|ngsuchauattat|ve
m|gbtbe
Autststeptowatdundetstand|ngtb|sct|t|quethusl|es|uuncovet|ug
|tsot|g|nsWb|leM|llsandGeulenfocusthe|tattent|ousonHemeSaccr,
Tbutscbwelloffetsat|cbetp|ctuteoftb|sdebatebyd|tect|ngh|steadets
attent|ontoAgamben'sct|t|queofdeconsttuct|on|nLangoagcandDcath,
andtbustowellovetadecadeeatl|et,Thutschwell zoo,,;|seealsoM|lls
zoo|, ,o,;) He does not, bowevet, ttacetbemattetbackas fat ashe
m|gbtbave,fot|t|s|nStanzsftomhveyeatseatl|et,asbothev|uAttell
,z6)andWottbam,zoo;,)bavenoted,thatweutstundas|gu|hcaut
ct|t|que ofDett|da and deconsttuct|on. ln tbe unal chaptet ofSm,
Agambend|st|ngu|sbeswhatbecallss|gn|ucat|onseenundetthe s|guof
Oed|pusftoms|gn|ucat|onseenundet tbe s|gnoftbeph|nx."Evety|n-
tetptetat|onofs|gn||ngastbetelat|onofman|festa|onofexptess|ou,ot
|nvetsely,ofencod|ngandconceal|ng)betweeuas|gn|uetaudas|gu|hed
,andbotbthepsychoaualyt|ctheotyofthesymbolandthesem|ot|ctheoty
oflanguagebelongtoth|stype)places|tselfuecessat|lyuudetthes|guof
Oed|pus",,i, 6,] ,ttanslat|oumod|hed).Agambeucout|uues."udet
tbes|gnoftheph|nxmustbeplacedevetytheotyofthesymbolthat,te-
fus|ngthemodelofOed|pus,focuses|tsatteut|onaboveallouthebtt|e
r 6 FremScctac/teShc/inah
between slgnluet and slgnlued tbat constltutes tbe otlglnal ptoblem of
slgnlucatlon" ,S,r,, r6,] ). lnAgamben'svlew, Dettldafocusesexem-
platyattentlonontblsbattletbutbecomesttansuxedbywbatbesees.8y
testotlng tbe otlglnatycbatactet oftbe slgnluet," wtltes Agamben else-
wbetelnStanzs, tbegtammatologlcalptojecteffectsasalutatyctltlque
oftbemetapbyslcallnbetltancetbatbasctystalllzedlntbenotlonofslgn,
buttblsdoesnotmeantbatltbasteallysucceededlnaccompllsblngtbat
step-backwatd-beyond'metapbyslcs",S,r,6r] ) . To tblsAgambenadds
tbat wltbgteatetptudence, tbepbllosopbetonwbosetbougbttbatctl-
tlquelsbased Heldegget] besltatedtodeclatetbatstepcompleteoteven
posslble" ,S, r,6 r] , ttanslatlon modlued) . Mote expllcltly, Agamben
states tbat placlngwtltlngand tbe ttace lnan lnltlalposltlonputs tbe
empbasls on tbls otlglnal expetlence, but cettalnly does not ttanscend
lt" ,S, r,6 r] , ttanslatlon modlued) . OneteptoacbmadelnSmnls
tbatDettldalsctedltlngblstbougbtwltbmoteotlglnalltylntespectto
Heldeggettbanltdemonsttates,andlntblsvelnAgambenalsotematks
tbat llkemucb ofcontempotatytencb tbougbt, so toodoesDettlda's
baveltsmotetlessopenlydeclatedfoundatlonlntbatofHeldegget",S,
r, r] ). Asbealso does latet,Agambenexptesses bls ctltlclsmtbtougb
an evocatlve ugute ,tbe Spblnx), followed by a testtalned statement of
dlsagteement.lattoutofStanzsls,amongotbettblngs,atesponseto
Dettldas On Crammate/eganduestlonsDettlda's teadlngnotonlyof
HeldeggetbutalsoofSaussute-aboveallasconcetnswbetbetSaussute
lsteallyanadvocateofsemlologlcalanalyslsoftbesotttbatDettldaadvo-
cates. ,lnptopetlypbllologlcalfasblon,Agambenbasesbls atgumenton
Saussute'snotespubllsbedby8envenlste,wblcbbeundstbatDettldabas
neglected. )AgambenteptoacbesDettldafotovetvalulngblsotlglnallty
wltb tespectto HeldeggetandwltbmlsslngtbeteallmpottofSaussute's
analyses. 8eyond tbese local teptoacbes, bowevet, looms amotegenetal
one-one concetnedwltblanguage's communlcatlvepowetandtbatbe
wllltetutntofotdecadestocome.
lnanessaypubllsbedtbteeyeatsaftet Stanzas,Agambenmoteex-
pllcltlyttacestbellmltofDettlda'stbougbt,wblcbldentluesmetapbyslcs
wltbdependenceonwtltlng"-tbesamepolntbesttesseslnLangagcand
Dcath ,lS, r6,) ln tbe lattetpubllcatlon,Agamben followsAtlstotle's
sttessontbegrammatatbtougbtbemannetlnwblcbthlsemphaslswas
tteatedbyAtlstotle'seatlylntetptetets ,LD, ,,z] ) . Tblsmeans,"wtltes
Agamben, tbat, ftomtbebeglnnlngtbeWestetn teBectlon onlanguage
FremSccmc/teShc/inah i;
locatedtbegrammaandnottbevolcelntbeotlglnatyplace",LD,,,,] ).
AltbougbAgambendoesnotnameDettldahete,tbetatgetofhl sctltlque
ls easlly dlscetnable To temove all doubt, Agambeuwtltes lu tbe vety
uextpatagtapbtbat"altbougbwesbouldcettalulypayhomagetoDettlda
as tbe tblnket wbo bas ldeutlued wltb tbe gteatest tlgot-developlug
Lvlnas' concept oftbe ttace and Hldegget's concept ofdlffeteuce
tbe otlglnal status oftbeammaandoftbeslguluet lu out cultute, lt
ls also ttue tbatbebellevedbebad opeuedthewayto tbesutpasslugof
metapbyslcs,wblle ln ttutbbemetelybtougbttbefuudameutalptoblem
ofmetapbyslcsto llgbt" ,LD, , ,,] , ttanslatlon modlued).Ashehad
donelnSmn,Agamben atgueslnLangoageandDeathaudluthees-
saysleadlnguptolttbatnotoulyateDettldasluslghtslessotlglualthau
tbeyptesenttbemselvestobe-basedastbeyateouthoseofLvluasaud
Heldegget-tbeyalsomaketbemotefundameutalettotofmlstakluga
beglnnlngfotanend
lnatalkutstglvenlni,,Agambeuoffetedamoteneuttalaccount
ofdeconsttuctlon, speaklng of"tbe tbeotyoftbe suptemacyofthelet-
tetotamma,astbeotlglnatynegatlvefoundatlonoflauguage),wblcb,
stattlng wltb Dettlda, appeats ln lnnumetable fotms ln coutempotaty
Ftencb tbougbt"-altbougb ltls cleatenougb tbattbls lsa "theoty" to
wblcbbe blmselfdoesnotadbete l, ,; |] ) . Two yeatslatet,Agambeu
tefets to "anautbotltatlvecuttentofcontempotatyFtencbtbougbt"tbat
"poslts language lntbe beglnnlng andyetconcelvesoftblsdwellluglu
tbear/hcaccotdlngtotbenegatlvesttuctuteof wtltlngaudthegamma,"
andaltbougbDettldalsonceagalnnotdltectlyuamedasltssoutce,bels
easllytecognlzableasltscblefteptesentatlvel,q ,z] ) . luauotbetessay
ftomtbat sameyeat,Agambentutnedtotbe tbetotlcofenttapmeuttbat
bewould employln tbeHaggadlcpatable, tfettlngto "the sttuctuteof
ttace and otlglnatywtltlngln wblcb out age bas temalnedlmptlsoued"
,l, iii i,6 ) Altbougb Dettlda's name ls onceagaln avolded, the tefet-
encestokeytetmslnDettlda'stbougbtsucbas oaceanderignaunng
maketbeobjectofAgamben'sctltlclsmunmlstakable.
Wbatsucb asutveyofAgamben's ctltlque ofDettldaauddecou
sttuctlonsbowslsuotonlytbatltsttetcbesbackfattbetthauctltlcshave
tended to note, but also tbat lt dlsplays a tematkable, lfat tlmes eulg-
matlc,coutlnulty.AltboughGeuleulsludeedwtougtotefettoapetlodof
"baglogtapblcal " adbeteucethatcomestoaueudwltb HemeSacer, aud
altbougbltlsfalseto ttacetbedlffeteuceluv|ews to auatgumeutovet
r FremScctac/cte Shc/inah
howtolntetptet8enjamlnsFotaCtltlqueoflolence,ltisthecasethat
thetelsatlselnboththeftequencyandthelntensltyofAgamben'sctltl-
clsms ofDettlda dutlngthepetlodwhen HemeSaccrwaswtltten. lnan
essayftomrzAgambenwtotethattbesuccessofdeconsttuctlonlnout
tlmelsfounded. . . onltshavlngconcelvedtbewholetextofttadltlon,tbe
wholelaw. . . asabelnglnfotcewlthoutslgnlucance,andtblschatgels
tepeatedalmostvetbatlmlnHemeSaccr,l,r;o z6, ). Aftetadlscusslon
ofthellngulstlccategotlesofmeanlnganddenotatlon,Agambentematks
thatwhatdeconsttuctlondoeslsposltundecldablesthatatelnunltelyln
excessofevetyposslbllltyofslgnlucatlon,HS, z, ,o ). lnalatetasldebe
notesthattheptestlgeofdeconsttuctlonlnouttlmellespteclselylnlts
havlngconcelvedoftheentltetextofttadltlonas belnglnfotcewltbout
slgnlucance,abelnglnfotcewhosesttengthllesessentlallylnltsundecld-
ablllty andln havlngshown tbatsuch a belng lnfotce ls, llke tbe doot
fthe Law ln Kaa's patable, absolutely lmpassable ,HS, ,| 6z6,] ) .
DutlngtblspetlodAgamben comestocbatactetlze deconsttuctlonasa
pettluedotpatalyzed messlanlsm and as exlstlngln apetpetual and
lntetmlnable state ofexceptlon ,l, r;r z66 ). lt ls ptesumablysuchte-
matksthatledThutschwelltothetadlcalconclusloncltedeatllet,aswell
asto themotemeasutedoneoflkaOjakangas thatonlyDettldacan
beconcelvedas a ttulymesslanlcthlnket,wheteasAgamben' s thlnklng
teptesentspost-messlanlsm ,Ojakangas zoo,b, |). ln HemeSaccrwe
teadthatltlspteclselyconcetnlnghesenseofthlsbelnglnfotce,andof
the stateofexceptlonthatltlnaugutates) thatoutposltlondlstlngulshes
ltselfftomthatofdeconsttuctlon. Out

agedoeslndeedstandlnftontof
languagejustasthe manftomthecounttylntbepatablestandslnftont
ofthe dootoftheLaw.Wbat thteatens thlnklnghete ls the posslblllty
tbat tblnklngmlght und ltselfcondemnedto lnunltenegotlatlonswlth
the dootkeepetot, even wotse, tbat lt mlgbt end by ltselfassumlngthe
toleoftbedootkeepetwho,wlthoutteallyblocklngtheentty,sheltetsthe
othlngontowhlchthedootopens.Astheevangellcalwatnlngcltedby
Otlgen concetnlng the lntetptetatlon ofSctlptute has lt. Woe to you,
menoftheLaw,fotyouhavetakenawaytbekeytoknowledge.youyout-
selvesbavenotenteted, andyoubavenotlet tbeotbetswbo apptoacbed
entet eltbet' ,HS, ,| 6z6,] ) . Hete tbe danget thatAgamben sees ln
deconsttuctlon ls cleatlystated. lntbteatenlngto lose ltselfln lnunlte
negotlatlons, deconsttuctlon, fotAgamben, ls assoclatedwltb tbe men
oftbelawwbo, tbtougbloveoftbelaw,cbooseltovetknowledge. ltls
FremScctac/cteShc/inah i
thls atthatAgambeuchoset oexptessl uthepatableof Ahetaudthe
cuttlugofthebtauchesofslgulhcatlou. FotAgambeu,decousttuctlouhas
takeuup tesldeuce lu"theexlleoftetmluology"audltsposltlouhludets
atetutu.
AsAgambeuhtsttematkedattheeudofSmn, hehuds Dettlda
to bettaushxed bythe battletofllugulstlcptesupposltlou, bythesepa-
tatlou ofslgulhet audslgulhed. Thls llue ofctltlclsmtemaluscoustaut,
althoughltlsequallycleatthatAgambeulsteluctauttofocusagteatdeal
ofatteutlouoult.Hlstematksatelatgelyexptessedthtouhmythlcalaud
patabollcpatallels-ftomedlpustoAklba-audftequeutlytakeplace
luasldes. luaptefacetoai,wotkbytheltallaupoetAutouloDelhul,
Agambeudlscussestheldeaofa dlvlde betweeuslgulhetaudslgulhed,
betweeuotlgluaudttace,addlugluapateuthetlcalasldethat"ltlshete
thatthedecousttuctloulstfactoty//rcadcenstraienm|establlshes
lts tesldeuce" ,El, )) 8O| ). Hete as elsewhete,Agambeu's ctltlclsms of
Dettldaatefat ftomcompletelyttauspateut, butwhatlscleateuoughls
theldeathatthetelssomethluglutetmluableaudeveumechaulcalluhls
decousttuctlous.Askedluaulutetvlewftomzooi toexpaudouwhatlu
decousttuctlou he fouudlmltlug,Agambeuoffeted a chatactetlstlcally
obllquebutuouetheless telllugauswet. "lfl hadto exptess lt thtougha
tutuofphtaseana/atmta| ,lwouldsaythatdecousttuctlouwasuotable
tomalutalultselfluputedesttuctlou nc//araduienc| aud,desplte
ltseleudedupttausfotmlugltselflutoamc/cha" ,LSl,|,).Agambeuls
ofcoutseuotobllgedtoexptessthlsassessmeutthtoughatutuofphtase,
aud hls declslou to do so ls chatactetlstlc ofa polemlc he made evety
effotttosofteu lfuotslleuce.Atlssueate types ofdesttuctlou. What ls
fotblddeuoutheSabbathateptoductlvewotksthatdlsplaya
mastetyovetuatute. thetactlvltles,howevet,suchasdesttuctlouluthe
seuseofcleatlugaway, atepetmltted. lu thls coutext,thedlstluctloulsa
sutptlslugoueaudathtstslghtseemsobscuteoteveulucoheteut.Thatlt
hasevetythlugtodowlthAgambeu'sldeaofcommuulty,howevet,lsseeu
luhlspostfaceto IhcCemingCemmaniwhetethedlstluctloubetweeu
ma/chaaudmcnacha,test)lspteseutedalougsldeluopetatlveuessaudde-
cteatlouasacouceptualpatadlgmfotacommuultyuolougetwaltlugfot
ahlstotlcaltaskto beaccompllshedotasetofcoudltlousto belhlled.
Agambeu's /amls focused ou the ldea ofthe "luopetatlve" thatwe
saweallet-auldeatowhlchdecousttuctloulsclosebutttlestolusttu-
meutallzeaudthetebyteluttoduceslutothespheteofwotkaudtask.To
O FremScctac/teShc/inah
summatlzetbelmpottoftbeselmages, deconsttuctlon,fotAgamben,bas
setupsboplntblsplaceofexlleandlscontenttotemalntbete.Tblsleads
totelatlvelyftequentand,tbougbcoutteous,dlsappolntedanddlssentlng
tefetencesto deconsttuctlonas cbooslngto dwell lnapotlasandbatness
tbeltsttengtbtatbettbanseeklngawayoutoftbem.
Aswesaweatllet, tbe cxcrimcnmm/ingac, fotAgamben, does
not ,as a common mlsundetstandlnglnslsts) autbotlzeanlntetptetatlve
ptactlcedltectedtowatdtbelnunltedeconsttuctlonofatext,notdoeslt
lnaugutateanewfotmallsm.Ratbet,ltmatkstbedeclslveeventofmattet,
andlndolngsoopensontoanetblcs",l,zr ,6,] ) . Dettlda'sdeconsttuc-
tlonfallspteytotblscommonmlsundetstandlng"andconslgnsltselfto
anlnunlteptocess-tbelnunltedeconsttuctlonofatext."Thlsj udgment
bastemalnedconstantovetmotetbantblttyyeatsandlsfoundessentlally
uncbangedlnSigaararcramwbeteDettlda's lndeunltedefettalofslg-
nlucatlon" lsoppoedto Foucault'satcbeologlcalapptoacb ,see;r).

To wbatbeseesasDettlda'slnunlteteadlngandlntetptetatlon,Agamben
lmpllcltlyopposestbegenulnely8enj amlnlanbetmeneutlcptlnclple"of
tbe nowofleglblllty" ,otnowofknowablllty"),wblcblstbeabsolute
opposlteoftbecuttentptlnclpleaccotdlngtowblcbeacbwotkmaybe-
come tbeobjectoflnunltelntetptetatlonsatanyglvenmoment" ,TTR,
r, r, ). Out age does lndeed stand ln ftont oflanguage just as tbe
man ftom tbe counttyln tbe patablestandslnftontoftbedootoftbe
Law,wtltesAgamben,HS, , 6z6,] ) . Deconsttuctloneltbetlosesltself
ln lnunlte negotlatlons" wltb tbe dootkeepetottakes tbe dootkeepet's
place-assumlngtbetole oftbedootkeepetwbo, wltboutteallyblock-
lngtbe entty,sbeltetstbe otblngontowblcbtbe dootopens" ,tbe same
metapbotlcalteglstettbatwesawAgambenbottowftomOtlgen),HS,,
6z6, ). Tbedootopensontootblng,"aotblng"tbatbecomesdan-
getousfottboseatoundltonlywben ltlsclosedoffassacted,ptesented
andptlzedassometblngtbatlstbeptovlnceoftbefew. Dettldatemalns,
fot Agamben, lnexllebecausebe bas found an apotlabe consldets su-
pteme. 8ecausebeseesnowaytocleattbepatb,nowayoutoftbatexlle,
bemlsseswbatlsfotAgambentbemostobvlous,andnecessaty, tesponse
tooutstateofaffalts.
Astblsdlscusslonsbows,Agamben'sttencbantctltlclsmofDettlda
anddeconsttuctlonlstbelasttblngbutatecentdevelopmentlnhlswotk
and, ontbeconttaty, dlsplaysasttlklngcontlnultyftomStan,r;;)to
Sigamra rcram ,z).Asconcetnsthe telated questlonofnihi/m, we
FremSccmc/teShc/inah i i
mlgbtbestclosetbequestlonwltbanothetpatable-th|sonenotd|tected
expllcltlyat Dettlda-to exptess theptoblem thatAgmbeu sees|ude-
consttuctlon.Theunal ldea"lnIdcaePresc|s"TheldeoAwkeu|ug"
lt tells oftbe sage Nagatjuna, ohls ttavel|ug ud h|s tech|ug othe
"docttlneofemptlness."Agambenwt|tesof Ngtj una
Wattormcntcdhim,howcvcr,wcrcnotthcrcbukcsoIthcorthodoxmonkswho
callcdhimanihilistandaccuscdhim oIdcstroyngthcIourtruths hs tcaching
Itrulyundcrstood-was nothing othcr than thc mcanngoIthcsc Iourtruths .
Mor did thc ironic commcntarics oIthc soltary oncs-who, lkc rhnoccroscs
cultivatcd illuminaton only Ior thcmsvcs-bothcr hm Iorhad hc not bccn
andwashcnotstillhimsclIsucharhnoccros) . Watdstrcsscdhimwcrcthosc
logicians. . . whoclamcdtoproIcssthcsamcdoctrnc hmsJhcdhcrcncc
bctwccnthcirtcachingandhiso sosubcmatattmcshchmsI U^
ablctograspit.YctonccouldnotimagncanythngLrthcrIromhsownposton.
IorthcirswasnLctthcsamcdoctrincoIcmptncss,butoncconstrancdwthn
thc limits oIrcprcscntation. Jhcy cmploycd thc prncplc oIrcason and mat oI
conditional production inordcrtoshowthccmptincssoIallthngs, butthcdid
notrcach thc point atwhich thcscprinciplcsrcvcalcd thcrowncmptncss.Jhcy
uphd, in short, thcprinciplcoIthc abscncc oI principlcs Hcncc thcytaut
knowlcdgc without awakcning-thcytaut thc trum without its nvcnton
octscnsuainocnzienc . IP iyi~yz,ii-z),translation modihcd
Thetelsmucbtbattema|nsuncetta|n|nthe|deaoattuththat|stobe
lnvented," and muchthattema|ns open |n the caeri thatmben
undstotesolvetheaeoflanguageandh|stoty.Thequest|onofwheth-
etsucbctltlclsmofdeconsttuctlon's "ex|le|ntetm|nology, "o|ts"cutt|ng
tbebtancbes"ofthetteeofknowledge,|sj ust|uedtema|usequlyopen.
8utwhatsbouldnotescapeoutattent|on, andwhtwe caugleu om
evenAgamben'smostobl|quectltlc|smsofdeconsttuct|ou,|sthtoth|m
deconsttuctlonteptesentsapotentdanget,onethat|sallthemotepotent
fot lts ptoxlmltytowhatAgamben sees 3 the mens ofdyum|ctet-
sal-otlnotbetwotds,themeanstoleave,3 d|dbb|Ak|b, thegtden
unbatmed.
\jz FremScctacteShc/inah
Scholium II. Jhe Idea ot Iornography
Atevlewetofauessa8eectoft's zoo, petfotmauceattplece8,,"
at 8etllu's eue Nanenaa/cric tecouuted tbat oue buudted womeu,
aged elgbteeu to slxtyuve-coacbed by a psycbologlst, fed vegetatlau
suacks,audweatluguotblugmotetbausklu-touedpautyboseaudasbeet
coatofalmoudoll-wete staudlugatouudluMlesvaudetRobe'sspec-
taculat glass box." euulfetAlleu addedtbat uext to bet lu llue stood
8eectoft'scouuttymauGlotgloAgambeu.Wbeuweuuallyptessedout
uosesagalustMles's gtaudvlttlue," sbe wtote, gambeu couldbatdly
bldeblsdlsappolutmeut. lautybose o . . md ne Speaklugoftbe oita
na, sbetelated, tbeltallaupbllosopbetaskedme aquestloutbatbas
pteoccupledblmfotdecades. Howdoyoulmagluepeoplelutbepetfect
wotld.dtessedotuaked' " ,Alleuzoo,) . Tblscasual,lfcutlous,questlou
basmotesetlouslmpllcatlousfotAgambeutbaumlgbtappeat,justaslt
basamotesetlouscotollatylublswtltlug.tepatadlgmofpotuogtapby.
Idca ePrescs TbeldeaofCommuulsm" beglus aud eudsbydls-
cusslug potuogtapby. Tbls ls uot tbe utst tlme tbatAgambeu bas ap-
ptoacbedtbesubject. luoueofbls eatllestessaysbetteatedtbelmageof
potuogtapbytbtougbtbedtamatlcdltectlousofAttaudauddeSade,SG,
;o) .eatlyfottyyeatslatetblsPrenanenstetutustotbetoplc,offet-
lugacutsotyblstotyofpotuogtapblcpbotogtapbyaudstudylugtbegazes
audgestutesoftbewomeudeplcted-ftomtbecoyavettedglaucesoftbe
utstpotuogtapblcpbotos to tbemodetu couveutlou oftbe femalepotu
statlooklugbtazeulylutotbecameta-wblcbAgambeutelatesto fotms
ofspectaculatsoclallzatloucbatactetlstlcofouttlme,lR,ioz). Wbeu
Agambeu tutus to potuogtapby lu Tbe ldeaofCommuulsm," lt ls to
dosometbluguuexpected.Hedoesuotluvokepotuogtapbytodemystlfy
commuulsm as a maulpulatlve ldeology almed at ptocutlugmaxlmum
sexualfteedom, otauytblugoftbesott.Wbatbeuudssoslgulucautfot
bls ldeaofcommuulsm"lupotuogtapblculmslstbetoletbat clotblug
audclassmatketsplaylu tbem. lusucbulmstbeteateludeedslgusde-
uotlugtbatauludlvldualbelougstotblsottbatclassotgtoup,buttbey
ptoveto beofllttle lmpottauce aud tbeycettalulydo uotsetveto keep
gtoupsotludlvldualsapatt.lupotuogtapblculmstbeactotsweatclotbes
tbatslgulfytbeltplacelusoclety-wbetbettbeyatetlcbotpoot,ewot
Geutlle,plumbetotuutse-buttbeseslgulucatlousatesuspeudedTbat
tbeclotbesoftbetlcbaudtbeclotbesoftbepoot,tbeclotbesoftbellbetal
FremScctac/teShc/inah 1y]
andtbeclotbesoftbeconsetvat|ve, ateletfallw|tb tbesameabandou|s
wbat encbants Agamben |n tbe |dea ofpotuogtaphy aud |s tbe teasou
beseesateBect|onofMatx'ssoc|etyw|tboutclasses thete|u. Theseclass
matketspets|st|ntbesamemauuet|nwb|cbaul cla|medallvocat|ous
wouldpets|st|ntbet|meoftbeend.Ofcoutse,aulsays,ewsw|lltema|u
ewsandGent|lesw|lltema|nGent|les,tbematt|edw|lltema|umatt|ed
andtbes|nglew|lltema|us|ugle,tbec|tcumc|sedw|lltema|uc|tcumc|sed
andtbeunc|tcumc|sedw|lltema|uuuc|tcumc|sed,thechauge|sthatthese
d|st|uct|onsw|llceasetomattet|ntbewaytbeyd|dbefote."C|tcumc|s|ou
|snotb|ng,"aulptocla|ms,because|t|suolougetsometh|ugthatd|v|des
onepeopleftomauotbet.
lntbepatad|gmevoked|nIdca ePrescaudputsued|ulatetwotks,
|npotnogtapb|chlmstbecbatactetsplay|ugouttbe|twoodeudtamast|ll
beatclassmatketsbuttbosematketsnolougethaveauy|mpottaucefot
tbe|tl|vesaudnolongetpteveut|ud|v|dualsftomtak|ugpleasute|uaud
ftomoueanotbetTbeyateteudeted,|uatetmtbatw|lltakeougteatet
andgteatet|mpottancefotAgamben|ntbeyeatsfollow|ugIdc ePresc,
|nopetat|ve."lnpotnogtapby,"Agambenwt|tes,tbeutop|aofasoc|ety
w|tboutclassesptesents|tself|utbefotmofacat|catutalexaggetat|ouof
tta|tstbatd|st|ugu|sbclass,aswellas|nattanshgutat|onoftbose tta|ts
tbtougbtbesexualact",ll, ,,] ,ttauslat|oumod|hed) . otuogtaphyof
fetsagl|mpseofwbatAgambenbadeatl|etcalleda/diree-au|mme
d|atepotent|alfotact|v|ty,fulhllmeut,andpleasute-audbehudsthete|n
tbeexptess|onofan|deabeseesasfuudameutalbotbtocommuu|smaud
tbemess|an|smtbat|s|tsmodel. tbepoteut|alfothapp|uesspteseut|u
even tbe sl|gbtest aud most evetyday s|tuat|on" ,l, ;| ,6] , ttauslat|ou
mod|ued) .

Agambeuofcoutsenowbete puts |nto quest|on tbat potuogtapby,

asau |udustty, |slatgelycomposedofsubject|ouaudsubjugat|ou,butbe
alsosees|n|tmomentstbattevealafatd|ffeteuthgute.Tb|s|swhy|uIhc
CemingCemmani, as|navat|etyofotbetwotks,Agambeu|sso |utet
ested|utbeclotbestakeuoffbyhgutes|npotuogtapb|cpbotosaudulms.
L|ketbeotbetpatad|gms |utbatbook, potuogtapby|sevokeduotas a
global pbeuomenouto bepta|sedotcast|gated, to be savedotceusoted,
butfot |tspatad|gmat|cpowet. Tb|sdoesuotmeau thatfteelove ueed
te|gnottbattbetulesofconjugaltelat|onsbouldbesuspeuded|uthepto
faneotdettbatAgambencallstbecom|ngcommuu|ty."8utofuecess|ty
tbe|deasofptopetty,ptopt|ety,audpossess|ouwouldbettausfotmed|ua

FremScctac/cteShc/inah
communltytocome ,andltlsbete tbatHeldegget'sdlalectlcofbelonglng
lsbtougbtlntoclosestallgnmentwltbtbe8enjamlnlanldeaoftbeptofane
otdet-atoplcwewllltetutntoattbeendoftblsbook) . Tbeconnectlon
mlgbt seem captlclous ot even, ln llgbt oftbe suffetlngs and degtada-
tlons ofsex lndusttywotkets, slmplycallous. Howevet, ln Idca ePresc,
IhcCemingCemmani, Prenatiens,andvatlousessaystoucblngontbe
mattet,ltlscleattbatwbatlntetestsAgambenlnpotnogtapbylstbegllm-
met ofeualltytbatlts banal scenatlossttangelyevoke. We saweatllet
tbatfot8enj amlntbeelementsoftbeunalstateatenotto befoundln
fotmlessptogtesslvetendenclesbutatelnsteaddeeplyembeddedlnevety
ptesent as tbe most endangeted, dlsctedlted, andmocked cteatlons and
tbougbts" ,8enj amln GS, z.;,). Agamben's seatcb fot patadlgms takes
blm to justsucb dlsctedlted andmocked cotnets ofoutcultute-what
be called ln InnandHiste tbe folds and sbadows oftbeWestetn
cultutalttadltlon."
FremSccmc/teShc/inah i ,
Scholium III. Cuy Oebord, Strategy, and
Iolitical ntology
luateceutlectute,Agambeutecouutedacouetsatlouheoucehad
wlthGuyDebotdluhlchthelattetlutettuptedhlmtopolutout,"l'm
uotaphllosophet, l'masttateglst" ,M) ThlslsatematkthatAgambeu
uudetstoodluallsetlousuess,audltlsllkelyhehadltlumludwheuheeu-
tledthehtstsectlouofhlsluttoductloutoDebotd'sCemmenmriesenthe
SecicethcScctac"Sttateglst."ustas 8eujamlusawhlmselfuotouly
asaualyzlugthecoutempotatysltuatloubutalso asdeeloplugsttategles
tocombatopposlugfotces-auotecleatlysouudedluthehtstofhlsthe
seswlthltstefeteucetohlstotlcalmatetlallsm,ltseuemles, audthechess-
boatdouwhlchatloussttateglesateexploted-sotoodldDebotd.The
lattetsocleaysawhlswotklusttateglctetmsthathewasattlmesteluc-
tautto statehlsposltlouopeuly, dlsctetelyuotlugluhls publlshedwotk
thathemlghtbefotcedtocloakoteucodecettaluofhlsposltloussothey
woulduotbeapptoptlatedbywhathesawastheeuemy.Thlswasmuch
llkewhat 8euj amlu uoted luhls essayou "TheWotkofAtt lutheAge
ofMechaulcalReptoductlou"-thatthetoolsdeelopedthetelumustbe
teudeted uuusable fot the putposes offasclsm Thls ptessluglypolltlcal
aspectofthewotksofbothmeucleatlyleudsthem,fotAgambeu,gteat
appealaudgteatpettlueuce. FotAgambeu,theteasouthatthetweutleth
ceututykuewsomauypolltlcalfalluteswasthatmoemeutsdlduotcome
to kuowthelteuemywelleuough ,seeHS, iz i). ltlscleatlythlsldea
thatledAgambeu to such sttateglc obsetatlous as "Oue oftheuotso-
sectetlawsofthespectaculatdemoctatlcsocletyluwhlchwellelsthat
wheteetthepowetsthatbeatesetlouslyludauget, themedlaestabllsh-
meutseemluglydlstaucesltselfftomtheteglmeofwhlchltlsaulutegtal
patt,soastogoetuauddltectthewaeofptotestsothaltuottutuluto
ateolutlou",MWE,iz,| , ttauslatloumodlhed).
lu llght ofthese factsltshouldcomeasuosutptlsethatAgambeu
cameto uudetstaudDebotdasa "sttateglst

' butwhatmlghtsutptlsels
the scope ofDebotd's sttateglcactllty. Agambeuwtltes thatDebotdls
"asttateglstwhoseheld ofactlou ls uotsomuch a battle uudetwaylu
whlchtomatshalttoopsastheputepoteutlalltyetenz| ofthelutellect"
,MWE, ; i| , ttauslatloumodlhed).Agambeu'sbtoadestctltlclsmof
acapltallstlcsocletyofthespectaclelsthatltsttlesto"depoteutlatellfe
deetenziareiita| " ,MWE,; |). Thesttaugeuessoftheexptesslou
r FremScctac/cteShc/inah
stemsftomAgambenssttategy. Fotblm,sttateglccbolcesconcetnlngtbe
ptesent polltlcal landscape ate to bemade onalevel tbat, altbougb not
metelyabsttact, lsnotnattowlypolltlcal . Fottbls teasonbespeaks lnI/
Rcgnec/ C/eriaoftbesttateglcfunctlon"oftbeconceptofseculatlza-
tlon" ln tbe bands ofCatl Scbmltt and MaxWebet, just as ln Statc e
cctien be saw tbe excbange ofvlews on vlolence between 8enj amln
and Scbmltt as a sttateglc" encountet. ln bls dlscusslon ofAtlstotle's
icemachcanthicsbetepeatedlycbatactetlzesAtlstotle'scbolceoftetms
assttateglc" ,seeespeclallyll,, ,6] ) . Tbequestlonofsttategylsln-
tlmatelyllnkedtotbequestlonsofptovocatlonandexaggetatlontbatwe
lookedateatllet.Howevet, astlllmotefundamentalelementls lnvolved
lfpolltlcstodayseemsto begolngtbtougbaptottacted ecllpse andap-
peatslnasubaltetnposltlonwltbtespecttotellglon,economlcs,andeven
tbelaw,"Agambenwtltes lnMcans theatEnd, tbatlsso because, to
tbe extent towblcb ltbas been loslngslgbt ofltsownontologlcalstatus,
ltbasfalledto conftonttbettansfotmatlonstbatgtaduallybaveemptled
out lts categotles and concepts" ,MWE, l ] ). FotAgamben, polltlcal
tbougbt andpolltlcalsttategybaveto teconnectwltb a lostontologlcal
element,bavetoacqulteameanlngtbatlsmotetbanmetelylnsttumental
andafunctlontbatlsmotetbanmetelysupetuclal. Tbeymustbecome,
fotblm,atoncemotecomptebenslveandmotesttateglc.
FremSccmc/teShc/inah i
Scholium . n Hope, Redemption, and
the Irreparable
ueeveulugdutlugacouvetsatlouwlthaa,Max8todsumma-
tlzedblsftleud'sposltlouasbelugthatthetewa,slmplystated,uohope.
Wltbouthesltatlug, aateplled, huo Thetelsludeedhope, hope
euough, eudlesshope-oulyuotfotus" ,8eujamluGS, z. ). lutheh-
ualwotdsof8eujamlu'sstudyofGoethesE/cnicnincs,hetefotmu
latedaastematk,statlugthatoulyfotthesakeofthehopelessatewe
glveuhope" ,8euj amluGS, i. zoi).Glveuaasaud8eujamlustematks
outhemattet,ltshouldcomeasuosutptlsethatthlseluslvehopewasoue
wlthwhlchAdotuowouldattempttocometogtlps. Hegaveadlalectlcal
lutetptetatlouof8euj amlustematkluhlsNcganicDia/c,ptoclalmed
theteluthatdespaltlsthelastldeology,"audwtote,luasectloueutltled
lluale" at the eud ofMinimaMeraa, that the oulyphllosophy that
caubetespouslblyptactlcedluthefaceofdespaltlstheattempttocou-
templateallthlugsastheywouldpteseutthemselvesftomthestaudpolut
oftedemptlou" ,AdotuoGS, 6.,o6.,i,Adotuoi|z|,,,,,|). To
thlseud, petspectlvesmustbefashlouedthatdlsplaceaudesttaugethe
wotld, tevealltto be, wlthltstlftsaudctevlces, asludlgeutauddlstott-
edasltwlllappeatouedayluthemesslaulcllght." luthehauutlughual
wotdsoftheftagmeutaudthewotk,Adotuowtote,8esldethedemaud
tbusplacedouthought,thequestlouofthetealltyotuutealltyoftedemp-
tloultselfhatdlymattets" ,Adotuoi|,,,,|] ) . Thlslmpetatlvels
feltsosttouglybyAdotuothatthequestlouofactualtedemptlouappeats
ofsecoudatylmpottauce.Thethlukettowhom Ihc mc IhatRcmains
ls dedlcated, acob Taubes, excotlated tblsvlew-aud thls passage-as
theaesthete'svatlaut"outheldeaofthemesslaulc,Taubesz, ).lu
Adotuo,saysTaubes, lthatdlymattetswhethet tedemptlou| lsteal.lu
8eujamlu,ltmattets",zoo|,)WhethetTaubessctltlclsmlsfouudedot
uot,ltcleatlyfotmulatesthequestlouofhowactualtedemptlou"lstobe
vlewed-audawalted.
lu Ihc Ceming Cemmani thls toplc ls apptoached thtough the
cutlous tetm icara//. Agambeu says othe hgutes oue huds lu the
hctlouofobettWalset-afavotlteofbothaaaud8euj amlu-that
theyatelttepatablyasttay",CC,6i|] ). 8oththeteuthchaptetaudthe
appeudlxtoAgambeuswotkbeatthlssametetm-rrdIa//-asthelt
tltleThehtstofthese-thechapteteutltledlttepatable"-evokes the
r FremScctac/cteShc/inah
estiadiciamwotld ,CC, |c ,] ). Ftom tblswotld,suggestsAgamben,
botb necessltyandcontlngency, tbosetwoctossesofWestetn tbougbt,
bavedlsappeated,wltbtbetesulttbattbewotldlsnowandfotevetnec-
essatllycontlngentotcontlngentlynecessaty ,CC, |c ,] ) . Tbeldeaof
maklngtbe necessatylndlstlngulsbableftomtbe contlngent lspetfectly
lnllnewltb8enj amln'sldeaofaptofaneotdet.ltlsonlyontbebaslsof
attanscendentalandsactedtealmbeyondtblswotldtbatsucbadlvldlng
llne couldbedtawn. Attulyrencwotld-one tbatwasconcelvedof
asttanslentandtbetebyaslntegtalactuallty -wouldbavenoplacefot
sucb allneAgamben's irrcara//clsllnkedto aspeclalfotmofirrcocr
cnccslngulatlytendetedlnWalset'schatactets,who,havlngacceptedthe
lttepatablestateofwotldly affalts,losethelttevetencefotwhat ate held
uptotbemassactedttutbs. lntbeappendlxto IhcCemingCemmani,
wblcb also beats tbe tltle lttepatable, Agamben wtltes that bow tbe
wotld ls-tbls lsoutsldetbewotld ,CC, ic6 ] ). At theoutsetofthls
appendlxAgambenlnfotmsblsteadettbatltcanbeteadasacommen-
tatyonsectlon ofMattlnHeldegget'sBcingandIimcandptoposltlon
6.||ofLudwlgWlttgensteln's actatas, andaddstbat botbtextsdeal
wltbtbeattempttodeuneanoldptoblemofmetapbyslcs.tbetelatlonshlp
between essence andexlstence ,CC z] ) . AsAgambendoesnotclte
Wlttgensteln'sptoposltlon,ltbeatsnotlngbete. Notheatbewotldlsls
tbemystlcal,butthatltls. OnetblngWlttgenstelnlssayluglsthattbe
sbeetfact tbat tbewotld exlsts lssowondetful and sttange tbat mystl-
cal ls aunewotd to desctlbe lt-and tbatwbatlsfat mote mystlcal
tban anyglvenlnexpllcableeventlntbewotldlstbewotldltsel Saylng
bow tbewotld ls-tbls ls outslde tbewotld lsAgamben'sway ofsay-
lngwbatWlttgensteln ,and Heldegget) saldbefoteblm. 8ecausetbete ls
nottanscendentalpetspectlveftomwblcbtoseetbewotldlnltstotallty,
and ftom tbat polnttojudge lt, one cannotsay bow tbe wotld, ln lts
totallty, is. And, ultlmately, maklng a dlstlnctlon between cxistcnccand
csscncc, between tbe ncccssaandtbe cennngcnt, would tequlte pteclsely
tbat. Recognlzlng tbat bow tbe wotld ls ls sometblng that could be
saldonlyftomoutsldetbewotldlsaptecondltlonfotllvluglnawotld
wbetecxistcnccandcsscncc, ncccssiandcennngcn,atelnsepatableglveu
tbattbetelsnottanscendentallnstanceotsactedexceptlonthatcandtaw
tbe llne between tbe two ftomwltbln thls llfe and thls wotld. lt lsfot
tbls teason tbat ln tbe cbaptet entltled lttepatable Agamben luvokes
aestiadiciamwotld, notbecausethemesslahbas come and gone,aud
FremScctacteShe/inah i
uotbecausejudgmeutbasalteadybeeupassed,butbecausewebaveevety
teasouto ceasewaltlug fot sucb aulmposslblelustauce, aud ouewayof
coucelvlugtblslsasllvlugluawtldwbetej udgmeutofthlssottbelougs
oulytotbepast.
Agambeu'steadets,asdldAdotuo's,ofteufalltodlstlugulshbetweeu
abatsbludlctmeutaudtbetelluqulsblugofbope lutbe"Fluale"to hls
MinimaMeraaAdotuowtote oftbe ldeaofvlewlugtbewotldftoma
pbllosopblcal temove asau "uttetlylmposslblethlug, becauseltptesup-
poses astaudpoluttemoved,eveulfbyahalt'sbteadth, ftomthemaglc
cltcle ofexlsteuce, wbeteaswe well kuow that auyposslble kuowledge
mustuotoulybehtstwtestedftomwhatls,lfltshallholdgood,butlsalso
matked,fottblsvetyteasou,bytbesamedlstottlouaudludlgeuceltseeks
to escape" ,Adotuo i;| z|; ,,,,,|] ). Thls "dlstottlouaudludlgeuce"
tbatsodatkeusAdotuo'sgazelsuotsomethlugthatAgambeuwlshesto
tutuawayftom8uttheldeaofthlswotldaslacklugsomethlug,asueed-
lug some addltlou ftom elsewbete, ls au ldeabe tejects ,aud fothlch
blsstudyof"tbeotlglualsttuctuteofuegatlvlty" luLanageandDeat
laldtbegtouudwotk) .Fottblsteasou,lublscbapteteutltled"lttepatable"
Agambeulsfuudameutallycoucetuedwltbwbatbecallsthe"salvatlouof
tbeptofaultyoftbewoddc//renid/mende| ,"whlchhecouclsely
dehuesas"ltsbelugtbus i/sae crces" ,CC, y| ). Theldeaofthe
salvatlouoftbeptofaultyoftbewotldlsdlfhculttogtasp-pattlculatly
becauseltlscoucelvedofuotasasauctlhcatlouoftheptouebutasasal-
vatloutbattakesplaceslmplytbtougbltsbelugaudtemalulug"thus" -ot
lutewotdswltbwblcbAgambeubegau IhcCemingCemmuni, "wbat-
evet."Agambeugoesoutosaytbat"tbetootofallputej oyaudsaduessls
tbattbewodlsasltls,"audltlsbetetbatwecaubestuudetstaudhlslda
oftbe lttepatable audtbe lmpottauceofthe ldeaoftbeptofaue-ldeas
tbatbaveguldedblsteRectloustotbepteseutday,CC,o|| ).
To say tbat the wotld ls "lttepatable" ls ofcoutse uottosay that
uotbluglstobedoue,tbatuotblugluthewotldlstobebettetedaudhat
olmpetatlvellketbeouefotmulatedbyAdotuolscalledfotThetetmls
uotmeautlutbecouveutloualseuseofsomethlugthatouewouldllketo
tepaltottemedybutcauuotustasAgambeudoesuotttytowlsh ttau-
sleuceaway,healsodoesuotttytotepalttheirrara//. Outhecouttaty,
acceptlugthattbewodls irrcara//lu theseusethatlt ls ttausleutaud
ptofauelstbeuecessatyptecoudltloufotaddtesslugthesltuatlousthatate
mostluueedofoutatteutlouaudactlou.
LMAP JLK 5 X
+hc !Otcnta O !arad_ms.
Hm Saccr: Socrcig Pucr
and Barc Lq
TwentyyeatsbefoteHemeSaccrastomakeblmanlntellectualce-
lebtlty, Agambenwas leadlngatelatlvelyquletllfeofteseatcbandwtlt-
lnglnlatls. Hebadleftltalyfotteasonstbatwetelnlatgepattpolltlcal
andbemettegulatlywltbfellowexpattlatesClaudloRugauotlandltalo
Calvln. Ftom r|to r6tbetbteewtltetsplannedtbe publlcatlon of
ajoutnal tbatwouldaddtesswbattbeysawastbemostptesslngcultutal
ptoblems oftbeltdayandtteat lts fundamentalcategotles" oftbougbt
andexpetlence ,seeEl,xl vll , lH, r|r,o, lGA, ,, DTl, ,,andAA,
xxxlv)Tbej outnalnevetmatetlallzed,buttbewotktbatwentlntolttook
manyfotms,tbemostslngulatofwblcbwasHemeSaccr.
Categories
Tbestudyoftbesecatcgericswastoptoceedbyconceptualpalts. Ru-
gauotlsetouttostudyatcbltectuteandvagueness"wblleCalvlnbegan
wltbspeedandllgbtness" ,ltwaswltbtbeseconceptlonstbatCalvln's
cateetwastocometoaptematuteendadecadelatet) . Agambenwasto
take up no fewet tban tbtee categotlcal paltlngs. ttagedyand comedy,
blogtapbyandfable, andtbelessconventlonal law dirie| andcteatute
crcatara| ,seeEl,xl vll ) . Tbetesultsofblsteseatcbontbeutstpalt
ttagedyandcomedy-dldnottakelongtound tbeltwaylntoptlnt,wltb
IhcPetcn/eParadi zci
b|sayouDautespoet|csappeat|ug|ui;,twoyeatsaftettbeptoject
fottbetev|ewwassetas|de.

Tbeessay"Tak|ugLeaveofTtagedy"closed
tb|sc|tcleofteBect|ou|ui,,audtbecollect|ou IcEndetcPecm
wboseot|g|ualltal|aut|e, Catcgecim/ianc,"ltal|aucategot|es",po|uts
to |ts ot|g|u|u tbeplauuedj outual-opeus,apptopt|atelyeuough,w|tb
tbe essayou comedyaudeudsw|tb tbeoueouttagedy. Agambeu's sec-
oudcategot|calpa|t-b|ogtapbyaudfable-wasalso sooutoplayaceu-
ttaltole|ub|swotkaudfouudexptess|ou|uaset|esofshottetaudlouget
essaysoupoet|cptax|swt|tteudut|ugtbeicsaudeatlyics,mauyof
wb|cbatealsofouud|u IhcEndethcPeem) Howevet,theth|tdpa|t
lawaudcteatute-seemedfotmauyyeatstovau|shftomthehot|ouof
Agambeu's|utetests-tbat|s,uut|lthepubl|cat|ouofHemeSaccr.
lt shouldpethaps come as uo sutpt|sethat ofthe thteepa|ts, law
audcteatutewastbelasttobetteated. agcdaudcemcdateuotsttauge
couceptualbedfellows, audaltbougb /iegaaud///cfotmalesstta-
d|t|oual pa|t, tbe quest|ous tbey ta|se coucetu|ug the telat|ou ofl|fe to
wotkaudoffacttohct|ouateuotd|fhculttoeuv|s|ou.Th|ugsstaudqu|te
d|ffeteutly, bowevet, w|th tbe tb|td categot|cal pa|t |uwh|ch Agambeu

exptessedsuch|utetestLawaudcteatutefotmas|gu|hcautlylesscouveu-
t|onalpa|t.Acrcamrc|udeed|mpl|esacteatot,aud/u|mpl|esaleg|slatot,
buttbepatallelseemsto stop tbete. lu tbewaywecustomat|lyth|ukof
tbem, lawsdouotapplytoallcteatutesbutoulytobumaus.,Wedouot,
fot|ustauce,wt|telaws|uwb|cbdogsatebeldct|m|uallytespous|ble,eveu
|fwedowt|telaws tbatatecoucetuedw|tb dogs.Wbat, tbeu, wastb|s
"cteatute"tbatAgambeuptoposedtostudy`Audwbatwas|tstelat|outo
tbelaw`
Tbe beg|uu|ug ofau auswet |s that tbe uuusual tetm crcaarc|s
usedbete|uaspec|alseuse.WbatAgambeumeaus|ssometb|ugfatftom
mousttous-as|utbefam|l|ateupbem|st|cuseoftbetetm|ufablesaud
ct|ous|uwb|cbtbe"cteatute"|sauuu|deut|hable be|ugsomewbetebe-
tweeumauaudbeastaudtbetebyouts|detbelaw. luauessayexam|u|ug
tbe b|stot|cal aud tbeotet|cal uudetp|uu|ugs ofcoucept|ous of"humau
t|ghts" wt|tteu dut|ug tbe yeats wheu be was ptepat|ug Heme Saccr,
Agambeuemploysthetetmcrcamrc|uafash|outhathelpsclat|mattets.
Outl|u|ugtheevolut|ouofoutcoucept|ouofhumaut|ghts,he|uvokesa
" batel|fenaiita| "tbatthecod|hcat|ouof|ual|euablehumaut|ghts
was meautto ptotect. lmmed|atelytheteaftetbeg|ves, |uthe space ofa
pateuthes|s,aossofwhathemeausbyth|s" batel|fe."Thepateuthet|cal
zcz IhcPetcntia/eParadigs
glosslsasteveallngasltlsbtlef. batellfe nadaoita] ,tbebumanctea-
tute crcatraamana] ) ,MWE,zc z|] ,ttanslatlonmodlued) .
Tbecteatute"ofAgambensconceptualopposltlonlstbusanotbet
name fot -but notjust anyllfe. lt lsanotbet name fot /arc /, so
ltseemstbatwebave metelyteplacedoneenlgmatlctetmwltbanotbet.
Conftontedbysucbacutlouspbtase-abatellfetbatlsanotbetnamefot
thchamancrcatarc-AgambensEngllsbttanslatotsteducedtbesttange-
nessofblsfotmulatlon,tendetlngtbebumanteatute"astbebuman/c-
in,MWE,zc z|] ). 8ydeslgnatlngthchamancrcatarcasanotbetname
fot /arc/,wetectlfyamlsttanslatlonandenlatgetbeueldoftefetence,
butwebaveyettoclatlfytbetelatlonsblptbatAgambenutstgllmpsedln
blscategotlcalpaltlngof/aandcrcatarc.

Webave,bowevet,teacbedtbe
centtaluguteofHemeSaccrandtbewotkstofollow. /arc/.
Jhe Protagonist, or Iaw and Iite
Eatlyln HemeSaccrAgamben announcestbat tbe ptotagonlstof
tblsbooklsbatellfe" ,HS, U] ) o 8utwbatlsbatellfe"andbowbaslt
beenbatedlsltagoodtblng,sucbasaputlucatlon,abadtblng,sucbas
adeptlvatlon otneltbetWbetedowe gllmpsetbls cutlousfotmofllfe,
andwbattelatlondoesltbeattotbecategotlesofcrcatrcand/a8ate
llfe" lstbettanslatlonglven lnHemeSaccrfot naoita. Tbeblstoty
oftblsttanslatlonls,bowevet,motecompllcatedtbanmlgbtutstappeat.
lnabtlefdlscusslonoftbeldeaoftbesactedattbeendofLangaagcand
cath, Agambenwtote tbateven tbe sactallzatlon ofllfe detlves ftom
sactluce.ftomtblspolntofvlewltslmplyabandonstbenakednatutalllfe
nadaoita] toltsownvlolenceandltsownunspeakableness" ,LD,ic6
r,, ) . Tblssuggestlveuseoftbetetmnadaoita, otnakedllfe,"doesnot,
bowevet,ptepateusfottbetoleltwlllplaylnAgamben'slatettbougbt.ln
anessayftomr,Agambenagalnlnvokes nadaoita, andlnawldely
teadttanslatlonoftbatessaytbteeyeatslatettbetetm ls agaln tendeted
asnakedllfe. "DanlelHellet-Roazen'sttanslatlonofHemeSaccr,aswell
asttanslatlonsofotbetwotkslnwblcbtbetetmoccuts,sucbasPetcntia/i-
ticsandRcmnantseHaschai) cboosesadlffetentttanslatlonfotn
oita batellfe."Barcandna/cdatelndeedoftensyuouymous,andtblsdl-
vetgencemlgbtseem,atutstslgbt,anegllglbleoneteBectlngametestylls-
tlcptefetence.ltls,bowevet,motetbantbls,fotnaoitalsuotatetm
IhcPetcnna/eParadigs o,
of Agamben'sown|nvent|on.lttoo| sattanslat|ou-aquotat|onw|thout
quotat|onmatksftom8euj am|n.
lnDest|nyandChatactet,"8enjam|n|nvokesm//eeLe/en,bate
l|fe," andemploys |taga|n |n The Ct|t|queof|oleuce" ,see8eujam|u
GS,z. i,andGSz izoo).

ThatAgambeucouce|vedn

oimasa
ttanslat|onof8enjam|n'sm //ec Lc/cn"|suotmadecleattoh|steadet
|nLangagcandDcath|nthei,essay,ot|nauyoftheothetessayslead
|nguptoHemeSaccr.Not,fotthatmattet,|s|tmadecleat|utheopen|ug
sect|onsofHemeSaccr.Attheendofpattoue,howevet,Agambeututus
to8enjam|n'sanalysesoflawandl|feaudtheteuudetl|uesthetat|ouof
theouefotmulat|outotheothetuudav|ta,bloLebeu)."N

om"
naked ot batel|fe-|s thus, fotAgambeu, auothetwa ofsay|ug /

e
Lc/cn-batel|fe-audth|sfactallows usto uudetstaudbettetuotouly
HelletRoazen'sttanslat|onbutalsoHemeSaccrsptotagou|st.8eujam|n's
exptess|on s//ec Lc/cndes|gnatesal|feshotuofall qual|hcat|ouand
conce|vedof|udependentof|tsttad|t|onalattt|butes.Although8eujam|u
does not offet futthet d|tect|ons fot how |t |s to be uudetstood, |t |s
cleatthat/arc/|snotan|n|t|alstatesomuchaswhatbecomesv|s|ble
thtoughastt|pp|ngawayofpted|catesandattt|butes, and|uth|s tespect
Geulenoetsanexcellentpataphtasewhensheuotesthatnakedotbate
,and bated) l|fe |s notapt|ot substance, but|nsteadwhattema|usaftet
thew|thdtawal ofall fotms" ,Geulen zoo,, z) Ttac|ug aud ttauslat|ng
Agamben'sen|gmat|ctetm,howevet, |soulythehtststep|nuudetstand-
|ngwhattoleheenv|s|onsfoth|sptotagon|standwhathehopestouudet-
standthtoughh|m.Thenextstep|nvolvestutu|ugtotheothetmembetof
thecategot|calpa|tonwh|chheutstbegantoteBecttweutyyeatseatl|et.
Toth|sendwewoulddowelltotetutntothebeg|uu|ngofthewotk
andexam|newhat|mmed|atelyfollowsthet|tleHemeSaccr. Thebook's
,unttanslated) ep|gtaph |s ftom the Getman jut|st Ft|edt|ch atl von
Sav|gnyandteadsDasRcchthat/cinDascinrsich, scinscnoc/mchr
istsLc/cndrMenschcnsc//st oencincrScitcangcschcn,Thelawhasno
ex|steuce|n|tself,|tsesseuce|s|usteadthel|vesof|ud|v|duals-seeuftom
acetta|ns|de"). Assuchastatementwould|ucl|ue|tsteadettoexpect,one
oftheobject|ves ofthebook|stoexam|uethespec|hcs|deftomwh|ch
lawv|ewsl|fe. Agambeu'shtstfotmalstud|eswete,aswesaw,|ulaw.H|s
expet|ences w|th He|degget |uthesouthofFtauceaudthe tead|ughe
undettook|uthe|twakeledh|mtotev|seh|scall|ug,audh|s|deaofcall-
|ngs.Fotalongt|metheteaftet,"Agambeuoucetematked,"lthought|t
zc| IhcPetcntia/eParadigs
wasamlstaketo havestudledlaw. Thatlssomethlng,howevet,thatlno
longetthlnkbecausewltboutthlsfamlllatltylwouldptobablynevethave
beenabletowtlte HemeSaccr ,L, r6) . Slgnsoftblstenewedlntetestln
lawandthesldeftomwhlcbltvlewsllfecanbeseenlnanessaypubllsbed
thteeyeatsbefoteHemeSaccrlnwhlchAgambenmakesaclalmbeunds
lmpottantenoughnotonlytoplacelnltallcsbutalsototepeatattwoothet
polnts. Phi/esehisa/aasa/rcadcenstitatiocrc/tcdtethc/aa, andco
chi/esehica/aer/isa/aas, qaitc/itcra/,adcisienenthisrc/nensh
,l,r6r z,z ,seealso l, r6, z,, ,ltallcslnotlglnal).ustasAgamben'sutst
bookexamlnedanallenatedconceptlonofattandaestbetlcs,hlssecond
anallenatedconceptlonofscholatlystudy,blsthltdallenatedconceptlons
ofhlstotyandexpetlence,hlsufthanallenatedconceptlonofteptesenta-
tlon, andhlsslxthallenatedcoceptlonsoflanguageandcommunlty,bls
seventh,HemeSaccr,lnvestlgatesanallenatedconceptlonoflaw.
Agambentutns,then,ftomthelawofhls eplgtapbtotbellfeofthe
book'sopenlngwotds.TheGteekshadnoslngletetmtoexptesswbatwe
mean bythewotd /q, he beglns ,HS, r , ) . Thlsseemlnglylnnocuous
obsetvatlonptovesfullofconsequencesfotwhatfollows. lnandofltsel
thephenomenonlnquestlonneednotbeanoccaslonfotsutptlse.Thete
atemanycaseslnwhlchanclentlanguagesemployedmotethanonewotd
fotwhatmodetnlanguageshaveconBatedotellmlnated,andthlsgenetal
phenomenon, whethetactosshlstotlcalotgeogtaphlcaldlstances, lspet-
fectlyfamlllat. lnthe most famous example, Ftanz 8oas clalmed lnhls
Hand/ee/eHmcricanIndian Langagcs ,rrr, z,z6) thatthelnulthave
foutwotds fotwhatweslmplycallsnea.Thenumbetofwotds gtewovet
tlme, 8enjamln Whotfsuppotted the clalm, and one now easlly unds
tefetences to lnult cultutes havlng hundteds ofwotdsfot snow. Whete
oneuxes thls numbet lles lnhowonedeunesllngulstlcgtoups andlexl-
cal dlffetences, but the teason the lnult have mote teuned and speclal-
lzedllngulstlctesoutcesfotdlscusslngsnowthan,say, theGteekslseasy
enoughtoundetstand OutwotdsateateBectlonofoutenvltonmentand
expetlence,thepolnt8oaswantedtolllusttatelnthecaselnquestlon),but
thetelsafundamentaldlffetencebetweenawotdllkesneaandawotd
llke/q,j ustasfotoutpolltlcallandscapetbetelsafundamentaldlstluc
tlonbetweenGteekandlnult,asltlsftomthefotmetthattbemajotltyof
outpolltlcalconceptlonsstem.Whytbensbould/q, tbatmostcommou
andshatedofthlngs,Agambenasks,bavebeensepatatedbytbeGteeks
lntodlstlnctwotds,andwbysbouldwenotbavetetalnedtblsdlstluctlou`
IhcPetcnna/eParadigs zo,
l s |tt obeattt|butedt otbeGteeksbav|ugbadat|etedcoucept|ouofl|fe
tbatwebaveabaudoued`AltbougbtomodetueatstbeGteekcoujutes
zoosaudzoologyaudtbetebytbewotldofau|malsotbettbauoutselves,
tbed|st|uct|oubetweeu|taud/ies|suotouebetweeuseut|eutl|fe|utbe
au|malwotldaudtbatspec|alfotmofseut|eutl|fetbt|soutowu,atop|c
tbatAgambeutakesup|ucouuect|ouw|tbtbetetmcrcamrc|uIhcOcn)
Tbed|st|uct|ou|sofafatd|ffeteutuatutetbauab|etatcbyof|uteus|tyot
wottbattacbedtol|v|ugtb|ugs.
AsAgambeuobsetves,fottbeGteekstbetetmdes|guated/|u
tbeseuseof"tbes|mplefactofl|v|ugcommoutoalll|v|ugbe|ugs ,au|-
mals,meu,otgods),"audfottb|steasou|ttell|uglyadm|ttedofuoplutl
fotm,H, I ,| ) . wastbeul|fe|u|tsmostgeuetalseuse,seuseevety
b|tas geuetal as /cin Tbesecoud tetm, /ies, tefettedto tbe fotmsout
l|ves take-to "tbe fotm ot way ofl|v|ugptopetto au |ud|v|dual ot
gtoup" ,H, I ,| ) luadd|t|outotbeuud|ffeteut|atedfactofatb|ugbe|ug
al|ve--tbeteatespec|hcwaysofl|v|ug/ies Tb|sd|st|uct|oucotte-
spoudedtoafuudameutald|v|s|ou|utbeGteekspol|t|calludscape. Fot
tbem,"s|mple,uatutall|fe",)wasuottbeaffa|toftbec|tye/is),bu
|usteadoftbebomeei/es, wb|le/ieswastbel|fetbatcoucetuedtbee/.
Tbetewastbus|utbevetywotdstbeGteeksusedtoexptesstbed|v|s|ous
oftbe|tcultutead|st|uct|oubetweeu tbel|fe tbatwas tbe bus|uess aud
coucetuoftbe,c|ty) stateaudtbept|vatel|fetbatlaybeyoud|tsptov|uce
AsuolessawotktbauHnngencgtapb|callydtamat|zes,|twasuotalways
poss|bletosepatatetbesespbetes,uotwas|teasytodec|dewb|cbdesetved
oue'salleg|aucewbeutbeycame|utocouB|ct.Altbougbwest|llbavesucb
couB|ctsof|utetestbetweeufam|lyaudcouutty,wedouotbaveseptate
tetms to des|guate tbe l|fe appl|cable to eacb. Wbysbould we uotbave
ptesetvedsucb afuudameutald|st|uct|ou|utbe wotdswe use toexptess
outwotld`Agambeu|s|uteusely|utetested|utbeauswettotb|squest|ou,
butbe|s|utetested|uau|d|osyuctat|cway.Wbat|utetestsb|m|suotau-
swet|ugtbequest|ou|umetelyb|stot|calotl|ugu|st|ctetms. H|sgoall|es
elsewbete.|usee|ugtbecouBat|ouoftetmsaspatad|gmat|cofoutmost
ptess|ugpol|t|calcoucetus.
zc Ihctcntia/eParadigs
H::5cc:
Wltbtbesetetmscrcatarc, /u, and /arc-btougbtlntocleat-
etfocus,weateatlastteadyto tutnto tbeenlgmatlcugutetbatglveslts
name toAgamben's book. tbe hemesaccr. Tbeutst tblng to note about
tbls sactedman" ls tbatbewas notsactedlnanytevetentlalsense-ln
fact,bewasfatclosettotbeopposlte Hemesaccrlsajutldlcaltetmftom
atcbalcRomanlawdeslgnatlnganlndlvldualwbo,lntesponsetoagtave
ttespass,lscastoutoftbeclty. Ftom tbemomentofblstltualptonounce-
mentasahemesaccr,becanbekllledwltblmpunltybyanyonebutcannot
beemployedlnsactluclaltltualstbattequltetbetaklngofallfeTblssa
ctedman" lstbetebytemovedftomtbecontlnuumofsoclalactlvltyand
communalleglslatlon,tbeonlylawtbatstlllappllestoblmlstbeouetbat
lttevocablycastsblmoutoftbecommunalspbete
AsFteudand8envenlstedldbefoteblm,Agambensttessestbattbe
wotdsacrcdexblbltsatematkableamblgultylnltssemantlcblstoty,vaty-
lngftomtbatwblcblstteasutedasmostputeandptecloustotbatwblcb
ls most contemptlble and must be cast out oftbe communlty so as to
ptesetveltftomcontamlnatlon.Aftetanalyzlngtbeloglcofsactallzatlon,
wbetebyanobject ls temoved ftomtbe ptofane tealmand talsedto tbe
level oftbe sacted, at tbe end ofLangaagc andDcath, Agamben notes
tbattbesactedlsnecessatllyanamblguousandcltculatnotlon" -andas
ptoofbeevokestbeuguteoftbehemesaccralongwltbtbejutldlcaldeunl-
tlonofblsstatus,LD,rc, r,r,z ,ttanslatlonmodlued)lntbelastcbap
tetofIhcCemingCemmanibetetutnstotblspatadoxlcalstatusoftbe
Romanconceptlonofsaccr,seeCC, 6 66 ). Tbltteenyeatslatet
tblsquestlonbasmovedtotbecentetofAgamben'slntetests-ctystalllzed
lntbeftaglleuguteoftbehemesaccr.Agambentoldlntetvlewetslnzoor,
l was always fasclnated by tbe Latln fotmula tbat desctlbes tbe heme
saccr ,L, ) . Elabotatlngontblsfasclnatlonbetematked,lfouudtbls
deunltlonmany, manyyeatsagoandfotlongyeatsslncealwayscattledlt
atoundwltbmellkeapackage,llkeatlddle,untllltbougbt,nowlmust
unallygtasp /cgrcn| lt" ,L,r).
Wbattbenlstbetelatlonsblpbetweentblstlddletbatbadlongfas
clnatedAgambenandtbeldeaofbatellfetbatbebadutstapptoacbedlu
LanaagcandDcathAftetnotlnglnHemeSaccrtbattbeptotagonlstof
tblsbooklsbatellfe,"Agambenoffetsaglossofwbatbemeansbytbls.
tbatls,tbellfeofhemesaccr,sactedman) , wboma/c/idcdand ctnet
IhcPetcnna/eParadigs zo;
sacd, audwboseesseutlal fuuctlou lumodetupollt|csweluteudto
assett" ,HS, iz] , ltallcsluotlglual Tbehguteoftbe emesacrls
ludeedamystlfylugaudfascluatlugoue,butwhetelulles|tstelat|outoau
"esseutlalfuuctlou"lumodetupolltlcs`Tbeemesaccrdoesuotseemat
htstglaucetobelusucbauluexpllcables|tuatlou. Ouecauuot,aftetall,
sactlhcetbatwblcbuoougetbasauywotth,audlusucbacaseofbau-
lsbmeuttbehemesaccrcauuottepteseutasactlhcefottbegtoupfotthe
slmpleteasoutbatbelsuolougetapattoflt.Hecauuotbeusedfottltual
putposesbecausebebasbeeudeclateduucleau,blstlghtshavebeeuteu-
detedfotfelt,audblsstatusasamembetofthegtouphaseect|velybeeu
suspeuded.Wbetelu, theu,lles tbet|ddleTh|swasdoubtlessa tett|ble
fatefotauludlvldual,buttbepsychologlcalsuffet|ugaudsoc|ologlcalm-
pllcatlousoftb|sptactlcelueatlyomaucultuteateuotwhatAgambeu|s
eudeavotlugtouudetstaud,audltlsuottowatdth|ssottofpsychologlcal
otautbtopologlcal explauat|ou tbatbetutus. Agambeu hds a patadox
lutbe hemesaccrsposltlouwltb tespecttothecommuu|tythathascast
blm outa patadoxcoucetuluglawaud lts telat|ou to the |dea ofthe
sacted.ltomtbepetspectlveoftbesoclalgtoupthathascasthlmout,th

hemesaccruolouget bas auyoftbecustomatyfotmsotqual|hcatlousof

speclhcllves /ies) luacommuulty. Sttlppedofthem, all tbattemalus|s
abumaucteatute,abatellfe,-audltlsthlspatadlgmatlcpoluttbat
tecalls8eujamlu's"batellfe"audtbatmostlutetestsAgambeuluHeme
Saccraudltssequels lotAgambeu,thlshgutetomthemostemotepast
ofWestetulegalblstotybeatsamessagefottoday'steadets-auomluous
oue.
Arendt and Foucault, or iological Lile
as Such and iopolitics
To assetttbe"esseutlalfuuctlou"oftbehemesaccrlumodetupoll-
tlcsaudtosolvetbetlddle"ltpteseuted,Agambeututuedwlthuewlu-
teusltytotwotbluketswbobadbltbettoplayedcompatat|velymluottoles
lubls publ|shedwotk Mlcbel Foucault aud HauuahAteudt Agambeu
htstteadAteudtdutlugthetumultofi6audwassutptlsedtod|scovet
thattheLeftlultalycous|detedhetateact|ouatyauthotouedlduotdls-
cuss",lGA,]],seealsoL,i;i)

AsuotedluhaptetOue,Agambeu
wtotetoAteudt|ui;oto exptesshlsadm|tat|ou, audalthoughhehad
zc IhcPetcntia/eParadigms
longteadandadmltedbet,ltwas notuntlltbeessaysftomtbeeatlyros
ptepatatotytoHemeSaccrsucbas8eyondHumanRlgbts"andWbat
lsaleople " tbatbetlnBuenceugutedptomlnentlylnblswtltlng.
As concetns Foucault, be ls tbe slngle most declslve lnBuence on
Agambens latet wotks, a fact on cleat dlsplay not only ln tbe Heme
Saccrsetlesbutalsolnsucbwotks as Signaara rcram.Agambenbaste-
matked, l utst began to undetstandtbeugute oftbe heme saccraftetl
tead Foucaults texts on blopolltlcs" ,L, r;) . Amongtbe concepts tbat
Agambentakes ftomFoucaultanddevelopsatewbattbelattetcalled,ln
tbeutstvolumeofIhcHisteeScxaa/i,r;6),blopolltlcs,"alongwltb
ltscotollatles blopowet"andbloetblcs. "
lntbeessayFotmof-Llfe",r,),lnwblcbAgambenutsttakesup
tbe questlons tteated ln HemeSaccrand patts ofwblcb ate teptoduced
vetbatlm tbeteln, Agamben sttesses tbat wbat ls left unquestloned ln
contempotatydebates on bloetblcsand blopolltlcs . . . lspteclselywbat
befoteall elsesbouldbequestloned-tbevetyblologlcalconceptofllfe"
,MWE, r6 , ttanslatlon modlued) . Agamben unds atatetteatment
oftbls blologlcalconceptofllfe" lnAtendtswotkandnotestbatsome
twentyyeatsbefotetbepubllcatlonofFoucaults IhcHisteeScxaa/i
sbe bad alteady analyzed tbe ptocess tbat btlngs heme //erans-and
wltb lt, blologlcal llfe as sucb-gtadually to occupytbevetycentetof
tbepolltlcalsceneofmodetnlty",HS, , 6 ) . Agambenexptessessutptlse,
bowevet,tbatAtendtmakesnoconnectlonetweenbetteseatcbon blo-
loglcalllfeassucb"ln IhcHamanCenditienandtbeanalysesoftotalltat-
lanpowetsbebadconductedelsewbeteandlnwblcbAgambenundstbat
ablopolltlcalpetspectlvelsaltogetbetlacklng" ,HS, ,|6 ) .
o tbls utst soutce ofsutptlse Agamben adds anotbet, obsetvlng
notonlytbatFoucaultfalledto notetbeptecedentsetfotblslnvestlga-
tlons byAtendts IhcHaman Cenditien, butalso tbatbenevetdwelton
wbatAgambenldentluesastbeexemplatyplaces/aegh ofmodetnblo-
polltlcstbeconcenttatloncampandtbesttuctuteoftbegteattotalltatlan
statesoftbetwentletbcentuty",HS, |6] ) . Foucaultsfallutetodotbls
wblcbAgambencallsa bllndspot"-lnspltesAgambento temedytbls
omlsslon,HS,6 ) . lnFoucaultsneglectlngtoconnectblsownteseatcb
wltbAtendts, andlnblsnotllnklng blsnovelconceptlonofblopolltlcs
tosucbexttemesltesofltsexetclseastbeconcenttatloncamp,Agamben
seesapatalleltoAtendtsownfallutetoconnecttbedlffetentateasofbet
teseatcb.Hedesctlbesbotboftbeseas"bllndspots,"tbougbbeseestbem
zo
notO stemmlngftomcatelessnessontbeltpatts,butlnsteadasoffetlng
an lndexoftbedlfuculty ofstudy|ng batellfe ,HS, , 6] seealso
HS,izoi,z] )
Tbese bl|ndspotsnotwltbstandlng,ltlsoulytbtougbtbep|oueet-
lngwotkdonebyAtendtand FoucaulttbatAgambenseestheposs|bll|ty
fotabettetundetstandlngofoutpolltlcallaudscape. "Oulyw|tb|ub|o-
polltlcalbot|zon,Agambenwtltes,"wlllltbeposslbletodec|dewhethet
tbe categotles wbose oppos|t|on fouuded modetu pol|t|cs ,t|ght/le,
ptlvate/publ|c, absolutlsm/democtacy, aud so ou)-aud wh|ch hve
beeu steadllyd|ssolvlug to tbe po|ut ofeutet|ugtoday|uto tel zoue
oflndlstlnct|on-w|llhave to beabudouedotw|ll, |ustead, eveutually
tegalnthemeaulugtbeylostlntbatvetyhotlzou",HS, ;] ) Agmbeu
utst extends theueldofFoucaults b|opol|t|cl |uqu|tyto theot|g|usof
Westetupolltlcalexpetlence|nGteeceaudome. Do|ugso|uvolvesuot
onlyalongetblstotlcallens ,sometb|ugexm|uedluscbol|umtoth|s
cbaptet) butalso ashlft|ugofdlsclplluatyfocusAgambeumovesftom
tbeueldsFoucaultstudledtoonesbeteudedtoavo|d /uud .
Foucaultwotkedln manyateas,Agambeunotes,"buttbeteatetwo be
leftoutofaccount.lawandtbeology. ltseemeduatutltometo d|tect
myeffotts lntbese dltectlons" ,Tl, ,) Agambeulscatefulheteaud
elsewbete to cbatactetlzeFoucaultscbolceasa cousc|ous, methodolog|-
cal one tbat makes petfect sense lullgbt ofFoucaults a|ms. Agamben
sttessestbat fot blsownstudy, bowevet, a tteatmeut ofleglsttuctutes
couldcomplement and"lntegtatetbemselves"|utotbel|neofspecula-
tlonopenedbyFoucault,andtbatbettledtobt|ug"Foucaultspetspect|ve
togetbetwltb tbat oftbettadltloualjutld|calaud polltlcaloues,"addlug
tbat,tbetelsnoteasontokeeptbemapatt ,LD L,). luth|sl|bt
ltsbouldcomeasnosutptlsetbattbelnltlalvolumesoftbe
ptoject-above all and -focused |u ltge
patton/u,andtbatamotetecentlnstallment, 2
/zoo)focuseson.
l see my wotk as closet to no one tbau to Foucault," Agamben
tematkedln an lntetvlewftomzoo|, ndtbelttetscouttlbut|outotbe
concetns of ls uot llmlted to hls teBectlous ou blopolltlcs
,DTl, |) . ln tegatd to metbod, |t ls ealy teBected lu Foucaults use
ofpatad|gms,aswew|llseelatet|utbls book,aswellas|uh|scoucepts
of aud Th|s |uBueuce ls lso seeu luAgambeus
explotat|ou ofFoucaults|deaof. lu suchwotkss
zr c IhcPetcntia/eParadigms
andPanish,loucaultsbowsbowaseocrcignmodelsuptemelylutetestedlu
auelaootatedlsplayofpowetwasteplacedoyadisc/inaoueluwblcb
dlsctete couttol aud coucealed oosetvatlou teplaced tbe goty attlhces
ofpuollc puulsbmeut. loucaultwascateful to sttess, bowevet, tbattbe
meausfotevadlugotaoaudoulugtbeofteulusldlouscouttolexetclsedoy
tbe dlsclplluatymodel ofpolltlcalpowettbatcbatactetlzes outmodetu
agewas uotto oesougbtoysomebowtutulugoacktbeblstotlcalclock.
Asloucaultoucetematkedlualectute,ltlsuotlutetutulugtoasovet-
elgumodelsoastoopposeadlsclplluatlauouetbat ouemlgbtllmlt tbe
effectlveuess oftbat dlsclplluaty powet" ,loucault i; ,,) . lu bls hual
oooksaudlectutesloucaulteveusuggestedtbatblstotlausabauouthelt
focusousovetelguty, audlutbehtstvolumeofblsHteeScxaa/ibe
calledfotalloetatlouftomtbetbeotetlcalptlvllegeofsovetelguty" ,see
HS, , ] ) .
Agamoeu llsteus catefully totbls advlce-aud does pteclsely tbe
opposlte. lustead oflloetatlug bls teBectlous ftom a tbeotetlcal ptlvl-
lege accotded to sovetelguty, be tadlcally luteuslhes tbm, j olulugtbem
wltb Catl Scbmltt's studlesofsovetelguty.Tbe lultlal modlhcatloutbat
Agamoeueffectstoloucault'sblstotlcalscbemalstosbowtbattbeblo
powet"loucaultsawasmostdlstluctlveoftbemodetuage-asthemost
dlstluctlvelymodetutblugaooutoutpolltlcalllfeaudtbespeclhcfotms
tbatstatepowetuowtakes-lsactuallyasold asWestetupolltlcsltsel
ltlstbetefoteuotaueffect,asloucaultbadclalmed,oftbesblftftoma
sovetelgu toadlsclplluatysoclety.Agamoeutbeusttessestbatloucault's
tbesls must oe cottected," ot at tbevetyleast comleted," glveu tbat
wbatcbatactetlzesmodetupolltlcslsuotsomucbtbelucluslouofzlu
tbe-wblcbls, lultselaosolutelyaucleut-uotslmplytbefacttbat
llfeassucboecomesaptluclpaloojectoftbeptojectlousaudcalculatlous
ofstatepowet," outtatbettbestateofexceptlou"luwblcb/iesaudz
ateuolougetsepataole-uotatetlgbtaudfact"-outlusteadeutetlutoa
zoueofltteducloleludlstluctlou",HS, iz] ) . Tblszoueofludlstluctlou
cbatactetlzedoyastateofexceptlouls oueluwbosesbadowsAgambeu
seestbeftagllehguteoftbehemesaccrplayafuudameutaltole-audoffet
asutptlslugpatadlgm.
8ottowlugAgamoeu's tetms, Slavoj

lekwtote lu /cemcte thc

DcscrtethcRca/,zcczo, icc) tbatultlmately, we ateallhomosacet. "
8eujamluoystookuptblssamecty,wtltlug,lfawellkuowuslogauof
tbei6cswasWeateallGetmauews ' theu,fotAgambeu,theslogauof
IhcPetcnna/eParadigs z11
the C m|llenn|umshouldbeWe ate all hemesaccr " ,Noys zooz, 6)
Watch|ngh|s smallch|ldten playat a wed|sh theme patk, |chatd Ek
,zoo6, ,;) wondetedwhethet theywete not poteut|al emincssacri "

We should becateful not to exaggetate thescope thatAgambeugtants

toh|s|llusttat|veuguteandsee, fot|nstauce,allofthewotd'smeuand
women as hemincssacr, as ugutes |nd|ffetently cast out by a cap|tal|st
wotld otdetno longet|ntetested|nthem. et thetematksof

|ekaud
NoysatenotfatftomAgambeu's lftoday," Agambeuwt|tes, thete s
nolouget any oue cleatugute ofthe sacted mau, | t|spethaps because
weateallv|ttuallyiirma/mcntc| hemincssacri" ,HS, IIj z|). Th|s|sa
v|ttually"thatcommeutatotssuchas

|ekaudNoysdouot|uclude|u
the|ttefotmulat|ous,butwhatweshouldfocusou|sthatfotAgambeuthe
pteseut h|stot|cal s|tuat|on |ndeed shows s|gus ofth|s except|oual hgute
tetutn|ngonaglobalscale.lushott,Agambeu'shemesacer|sahguteftom
thetemotepastwhobt|ngs|ntofocusad|stutb|ugelemeut|uoutpol|t|cal
ptesent-andpo|ntstowatdaposs|blefutute.
Jhe Concentration Camp
HemeSaccr|sawotk|nthteepatts.Theutstpatt|seut|tledThe
Log|cofovete|gnty"and,tev|s|ngFoucault'sschema,ttacesthe|deaof
sovete|gntyftom modetn|nstancesand|utetptetat|ousto|ts eatl|est ap-
peatances |n anc|ent Gteece and ome ln h|s book ouGetmau ttag|c
dtama8enjam|nwtotethatthesovete|guholdsh|stot|caloccutteuce|u
h|shandl|ke asceptet" ,8enjam|n G, i. ,).AlthoughAgambeudoes
notc|teth|stematk,heeatlyhas|t|um|ud,aswellaswhat|usp|ted|t
lnh|sPe/inca/Ihce/eFearChatcrsenthcCenccteSeicrciz),
Catlchm|ttgavealap|datydeun|t|onofthesovete|guthatled8euam|n
tot|tetothefututectownj ut|stoftheTh|tde|ch,aud|t|schm|tt's
pol|t|caltheologythatl|esattheheattofAgambeu'sougo|ugHemeSaccr
ptoject-both|nHemeSaccr|tselfand|npattsz. iaudz. z, Smtce Excc
nenandIRcgnecC/eriaThesovete|gn,chm|ttwtote,|s hewhocau
dec|deonthestateofexcept|ouHasnahmczastan"audthetebysuspeud
thetuleoflaw.Assuch,thesovete|guuotoulydeclatesbutalsoexempl|-
uesth|sstateofexcept|onThesovete|gn|sw|th|u,audafuuct|ou|ugpatt
oalegalsystembasedonthept|uc|pleofsovete|guty. 8utas|tsfouuda-
t|ou,heotshe|salso|utheuu|quepos|t|ouofstaud|ugbeyoudthatsame
zr z Ihcetcntia/earadigms
system, and otthatteasoncandeclate lts suspenslon.A ls evldent, the
loglcofsovetelgntythatAgambenttacesthtoughSchmltt'swotkseems
tocontalnapatadoxlnwhlchltshlstotylsteRected.
AlthoughtheldeaofsovetelgntyhadlntetestedAgambentbtougb-
outtheptecedlngdecade,ftomLangaagcinDcathto8atallleetllpata
dosso della sovtanlt, the state ofexceptlon utst comes to tbe fote ln
Heme Saccr. lts sttuctute, bowevet, ls a famlllat one. Tbe loglc ofthe
stateofexceptlonlstbesameasthatoftbe cxam/cseenln Ihc Ceming
Cemmaniand lnvolvesthesameseemlngpatadoxofbotbbelouglugto
aset ofphenomenaand belng,as lts tepteseutatlve,lndepeudeutftomlt.
ustastheexamplelsatonceapattandludepeudeutoftbatofwblcblt
lsexemplaty,sotoolstbesovetelgnapattandlndepeudeutftomtbetule
oflaw.lattOneofHemeSaccrxamlnesthehlstotlcal,legal,loglcal,aud
ontologlcal cootdlnates ofthls sovetelgn patadoxaudasksbowa ugute
,the sovetelgn) can be at once wlthln and set apatt ftom a system tbat
dependsonltfotltslegalandloglcalcohetence-aquestloutbattecelves
sepatateandampleconsldetatlonlnStatceExccnen.Thetheslsoftbls
utstofthebook'sthteepattslsthattheotlglnalpolltlcaltelatlonlsthe
ban ,the stateofexceptlon aszone oflndlstlnctlon between outslde and
lnslde,excluslonandlncluslon) .Thlsldea,Agambentellsus,callslnto
questlonevetytheotyoftheconttactualotlglnofstatepowetand,along
wlthlt,evetyattempttogtoundpolltlcalcommunltleslnsomethlugllkea
belonglng,'whethetltbefoundedonpopulat,natlonal,tellglous,otothet
ldentlty ,HS, rr zcz ) Hete we can tecognlze the subtle, lfobllque,
contlnuatlonoftheconcetnsvolcedln IhcCemingCemmani-altls
atthlspolntthatAgambentakesthemlnanunexpecteddltectlon.towatd
theuguteoftheconcenttatloncamp.
Heme Saccrs second patt beats the same tltle as the book ltsel
andltshetethatthetltulatugutelsmotecloselystudled.Thtoughtbat
ugute, Agamben lsolates nothlng less thanwhatbe calls tbe otlgluaty
polltlcalelement ln theWest ln tbe ptoductlon ofbate llfe, tevlslng
thetebyoucault'sanalysesofsovetelgnty,HS, rr zcz ) ltlsthebook's
thltdandunalpatt,howevet, thathaspolatlzed-andlnmanylustauces
scandallzed-teadets.Agambendeclatestbetetbatluoutage,tbestate
ofexceptlon comesmoteaudmoteto thefotegtouudas tbefuudameu
tal polltlcal sttuctute and ultlmately beglus to become tbe tule. Wbeu
outagettledtogtanttbeunlocallzableapetmaueutaudvlslblelocallza
tlon,tbetesultwastbecouceuttatloucamp ,HS, zo z|] ) . Wbeteas tbls
IhcPetcnna/eParadigs ziy
fot t|onleavessometoomfotequ|vocat|on,Agambensep|gtammat|c
statentlatet|nthebookdoesnot."Today|t|suotthec|ty,"hewt|tes,
"buttathetthecampthat|sthefundamentalb|opol|t|calpatad|gmofthe
West",HS, ii zoz| ) FotAgamben,thecamp|s"themostabsoluteb|o-
pol|t|calspacethathasevetbeenteal|zed" -aspace|uwh|ch"powethas
befote|tputeb|olog|call|fe/araiim/ie/egcaw|thoutauymed|at|ou"
,MWE,|iy| ttanslat|onmod|hed). Fotth|steasou|t|sthe"patad|gm
ofpol|t|calspace" |nwh|chwel|ve, "theh|ddeumatt|x,"aud"theuew
b|opol|t|calnemesoftheplauet",MWE,|iy| ,y y,| ,|,|i| ).
lt|suotd|fhcultto uudetstaudwhy th|s thes|s spatkedsuchcou-
ttovetsy. The cla|m that the teal, |fcoucealed, chatactet, the "h|ddeu
matt|x,"ofoutpol|t|callandscape|sthecouceuttat|oucamp|souethat
could hatdlyfa|lto d|v|de op|u|ou. Th|s "patad|gm" fot out agem|ght
seemtooutdoeventhedatkestpted|ct|onsaudthemosthypetbol|ccom-
mentatots. Compated to the thes|s that the couceuttat|ou camp |s the
b|opol|t|cal patad|gm fot outage,Adotuos doubt aboutwhethetpoetty
m|ghtnotbebatbat|caetAuschw|tzm|ghtseem almosttestta|ued,see
AdotnoGS, ioyoseealsoAdotuoGS, .y,,).lualesswellkuowutemat
ftomanessaycomposed|uiyandi|oastepottsaboutthecoud|t|ous|u
Getmanconcenttat|oncampsbegantohltetthtoughtoh|m|uAmet|cau
ex|le,Adotnocla|medthatwewetel|v|ng|uthe"ageofthecouceuttat|ou
camp",AdotnoGS,io z) lt|soueth|ng,howevet,tosay|uthem|dst
ofWotldWatllthatwel|ve|n"theageofthecouceuttat|oucamp"aud
qu|teanothettosay,asdoesAgambeuhftyyeatslatet,thatthecouceutta-
t|oncamp|soutcultutespol|t|calpatad|gm.Fotmauy,thecouceuttat|ou
camp|ndeedsetvedasanexample,butofad|ffeteutsott-auexampleof
ahottendous cxcctientothec|v|l|zednotm.Agambeupteseuts|t,how-
evet, not astheexcept|onwe ate mov|ngawayftom,butthe tuletowatd
wh|chweatedangetouslytend|ng
One ct|t|c has called Agambens thes|s au "outtageous ptovoca-
t|on angchcarcPreie/anen| ,Mayeti ). The tetm heemploys
angchcar-Ltystal|zes a w|desptead tespouse to the book. Mauysaw|u
Agambens cho|ceofpatad|gm both ofthemeau|ugstheGetmauwotd
possesses "outtageous" aud "mousttous." What, theu, |sAgambeu tty-
|ug to exptess thtough th|s patad|gm` ls | meaut to shock teadets to
attent|ou |u a mauuetfam|l|atftomAdotuos extteme statemeuts` ls |t
madetowakethemftomthe|tmed|at|cstupotaudpol|t|calsomuoleuce`
ReBect|ugonptec|selyth|s quest|ou, Dom|u|ckLaCaptawt|tes that|u
z IhcPetcnna/eParadigs
Agamoensvlew tbougbt ls to engage ln unyleldlng, tadlcal ctltlque of
tbeptesentlntelatlontotbepast.Hencetbekeytolefotapotla,patadox,
andbypetboleas lnyoutfacesttateglesofptovocatlon" ,LaCaptazcc
r6r,seealsoTetneszccrr) . lnotbetwotds,LaCaptaanswetstbeseques-
tlonswltba tesoundlngcs. otblm, Agamoensextteme clalms atenot
only, ln essence, ptovocatlve, tbeyate also oest undetstood as tbetotlcal
devlces,wltbapotla,patadox,andbypetoole"tbemeansemployedtostlt
teadetslntoteallzlngtbedltestateofaffaltsatoundtbem.
Tbete can be no douot tbatAgamben's statementsutptlsedmany
teadetsandptovoked manyotbets,j ustas tbetecanbellttledoubttbat
beknewltwould.TbequestlonlswbetbetAgambenadvancedtblsclalm
onlyfotltssbockvalueot,lnstead,sawltasanessentlalpattofalatgetat-
gument.La Captaseestbemattelncynlcaltetms,judglngtbatgamben
bastecentlytlsentoptomlnencelntbeueldofctltlcaltbeoty,andtbetels
asenselnwblcbbeseemsconsttalnedtotalsetbestakesotuptbeante
,wblcb ls alteady asttonomlcally blgb) ln tbeotetlcally datlng, j attlngly
dlsconcettlngclalms lfbelsto makeaslgnlucantmatkasamajottbeo-
tlst",La Captazccr,,) La CaptaundstbatwbatlsjattlnglnAgamoens
wtltlnglstbetesultlessofgenulnelnslgbttbanofatbeotetlcalatmstace
lnwblcbbelsengaged.Soastoptouleblmselfagalnstadynamlccobott
bemustmakeexttemeclalms. Agteatdealtldesontblsquestlon, andlt
lsoesttestedoyexamlnlngAgamoensslnglemostptovocatlveclalm.tbat
tbeconcenttatloncamplstbeolopolltlcalpatadlgmoftbemodetnage."
ndetstandlng tbls clalm, just llke undetstandlng Heme Saccrand tbe
teactlons ltbasellclted, entalls gtasplngpteclselywbatAgamben meant
oycalllngtbeconcenttatloncampapatadlgm"fotoutage.To tblsend,
wemustexamlneblsldea,anduse,ofaradigms.
Foucau|t`s Exam
j
|e
Wbat does Agamoen mean wben be says tbat tbe concenttatlon
campslstbepatadlgmofoutaglsbesuggestlngtbatwewlllsoonund
outtlgbtssuspendedandoutpetsonsglvenovettotbeatblttatyvlolence
ofa state llke tbe azl one tbat cteated tbose camps To answet tbese
questlonstequltesacatefulundetstandlngofAgamben'sldeaoftheara-
digm. HemeSaccrltselfcontalnsnodeunltlonoftbetetm.Tbeteasonfot
tblsseemstobetbatAgambenassumedltwouldbecleattoblsteadet.Al
IhcPetcnna/eParaigs zi ,
tbogblnagteatmanycasesltbasnotbeen,wedouotbavetlookfatto
undltsessentlalcootdlnates
IhcCemingCemmanislnvestlgatlousofexemplatltyoffetsauex
cellent lnttoductlon to tbls questlon, dtawlngonllugulstlcs, set tbeoty,
ontology,audstlllotbetueldstoattlculateanldeaofthepatad|gm.luthe
yeatslmmedlatelyfollowlngtbepubllcat|ouofthatwotk,Agambeu be-
gautousewbatbewltblucteaslngftequeucycalledaradigmstoaualyze
polltlcalquestlons Hewtote,fotlustance,abouttheuguteofthe"tefu-
gee"as,foAteudt,"tbepatadlgmofauewh|stot|calcousclousuess,aud
motegeuetallyofMcans theatEndasded|catedtoseek|ug"geuu|uely
pol|tlcalpatad|gmsME,i, z] audMWE, |||io] ). Th|sseatch
temaluedauesseut|alpattofmuchofAgambeussubsequeutwotkftom
tbepatad|gms ofmaneHaschuito thoseofI

Rege c Ca.
ltdld not escapeAgambeu'suot|ce,howevet, that teadetshadd|fuculty
undetstandlugb|suseofpatadlgms,andluaset|esof|utetv|ewsaudlec-
tutesglvenlntbewakeofHemeSaccrspubllcatlou,besoughttoeluc|date
tbls polnt ln dolng so, be agalu aud agalu po|uted to a ptecedeut he
tbougbtwassoobvloustbatbehaduotbotheedtosttess|tluthatwotk
lbavesougbt,"besald,"toapplythesamegeuealoglcalaudpatadlgmat|c
metbodtbatFoucaultemployed"DTl,,).
8ecauseAgambenseeshlspatadlgmat|cmethodashav|ugbeeuplo-
neetedbyFoucault,touudetstandb|suseofpatadlgmswewoulddowell
tobeglnwltbtblsptecedentWbat, tbeu, fotFoucault,wasapatadlgm`
LlkeAgamben, be offeted no deuultlon oftbe tetm |u thosewotks lu
wblcb be utstbegan to employpatadlgmsaudsohlsmeaulugmustbe
deducedftomblsmethod lnacettalnsense,aaradimwasfothlmwhat
ltalteadywasfotllato-anexample"aradigmals Geekfotexampe)
Howevet,ltwasnotjustanyexample,ottathetltwasauexampleused|u
notjustanyfasblonTbemostfamousofFoucaultspatad|gms,whlcbls
alsotbeonetowblcbAgambenbasmostexpllcltlycompatedhlsowu,ls
tbeanencenptesented|uDisc/incandPanuhasauemblemat|cugute
fotanewageofdlsclpllnatypowetaudgovetumeutalcouttol'

ltsot|gln
laylnetemy8euthamsdeslgu,utstptoposedlui;;,fotac|tculatpt|son
wlhcellsattaugdatouudaceuttalwellthatwouldallow|umatestobe
obsetvedat all t|mes. "lua lauopt|cou pt|sou," 8euthamwtote, "thete
ougbtuotauywhetebeasluglefootsquate, ouwhlch mau otboyshall
beabletoplauthlmself. . uudetauyassutauceofuotbelugobsetved
8eutham i|,, 6). latl|ameut accepted 8eutham's des|gu fot a ptlsou
zi IhcPetcntia/eParadi
to bebullt at lllbank, London, ln i;, butwben lt was unallycom-
pletedlniitbeplanwasno longetbls. Tbus, ln tbe ttadltlonaltetms
ofblstotlcalcausallty, 8entbamsdeslgnexetclsedavetymlnotlnBuence
and Foucaults elevatlng lt to tbe tank ofpatadlgm" mlgbt easlly ap-
peatexcesslve.ltwaspteclselytbls,bowevet,tbatwassolnnovatlveabout
Foucault'suseofpatadlgms TbelnBuencetbatltlstbettadltlonaltaskof
tbeblstotlanto studywasnotwbat lntetestedFoucault,bewasnotcon-
cetnedwltb tbepanoptlcon as adeslgn tbatbadexetclsedadlscetnable
blstotlcallnBuence, otevenasateptesentatlvelnstancelnltsgente. Fot
blm,ltstoodlnd dlffetenttelatlontoltsage-andtooutsFottbeunlque
blstotlantbatFoucaultwas, tbepatadlgmoftbepanoptlconexempllhed
fatmotetban8entbamcouldbaveevet dteamedltwould, andthetep-
tesentatlveotexemplatypowettbatFoucaultsawlnltextendedwellbe-
yondanydltectblstotlcallnBuenceltexetted.lntbepanoptlconFoucault
foundwbatbedeemedtbeconcealedpolltlcalcootdlnatesof8entbam's
age deep blstotlcalsttuctutesundetlylngsucb sutfacepbenomenaasln-
dlvldualbulldlngs.Tbespectaculatdlsplayofstatepowetwboseemblem
was to befound ln gotyacts ofptolongedpubllc tottute, sucb as tbose
lnBlcted on tbe Ftencb teglclde Damlens, was cedlng to a mote subtle
fotmofconttol.lnsteadofsbocklngandawlngapopulatlonlntosubsetvl-
enceandtbetebysubjectlngtbemtofeatoftbectown'ssovetelgnwlll,the
modetn state, asFoucaultatgued, metlculouslyobsetvedltssubjectsand
lettbemknowtbeywetecontlnuallyobsetved-tbetebyacqultlnganew
efucacy ln tbelt subjugatlon. 8etween tbe llnes of8entbam's dtawlngs
Foucaultsawadteamoflnstltutlonalconttoltbatwasbelngfullyteallzed
fottbeutsttlmelntbeptesentday.
Tbls mannet ofwtltlng blstoty tbtougb patadlgmatlc ugutes ln-
volved, bowevet,vlewlngblstotylnawaytbatwasanytblngbutottbodox,
andltledmanytoquestlonnotonlyFoucault'sblstotlcalclalms, butbls
vetytlgbttocallblmselfablstotlan. Hlsuseofpatadlgmsentalledvlw-
lngblstotylntetmsotbettbantboseofttadltlonalblstotlcalcausallty. ln
Foucault's bands,tbepanoptlcon becameapatadlgmfot anentltegov-
etnmental model, amannetofconcelvlngbowbestto tegulatecltlzens,
bowbesttodlsclpllneandpunlsbtbosewbohavesteppedoutof hellnes
ttacedfottbembytbestate.Wbatlsmote,beptesentedhlspatadlgmas
abetaldofwbatwastocome.tbepanoptlconwasnotonlyanexampleof
sometblngwlde-tanglngataglvenmomentlntlme,ltwasalsoanexample
ofsometblngwldetanglngeocrtlme. ltwas ateptesentatlvelnstanceof
IhcPetcnna/eParadigs z;
alatgetpbenomenonandalatgetaspltatlontbatwasasmucbptojected
lntotbefututeasgea/tbanplacedlntbepteseutasstanrd.
Hetewecanseealltbatls tematkableas wellas couttovetslalabout
Foucault'suseoftbepanoptlcon-andwecansensealltbemoteeatly
wbatlslncendlatyaboutAgamben's use oftbepatadlgmoftbeconceu-
ttatlon camp. 8entbam'sgoal lndeslgnlngapauoptlcou asa modelfot
ptlsonconsttuctlonwasnotpattlculatlyslulstet,altbougbmauymodetu
senslbllltlesundtblssystematlcsupptesslouoftbetlgbttopt|vacyto be
j usttbatlntettospect,8eutbam'spauopt|couseemstomauyabatbluget
ofdatktblugstocome,ablueptlutfotasoc|etalmodeltbat|sevetybltas
televauttodayasltwaslu;;-audfatmoteuusettl|ugTo say,theu,as
Agambeudoes,tbattbepatad|gmofoutage|stbecouceuttat|oucamp|s
tosaynotonlysometb|ugabouttbeteceutpastaudtbe|mmed|ateptes
ent,butalsosometblugaboutapoteut|allydatkfutute.
WltbtblseatetundetstandlugofFoucault'scoucept|ouofwbata
patadlgmlsandbowtouselt,wecanbettetundetstaudAgambeu'spata
dlgmatlcmetbodandblspattlculatclalmtbattbecouceuttatloucamp|
tbe blopolltlcalpatadlgmoftbemodetuage."lusuchastatemeuttwo
questlonsconvetge,oneofwblcbwaslatgelyabseutftomFoucault'suseof
patadlgmsTbeutstoftbeselsconcetuedwltb|utellectualcobeteucetbe
secondwltbetblcalptoptlety.Foucaultwasj ust|uablyouttagedbycoud|-
tlons lnptlsons, botb ancleut andmodetn, but tbete |s a gulfbetweeu
tbe deslgu fot a ptlson and tbe deslgu fot a couceuttat|ou camp. Wltb
tbls dlffetence comes tbequestlonofwbetbetltlsuotauouttage totbe
memotyoftbosewbo llved anddledlutbosecamps to employ-ot|u
batsbettetms,tolnsttumentallze-tbeslteoftbelttottuteaudmutdetas
apatadlgmfotsometblngelse
Jhe Representative Iower ol the Concentration
Camp, or Megri's bj ection
ltsbouldcomeasnosutptlsetbattblssecoudelemeut,tbatofetbl-
calptoptlety,wasvebemeutlyct|tlclzedl ntespousestoHemeSacer,audlt
lsoupteclselytblspolnttbatAutouloegtltookAgambeutotask."Llfe
and deatb lu tbe camps," egtl wtote, "tepteseuts uotb|ug mote tbau
llfeanddeatblntbecamps-aueplsodeoftbeclv|lwatoftbetweutletb
ceututy,abottlucspectacleoftbedestluyofcapltallsmaudtbe|deologl
z i ? IhcPetcntia/eParadigs
calunmasklngofltswlll,Negtlzooi,i|). Negtl 'sobjectlonbetels un-
equlvocal.neltbetllfenotdeatblntbeNazlconcenttatloncampssbould
setve to teptesent anytblngotbet tban tbe bottot tbat tbeywete. Tbls
cleatandcategotlcalctltlclsmls,bowevet,undetmlnedbytbefacttbatln
tbevetynextclauseNegtlblmselfusesllfeanddeatblntbecampstodo
justwbatbecbatgedAgambenwltb.teptesentlngsometblngelse-tbe
estlnyofcapltallsm.Altbougb tblsweakensNegtl 'spetsonalposltlon,
ltdoesnotblngtoweakenblsgenetalctltlclsm,lttemalnspetfectlylegltl-
mateand,lndeed,lmpetatlve,toaskwbetbetllfeanddeatblntbecamps
canbeusedtoteptesentsometblngelse-beltoutcontempotatypolltlcal
landscape,tbedestlnyofcapltallsm,otanytblngatall.
Z
Negtlwasfatftomtbeonlycommentatottoquestlontblsldea,and
lnanlntetvlewafewyeatslattAgambenwasasked,Wbenyouusetbe
camplntblsfasblon,doyounotteduceotevenannul tbeblstotlcalslg-
nlucanceoftbeHolocaustAgamben'steplytooktbeseemlnglylndltect
fotmofclatlfylngblsuseoftbetetmaradigmWbenlsaypatadlgm'l
meansometblngexttemelyspecluc-ametbodologlcalapptoacbtoptob-
lems,llke oucaultswltbtbepanoptlcon,wbetebetookaconcteteand
tealobjectbuttteatedltnotonlyassucbbutalsoasapatadlgmsoasto
elucldate a latget blstotlcal context ,L, i) . Elsewbete Agamben bas
statedtbat a patadlgm ls sometblngllke anexample cinBcisic, an
exemplum cin Excmc, a unlque blstotlcal pbenomenon ,LKA, i6).
Hete,lntbespaceofaslnglepbtase,lsctystalllzedalltbatlsptovocatlve
as well as mystllng ln bls use ofpatadlgms. As eatly as Ihc Ceming
CemmaniAgamben undetllned tbe fundamental, lfoften ovetlooked,
fact tbat examples ,and patadlgms) ate, pet se, patadoxlcal tblngs. On
tbeoneband,evetyexamplelstteatedlneffectasatealpattlculatcase,
butontbeotbet,lttemalnsundetstoodtbatltcannotsetvelnltspattlcu-
latlty ,CC, ro r| ) As ltsetymologylndlcatesandasAgambenundet-
llnes,tbepatadlgmlsneltbetcleatlylnsldenotcleatlyoutsldetbegtoupot
setltexempllues.lntblsltlsllketbesovetelgn.ltlslnastateofexceptlon,
botbwltblnandlylngbeyondtbesetofpbenomenalttepesents-andlt
lsnocolncldencetbatAgamben cboosestopalt tbesetwolnvestlgatlons.
Wbat,tben,lstbetelatlonoftbepatttotbewbole,tbepattlculatexample
totbewboleofwblcbltlsanexemplatyandteptesentatlvepatt` ln Ic
Ceming CemmaniAgamben goes on to dlscuss tbe example ot pata-
dlgmlntbetetmsofsettbeoty, ontology, etblcs, polltlcs, andllngulstlc
tbeoty,languagebelnganexemplatycaseofexemplatltyfottbeslmple
IhcPetcnna/eParadi zi
tea tbataglveuwotd-, fotlustauce-setvesatoucetodeslguate
aspeclhctteeaswellastbeclasstowhlchalltteesbeloug) hc Ceming
Cemmani opeuswltb tbe questlou "What ls a slugulatlty" aud ttles
botb to lsolate patadlgms ofslugulatlty aud to coucelve ofa commu-
ultytbatwoulduotuegateltsslugulatltlesluvotofuulvetsallty.Mote
teceutly, Agambeuhastltteutbat "tbepatadlgm lmplles theuucoudl-
tloualabaudoumeutoftbecouceptualpaltpattlculat/geuetalasmodelof
loglcallufeteuce" ,SR,z,).TbebestwayfotAgambeutocoucelveofthe
telatlouofpatttowbole,slugulatltytogeuetallty,cltlzeutostateptovesto
bethtougbpatadlgms-thtougbthe"patadlgmatlcmethod"headopted
ftomFoucault.Thecootdluatesofthlspatalgmatlcmethodatedleteut,
bowevet,wbeutbeyateglveugteatetblstotlcalaudpolltlcalspeclhclty
aud wheuAgambeu employs aspatadlgm the mosthottllug eveut lu
outteceutpast-aud pteseut. Tbe fuudameutal questlou hete, audthe
oueouwblcbtbecobeteuceofAgambeu'smethoddepeuds,lsthatofthe
telatlouoftbearadig as"tealpattlculatcase,"otslugulatlty,towhatlt
lssetapatttoexempll.
Exemplary Ilaces, or Critical Responses to
Agamben's Iaradigmatic Method
Wltbtblsbtoadetuudetstaudlugoftbeptoblemsaudpatadoxesof
tbepatadlgm,wecau tetutu to wbat pteclselyAgambeusawthepata-
dlgmoftbecampexempllfylug.TbtougboutHemeSaccrbetefetstocou-
ceuttatloucampsas"exemplatyplaces," audwhatbeseesasexemplatyls
tbelegaluo-mau'slaudluwblcbltsptlsouetsweteplaced-nettbellves
ledaudlosttbetetowblcbegtltefettedlutblstespect,tbecovetofthe
Ametlcau edltlou ofHemeSaccrcould beseeu to teBectAgambeu's lu-
teutlouswltbpattlculatclatlty,sbowlugasltdoesuotauactuallmageof
Auscbwltz-apbotogtapbotpalutlugofludlvldualsotoftbeplace-but
lusteadtbecamp'sblueptlut.TblscbolceecboesuotoulyFoucault'spata-
dlgmatlcuseofauotbetblueptlut,8eutham's),bualsoAgambeu'suseof
tbepatadlgmoftbecouceuttatlou camp lutbatwotk. ltlspteclselythe
couceuttatloucamp's-spatlalaswellasjutldlcal-thatAgambeu
huds patadlgmatlc aud wbetelu lles wbat be calls lts "hlddeu mattlx
Wbatfollows thlslmage-tbepagesofthe bookltself-doesuotstudy
tbeesledaudlostlutbeazlcouceuttatloucamps ,aswlllAgambeu's
zzo IhcPetcntia/eParadigs
nextbook, RcmnantseHaschaitz), butlnsteadexamlnesposslbllltlesfot
undetstandlngoutblstotlcalptesentandltsconcealedsttuctutesofdlscl-
pllneandconttoltbougbltspatadlgm.
egtl sctltlqueofHemeSaccrlslndeednottbeonlyonedltectedat
Agambensuseofpatadlgms. lnonefasblonotanotbet,mosttesponsesto
tbebookbavetakenup tblsmetbodologlcalquestlon,altbougbtelatlvely
fewbavecoucbedltlntetmstbatsttesstbeldeaoftbepatadlgm.Wllllam
Connollysctltlclsmoftbeexcesslvefotmallsm"ofAgambensapptoacb
seemstotefettotblsseofpatadlgm,altbougbConnollynowbetespeaks
dltectlyoftblspatadlgmatlcmetbodpetse,seeConnollyzoo;, z;). Tbe
cbatgesmadebyEtnestoLaclaualsoessentlallyconcetnAgamben'spata-
dlgmatlcmetbod. ReadlngAgamben'stexts,"Laclauwtltes,oneoften
bas tbe feellng tbat be jumps too qulcklyftombavlngestabllsbedtbe
gcnca/egofa tetm, a concept, otanlnstltutlon, to detetmlnelts actual
wotklnglnacontempotatycontext",Laclauzoo;,U, ltallcslnotlglnal) .
SucbctltlquesateultlmatelyconcetnedwltbAgambensasptatlon
to ptesentpatadlgmsas botbteal,conctetesltuatlonsandteptesentatlve
lnstances. 8ecause Laclaueltbetdoes notseetbenatute otdoes notac-
knowledgetbevalldltyofAgamben'spatadlgmatlcapptoacb,otltsbetltage
lnoucault) , bedlsmlssespatttbteeoftbebook,concetnlngtbepatadlgm
oftbeconcenttatloncamp) as asetlesofwlldstatements" ,Laclauzoo;,
zz). Hegoes onto maketbedamnlngclalmtbatbyunlfylngtbewbole
ptocessofmodetnpolltlcalconsttuctlonatoundtbeexttemeandabsutd
patadlgmoftbeconcenttatloncamp,Agambendoes mote tbanptesenta
dlstottedblstoty.beblocksanyposslbleexplotatlonoftbe emanclpatoty
posslbllltles opened by out modetn betltage" ,Laclau zoo;, zz). Laclau
seekstodealadoubleblowtoAgambenswotk,teveallngltasbotbafalse
vlewoftbepast,adlstottedblstoty") andadangetousvlewoftbeptes-
ent.lf Agambenspatadlgmoftbeconcenttatloncamplstobeundetstood
asanexampletbatmastbefollowed, asafotegoneblstotlcalconcluslon,
tbenLaclauwouldundoubtedlybetlgbttocbatactetlzeltasbedoes.8ut
wbatevet objectlons one mlgbt talse agalnstAgambens patadlgms, lt ls
cleat tbattbeyatenotptesentedasptedlctlonstbatnotb|ngcan bedone
toaltet. Ontbeconttaty, tbeyatetbeexttememeanstbatAgambenem-
ploystoexplotetbesameemanclpatotyposslbllltles"tbatLaclaulnvokes
Tblslsnottosaytbattboseexttemeatgumentat|vemeansatej ust|hedby
sucbemanc|patotyends, buttolgnote tboseends,otslmplytocbatactet-
IhcPetcn/eParadi zzi
l zeAgambeu'saualyslsasdetetmlulstlc,'' lstoml ssboththethtustofthe
atgumeutaudthetatloualebehludlt.
Thedlfhcultlesthatctltlcshaveexpetleuced dlscusslugAgambeu's
patadlgmatlc method ate stlll mote cleatly dlsplayed lu the wotk of
AudtewNottls.ullkeLaclau,Nottls begluswlthalucldstatemeutthat
gambeu'sptoject luHemeSaccr| hlugesupouthepatadlgmatlcstatus
ofthecamp" ,Nottlszoo,, z6|) .AftetackuowledglugthatfotAgambeu
thecamplsa"fuudameutalblopolltlcalpatadlgm,"Nottlsasks, "8ut en
Hgam/cneuntcrmswhatdoesthlsmeau`"zoo,,z,ltallcsluotlglual).
Nottls's auswetlsthat"thecleatlmpllcatlou ofAgambeu's owuexpla-
uatlou ofwhat makes somethlug exemplaty ot patadlgmatlc ls that lu
clalmlugapatadlgmatlcstatus fotthecamps helsandcan en{/cma
lug au uutegulated declslou that cauuot bej ustlhed to hls teadets lu a
uouauthotltatlau mauuet" zoo,, z, ltallcs lu otlglual) Thls ls au ex-
ceptlouallycutlousstatemeut, aud all themote so ftomtheedltotofoue
oftbeutstvolumesdedlcatedtotheHemeSaccrptoj ect.Nottlslutetptets
gambeu's owu explauatlou ofwhat makes somethlug exemplaty ot
patadlgmatlc"as"uutegulated"aud"autbotltatlau."Tothlsjudgmeute
addsatematkableaualogy,llkeulugAgambeu'spatadlgmstothedectees
ofd sovetelgu.ludolugthls,Nottlslsshowlugpattlculatseusltlvltytothe
aualyslsofsovetelgutyfouudelsewbeteluHemeSaccr Hlsaualogypte-
seutsauotableRaw, howevet. Hegoesoutoclalmthat"ou Agambeu's|
owu accouut, thete ls au lsomotphlsm betweeu the exceptlou aud the
example otpatadlgm. Glveu hls acceptauce ofSchmltt's aualysls ofthe
fotmetastbe ptoduct ofthesovetelgu declslou, thls teudetsAgambeu's
evaluatlouofthecampasthefuudameutalblopolltlcalpatadlgmofthe
West'asovetelgudeclsloubeyoudthetegulatlouoftuleotteasouAsthls
castsblsteadetsaselthetsubjectoteuemy, ltlshatdtolmagluehowthe
polltlcsltmlghtptoducewlllsetveasatealaltetuatlvetowhatltcoutests"
,Nottls zoo,,z6|) otScbmltt, thesovetelgu lsthehgutewho caude-
clateastateofexceptlou, suspeudlugthetuleoflaw. Nottls clalms that
thtoughlscholceofpatadlgmAgambeulsdeclatlugasottofcouceptual
state ofexceptlouhete the tule ofteasou ls suspeuded. The ptoblem
wlththlsaualogylsthatthesovetelgudoesuotsetouttopetsuadehlsot
hetsubj ectstoacceptadeclatatlouofthestateofexceptlouthesovetelgu
slmplydeclates. The teal patallel fot a sovetelgu declslou would beuot
towtlteawotkexplalulugluwhatseusethecouceuttatloucampcaube
uudetstoodasapatadlgmfotouthlstotlcalpastaud

ltlcalpteseut,but
zzz IhcPetcnna/eParadi
to lssueanautbotlaledlct-andwbatlsmote, onetbatwouldsomebow
blndltsteadetstoacceptlt.
lnbluttlngtbedlstlnctlonbetweenpolltlcalpowetandlntellectual
petsuaslon, Nottls cbatactetlzesAgamben'spatadlgmatlc method as an
atblttatylmposltlonbecauseltlsnottbeftultofconsensus.ltlstbeptod-
uctofanautbot,andlntbatsenseNottls'sdesctlptlonlspetfectlyaccu-
tate,butltwouldalsoapplyequallywellto coctexttbatlstbeptoduct
ofaslngleautbot-lncludlng,ofcoutse, Nottls'sown. Malntalnlngthls
analogy, Nottls goes on to offet a summatyjudgment on HemeSaccr.
nfottunately,"Nottlswtltes,gamben'sacceptanceofScbmltt'sdecl-
slonlsm makesltlmposslblefotblsanalysestohavenygenetalvalldlty.
letbaps wotse, lt puts blm ln tbe posltlon ofdecldlng upon the cap
vlctlmsonemotetlme,tbetebytepeatlngthegestuteoftbeSSlnpteclsely
tbewaybesayswemustavold" ,Nottlszoo,, z;). HowevetBawedlts
teasonlng,onetblngtblstematklllusttateslstbeouttagetbatmanytead-
etsbavefeltlnundlngSchmltt,ctownjutlstoftbeThltdRelcb,playlng
asbaplngtolelnAgamben'sanalysls.Anotbettblngltdemonsttateslstbe
easewltbwblchAgambensuseofpatadlgmscanbemlsundetstood.
ConsldetlngAgamoen'spatadlgmatlcmetbodlntblsllgbt,ltsbould
petbapscomeas no sutptlsetbat ltseems to bave been bestundetstood
bytbosectltlcswbobavedlsmlssedtbeconcenttatloncampandteplaced
ltwltb patadlgms oftbeltown. l cannot conceal my petplexltyat tbe
centtaltbesls. tbattbecamplstbe specluc andtyplcalugute oftbls ln-
cluslveexcluslon,"wtoteLuclanoFettatl8tavo ,i6, i6). lnlleuoftbe
concenttatloncamp,beptoposed Ellls lslandasamoteuttlngpatadlgm
,becauseofltstolelntbefotmatlonandptepatatlonofmassesofwotkets
fottbecapltallstmacblneawaltlngtbemlntbeNewWotld) . Tbls pata-
dlgmsetvesFettatl8tavo'spbllosopblcalputposesandlslnllnewltbbls
upbtaldlngofAgamben fot lnsufuclent matetlallsm lnbls analysls, but
ltalsosbows acleatundetstandlngofbowAgambenusestbepatadlgm
oftbecamp. lnaslmllatveln,RobettEaglestonebasoffetedanaltetna-
tlvelnsuggestlngtbattbe ce/enwouldbeamotesultablepatadlgm, as
basOjakangaslnsuggestlngtbeptesent-daywelfatesoclety",Eaglestone
zooz,6i,6|,Ojakangaszoo,a,z;) .nllkethepatadlgmofFettatl8tavo,
tbose ofEaglestone and Ojakangas do not ldentl a conctete hlstotl-
cal place oteventand tbetefote teptesent a dlffetent sott ofcottectlve.
Wbetbet Ellls lsland, the colony, ot a welfate socletywould be bettet
IhcPetcnna/eParadigs zz,
patadlgmsateopeuquestlous,butwbattbesesuggest|oussbate|safous
outbeactualmetbodAgambeuemploys.
Vat Is a Iaradigm`
HowtbeudoesAgambeubalauceauuudetstaud|ugoftbeblstot|
calspeclucltyofapatad|gmwltb|tsexemplatyvalue`Au|u|t|alway of
apptoacblugtblsquestloulsbymeausofd|sc|pl|uatydlstluctlous."lam
uotablstotlau,"Agambeubassttessed, "audl douotusepatad|gmsas
ab|stot|au" ,LD, seealsoL,i6). Elsewhetehehaswt|tteu thatbls
patad|gms'"goal|stoteudet|utell|glbleasetlesofpbeuomeuawhosetela
t|ousb|ptooueauotbetbasescaped,otm|ghtescape,theh|stotlau'sgae"
,SR, ,,). lfbedoes uottbeu usepatad|gmsasahlstot|au,wem|ghtwell
woudetaswbat,audtowbateud,bedecsusetbem."luseapatad|gmsoas
tocltcumsctlbealatgetgtoupofpbeuomeua,"behastematked,"audsoas
to uudetstaudablstotlcalsttuctutecinchutechcSoa/mr| ,L, i6) .
Altbougbbesttessestbatbelsuotablstotlauaudlsuotuslugpatad|gm
asablstotlauwould,bemakescleattbatblsuudettakluguevettbelessbas
ablstotlcalcompoueut, tbebotlzouofuudetstaudlugls"blstot|cal " aud
luvolves uot ouly eveuts but "sttuctutes." Tbe teasouAgambeusttesses
tbataltbougbbeemploysblstot|calmatet|alsaudmetbodsbedoesuotdo
soasablstot|aulstbatblspatad|gmsatea|medlessatuudetstaudlugtbe
pasttbauatuudetstaudlug"tbepteseutsltuat|ou" ,LD).
Astbepteced|ugmakescleat,tobegeuuluely|llum|uatlugAgambeu's
patad|gmsmuststt|keauexceptlouallydellcatebalaucebetweeutespect
fot tbe uulqueuess ofblstot|cal pbeuomeua aud tbe use to be made of
tbosepbeuomeuafotuudetstaud|ugethcrs|tuatlous."Fotme,"Agameu
bastematkedoftbemostconttovetslalofb|spatadlgms, "tbe camplsa
coucteteblstotlcalfact cin/en/rctcshuterischcsFa/mm| tbatattbesame
tlmesetvesasapatad|gm, maklugltposs|bleto uudetstaudtbepteseut
sltuatlouanscrchcatigcSimanen| " ,L, Iy, seealsoLD).Expaud|ugou
tblspolutbebastbeuuoted,"Tbeugutesofthehemesaccraudtbecamp
setveasexamples|uasmucbastbeyatecoucteteblstotlcalpheuomeua. l
douotteduceotcauceltb|sb|stot|calaspect-outhecouttaty, lttyutst
tocoutextuallzetbem.Audoulytbeudol ttytoseethemaspatadlgms
tbtougbwb|cbtouudetstaudoutpteseutsltuatlou.Tbls|sslmplyauotbet
wayofwotk|ugblstotlcally, auotbetmethodolog|calapptoach,"towh|ch
zzq IhcPetcntia/eParadis
be bas addedtbe tadlcalclalmtbatevetyttulylntetestlngbookofbls-
totyptoceedslntbls fasblon" ,L, i) . Agamben tbusseesblmselfas
wotklngblstotlcally," butnotas a blstotlan. Altbougb tblsoffets some
developmentoftbequestlon,ltdoesnotoffetananswettotbequestlonof
bowblsteadetsatetobalancetbetwoelementsofblspatadlgms
TbeutstpattofSigamra rcram, entltledWbatlsalatadlgm ",
aspltesto answet exactly tblsquestlonand tbetebyto cottecttbosewbo
ln mote ot less good faltb belleved tbat l lntended to offet tbeses ot
teconsttuctlons ofa metely blstotlogtapblcal cbatactet" ,SR, D) . As be
bason eatlletoccaslons, Agambenbeglnsbyaddtesslngtbedualnatute
ofbls patadlgms. ln my wotk l bave bad occaslon to analyze ugutes
sucb as tbe hemesaccr, tbeMuselmann, tbestate ofexceptlon, andtbe
concenttatlon camp tbat ate, ofcoutse, dlsctete blstotlcal pbenomena,
buttbatl bave alsotteatedaspatadlgmswbosefunctlonwasto constl-
tuteandtendetlntelllglbleavastblstotlco-ptoblematlccontext",SR, ) .
Agamben'snextmovealsoptoves to beafamlllatonelntbatbestteses
tbattbetelsultlmatelynotblngnewlnblspatadlgmatlcmetbod,tbatltls
slmplyacontlnuatlonofoucault'swotk.8ecauseoucaultnevetdeuned
tbetetmaradigm lnblswotk,Agambenseekstoelucldateblsownldea
of aradigmbyutstanswetlngtbequestlonfotoucault.Tbedeunltlonof
aoucauldlanpatadlgmatwblcbAgambenattlvesptovestobevlttually
ldentlcalto tbeonebegaveofblsownpatadlgmlntbe openlngllnesof
tbeessay. slngulatblstotlcalpbenomenatbat. . . atonceconstltuteand
tendetlntelllglbleamoteampleptoblematlccontext" ,SR,i) .Altbougb
tblsdeunltlonclatluesAgamben'stelatlontooucault,ltcompllcatesbls
ldeaoftbepatadlgm.otAgamben,tbepatadlgmsofoucault'swotkand
blsowndonotfunctlonmetelyaslensestbtougbwblcbtoseetblngstbat
ate alteadytbete,tbeynot onlytendetlntelllglble aglvencontext,tbey
censtitatc lt.
ottblsteasonAgambenlscatefultosttesstbattbepatadlgmlsnot
ametapbot,"tbatltfollowsnottbeloglcoftbemetapbotlcalttanspott
ofaslgnlued, butlnsteadtbeanaloglcaloneofanexample",SR,i). ln
tblstespecttbepatadlgmtesemblesmotecloselytbesemantlcsttuctute"
ofallegotytbantbatofmetapbot,SR,izo) .Tomakeofsometblngau
examplelsacomplexact,"betematks, onetbatsupposestbattbetetm
tbatlstofunctlonaspatadlgmlsdlsactlvatedftomltsnotmalusageuot
soastobedlsplacedlntoanotbetatea Tbepatadlgmlsaslngulatcase
tbatlslsolatedftomtbecontexttowblcbltbelongsonlytotbeextenttbat
IhcPetcnna/eParadigs zz,
bye |tlug ltsslugulatltyltteudetsauewgtoup ofpheuomeua lutel-
llglblwhosehomogeueltythepatadlgmltselfcoustltutes",S,zo).
Asthesetematksmakecleat,thepatadlgmatlcmethod,asAgambeu
uudetstaudslt,luvolvesthemostfuudameutal-audcteatlveteBectlou.
Fatftomhudlug,theu,theotlglualfotmofFoucault' s-audbyexteuslou
hlsowu-patadlgmluThomas Kuhu'sldeaofthepatadlgm ,exptessed
lu IhcSracmrceSicnncRcoe/anens, iz),Agambeuttacesthatfotm
backtouolessahgutethauAtlstotle, luwhosephllosophyhehuds"the
c/ssicasofaueplstemologyoftheexample" ,S, zo). luAtlstotle's
PrerHnancswe tead that "the example"-whlchAgambeu ttauslates
as "patadlgm" "stauds uelthet luthe telatlou ofpatt to whole, uotof
wholetopatt,buttathetofpatttopatt",Atlstotlei,UO | cltedby
AgambeuluSR, zo). ThetelatlouthatAtlstotleoutllueshetelstheoue
thatgovetusAgambeu'suseofpatadlgms.lusteadofadlalectlcaltelatlou-
sblpbetweeupattaudwhole,heseesa"patadlgmatlc"telatloushlpwhose
baslsllesuotluthelufeteutlalmodelofloglcbutluthemoteBexlbleoue
ofaualogy.

Coutluulug bls geuealogyofthe patadlgm, whlch ls also a seatch

fot examples that wlll help hls teadet bettet uudetstaud hls method,
AgambeututusftomAtlstotleto Kautaudthelattet'sdlscusslouofaes-
tbetlcj udgmeut.AbeautlfulwotkofattoffetsKaut-aud, luhlswake,
Agambeu-auexamplefotwhlchthetelsuogeuetaltulethewotkofatt
lsbeautlful,butthatbeautylsuotdeducedftomlaws,tules,otptecepts.
ltlslusteadslmplytecogulzedasbeautlfulaudthetebymovesftompatt
topatttathetthauftomwholetopattotpatttowhole,seeS, zz

zy).
b
FtomKautAgambeututustoHeldeggetaudhlsdlscusslouofthehetme-
ueutlc clcle Heldegget famously sttessed that lt was uevet a questlou
ofavoldlugthehetmeueutlccltcle, oulyofeutetlugltluthetlghtfasb-
lou. Retutulugto the ceutet ofhls htstphllosophlcal mastet's method,
Agambeusaysofthehetmeueutlccltclethatlts "apotlacaubetesolved
oulylfthe hetmeueutlccltcle ls tecogulzed as lu tealltyapatadlgmatlc
cltcle" ,SR,z).Heldegget'shetmeueutlccltclelscoudemuedtotemalua
mystetyaslougaswefallto seethatthetelatloulultofpatttopattaud
patttowholefollowsapatadlgmatlcllue.Ouceweteallze,howevet,that
thehetmeueutlccltclewasuevetauythlugelse butapatadlgmatlccltcle,
ltsfotmaudfuuctlouate,fotAgambeu,suddeulyclatlhed.
ThecoucluslouthatAgambeudtawsftomtheseatoucegeuealogl-
cal aud couceptual excutses ou the twlu ldeas ofthe example aud the
zz6 IhcPetcn/eParadigs
patadlgm ls tbattbemodelfotpatadlgmatlcteasonlng,andfotblsown
patadlgmatlcmetbod,lsneltbetlnductlvenotdeductlvebut"analoglcal,"
andonelnwblcb"exemplatltyandslngulatltyatenevetfullysepatable"
,SR,,z,,) .Hetbenendsblsanswettotbequestlon"Wbatlsapatadlgm`"
onapoetlcnote."lknowof nobettetdeunltlon,"bewtltes,"tbantheone
contalned ln a poem by Wallace Stevens beatlng tbe tltle Desctlptlon
Wlthout llace' lt ls posslble tbat to seem-lt ls to be,/As tbe sun ls
sometblngseemlngandltls./Tbesun lsanexample.Whatltseems/lt
lsandlnsucbseemlngalltblngsate' ,SR,,|). lnanotbetpoemStevens
offetstbeptoposltlon,otmakestbetequest,"Letbebetbeunaleofseem"
,Stevensr, ,c) . Agambenls focusednoton abotlzonwbeteseemlng
andbelngwouldmeet,wbetbetlnaj oyousunaleototbetwlse,butlnstead
on anldeaoftbepatadlgmas tbatwblcbcaststbellgbttbtougbwblcb
tblngsutstcometo beknown, buttbatdoesnot,fotasmucb,dlmlnlsb
tbelntegtltyoftbatsoutceofllgbt.
lnsum, HemeSaccrssttengtblslnsepatableftomltsweaknesstbe
tadlcallzatlonofoucault'spatadlgmatlcmetbod.Agambenseestbeazl
concenttatloncampsasunlqueblstotlcalpbenomena,andbetteatstbem
as teptesentatlve ones. He uses patadlgms beutlstlcally-fot bow mucb
tbeyallowblmtoundetstandoftbepast,andfotbowstatklytbeytbtow
tbe ptesent sltuatlon lnto telle Tbe teadet ofHemeSaccrdoes not, of
coutse,needtoaccepttbelegltlmacy-wbetbetloglcalotetblcal-ofas-
ctlblngsucbadoublestatus to unlqueblstotlcalsltuatlons. ltsbouldbe
tecognlzed,bowevet,tbattblsptoblemllesattbevetycentetofblswotk.
Irovocation and Irogress, or the Intimate Solidarity
etween Democracy and Jotalitarianism
Wltbtblscleatetsenseofwbat, fotAgamben, apatadlgm is, letus
tetutn to bls pattlculat cbolce ofpatadlgm. FotFoucault,thepanoptl-
conwas not tbe mostabsoluteotctuel fotm ofdlsclpllneotconttol ln
bumanblstoty. ltwas lnsteadfat mote lnnocuoustbantbetblngsFou-
caultusedlt to exempll. Fottbls teason,altbougbblsmetbodandlts
undlngsseemedptovocatlvetomany, tbepatadlgmltselfdldnot.Agam-
ben's cbolce ofpatadlgm, bowevet, could batdlybemote conttovetslal.
TbetecanbellttledoubttbatAgambenwasawateoftbetlsksentalledln
blscbolceofpatadlgm. lntbenameofwbat,tben,dldbetaketblstlsk`
IhcPetcnna/eParadigs zz )
WbeuAgambeu says tbat tbe patad|gm fot out pol|t|cal age |s uot tbe
e/isbuttbecouceuttat|oucampthedatkest,mosttett||ugphenom-
euou ofmodetu t|mes, tbe ex|steuce ofwhlcb makes usdoubt outhu-
maulty,featoutptogtess,auddoubtoutc|v|l|zatlou-he|sdo|ugsevetal
tblugs. Oueoftbeselsptovok|ugtbosewbo,lub|sv|ew,ua|velycl|ugto
abel|eflutbe|deaof|uevlta|leptogtess|uhlstoty,apo|utwe htst saw
lutelat|outoInnandHute).Agambeu'sskept|c|smaboutthedom|-
uautmodelofblstotlcalptogtess|sexptesseduotouly|uh|scholceofpat-
adlgm but alsolutbe compatlsousbemakesbetweeudemoctatlcstates
audtotalltatlauoues. Despltealltbe|tvetymau|festd|etences, hesees
uotbluglesstbauau"|ut|matesol|datltybetweeuthem,HS, IO |] ). lu
wbatdoestb|ssol|dat|tycous|st`Tb|s|suotaglobalcousp|tacy,audAg-
ambeu|scatefultouoteteald|st|uct|ousbetweeutbe twofotmsNevet-
tbeless,fotblmtbesolldatltylu questloustemsftomaptact|cecommou
todemoctat|caudtotal|tat|aufotmsofgovetumeuttbeapptopt|at|ouof
"batellfe"bytbemecbaulsmsoftbestate.
Agambeusdeuuuclat|ouoftblspetce|vedsol|dat|ty|scloselyallled
|ub|swtlt|ugtotbevlslouoftbesocletyoftbespectacleauuouucedaud

aualyzedbyDebotd.lutbeyeatsfollowlugtbepubllcat|ouofIhcSecic
ethc Scctac/c Debotd obsetved a gtowlugslmllatltybetweeu wbat be
called tbe "couceuttated spectacle oftotal|tat|au teglmesaud the "d|
fuse spectacle ofWestetu democtac|es. Oue oftbe ceuttal |deas ofb|s
CemmcntaricsenthcSecicethcSccmc, fotwb|cbAgambeuwtotea
pteface,|spteclselytbls.Aftetuot|ugtbatblsgoalofttylug"touudetstaud
ouceaudfotallwbydemoctacy,attbevetymomeutluwh|cb|tseemedto
bavehuallytt|umpbedovet|tsadvetsat|esaudteacbedltsgteatesthelgbt,
ptoved|tselflucapableofsav|ugz, towbosehapp|uess|tbaddedlcatd
all lts effotts, ftomuuptecedeutedtu|u,Agambeu wt|tes tbat "modetu
democtacy'sdecadeuceaudgtadual couvetgeucew|tb totalltat|austates
|upostdemoctat|cspectaculatsoc|et|es,wb|cbbeglustobecomeev|deut
w|tbAlex|sdeTocquev|lleaud huds ltshualsauct|ou|utbeaualysesof
GuyDebotd)|s"tooted|uptec|selytb|s"apot|a,HS, IO i,] ) .
Altbougbtb|sexplauat|ousuggestsaueedfotexttememeaus,| tdoes
uotexplaluAgambeu'suseof Auscbw|tzas/ienAswesaweatllet,tbls
cbo|cewaslulatgepattmotlvatedbytbemultlply|ugspaces|uoutsoc|et-
leswbetestatesofexcept|ouseemtobavebecometbetule. Ou tbeotbet
sldeoftbeaualogy,audasb|slatetwotkmakescleat,Aambeuseesadau-
getluaccotdlugtotbecouceuttat|oucamptbestatusoftbeuuspeakable,
zz IhcPetcntia/eParadigs
|n tteat|ng|t as sometb|ngto bebonotedtbtougbtespectfuls|lence.Tb|s
does not mean tbat |ts ugute can and sbould be |nsttumental|zed, but
|tdoes mean tbat |t |s sometb|ngftomwb|cbwesbouldnotd|vettout
b|stot|calgaze.lnanessaypubl|sbedayeatbefoteHemeSaccrAgamben
wtote tbat tbe camp |s tbe place |n wb|cb tbe mostabsolute cenditie
inhamana evet to appeat on Eattb was teal|zed." Elsewbete tbete|n be
states tbat wbat bappened |n tbe camps exceeds tbe jut|d|cal concept
ofct|me to sucb an extent tbat tbe spec|uc pol|t|cal-jut|d|cal sttuctute
wltbln wb|cb tbose events took place bas often been left s|mply unex-
am|ned ,WE, ,; ,,] ) . bls cleat and compell|ngtecogn|t|on oftbe
|mmens|tyoftbect|me,so|mmensetbat|tseems toexceedtbeconcept)
bas, |nAgamben'sv|ew, badas|tsnatutaltesultafa|luteto exam|netb|s
pol|t|cal-j ut|d|calsttuctute"|nastbotougbamannetas|tdemands. Fot
Agamben,fa|l|ngtodosonotonlyobscutesoutv|ewoftbepast, |talso
endangetsoutsoc|etles|ntbeptesent.
Tbeptesents|tuat|onappeatstoAgambenexttemeenougbtocall
fotexttememeasutesandexttemepatad|gms. Wbatbewantstogtasp|s
wbatbecalls tbebatel|fe anaoita| oftbec|t|zen, tbenewb|opol|t|-
cal bodyofbuman|ty ,HS, I,| ) o Gtasp|ngtb|selus|vebatel|fe |sno
easytask, bowevet, and |t |s fot tb|s teasontbatbedevelopsconceptual
patad|gmstbatw|llcast|t|nanewandteveal|ngl|gbt.And|t|sbetetbat
tbe|deaofbatel|fetelatestotbeotbetfundamental|deaofHemeSaccr,
tbestate ofexcept|on. Ofwbatatetbehemesaccrandtbeconcenttat|on
camppatad|gmsotexamplesAgamben'sanswet|stbattbeyateexamples
oftbe state ofexcept|on. Tbe only teal tule oftbe camp was tbat tbe
tuleoflawwas suspended. b|stuleofm|stule,ottul|ngouts|deoftbe
notmsgovetn|ngsoc|alfotmsandbuman|ntetact|on,ptoducesagtavely
dangetousstateofexcept|on"-oneoftbeteasonstbatScbm|tt'stbeot|es
ontbatstateateofsucb|ntetesttoAgambenbotb|ntb|sbookand|n|ts
sequels.
Jhe Secret Connections etween Iower
and Iotentiality
Altbougb HemeSaccr|s fatandaway tbemostamplycommented
onofAgamben's books, tbetetema|ntwonotablelacunae|ntbect|t|cal
l|tetatute.beutstlstbeonewelookedateatl|etsystemat|cd|scuss|ons
IhcPetcnna/eParigs zzy
ofAgambeu'spatadlgmatlcmethod. Thesecoudl smotedlfhculttohll
aud coucetus a chaptet ofthebookthatthemajotltyofcommeutatots
havechoseuelthettoavoldottopataphtasewlthoutllukluglttotheptlu-
clpal coucetus ofthe book. Eutltled "oteutlallty aud Law," lt pteseuts
uswlthsomethlugfamlllat-luauuufamlllatplace. ltlsadlscusslou
oftheldeaofpoteutlallty,hetecouuectedtoquestlousofsactallty,sovet-
elguty, audlaw.
Weteadhetethat
onlyan cntirclyncwconjunction oIpossibility and rcalit contingcncyand nc-
ccssity. . .willmakcitpossiblcto cutthcknotthatbndssovcrcgntyto const-
tutingpowcr.AndonlyiIits possiblcto thinkthc rclaton bcccnpotcntal
andactualitydicrcntlyandcvcnto thinkbcyondthsrclaton-wlltbcpos-
siblctothinkaconstitutingpowcrwhollyrclcascdomthcsovcr

gnban. \ntla
ncwandcohcrcnt ontologyoIpotcntiality. . . has rcplaccdthcontologyIoundcd
onthcprimacyoIactualityanditsrclationtopotcntialty, apoliticthcoryIrccd
|romthcaporiasoIsovcrcigntyrcmainsunthinkablc. HS, q ;:)j
Agambeucleatlysetsbefotehlsteadetstheapotlathatfotmsthe"kuot"
thathlswotkwllleudeavottolooseuaudthatheglvestheuameetcnn
a/i WetewetoseektthetcouhtmatlouthatAambescouceptlouof
poteutlalltyllesattheheattoftheptoject,wemlghtlooktotheuextlu-
stallmeut,wheteAgambeuwtltesthat"thetelsuohumauesseucethehu-
maubeluglsapoteutlalbelug chc/aemeransscrcdietcz| " R, :]q
iz| ) . FotAgambeu,apolltlcaltheotyeedftomthedaugetousapotlas
ofsovetelgutythatHemeSaccraud lts sequels gtaphlcallydellueatewlll
temalu"uuthlukable" uutlla"uaudcoheteutoutolo' thatceasesto
fouudltselfou"theptlmaofactuall'lsdeloped.A uoted, desplte
thecapltallmpottaucethatAgambeuaccotdstothlscouceptlouofetcn
na/ithemajotltyofthosewhohavethusfatwtltteuouHemeSaccrhave
accotdedllttleotuoplaceto ltlutheltaualyses ofthewotk themajot-
lofcommeutatotshavecoucetuedthemselveswlththepatadlgmofthe
couceuttatlou camp.

Howevet, as theptecedlugpassemakespetfect-
lycleat, to uudetstaudHemeSaccraudthequestlousthataulmatelt,we
mustlooktotheldeaofetcnna/iaudltstelatloutopolltlcalquestlous.
AsAgambeuuotedluauessayftomi;, "Weateusedtothluklug
ofthetetmpoteutlalltyetcnz| abovealllutetmsoffotce,otpowete
tcrc| audthlslsthehabltthatheeudeavotstocouutet,8S,).luau
asldeluIa ePrescAgambeuluvoked"thesectetcouuectlousthatlluk
z,O IhcPetcnna/eParadigs
powet etcrc] and potentlallty etcnza] , and tbat petlpbetal questlon
becomesacenttalonelnHemeSaccr,ll, ,i ;i] ,ttanslatlonmodlued) .lt
entets HemeSaccrtbtougbananalyslsoftbetelatlonbetweentbecon-
stltutlngpowet"tbatfoundsasovetelgnstateandtbeconstltutedpowet"
tbatmalntalnsltonceltbasbeenestabllsbed-tbesamequestlontbatbas
occupledfoundatlonaltblnketsoftbemodetnnatlonstateftomHobbes
andLocketoRousseauand,motetecently,Scbmltt.ltlsalsotbequestlon
tbat 8enjamln, wltb cbatactetlstlc boldness and conclslon, tteats ln bls
essayonvlolence and tbat beconcelvestbtougb tbe ugute ofa dlvlne
vlolence"tbatbasptovedsodlfucultfotblslntetptetetstolocate,justas
ltlstbequestlontbattblnketsclosetoAgambensucbasNegtlandlaolo
ltnobaveendeavotedtotefotmulatelntoday'spolltlcalcontext.
FotAgamben, tbe telatlonsblp ofcensntnngeacrto censntatcd
eacrfotms tbe sectet connectlons tbat llnkpowet and potentlallty."
Hls examlnatlonoftbesepowets lnHemeSaccrlnvolve bls conceptlons
ofseocrcigand/arc/qandtbeltconnectlontoanldeaofpotentlallty.
Let us utst tutn to tbe telatlon ofseocrcigtoetcnna/i. Agamben
beglnstbecbaptetlnquestlonbyfocuslngonpowetandtbevlolencelt
canlawfullyexetclse.Heutstgllmpseswbatbecallstbe"patadoxofsovet-
elgnty"lntbetelatlonsblpbetweenconstltutlngpowet"-tbepowettbat
leadstoanew,legal)otdetandtbatfoundsandgtoundstbeconstltutlon
,lntbatotdet) -andtbepowettbatensuesftomlt, "constltutedpowet,"
wbosefoundatlonandgtound,lntutn, lstbenew,legal) otdet'sconst|tu-
tlon. TbeptactlcalandtbeotetlcalptoblemfottblnketsftomHobbesto
Scbmltt atlses ftom tbe fact tbat ln tbe constltutlon and consolldatlon
ofevetynewstatetbetelsattansltlonftomatevolutlonatyandanatcblc
fotce abundantlyptesent ln tbe constltutlngpowet" tbat btlngs anew
statelntobelngandtbecondltloned andconttolledfotmofconstltuted
powet" tbatlslts stablllzedand,ldeally, dutablefotm.Altbougbtbedlf-
fetencelsofcoutseeasy enougb to undetstand, aptoblematlsesas soon
asweattemptto plnpolnttbemomentofttansltlonanddeunebowtbls
ttansltlon ftom constltutlngto constltutedpowetls to bej ustlued and
tegulated.
As genetatlons ofpolltlcal pbllosopbets bave sttessed, one oftbe
tblngs tbat a constltutlon endeavots to effect ls tbe defuslng and do-
mestlcatlng ofpteclsely tbls constltutlng powet," and tbe ttansfotma-
tlon oflt lnto measutes and guldellnes fot tbe exetclse ofa legltlmate
andptopetlylegltlmatedconstltutedpowet." "Hetetbebas|cptoblem,"
IhcPetcnna/eParadigs zyi
wtltesgambeu, "ls uotsomuchhowtocoucelve acoustltutlugpowet
thatdoesuotexhaust ltselfluacoustltutedpowet,whlchlsuoteasy,but
stlll theotetlcallytesolvable), as how eatlyto dlffeteutlate coustltutlug
ftom coustltutedpowet" ,HS, q || ) . The Ttotskylst couceptlou ofa
"petmaueuttevolutlou" ottheMaolst"uulutettupted tevolutlou" ateat-
temptslu the oue dltectlou-thatoftetalulugthlscoustltutlugpowetlu
thecoustltutedpowet.8utasstatedealet,Agambeulsasklughlsteadets
tofocusouadlffeteutquestlou, thatofdlstlugulshlugcoustltutlugftom
coustltutedpowet.
lullghtofthlsatgumeut,hectltlclzes Negtl's CensnmnngPeacrI/
etcrccesnmcntc| ,iz)audltsceuttalclalmthatcoustltutlugpowetcaube
dlstlugulshedaudlsolatedftomsovetelgupowet."ThestteugthofNegtl's
book,"saysAgambeu, llesuothete but "lusteadluthe hual petspectlve
lt opeus lusofat as ltshows howcoustltutlugpowet, wheu coucelved lu
all lts tadlcallty, ceases to bea sttlctlypolltlcal coucept aud uecessatlly
pteseutsltselfasacategotyofoutology" ,HS, |y|| ,i|)

Thepolltlcal
ptoblemthatNegtlsetoutto uudetstaudaudtesolvelssofuudameutal
that,followlugAgambeu,ltlsbestcoucelvedofluoutologlcaltetms. As
atesult,Agambeullkeusthetelatlouofcensnmnngeacraudcensntotcd
eacrtoetcnna/i aud act. "The ptoblem ls thetefotemoved," clalms
Agambeu,"ftompolltlcalphllosophyto htstphllosophy,otlfouellkes,
polltlcslstetutuedtoltsoutologlcalposltlou),HS, q ,i|) . Audltlsvla
thlspaththatAgambeuattlvesatthesutptlslugaudsweeplugclalmwe
sawealletthat"oulyaueutltelyuewcoujuuctlouofposslbllltyaudteal-
lty,coutlugeucyauduecesslty. . . wlllmakeltposslbletocutthekuotthat
bludssovetelgutytocoustltutlugpowet",HS, || ,i| ) .
8efotecuttluglt,Agambeuwlllpullthlskuottlghtetlufotmulatlug
thetelatlouofcoustltutlugto coustltutedpowetlutetms ofseicrcig.
vetyautheutlcuudetstaudlugoftheptoblemofsovetelguty,"Agambeu
atgues depeuds ou howouecoucelvesofthe exlsteuce aud autouomy
ofpoteutlallty" ,HS, | ,i,z| ). Although the lluklugofthe ptoblems
ofcoustltutlug aud coustltutedpowetto the ptoblem ofsovetelguty, as
wellas thesubsequeutpatallellluklugoftheptoblemofsovetelgutyto
poteutlalltylscleateuough,whatAgambeusees uudettheslguof "auew
audcoheteutoutologyofpoteutlallty" temalus exceedluglydlfhcultfot
hls teadets to gtasp-aud fot good teasou. Agambeu evokes hete "the
autouomyofpoteutlallty."etwhatcouldhemeaubysuchafotmulatlou
z,z IhcPetcnna/eParadi
tomwbatlspotentlalltytendetedautonomouslfnottbeactualtealmln
wblcbquestlonsofconstltutlngandconstltutedpowetttansplte
Ontbeoneband,tblsautonomy"lscleatenougbWbenAtlstotle
speaks oftbe atcbltect's potentlal to deslgn bulldlngs even ln moments
wbenbe ls not deslgnlng, and oftbe kltbataplayet's potentlal fot play-
lngevenwben be ot sbe ls notplaylng,tbls ls apotentlalltylndependent
of,ot autonomous ftom) lts actuallzatlon tbat ptesents no ptoblems of
undetstandlng.Wbenweacknowledgeanlndlvldual 'spotentlalfotdolng
tblsottbattblng,wedonotasktbatbeotsbedoltwltboutlntettuptlon.
lfwbatbeotsbe does lsnotexetclsedfottoolong,we mayconsldetlts
contlnuedexlstencequestlonableotvltlated. lftbekltbataplayetceases
toplayfotmanyyeats,wemaybavetesetvatlonsaboutwbetbetbeotsbe
can stlllplaywltb anytblngllke blsotbetfotmetsklll. 8ut tbeldeaof
sucbautonomylseasllygtasped,we mustdecldeonlyabouttbebalf-llfe
ofvatlous acqulted skllls) . Tbus, tblsetcnna/could be sald to be au-
tonomousbecauselntbeselnstancesltlslndependentofltsactuallzatlon.
WbatAgambenlsatgulnglstbesameasconcetnstbesovetelgnexetclse
ofpolltlcalpowet tbattbestateottbesovetelgn tetalns tblspotentlalto
suspendtbetuleoflawevenwbennotdolngso,j ustaswemlgbtsaytbat
lntbestablllzedfotmofconstltutedpowettbestatetetalnstbepotentlal-
ltyfotexetclslngltsfullpowettosuspendtbetuleoflaw.etlstblsttuly
toconcelveofanautonomy"ofpotentlalltywltbtespecttoactualltyDo
nottbeseexamples temalnln telatlon" to potentlallty'sactuallzatlon
botbpastandfutute
Altbougbtblsquestlonaboutan autonomouspotentlallty" ls left
open, tbe telatlonofAtlstotle's conceptlonofpotentlalltyto sovetelgnty
lsnotAgambentellsblsteadettbatlntbusdesctlblngtbemostautben-
tlc natute ofpotentlallty, Atlstotle actually bequeatbed tbepatadlgm of
sovetelgntyto Westetn pbllosopby ,HS, | ,| ) Agamben tben states
tbat potentlalltyandactualltyateslmplytbetwofacesoftbesovetelgn
selfgtoundlngof8elng,HS, |,| ) otAgamben,tbequestlonofsov-
etelgnty,lnbotbgenealoglcalandontologlcaltetms, lstbusaquestlonof
etcnna/i Tbe telatlonofconstltutlve to constltutedpowettbatNegtl
explotedlsttacedbyAgamben backto aloglcofsovetelgnty,"wblcbls
ln tutn telatedto tbe ldea ofpotentlallty utstglvencleat exptesslon ln
Atlstotle's pbllosopby. Anyattempt to tesolve tbe apotlas talsed bytbe
telatlonofconstltutlngto constltutedpowettbatdoesnotutstconftont
tbeontologlcalptoblemposedbypotentlalltylscondemnedtotemaln,fot
Agamben,apattlalone.
IhcPetcnna/eParadigs z]]
Atthlspolutl uhl steasoulugAgambeustatesthatfotpolltlcaltheoty
tobteaktheboudsofsovetelgutyaudcoucelveofauewpolltlcsaudauew
ldeaofcommuulty-thetaskhehasasslguedhlmself-"ouemustthluk
theexlsteuceofpoteutlalltywlthoutauytelatlouto8elugluthefotmof
actualltyscnz/canarc/azienccen/' crcinatte|. . . . Thls,howevet, lm-
pllesuothluglessthauthluklugoutologyaudpolltlcsbeyoudevetyhgute
oftelatlou a/di diegigra dc// rczienc| , beyoudeveuthellmlt
telatlou thatlsthesovetelgu bau.etltlsthlsvetytaskthatmauytoday
tefuseto assumeatauycost" ,HS, |; ,,| ). ltlsuot dlfhcult to seewhy
thlsllueoflutettogatloulstheoueleasttematkedouluctltlcaltteatmeuts
ofHemeSaccr.Althoughlylugatthecouceptualceutetofthewotk,ltls
alsothepassagethatlsmostdlfhculttolutegtatewlththetestofthewotk.
Thlsdlfhcultylsaugmeutedbythefactthatthequestlouofhowpolltlcal
theotyaudoutologymlght "thlukthe exlsteuce ofpoteutlalltywlthout
auytelatlouto 8elugluthefotm ofactuallty" huds llttle elabotatloulu
thelatetsectlousofthebook.Cauweuot,howevet,motecloselyapptoach
whatAgambeu euvlsloushete
lu thls same passageAgambeu obsetves that "lumodetu thought
thete ate tate but slgulhcaut attempts to coucelve ofbelug beyoud the
ptluclpleofsovetelguty",HS, | ,,,6] ). Amougtheseattemptsheuum-
betsSchelllug'sPhi/eseheRcoc/nen, luwhlchthelatteteudeavots to
thluk "au absolute eutlty that ptesupposes uo poteutlallty" Nletzsche's
docttlueofetetualtecutteuceofthesameaudHeldegget'sldeaofErciu
,HS, | ,,,6] ) . To thlsllstAgambeuadds8atallle ,lu aseuteucethat
wasomlttedftomtheEugllshttauslatlou)-"who, althoughtemaluluga
thluketofsovetelguty,coucelvedlutheldeasofuegatlvltywlthoutemploy
aud decaorcmcntallmlteddlmeuslouluwhlchthepoteutlalltytouot'
etcnzadi nen| uolougetseemssubsumablewlthluthesttuctuteofthe
sovetelgu bau" ,HS, ,6).

Howevet, Agambeustatesthat "thesttougest

objectlouagalusttheptluclpleofsovetelguty"lsuottobefouudluauyof
these thluketsbutlustead "ls coutalued luMelvllle's8attleby, thesctlv-
euetwho,wlthhlslwouldptefetuotto,'teslstsevetyposslbllltyofdecld-
lugbetweeu poteutlalltyaudthe poteutlalltyuotto" ,HS, | ,| ). The
ptoblemofpoteutlalltylsuotaptoblemamougothetsluHemeSaccltls
thcptoblemthatglvesltsloglc,audltspatadoxes,toallothets.Audasthe
tefeteuceto 8attlebymakescleat, ltluvolvesthluklugaboutpoteutlallty
luauuuhabltualfashlou.AsAtlstotletematkslu nthcSeu/, "ewho
possessesscleuce lupoteutlallty| becomessomeouewhocoutemplateslu
z,| IhcPetcnna/eParadigs
actuallty" ,|ib,cltedbygambenln l, i| z6] ) . Tblslstbebotlzonof
gambens lnvestlgatlon. lnapassageaddedto tbeltallanpubllcatlonof
alectute on pteclselytblstoplc,Agamben sttesses tbat we stlllbaveto
measutetbeconsequencesoftblsuguteofpotentlallty," butltlsalteady
cleattbatltobllgesusnotonlytofundamentallyteconcelvetbetelatlon
ofpotentlalltyto act, betweentbeposslbleandtbeteal,butalsotocon-
sldetlnnewfasblon,lnaestbetlcs,tbestatusoftbeactofcteatlonandof
tbewotkand,lnpolltlcs,tbeptoblemoftbeconsetvatlonofconstltutlve
powetlnconstltutedpowet",ll,z6) .
Iolitics and ntolo
Tbete ls mucb tbat ls newto HemeSaccr, but tbete ls also mucb
tbatlsfamlllatftomblseatlletwotks. Oneoftbegteatestdlfucultlesthat
HemeSaccrptesentslstbatoftblnklngonsevetal levels atonce,ofllnk-
lngontologlcalandllngulstlccategotleswltbblstotlcalandpolltlcalones.
Ofcapltal lmpottancetogambenatewbat becallstbe analoglesbe-
tween polltlcsandtbeepocbalsltuatlonofmetapbyslcs" ,HS, i zio] ) .
EatlylnHemeSaccrbetematkstbatltlsnotbycbance"tbattbetelsto
befoundlnAtlstotle'sPe/iticsapassage tbat sltuatestbeptopetplace i/
/aegererie| oftbee/islntbettansltlonftomvolcetolanguage"-tbe
sametelatlonbebasstudledundetanumbetofgulses andtbattecelved
pattlculatattentlonlnblsanalysesofinnandoftbetelatlonofoeiccto
/angagclnLangaagcandDcath,HS, ioii] ). Fotgamben,tbeques-
tlon lnwbatway does tbe llvlngbelng i/oiocntc| bave language ' cot-
tespondsexactlyto tbequestlon lnwbatwaydoes batellfedwell lntbe
e/is ,HS, ] ). ltbougbbe does notoffetan lmmedlate answet to
tbesetwlnnedquestlons, one lsto befoundtbeteln. fewpages latet be
tefetstotbellnkbetweenzand /ies,betweenvolceandlanguage",HS,
rr r|] ). Hete, batellfe, otz lssaldtobellketbevolceoftbelndlvld-
ualllvlngbelngwbosetelatlonto languagelsoneofpotentlal,altbougb
bowtbatpotentlallsactuallzedtemalnsundetetmlned.Latetlntbebook,
bowevet,gambenwtltestbattoday/ieslleslnzexactlyasessence,ln
tbe Heldeggetlan deunltlon ofDaseln, lles ,/icgt) ln exlstence" ,HS, i
zio] ) . Tbe Heldeggetlan conceptlon offactlcltyand tbe ttanscendental
lmmanence, otlmmanent ttanscendence, tbatgamben sees ln Helde-
gget'sontologyexblbltstbesametelatlon,andptesentstbesameconcep-
IhcPetcnna/eParadigs zy ,
tualdlfuculty,as thetelatlouof/stoz.Theyatemutuallyembedded
luoueauothettothepolutthattheyhavebecomeludlstlugulshable.Thls
hasbtoughtaboutadltestateofaffalts,butltalso,aslssoofteuthecase
luAgambeu'swtltlug,polutsthewaytowatdaposslbletevetsal.luablo-
polltlcalpetspectlve,thlsstateofaffaltsaudltscottespoudlugstateofex-
ceptloulsthecoudltlouofposslbllltyfotthemostabhotteutacts ofstate-
sauctlouedcoetclou. 8utthlscatasttophlcstateofaffaltsalsotevealsthe
meausofeudlugthlsbloodytelgu

audteplaclugthevlttualstateofexcep-
tlouthathasbecomethetulewlthwhat8euj amlueulgmatlcallycalleda
rca/stateofexceptlou"whosecousequeucewouldbeattulyllbetatotyso-
clety,aquestlouexamluedlualatetlustallmeutlutheHemeSaccrsetles,
StatceExccnenaudtowhlchltutulatetluthlsbook).Theceuttallty
ofthlsldealswltuessedbyAgambeu' scholcetollkeuthlsrca/stateofex-
ceptlou"towhatHeldeggetcalleda"factlcal llfe /chcsLc/cn| ,"allfe
lu whlch tule aud exceptlou, lmmaueuce aud ttausceudeuce, exlsteuce
audesseuceateludlstlugulshableftomoueauothetaudcometogethetlu
thebelugwhosebelugatevetymomeutlslutegtallyaudactuallyluques-
tloufotltselWhatlsmostdlfucultaboutAgambeu's booklsuotwhat
sepatates ltftomFoucaultthatls, ltscoucelvlugofthehlstotyofsovet-
elgutyashavlug beeu ftomltsoutseta"blopolltlcs."lustead,ltlsseelug
thlsblopolltlcaltealmaudltsapotlasas ludlssolublyllukedto /iunc
aud ente/egca/ptoblems.
WllllamCouuollyhaswtltteu,"NowheteluHemeSaccr 6 6 lsaway
out ofthe loglc actuallydlsclosed." Hegoes ou to uote that gambeu
thus cattles us thtoughthe coujuuctlou ofsovetelguty, the sacted, aud
blopolltlcstoahlstotlcallmpasse",Couuollyzoo;,z;).

Agambeuludeed
sees usatahlstotlcalctosstoads,audhe desctlbesadltestateofaffalts,
butltlsuot,luhlsvlew,aulmpassableoue.HemeSaccreudswlthasetles
ofpatadlgmatlcugutes,ftomtheaucleutRomauptlestFlameuDlaleto
theoutlaw, ftomtheNazlFhrcrtotheMuselmauuofthecouceuttatlou
camp, ftom the 8osulau womeu at Omatska to the comatose body of
KateuAuuululau.

AsAgambeumakescleat, theseatepatadlgmslu
thespeclucaudspeclalseusethathedevelopsluthlsbook.Llketheheme
saccr, theyateheutlstlchguteschoseufottheltabllltytohelpclatl"the
pteseutsltuatlou.""ltlsouthebasesoftheseuucettaluauduamelesstet-
talus, these dlfucult zoues ofludlstluctlou," wtltesAgambeu, "that the
ways aud thefotms ofauewpolltlcs must bethought" ,HS, zo|).
ThlslstheultlmatettajectotythatHemeSaccrseekstofollow aseatch
, IhcPetcntia/eParadigs
otmeans,ways, otms,andllvestbtougbwblcbanewpolltlcs"canbe
attlvedat,andltlstblscalltbatlsbeatd,tbtougbonevolceotanotbet,on
evetypageoblsbook.
Tbeseatcbottbls newpolltlcs" ls, otAgamben,anunquestlon-
ably utgent one. Tbe batsb concluslon be dtaws tom a sutvey oout
polltlcallandscapelstbatlnouttlme, tbougbttbusundsltsel ottbe
utst tlme, aclngltsowntaskwltboutanyllluslonandwltboutanypos-
slbleallbl ",MWE,rc;| ) . Heseestbeexttemltyooutptesentsltuatlon
btlnglngwltbltaclatltyasto tbedangetsatbandtbatnolongetallows
us to denyotdeet tbem. Aswltb alllucldlty, tbls one btlngs wltb lta
tesponslblllty. Contempotatypolltlcs,"Agambenwtltes, ls a devastat-
lng expetlment tbat dlsattlculates and emptles lnstltutlons and bellefs,
ldeologles andtellglons, ldentltles and communltles" -only to teoffet
tbem ln deunltlvelynullluedotm" ,MWE, UO | ) . ln Langagcand
DcathAgambensougbt to explote tbe metapbyslcal ttajectoty otbese
nulllued otms, and ln Ihc Ceming Cemmanibesougbtto studytbe
eectsotblsdevastatlngexpetlment"onldentltlesandcommunltles."
Tbtougb tblsdevastatlonbesawtbegllmmetoanewbeglnnlng-tbe
onebecontlnuestoseelnHemeSaccr, andcontlnuestoseeendangeted
Fot Agamben, we llve at a watetsbed moment ot polltlcal otms and
democtatlcsocletles. lnanessaywtlttendutlngtblssamepetlodbenote
tbattbeallotbeSovletcommunlstpattyandtbesubsequenttuleotbe
capltallstdemoctatlcstateonaplanetatyscale"bavecleatedtbeueldo
tbetwomalnldeologlcalobstaclesblndetlngtbetesumptlonoapolltlcal
pbllosopbywottbyoouttlme-Stallnlsmononesldeandptogtesslvlsm
andtbeconstltutlonalstateon tbeotbet"-andto maketbemeasuteo
tbls ttansotmatloncleat,becompatesltto tbe utstlndusttlaltevolutlon
,MWE,rc;| ) . Hewtlteselsewbetetbatltlsllkelytbatlpolltlcstoday
seemsto bepasslngtbtougb alastlngecllpse, tbls lsbecausepolltlcsbas
alledto teckonwltbtblsoundatlonaleventomodetnlty" ,HS, ( ;| ).
Masslvetbougbtblspolltlcalttansotmatlonmaybe,ltlsnottobecon-
unedto tbetealmopolltlcs.WbatAgambencallstbepolltlclzatlono
batelleassucb"constltutesotblm tbedeclslveeventomodetnltyand
slgnals a tadlcal ttansotmatlon otbe polltlcal-pbllosopblcal categotles
oclasslcaltbougbt" ,HS, ( ;| ) . At lssuelstbusvetymucbapolltlcal
ttansotmatlon-a questlon opolltlcal economy and soclal conttol
butnotonlytbat. Fot Agamben, sucb a ttansotmatlon ooutpolltlcal
IhcPetcn/eParadi zy;
laudscaetequltesattausfotmatlouofoutphllosophlcallaudscapeaudof
thecategotlesthtoughwhlchweexpetleuceoutwotld
As lu the outologlcal aualyses ofHeldeget, aud as lu the aualy-
seslu othettealmsthatAgambeuuudettookstattlugas ealyas hlshtst
book,auyhopeofuudetstaudlug-audchauglug-thepteseutsltuatlou
lsptedlcatedou au uudetstaudlugoftheotlglusoftheptoblem. luout
case,theseatetheotlglusofWestetuphllosophlcalaudpolltlcalthought.
Thatsuchatchaeologlcalwotklsuecessatyfotuudetstaudlugoutpteseut,
audthatfalllugtodothlswotkcattleswlthltdauetouscousequeuces,ls
oueofthemostabldlugptluclplesluAgambeu'swotk. lualatetlustall-
meutoftheptojectpubllshedtwelveyeatslatet,Aambeucalculates"the
ptlcethatmustbepaldevetytlmetheotetlclausbellevetheycauslmply
dlspeusewlthatchaeologlcalcousldetatlous," audteBectsouhowhgutes
ftomtheleftsuch as Habetmas teach posltlous abouttepteseuatlvede-
moctacyaudcoustltutloualtheotypetllouslycloseto those ofcousetva-
tlvethluketssuchasSchmlttaudEtlketetsoubecauseoftheltfalluteto
ttacethehlstotyofthe coucepts theyemploy,RG, zz) . OfHemeSaccr
Agambeu wtote that lt "was otllually coucelved as a tespouse to the
bloodymystlhcatlouofauewplauetatyotdet" ,HS, iz i ) . Thlspolltl-
calptojectseuthlmbacktotemoteteachesofoutcultutalttadltlou,aud
he uotedthatluhlsptepatatlousfotthewotk"lt became cleatthatoue
cauuot. . . acceptasguatauteedauyoftheuotlousthatthesoclalscleuces
,ftomjutlsptudeuce to authtopology) thoughttheyhad dehued otpte-
supposedasevldeut, audthatmauyoftheseuotlous demauded-lu the
utgeucyofthecatasttophe-to betevlsedwlthouttesetve" HS, iz i| ,
ttauslatlou modlhed) . lu SnAgambeusawhlmselfwotklug towatd
d geuetal scleuce ofthehumau."Thltteeuyeatslatethetefettedto"the
ptojectofageuetalscleuceofthehumau,whlchteachedltsapexattheeud
oftheisaudwhlch"dlssolvedwlththepolltlcalptojectofthesame
yeats,,| ,ttauslatloumodlhed,seealsoSR,ioiio).Coutluulug
tolookbackatthlsaspltatlouluHemeSaccr,Agambeuseesthlsptojet
luauothetllght,uotlughowmauyoftheuotlousthatwouldcouttlbute
to ltueedto be"tevlsedwlthouttesetve" lullghtof"theuteucyofthe
catasttophe"thatls, fothlm, coutempotatypolltlcsAttheeudofHeme
accrthlscalllstedoubled.We mustleatutotecoucelve,Agambeutells
us,thedlsclplluesof"polltlcsaudphllosophy, medlcoblololcalscleuces
audjutlsptudeuce",HS, i zii|) . Outsepatatedlsclpllues-betheypo-
lltlcalscleuceotphllology,jutlsptudeuceotauthtopoloy-haveptoveu,
z, IhcPetcntia/eParadigs
lnblsvlew,lnadequateto meettbedangetsanddemandsofoutday. Out
fallutetotevlsetbemtadlcally, bewatnsatthebook'sclose,pteseutsthe
tlskofanunptecedentedblopolltlcalcatasttopbe",HS, 2i| ) .
A llfe sttlpped bate l swbat tbe state ofexceptlon that ls tapldly
becomlngouttuleeffects,andwbatoutevetyeffott,followlngAgamben,
sbouldsttlvetocountetact.Tbetesponsebesuggests,tbecountetuguteto
tbls batellfe,"lsnotzot/iesbuttbetwobtougbttogetbetlnlntlmate,
lndlstlngulsbableptoxlmlty,wblcbbecallsfotm-ofllfe."lnanessaylm-
pottantfottbedevelopmentofHemeSaccr,Agambentefets toafotm-
ofllfe rmadioita| lnwhlcb lt ls nevetposslble to lsolate somethlug
llkebatellfe"andwbosecotollatywouldbewbathecallselsewhete,aftet
8enj amln,arca/stateofexceptlon",MWE,y i| ,ttauslatlonmodlued,
ltallcs ln otlglnal). Tblsdenseclalm ls atutstglancedlfucult to undet-
stand.EatlletlntblsptogtammatlcessayAgambenoffetsadeunltlonof
sucbafotmof-llfe."ltls,bewtltes,allfe. . . lnwblchtbeslngleways,
acts,andptocessesofllvlngatenevetslmplyctsbutalwaysandaboveall
essi/i/iticsofllfe,always andaboveallpotentlallty" ,MWE, | r|] , ltal-
lcslnotlglnal, ttanslatlonmodlued) . Hete tbemoteandlesssectetcon-
nectlonsofpowetandpotentlallty, andtbeltpettlnenceto tbeptojectat
band, becomesttlklnglycleat-asdoestbeteasontbatAgambenbasan-
nouncedbewllldedlcatepattfoutofHemeSaccrtotblsldeaofafotm-
ofllfe" ,seeRG, n) . Agamben'sconceptlonofbatellfe"ls aconceptlon
ofllfetbatlsnottbesumofltsatttlbutes,ottbecbtonlcleofltsblstoty,
butallfewboseessenceexlstsonlyasetcntia/Toteducellfetoanyone
oflts atttlbutes, ottbe atttlbutes to wblcb socletyasslgns lt, llke asslgn-
lngftomonsactedandsovetelgnblgbanessentlalvocatlontomanklnd,
follows thesameloglctbatbas been tbecondltlonofposslbllltyfottbe
excluslon andvlolencetbatbasmatkedouttecent,andanclent,blstoty.
Tothlnkof batellfeandlts essenceaspotentlalltyls,fotAgamben,not
slmplyto temalnpettluedbefotesomeuntblnkablellmlt,butlnsteadto
cuttbeknottbattbeloglcofsovetelgntyhasnotceasedtotlgbtenatound
outconceptlonofllfe Wbatmustbedonelsto developaconceptlonof
llfe,andofbatellfe,"wboseonlynecessatyandunlvetsalatttlbutelslts
abllltytomakefteeusage"oftbatpotentlallty.
IhcPetcn/eParadigs zy
Scholium I. Irogress and Catastrophe, or
Clear and Iresent Oangers
luzooz,AgambeuaudothetleadlugltallaulutellectualsoftheLe
suchas Datlo FoaudNauulMotettlweteaskedtocouttlbuteessays ou
the questlou ofwhethetdemoctacyuudetthecutteutadmlulsttatlouof
Sllvlo8etluscoulwasattlsk.Agambeuwtoteofthe"tegtesslve"aud"pto-
gtesslve"teudeuclesvlslblelucoutempotatypolltlcs thatthesewete"cat-
egotles luwhlch, today, ltlsuo louget posslbleto bellevelugoodfalth,
pooysultedastheyateto couftouttheptoblemswlthwhlchmauklud
uow huds ltselffaced" ,NSl n&). Thls skeptlclsmabout the ldea, aud
ldeology, ofptogtess tecallsuotoulytheaualysesofI/adHute
butalsothestatedgoal ofHemeSacr"tobtlugthepolltlcalout oflts
coucealmeutaud,atthesametlme,tetututhoughttoltsptactlcalcalllug"
,HS, ( ;| ) . luHemeSaccr thlsptactlcalcalllugcattlesauoteofpattlculat
utgeucy."theutgeucyofcatasttophe" ,HS, zi) .
Thls dltect lluklugofthe ldeas ofatatehcaudregcssl state
butuot uuptecedeuted. Thetetm catastehclsouethat8eujamluofteu
employedtochatactetlzethepolltlcalsltuatlouluwhlchhefouudhlmself
dutlug the uual yeats ofhls llfe. lu a passage ftom theHrcadcs Precct
dedlcated to the "dehultlouoffuudameutalhlstotlcaltetms" hedehues
catastrehcas"havlugmlssedtheoccaslou,"audthccrina/ismtas"that
the statusquo thteateus to temalu" ,8euj amlu GS, ,.,y). Elsewhetehe
wtltes,"thatthlugscoutluueso'isthecatasttophe",8euj amluGS, ,,z).
Catastrehcls thus, fot 8eujamlu, a "fuudameutalhlstotlcal tetm," aud
as suchltcoucetustlme aud lts coutluuum. luthe uotes leadlugup to
the Ihcscs, 8eujamlumakesastlllmotecategotlcalequatlou."Thecatas-
ttophelsptogtess,ptogtesslsthecatasttophe" ,8euj amluGS, . lu
thlssaegtoup ofuotes, 8eujamlutecommeudsau "empathetlcuudet-
staudlugofthecatasttophe Einh/angidcrtastrehc| " because,fot
hlm, "hlstotydoesuotoulyhavethetaskofteudetlugaccesslblethettadl-
tlou ofthe opptessed, butalsoofsuppottluglt" ,8eujamluGS, . z|).
8eujamlu's Ihcscsldeutla catatrehcthatlspteseutaudougolug. out
cutteutstateofaaltsaudthemodelofptogtessthatuudelleslt.Tohalt
theasehcwehavetolutettuptuotoulythlscoutluuumbutalsothe
modeloftlmeouwhlchltlsbased.
Thetecoucelvlugofmodelsoftlmeaudhlstotylscleayvlslblelu
suchwotksasInadHiste,butthelluklugofldeasof recssaud
z|c IhcPetcntia/eParadigms
catastrehcls bestseeulu Agambeu's usebegluuluglu HemeSaccr, ofa
catasttophe wlthout ptecedeut as the patadlgm fot out age. Agambeu's
clalm that the couceuttatlou camp fotms thehlddeu mattlxofout po-
lltlcallaudscapels astheptecedlugchapteteudeavotstolllusttateuota
slmplehlstotlcalclalm ,ltls fotlustauceuotvetlhableuotlsltmeautto
be). Thatltlsptovocatlvelsoftheesseuce-audluteutlou-ofAgambeu's
ptoject.Agambeu'steadetcouftoutsaptoblemthataswesawlsfamlllat
ftom auothetof8eujamlu's studeuts-Adotuo-who uses exaggetatlou
as a styllstlc aud sttateglc tool to captute hls teadet's atteutlou aud to
shakethatteadetftomdogmatlcslumbet.TheteadetofMinimaMeraa,
NcgatiocDia/cctics, IhcargeneHathcnnci, aud ahostofothetwotks
lsaskedtosepatatecuuulugexaggetatlousftomthosestatemeutsotdlag-
uoses towhlchAdotuo fullysubsctlbes.Thlugsstaudslmllatly butdlf-
feteutly wlth Agambeu. Although he makes extteme clalms calculated
toptovokehedoesuotmakeauytowhlchhe doesuotlltetallyadhete.
We saweatllet fotexamplebowAgambeus ldeaofthepatadlgmlsuot
etelyptovocatlveaudthatthete|sapteclsetechulcalseuselnwhlchhe
employslt.Nevetthelessthlsptovocatlveeleeuttemalusaudlultsllght
wemlght beglu by asklugwhols oelugptovokedTheutstaudcleatest
auswet ls thatAgambeu ls ptovoklug those hatbotlugwhathe seesas a
daugetouslycomplaceutvlewofhlstotyaudltsptogtesslvedevelopmeut
the same ptogtesslve model ofhlstoty that 8eujamlu castlgated wlth
such euetgy aud thatAgambeu aualyzed wlth such cate lu Innand
Histe. Oue ofthehlstotlogtaphlcalptluclples thatAgambeuluhetlted
ftom8eujamlulsaptofouudskeptlclsmcoucetulugtheldeaofptogtesslu
hlstoty. Thlsskeptlclsmshoulduotbeteducedhowevet toacatlcatute.
lotboththluketsptogtesscauauddoesoccut,socletlesaudlustltutlous
cau-audlucettaluplacesaudatcettalutlmesdo-becomemotej ust
falt aud equltable lu the dlsttlbutlou oftlghts goods aud powet. 8ut
theydouotdosooutheltowuotofuecesslty slmplybecausetheattow
ofhlstotylspolutlugluthatdltectlou.Nobellelufactlssodaugetous
fotAgambeuasthebellefthatwhatevethottotshavetakeuplaceatemete
devlatlousftomthetealpathofptogtessaudthatthematchofhlstotyls
lueluctablymovlugtowatdgeuetallzedgood.
Althoughtheteatedlffeteuceslutheltcouceptlousofthedlalectlc
audoftlme luthlsskeptlclsmlsouethatAdotuotookftom8eujamlu
malutalulug hls vlgllauce lu the face of coutempotaty eveuts aud
IhcPetcn/eParigs z|i
deuouuclug what he called "that whlch s desttuctlve lu ptogtess s
Dcsa/nicdsertschrit|,AdotuoGS, ,. i,.lutheptefaceAdotuowtote
wlthHotkhelmetfotthei edltlouof IhcDia/ccnceEn/ightcnmcnt,
heclatlhedthat whatwe set outto leatuwaslufactuothlugless thau
whymauklud,lusteadofatlasteutetluglutoattulyhumaustate cincn
uahrha mcnsch/ichcn astan, ls sluklug luto a uew fotm ofbatbat-
lty" ,AdotuoGS, , ii) .Thedaugetluquestloutemaluscleataudpteseut.
AdotuoaudHotkhemetalsowtoteofIhcDia/ccnceEn/ightcnmcntthat
"the developmeut tecogulzed thetelu towatds total lutegtatlou ls lutet-
tupted antcr/rechcn| , butuotdlscoutluued a/gc/rech| , aud thteateus
to sttetch ltselfactoss dlctatotshlps aud wats" ,Adotuo, o). ete we
hud au exemplatyaualogue fot the atgumeut thatAgambeu lsmaklug
luHemeSaccraudlutheessaysleadlugup tolt.Agambeu'sgoal, luau
updatedvetslouofthequestlouthatAdotuoaudHotkhelmetposed,ls"to
ttytouudetstaudouceaudfotallwhydemoctacy,atthevetymomeutlu
whlchltseemedtohaveuuallyttlumphedovetltsadvetsatlesaudteached
ltsgteatesthelght,ptovedltselflucapableofsavlugz,towhosehappluess
lthaddedlcatedallltseffotts,ftomuuptecedeutedtulu" ,HS, io i,|) As
fotAdotuo aud Hotkhelmet, fotAgambeu, the daugetous developmeut
lu questlou ls lutettupted, butuotdlscoutluued," aud thteateus atauy
momeuttotesumeltscoutse
Althoughthls lsludeedthecase, thequestloufotAgambeulsuot
oulyoueofefotmsofbatbatlsmtetutulug,butalsoofthedevelopmeut
ofncuoues thatthteateuto bemotebloodyaudmotedeadlythau auy
thathaveptecededthem.luvlewofwhatwasttauspltlugluaugoslavla
theubteaklugapatt,AgambeuwtoteluHemeSaccr, "olltlcalotgaulza-
tloulsuottegtesslugtowatdoutdatedfotmstathet,ptemoultotyeveuts
ate,llkebloodymasses,auuouuclugtheuewnemesoftheeatth,whlch,lf
ltsgtouudlugptluclplelsuotcalledlutoquestlou) wlll soou exteudltself
ovettheeutlteplauet",HS, ,|,| ).

ThepetlodsluceWotldWatllaud
ltshottotsseemtoAgambeuuothlugsomuchasastayofexecutlou.Fot
hlmthetels uo compelllug teasou to bellevethat th tavages ofteceut
watsaudgeuocldes atettulybehludus, just as thetewas uo teasoufot
such ualve, lfteassutlug, falthaftetWotldWat -as 8eujamlu ,whose
callsweutuuheeded) vehemeutlytepeated.Thlsvlslouofcoutempotaty
polltlcslsteBectedevetywheteluAgambeuswtltlug-ftomhlsleatued
aualyses ofthe fouudatlous ofWestetu lawto hlsj outuallstlcwtltlugs
zz IhcPetcnna/eParadi
aboutpolltlcalsltuatlouslultaly, Ametlca,ugoslavla,Afghaulstau,aud
ltaq.Agambeumlsttuststheldeaofhlstotlcalptogtessaudluthlsseuse
thetheslsoftheuualsectlouofHemeSaccrlsludeed,aswesawltcalled,a
"ptovocatlou. "etltlsthelastthlugbutmeteptovocatlou.ltspolutlsuot
oulytoattesttheteadet'satteutlou,butalsotoexposethehlddeuloglcof
thepolltlcalpatadlgmsthathavegovetuedoutthluklugfotmllleuula.
IhcPetcn/eParadigs z|y
Scnolium II. Iaradigm and Oialectical Image, or
Jhe Shadow ol the Iresent
The two most lmpottaut patadlgms that Agambeu pteseuts lu
HemeSaccr-thecouceuttatloucampaudthehguteofthehemesaccr
ate used lu slmllat fashlou but dlffet lu fuudameutal tespec

s. Oue of
thesedlffeteucesls that althoughthe couceuttatloucampbelougstoout
hlstotlcalpteseut, the hemesaccrdates ftomWestetucultute'smostdls-
tautpast. GlveuthatAgambeuemploys bothlmagesaspatadlgmatlcof
thesameldea-"batellfe"-thlshlstotlcaldlstaucetalsesamethodologl-
calquestlouthathasftequeutlyttoubledAgambeu'steadets.Whatsome
havevaluedasadepthaudbteadthofleatulug,leudlugAgambeu'sstud-
lesawelghtthatothetcousldetatlousoftelatedquestlouslack, othetshave
chatactetlzedasslmply hlstotlcal.
Mote thau auy ofAgambeu's othet wotks, HemeSaccrhas glveu
tlse to thls chatge, begluulugaslt does wltha Gteekcouceptlouofllfe,
followedbyaRomauhgutefotltseudbefotehuttllugfotwatdlutlmeto
comatosepatleutsaudcouceuttatloucampptlsouets.luatadlolutetvlew
Agambeu deuouuced thepteteuslouto scleutlhcsystematlcltyoftoday's
hlstotlcaldlsclpllues,wlththeltesseutlally"atblttaty"couveutlousfotdl-
vldlugthecoutluuumofhlstotlcalexpetleucelutosuchtldyuultsasceu-
tutles,LD).To thlsmauuetofptoceedlugAgambeuexpllcltlyopposed
themethodploueetedbyFoucaultofemploylugpatadlgms, amethodhe
callsboth"motesetlous"aud"motelutetestlug"thauauyothet,LD).lu
auothetlutetvlew,Agambeu'slutetlocutotquestlouedhlmabouthlsuse
ofhgutesaudtextsftomthetemotepasttofotmulatewhatmostlutetests
aud coucetus hlm lu the pteseut, asklug lfthls was a method he had
adoptedftom 8eujamluotFoucault. "Ftomboth,"Agambeuausweted.
"lbellevethathlstoty-otbettet,whatFoucaultcalledtheatchaeologof
oue'sowucultute-lstheoulywaytoteachthepteseut zurCcgcnaart
/emmcn| Thehlstotlcalobjectlsuevetoulyluthepastauduevetouly
luthepteseut. ltlles luacoustelltloufotmedbybothltlsthetewhete
past aud pteseut meet" ,W, zy) . Agambeu's tefeteuce to "the hlstotl-
calobject"as"uevetoulyluthepastauduevetoulyluthepteseut" but
fouudlusteadlu"acoustellatloufotmedbyboth" lsouethattheteadet
of8eujamlu'swotkswllltecogulzeasacltatlouwlthoutquotatloumatks
WhatAgambeu ls subtlyevoklug hete ls the most eulgmatlc hute lu
8eujamlu'stheotyofkuowledge"thedlalectlcallmage."
z|| IhcPetcnt/eParadigs
Agamben dedlcates slgnlucant attentlon to 8enj amln's ldea of
a dlalectlcal lmage, cbatactetlzlng lt at one polnt as tbe fulctum of
8enjamlns tbeoty ofblstotlcal consclousness" ,, ,) lt ls tbls ful-
ctum" tbat be wlsbes not only to undetstand ln bls wotk, but also to
use 8utbefotewecan undetstand tbls usage, we mustutst undetstand
8enjamlnstetm. 8enjamlns dlalectlcallmage"basptovensoenlgmatlc
fot aslmple teason lt seems to exptess an lnsolublepatadoxln lts vety
name How,we mlgbt ask, canan lmagebedlalectlcal lsnotan imagc,
bydeunltlon,ftozen,andadia/cctic,bydeunltlon,lnmovementlt ls cleat
ftom8enjamlnsctyptlcuseoftbetetmtbatbeemploys imagc lna
latgetsensetbanweateaccustomedtoundlng,anddeslgnatestbtougblt
motetbanaslmplevlsuallmage. evettbeless,andevenundetstoodlna
btoadetsense,tbequestlontemlnsastobowanlmagecanbeconcelved
ofasdlalectlcal."
Tbeanswettotblsquestlonundsltscotollatylntbemetbodtbat
8enjamln,lnequallyenlgmatlcfasblon,calleddlalectlcsatastandstlll."
A dlalectlc ls an excbange. 8y tbls token, dlalectlcal lmages ate tbose
lnwblcbtwo pattles entetlnto dlalogue, lnwblcbtwoelements come
lntodynamlccontact.WbatatetbesepattlesotelementsOntblspolnt
8enjamlnlscleatdlalectlcallmagesteptesenttbeconjunctuteofpastand
ptesent.lnblsHrcadcsPrecctbewtltes, ltlsnottbatwbatlspastcasts
ltsllgbtontbewbatlsptesent,otwbatlsptesentltsllgbtonwbatlspast,
tatbet, anlmagelstbatwbetelnwbatbasbeencomestogetbetlnaBash
wltbtbenowtofotmaconstellatlon",8enj amalnr,|6,,GS,,,;). ln
tbenextllnes 8enjamlnglves to tbls lmage" tbenamedlalect|callm-
age,"andobsetvestbat,onlydlalectlcallmagesategenulnelyblstotlcal "
,8enjamlnr, |6,, GS, , ,) .Adlalectlcallmagels tbus anlmage te-
sultlngftomanelementoftbepastandanelementoftbeptesententetlng
lntocontact,otdlalogue,wltboneanotbet.
lntbeunalctyptlcnotesonmetbodtbatbeleftbeblndattbeendof
blsllfe, 8enj amlnwaslntenselylntetestedlndeveloplnganewtbeotyof
blstotlcalconsclousness We sawlnconnectlonwltb InncandHiste
bls vebement tejectlonofanldeologyofptogtessandtbe model oftlme
tbatcottesponds to lt. To tbls lnett conceptlon ofblstotlcal expetlence
8enj amlnopposedadynamlctlmeoftbenow"cbatgedwltbanenetgy
capableof blowlngelementsoutoftbeblstotlcalcontlnuum" lnwblcb
ttadltlonalblstotlogtapbybadlmptlsonedthem.Tbedlalectlcallmage"
lsanessentlalpattoftblsmetbodologlcalpuzzle.ElsewbetelntbeHrcadcs
IhcPetcnna/eParadigs zq,
Precct8eujamluwtltes that"amomeutlutlme cau befullyuudetstood
asadlalectlcallmageoulybymeausofauothetcoucept.Thlscouceptls
theuowofkuowablllty' " ,8eujamluGS, , io,;).Oulywheultachlevesa
speclalleglbllltyluwhat8eujamlucallsthe"uowofkuowablllty"cauthe
matetlallsthlstotlau"gllmpseadlalectlcallmage,"audltlsoulythtough
thlsctuclalcouceptthatthemethodAgambeuadoptsftom8eujamlucau
befullyuudetstood.
At thls polut we cau beglu to see the slmllatlty betweeu what
8enjamlumystetlouslytefettedtoasdia/ccnca/imagcsaudwhatAgambeu
callsaradigs. Agambeu'spatadlgmsate expllcltly Foucauldlau luthe
ways audfot the teasouswe saweatllet-buttheyatealso ofthe otdet
ofwhat8eujamlu called dlalectlcal lmages. LlkeAgambeu's patadlgms,
8eujamlu's dlalectlcal lmages tepteseut a dyuamlccoustellatlou ofpast
audpteseutwheteamomeutluthepastlsuotaslmpleelemeutluahls
totlcalatchlve butapoteutlallydyuamlcmeausofuudetstaudlug-aud
chauglug-thepteseutsltuatlou,ouethatacqultesltspoteutlalltyoulyat
speclhc,audfottultous,poluts.Thlsptocesshasadoublechatactetluthat
Agambeubeglus,asheuotes,wlththehlstotlcalwotkofuudetstaudlug
glveu hlstotlcalpheuomeualuthelthlstotlcalcoutexts. luthlseffotthe
wotksasahlstotlauwould,buthedoesuot,ashehassttessedouuumet-
ousoccaslous,usepatadlgmsasahlstotlau.Hetewehavethesecoudstage
ofAgambeu's"patadlgmatlcmethod,"whete,luthectltlcalmomeutthat
8eujamlucalled"theuowofkuowabllly"hetemovessuchtextsaudhg-
utesftomtheltposltlouluacoutluuumofhlstotlcalexpetleuceauduses
themtothedyuamlceudofelucldatlugthepteseut.Suchlmagesate,fot
8eujamluaudAgambeu,"ctystalllzatlous"ofhlstotlcalexpetleuce-aud
uotjustauyhlstotlcalexpetleuce,butexpetleucethatataglveumomeut
acqultes uuptecedeuted televauce. FotAgambeu, as fot 8eujamlu, the
pastls uotequallyaudevetywheteaccesslble. Thlsetcnna/luhetluglu
outpastls,fotboththlukets,ttulydyuamlc.Muchmotelsluvolvedthau
slmplytemovlugabookftomashelfaudtutulugto apageouwhlcha
glven clalm lsmade fotadocumeutofout pasttomattet to us, aspatk
ueedstobelltluoutpteseut.
Wheuwe cousldetAgambeu'spatadlgmsaftetthefashlouofboth
Foucault'spatadlgmsaud8euj amlu'sdlalectlcallmages, theptoblemof
hlstotlcalmethodbecmescleatet.Agambeulsuotttoubledbythetauge
ofhlstotlcal tefeteuceotbythechatgethatsuchbtoadtauge mlght be
cousldeteduusystematlcaudthus,ultlmately, uuhlstotlcalltshouldtheu
z IhcPetcnna/eParadigs
comeasllttlesutptlsetbatwbenaskedwbetbetblstecoutsetotemotepe-
tlodsofoutpastwasttulynecessatyandwbatbetbougbtofcbatgestbat
blsmannetofptoceedlngwasultlmatelyunblstotlcal,"Agambenteplled
asbedld. oucaultoncesaldsometblngqultebeautlfulaboutjusttbls,"
Agambenbegan. Hesaldtbatblstotlcalteseatcbwasllkeasbadowcast
bytbeptesentontotbepast.otoucault,tblssbadowsttetcbedbackto
tbeseventeentbandelgbteentbcentutles. otme,tbesbadowlslonget."
laootatlngon tbls metapbot Agamben contlnued, l tend to wotk ln
ctepusculatteglons, at sunset,wbete tbe sbadows atevety long. ot me
tbeyteacblntotbedeepestpast. Tbetelsnogteattbeotetlcaldlffetence
betweenmywotkandoucault's, ltlsmetelyaquestlonoftbeleugtbof
tbblstotlcalsbadow",lWl,z,) .
L MAPJL K 5 LNL^
+hc \nQuc and thc \nsayabc.
Rcmnants Haschuitz Ihc Vmcss
and thc Hrchioc. Hm Saccr III
cmand
2cu

t lr dcn
Zcu

cn. '
PAUL CELA, `ASCHENGLORE
"lultlally lt was the hgute ofthe heme saccrthat led me to see
Auschwltzluauewllght,"Agambeutematkedluzooi. "lttledtothluk
thtoughwhatsottofllfehadbeeuledthete," he coutluued, specllug
that"thehguteofthehemesaccr sameausthtoughwhlchtoseeauew
whathappeuedluthecamps" ,L, i) . RcmnantseHuschaitzbeatsthe
subtltleHemeSaccrII ,Statc eExccnen HemeSaccr dlduotap-
peatfotauothethveyeats,I/Rcgec/C/eiaHemeSaccrII: fotauoth-
etulue, audI/sacramcntedc/ /ingae HemeSaccrII
)
fotauothetteu
yeats)audlsacoutluuatlouofthecoucetushlsteadetshtsteucouutetedlu
HemeSaccr.ThepatadlgmatlchguteftomRomauautlqultythatgavehls
ptojectltsdltectlouaudtlelsthesameouethtoughwhlchheexamlues
boththehgutethecouceutttloucampaudhgutesinthecouceuttatlou
camps.Themostsutptlslugthlug,howevet,aboutRcmnantseHuschai
lstheaugleftomwhlchltapptoachesltsquestlou.thatoftcsnmen. Thls
apptoachlsuotsutptlsluglultselasthequestlouoftestlmouyaudtestl-
lughasbeeuaceuttaloueludlscusslousoftheHolocaustbutltsut
z Ihc|niqacandthc |nsaa//c
ptlslngastbe nextlnstallmentln tbe HemeSaccrptoject.lnsteadofta
lnguptbeptovocatlvetbeslsoftbehnalsectlonofHemeSaccr-tbattbe
concenttatloncamplstbeblopolltlcalpatadlgm" ofoutage-wbetebe
leftof be tutnsftomtbearadi oftbecampto /qlntbecamps. ln
RcmnantseHaschaitztbefocuslsnotonbowtbesaccoftbecamp lsa
hgutefottbe blopolltlcal " spaces ofmodetnsoclety as ltwas ln Heme
Saccr,butlnsteadonbeatlngwltnesstotbellfeedtbete.
RcmnantseHaschaitzlsAgamben's most datlngbook.ltptomlses
adehnltlvetesponsetotbosewbowouldquestlontbeblstotlcaltealltyof
tbeHolocaustaswellasanEthicamercHaschaidcmenstrata. ottbls
teason lt ls alltbemote tegtettable tbat ltls also blsmostBawedbook.
Tbeteateuncbatactetlstlcgapslntbebook'satgument,andtbehnellne
tbat tbepatadlgmatlcmetbodofHemeSaccrtequlteshewalkptovesex-
ceptlonally dlfhcult to follow. Rcmnants eHaschaibas dlsappolnted
manyteadets,angetedmanyotbets andevencostAgambensomeofhls
mostentbuslastlcsuppottets.Tbeteasonsfottbls,bowevetstemasmucb
ftomtbeldeabeblndtbebookasftomtbeBawslnltsexecutlon.
mllackenbelmwtotelniztbatpbllosopbetskeepactlngasl
pbllosopblcally tbetelsnodlffetencebetweentheslxmllllonandtbeone
cbllddylngofcancet"andtbatsofatasmostpbllosopbetsandtbeolo-
glansateconcetned tbeteslmplylsno Holocaust" n) . Wbethetotnot
tblsclalmlsttuefotpbllosopbetsasagtoup,ltcettalnlydoesnotapplyto
Agamben' slndlvldual case. lnRcmnantseHaschaitz,Agambenattempts
tooffetapbllosopblcaltesponsetotbedllemmasposedbytbeHolocaust,
andblsmannetofptoceedlngbasspatkednollttleconttovetsy.Tbehi/e
sehica/metbod tbatAgamben employs ln RcmnantseHaschaitzls tbe
samearadimaticmetbodwe saw ln HemeSaccrand mustslmultane-
ously tteatAuscbwltz as an absolutelyunlqueeventandas a patadlgm
fot undetstandlngotbetsltuatlons. Tbe htstquestlon tblspbllosopblcal
metbodtalseslswbetbetsucbanapptoacblsjustlhable-wbetbetuslng
Auscbwltz as a patadlgm tobs lt oflts blstotlcal slngulatlty. Domlnlck
LaCapta bas called tbe book a ttansblstotlcal /cen dc hi/esehic
,zoo, iz) , andltls pteclsely tbls ldea tbat bas lncensedsomanytead-
ets. stbetMatlon ,zoo) bas wtltten tbat byapptoptlatlngHolocaust
sutvlvotsandtbelttestlmonles. . . Agambenmakesalacunaoftbebottot
ofAuscbwltz-oflts empltlcalteallty, vlctlms andpattlclpants," andas
a tesult be tutns genoclde to pulp" and effects a debumanlzatlon of
tbe Holocaust" ,iozz, ioi, iozi). Matlon ls not alone ln offetlng such
Ihc|niqucandthc|nsaa// z|
exceptlouallybatsb accusatlous. . M. 8etustelu ,zoo) bas saldoftbe
book's pbllosopblcal apptoacb tbat atmost, ltls au aestbetlclzatlou of
tbeMusc/manns| fate" ,|) .Aswewlllsee,bowevet,tbectltlclsmleveled
agalustRcmnantseHushuitzbasfocusedmoeoutbefactthatAgambeu
datestousesucbhgutesaudeveuts asAuscbwltzaudtbeMusc/mannas
patadlgmstbauouheubedoessoaudwbatblsuseoftbemteveals.
Survival in Auschwitz
Agambeumakesuosectetoftbefacttbattbeautbotwbosellfeaud
testlmouystaudsattbeceutetofblsteutbbooklstlmoLevl.Levl'smost
famouswotk, tbeouetbatcbtoulclesblstlmeluacouceuttatloucamp,
Scqucste r un ueme,waspubllsbedluEugllsbas Suriiia/inuschui.
Wbeulltetallyttauslated,Levl's tlelslessafhtmatlve.lftblslsamau."
TbeteudlugcoudltloualtbatLevlemploysposestbeslmpleaudtettl-
lugquestlouofbowmeudldwbattbeydldbow,lf-tbecouceutta-
tloucampptlsouet-lsamau,becouldbetteatedbyotbetmeulusucb
fasblou.Tblsquestloucoucetulugtbeptoectofdebumaulzatloutbatlles
attbebeattoftbeNazlcouceuttatlou camps, audtbeeusulugdoubtas
totbesolldltyofoutcouceptlousofbumaultyaudltsuatute,ls,ftomtbe
book'shtstwotds,tbattowblcbLevl'swotktestlhes.
lualatet book, IhcDreuncdandthcSaicd, Levltakes asblsstatt-
lug polutthe questlou oftcsnmenaud tbeslugulatptoblemstalsedby
tbe sbeet bottot-aud cousequeutly tbe uubellevablllty-ofwbat took
placelutbeNazlextetmluatloucamps. DutlugaudaftetWotldWatll,
aspeoplebotbluGetmauyaudabtoadwetetoldtbettutbofwbattook
placelutbeNazlextetmluatloucamps, tbemostcommoutespousewas
dlsbelle tbat sucb tblugswete uotposslble-sometblugofwblcbNazl
leadetswetewellawate.

Levltecouutsa cbllllugtematkmadebyauSS
ofhcetto SlmouWleseutbaltbataltbougbtbeNazlsmlgbtlosetbewat
agalusttbeAllles,tbeSSbadalteadywoutbeltwatagalusttbeptlsouets.
Tbewatluquestlouwasawatofmemoty.Tbeybadptevalled,lutbeeyes
oftbeSSofhcet, because tbeybaddouetbe uutblukable-audtheuu-
tblukablewoulduotbebelleved.TbeSSofhcettoldWleseutbaltbateveu
lfbysomemltaclebewetetosutvlvetotellbls tale, ltcould bemetouly
wltbluctedullty, audbewouldsuffettbeludlgultyofbelugdlsmlssedas
allatotmadmau.TbestotyoftbeLagcrcamp| ,"clalmedtbeSofhcet,
ucwllltell " ,Levl,,, ltallcsluotlglual).
z, c Ihc |niqacandthc|nsaa//
Tbeslgn oftestlmonylstbeoneundetwblcbLevlbadwtlttenbls
twoeatlletbooks onllfeanddeatblnandaftettbecamps-Saroioa/in
AaschaitzScqacsteanaeme] and IhcRcaaa/cning-aundetwblcb
bewouldalsowtlte IhcreancdandthcSaod.Tblswastbeslgnoftestl-
fylngtowbatbecalledtbewotstctlmelntbeblstotyofmanklnd",Levl
r, ,) Tbe ptoblem oftestlfylngbeglnsfot Levl wltbtbe slmple and
btutal facttbattbevlctlmswboexpetlencedtbecamp lnalltbeltbottot
dldnotllvetotelltbelttales. Hecatefullysttesses tbattbecondltlonfot
sutvlvallntbecampswastbattbeynotbeexpetlencedlntyplcalfashlon,
fottbenotmal " ptlsonet,Levlplacestbetetm lnquotatlonmatks)dld
notsutvlvetotellblsotbetstoty.Asatesult,tbetaskoftestlfylngfellto
tbosewbo badledaica/llvesln tbecamps,wbohadbenehttedftom
someexceptlonalptlvllegeotaldwltboutwblcb theywouldnevetbave
sutvlved. ,lnLevl 'scase,tblscameftomblsttalnlngasacbemlst,wblcb
led to blm wotklngwltb clvlllans and tbtougb tbem tecelvlngtbe ex-
tta tatlonsandbettettteatmentnecessatyfotblssutvlval.) Tbe stotyof
tbe camps as Levl polnted out ls tbus vlttuallyexcluslvelywtltten by
tbose-llkemyself-wbodldnottoucbbottom",r,) .Tbosewbodld
nottoucbbottomwetecalledontotestlfyfottbosewbodld.
Tbe dlfhcultyoftestlfylng does not, ofcoutse, stop bete.To tbls
ctuelfactweteaddedotbets sucbas tbe dlfhcultles ofgalnlnganysott
ofpetspectlve on tbe natute and scale ofwbatwas taklngplace ln tbe
camps-oteven,lntbecasesoftbemanyptlsonetswboknewnoGetman,
tbe dlfhcultyofevenknowlngwbetetbeywete. To tbese lmpedlments
wete addeda sense ofseemlnglyllmltless lnjustlce, lnevltablefeellngsof
despetatlon and gullt and equally lnevltable defotmatlons ofmemoty
wtougbt by extteme suffetlng. As Levl all too cleatly expetlenced tbe
mlnd atleastfota tlme occludestbatwblcblsslmplyunbeatable, and
mucboftbattowblcbbeandotbetsfoundtbemselvescalledtotestlfell
lnto tbls tealm. Levlsummatlzes tblsquestlonconcetnlng tcstimenby
suggestlngtbattbeentlteblstotyoftbe btlefMlllenlalRelcb' couldbe
teteadasawatagalnstmemoty",r,zc) .
Tbe Getman Atmy pbyslclan letet 8amm tematked ln ic
|nsicht/arc/c,r,z)oftbeSebastopolmassactestbatteslstancewould
bavebeenmetelytosactlhceone'sllfebut,lnhlswotds,tblslsnottosay
tbatsucbasactlhcewouldbavebeenmotallymeanlngless. ltwouldonly
bavebeenptactlcallyuseless" ,cltedlnAtendtr6,,z,zz,,) .Thlsconsld-
etatlonledHannabAtendtto tespondlnEichmannincrasa/cm
Ihc |niqacandthc|nsaa// z,r
I ti structhattotalitariandominationtricdto cstablish . . . holcsoIoblivioninto
which all dccds, good and cvil, would disappcar, butj ust as thc Mis` Icvcrish
attcmpts, Irom|unc z on, to crasc all traccs oIthc massacrcs-throu crc-
mation, through burning in opcn pits, through thc usc oIcxplosivcs and hamc-
throwcrs and bonccrushing machincry-wcrc doomcd to Llurc, so chorts
to lct thcir opponcnts disappcar in silcntanonymity` wcrc invain.Jhcholcs oI
oblivion do not cxist. Mothing human is that pcrIcct, and thcrcarc simply too
manypcoplc inthcworldto mak oblivionpossiblc. Cnc manwillalways bclc
alivcto tcllthcstory. Hcncc,nothingcancvcrbc`practicallyusclcss, ` atlcast, not
inthclongrun. . . IorthclcssonoIsuchstoricsissimplcandwithncvcrybods
grasp. Iolitically spcaking, it is that undcr conditions oItcrror most pcoplcwill
comply but semsse/s aidnet,justas thc lcsson oIthc countrics to whch thc
IinalSolutionwasproposcdisthat `it could happc inmostplaccsbutitdidnet
hasnsosahsHumanlyspcaking,nomorcisrcquircdandnomorcL rca-
sonablybcasd,Iorthisplanct to rcmainaplacchtIorhuman habitation. "-
cndty,zyy,italics in original
TheNazls'attemptsto "establlsh. . . holesofobllvlou'dlduot, ofcoutse,
wotk, althoughtheycame, lu places, tettlluglyclose.The tespouseto
suchau attempttocteatehumau "holes ofobllvlou, " toagewhatLevl
calls"awatoumemoty, "lsslmplytcsnmen.AudyetasLevlaudsomauy
othetshavebotuwltuessto,testlluglsahattowlugpetleuceouethat
LevlluvokeslutheEullsheplgtaphto IhcDreancdandthcSaic

"Sluce
theu,atauuucettaluhout, Thatagouytetutus./Aud myastlytale
lstoldThlsheattwlthlumebutus. "

Jhe Aporia ol Auschwitz, or n

Historical Kowledge
lu Levl's wake, Agambeu beglus Rcmnants eHaschaitz wlth au
uuexpected blt oftestlmouy that ofa membet ofoue ofAuschwltz's
Sendcr/emmande. The Sendcr/emmande ,lltetally, speclal fotces wete
ptlsouetseullstedluthedallywotkofextetmluatlugtheltfellowptlsouets
,ptluclpallyluthegaschambetsaudctematotlaaudwhowetethemselves
systematlcallyexecutedaudteplacedbyuewptlsouetsSevetalsutvlvotsof
theSendcr/ammndeclalmedthattheywetellketheothetsutvlvots,ouly
motemlsetable.Theyhadchoseutollveatallcosts-whethetluotdetto
testlfy, toseetheltlovedouesagalu, toaveugethemselves,otslmplytogo
oullvlug-audtheptlcetheypaldwasthatofkllllugtheltfellowptlsou
z, z Ihc|niqacandthc|nsaa//c
ets-allday, evetyday. Levlsays oftbe Sendcr/emmandetbat concelv-
lngandotganlzlngtbe squads tbe Sendcr/emmande] was atlonal So-
clallsm'smostdemonlcctlme",, cltedbyAgambenlnRAz,z,] ).
TbetestlmonywltbwblcbAgambenbeglnsbl sbookl sasutptlslngtem-
nant. asctapofpapetwltbabastllysctawlednotelnlddlsbwtlttenbya
membetofa Sendcr/emmandeandtben butled undetAuscbwltz's tbltd
ctematotlum.Dlscovetedseventeenyeatslatet,ltsaysslmplytbatltlsun-
lmaglnabletbatanyonecouldexactlytecountbowoutexpetlences took
place" ,RA,z ] ). ln tesponse,Agambenqulcklymakescleatwhatsott
oflndesctlbabllltybefacesandwbatsottofexactltudeblsstudywlllalm
fot. Hlslntentlonlsnottodetalldallyllfelnthecampsottoexplalnthelt
otganlzatlonthesetasks,benotes,bavebeeuadmltablyaccompllshedby
otbetwtltets-bysutvlvotssuchasLevlandRobettAntelme,andbyhls-
totlanssucbasRaulHllbetglnbls IhcDcsacnen ethcEarecancas
,) .Agamben'sRcmnantseHaschaiwllllnsteadbeateBectlonontbe
tbeotyandptactlceoftestlmonyltself-apetpetualcommentatyontes-
tlmony" ,RA,, ] ) .
Agambensttesses tbattbeptoblembeconftontsl s nottbelncom-
munlcabllltyofexpetlenceltselasltwaslnInnandHiste,towblch
bedoesnottefetbete) . ltlsnottbedlfhcultywefacewhenevetwettyto
communlcate out mostlntlmateexpetlencetootbets" tbat lntetestsblm
,RA, z ] ). Agamben's ptoblemlsstatedsystematlcally. Tbeapotlaof
Auscbwltzls, lndeed, tbevetyapotlaofblstotlcalknowledge. anonco-
lncldencebetweenfactsandttutb,betweenvetlhcatlonandcompteben-
slon" ,RA,z ] ). Tbelmmedlateapotla-tbeapotlaofaneventandlts
tecountlng-lsllnkedtoanapotlaofamotegenetalotdet, onebetween
ct andtrath,between/neNing ,Netlhcatlon")andanrstanding ,
ptebenslon"). AswastbecaselnHemeSaccr, tbeblstotlcalpbenomenon
lnquestlonlstobestudledpatadlgmatlcally-botbfotltselfandfottbe
llgbtltsbedsonotbetptoblems.TbespeclhcapotlaofAuscbwltz" con-
cetnsnotonlyknowlngwbattookplaceatAuscbwltz,butalsotbebtoadet
questlonofoutknowlnganthingaboutoutpast,tbeapotlaofhlstotlcal
knowledge"). snmenls,fotAgamben,thepolntatwhlchspeclhcques-
tlonsaboutAuscbwltzandgenetal questlons abouthlstotlcalknowledge
convetge.Wbatlsmote, testlmonyalsofotmstbepolntwbeteknowledge
andetblcs meet. swe sball see," wtltesAgamben,almostnoneofthe
etblcal ptlnclples outagebellevedltcould tecognlze asvalldhavestood
Ihc |niqacandthc |nsaa// z,y
tbedeclslvetesttbatofanEthica mercHaschaidcmenstra,"andl tls
pteclselytblstesttbatbeseekstoapply,RA,iy | ) .
Jhe Contamination ot Iaw, or Ethics
Agamben bastematkedtbattbe lntegtaljutldlhcat|on /gai
ciziencintcgrac| ofbumantelatlonstbatwewltnesstoday, tbeconfu
slonbetweentbatwblcbwemlgbtbelleve,bope,andloveandtbatwhlcb
weatebeldtodoandnottodo,toknowandnottoknow,polntsnotonly
toa ctlsls lntellglon,butalso andaboveall toact|s|s |nlaw" ,LS,).
TblslsactlslstbatAgambenbegantoaddtess|nthehtstvolumeofthe
HemeSaccrsetles andtbat cont|nues tooccupyhlm ln thenext|nstall-
mentasRcmnantseHaschaibeglnswlthact|t|queofthelaw.Thecon-
fuslonot,asAgambenpolemlcallycalls|t,tbecentaminanen"ofetblcal
categotlesbylegaloneslstbebook'sstattlngpolnt.lnanessaypubllshed
tbteeyeatseatllet,Agambenpolntedtoptoofof"thelttepatablecollapse
reiina|ofanyetblcalexpetlence,"seenln"theconslonbetweentel|glo-
etblcalcategotlesandj utldlcalconceptstbatbastodayteached|tspatox-
ysm" ,MWE, iyo iooioi| ,ttanslatlonmod|hed).Th|s|sal|neofth|nk-
lng be takes up |n Rcmnants eHaschai. "One ofthe most common
mlstakes-wblcblsnotonlymade|ndlscusslonsofthecamp,"wt|tesAg-
amben,lstbetacltconfuslonofetblcalcategot|esandutld|calcategot|es
,otwotse, ofj utldlcalcategotles and tbeologlcal categot|es, wh|cbg|ves
tlsetoanewtbeodlcy).Almostalltbecategotlestbatweuselnmotaland
tellglousjudgmentsatelnsomewaycontam|nated cenminatc| bylaw.
gullt, tesponslblllty, lnnocence,judgment,patdon. 0 . " ,R, i i el-
llpseslnotlglnal) .Elsewbetebewtltestbat"tbeconceptoftespons|b|l|ty
lsalsolttemedlablycontamlnatedcentaminate| bylaw" ,RA,zo i| ) ln
anlntetvlewfollowlngtbepubllcatlonofRcmnantseHaschaiAgam-
bensttessedtbatl nouttlmemotalandj utldlcalcategot|eshavebecome
lttemedlablyconfused"andtbatuscbwltzlstheplace|nwh|chthe|n-
sufhclencyoftbelawlsvlslble",ATl,y).Agamben'slanguagecouldnot
bemoteexttemebeteaslegalconceptlonsof"gu|lt,tespons|b|l|ty, |nno-
cence,j udgment, patdon" notonlyptove |nsufhc|entfot undetstandlng
tbeexttemelnstancesoffetedbytbecampsbutevenh|ndet,ot"contam-
lnate," eottstoatt|veatsucbanundetstand|ng. 8utwhatdoesAgam-
benhndlntbelawtbat"contam|nates"othettealmsof|nqu|ty, andwhy
z, Ihc|niqacandthc|nsaa//c
doesbefeeltbe needtolnvoketbe metapbotlcalteglstetoflnfectlonand
tadloactlvlty
TblsteglstetcompllcatesAgamben'spolnt,lmplylngasltdoestbat
tbete ls sometblng lnbetentlybatmful about tbelaw.Aswe saweatllet,
Agamben'shtststudleswetelntbelaw,andbelatettematkedoftbemtbat
fotalongtlmetbeteaftetltbougbttbatltwasamlstaketobavestudled
law. Tbatlssometblng,bowevet, tbatlnolongettblnk,fotwltbouttbls
famlllatltylwouldptobablynevetbave beenabletowtlteHemeSaccr
,L,i6) . Tbetels asttongantlnomlanelementlnAgamben'steBectlous
tbattecallsanotbetstudentoftbelawwbocametoctltlclzetbelaw-tbe
laul towbomAgambenwould dedlcate bls nextbookAsbebegauto
makecleatlnHemeSaccr,bowevet,tbetatgetofAgambeu'sctltlquelsuot
lawlnaconventlonallyundetstoodseusebuttbeeutltetextofttadltlou
lnltstegulatlvefotm,wbetbettbeewlshTotabottbe lslamlc Shatlah,
Cbtlstlan dogma ot tbe ptofane nemes ,HS, ,i ,] , on tbls polut see
also Mllls zcc, ,, n. i,) . Wbat ls mote, wbatevet ctlses" law may be
ttavetslngandwbatevetptoblemslnbetenttolegaldlscoutseateatlssue,
tbeptoblemtbatAgambenattempts tolsolatebetecoucetns tbe misasc
oflegalconceptlons-bowlegalconceptlonsofgullt, tespouslblllty, lu-
nocence,j udgment,patdon"ateusedd tbeyweteetblcalcouceptlous.
Agamben'scontentlonlstbatlawandetblcsatesepatateateasaudsbould
betecognlzedassucb. tblcslscontamlnated"bylawlntbeseusetbat
tbeptojectofdeveloplngttulyetblcalconceptlonsofgullt, tespouslbll-
lty, lnnocencej udgment,patdon"lsabandonedlnfavotofanuntblnklng
adoptlonoflegalconceptlons. AswesawlnCbaptetSlx, tbehtstwotds
oftbeHemeSacrptojectateSavlgny's. Tbelawbasnoexlstencelnand
fotltself,ltsesencelslnsteadlntbellvesofmen-vlewedftomacettaln
slde." Tbls vlewpolnt-tbat oflaw-ls seen bete as ftankly dangetous
fotltstendencytoobscuetbe cthica/cootdlnatesftomwblcbltmustbe
dlstlngulsbed.
SeeklngtocottectAgamben,LaCaptapolntsouttbattesponslbll-
lty and gullt ate concepts tbat ate dlffetentlally sbated by etblcs and
law," but sucb acottectlvels unnecessatyglven that tbls ls sometblug
Agamben blmselfsttesses ,LaCapta zcc, i,,) . Agambeu ls uot clalm-
lng tbat etblcs and lawemployldentlcal conceptlons ot tbat tbeyate
employed ln an ldentlcal fasblon. lnstead, bls clalm ls tbat ln ctuclal
lnstancesetblcsbasbottowedltsconceptlonsftomlawaudtbatludolug
soltbascteatedslgulhcautptoblemsfotltselLaCaptagoesouto uote
Ihc|niqacandthc|nsaa//c z,,
thatambeudoesuotptovldeauyldeaofafotmof soclalllfel uwhlch
ethlcswoulduotluvolvethesecoucepts,"audlu thlshemakescleatthat
helsatgulugagalustadlffeteutldea thau the ouefouudlu Rcmnantse
Haschuitz,LaCaptazoo;, i,,).Agambeu'sgoallsuot,ofcoutse,"afotm
ofsoclalllfeluwhlchethlcshasellmluatedthecategotlesoftespouslbll-
ltyaudgullt. ltlslusteadafotmofsoclalllfeluwhlchethlcsuolouget
slmplybottowsltscouceptlousofsuchesseutlalcategotlesastespouslbll-
ltyaudgulltftomadlffeteutdlscoutse,law),butlusteaddevelopsltsowu
ttuly ethlcalcouceptlous-oues thatwouldallowusto bettetcouftout
ptesslugquestlouscoucetulugoutpastaudpteseut.luacettaluseuse,fot
Agambeultlsuot /athatlstheptoblemltls, lustead,outuuthluklug
tecoutsetolegalcategotleswheuweatecouftoutedwlthptoblemsthat
ate uotttulyotputelylegal but, tathet, cthica/. FotAgambeu,lawca
"coutamluate" ethlcsuotbecauselawlscrscuoxlous, butbecausethe
tealmoflawaudthetealmofethlcsdouotcoluclde.Thlsleavesuswlth
couceptlousoluthecatdluallustaucehete, rcsensi/i/ithatAgameu
judges luadequatefot the ethlcal tasks lmposed.Agambeu'sctltlqueof
thelawbecomeseaslettouudetstaudwheuweuudetstaudltasactltlque
cthics-lusufhcleutlyeveloped ethlcal categotles aud ofthe fact
thatauEthicamercHaschaitzdcmenstrata"ueedstofteeltselfftomsuch
"
. e
" coutamatou.
Jhe Came and the Crey Zone
FtomthequestlouoftcsnmenAgambeututus to thatofrcsensi
/i/i, audltlsalougthelluesofauewcouceptlouofrcensi/i/ithathe
coutluueshlsluqulty. Hebeglusbyuotlugtheteudeucytoteplaceethlca
ptoblemswlthlegaldlstluctlous,audtheuembatksouaseatchfotptop-
etlyethlcalcouceptlous. "TheuuptecedeuteddlscovetymdebyLevlat
Auschwltz,"hewtltes, "coucetusauateathatlsludepeudetofevetyes-
tabllshmeutoftespouslblllty,auatealuwhlchLevlsucceededlulsolatlug
somethlugllkeauewethlcalelemeutannaeiec/mcntecnce| . Levlcalls
ltthegteyzoue' ",R, zii| ) . Thls"uewethlcalelemeut"lswhatAgam
beu seeks-audheseeksltluthe"gteyzoue" oftespouslblllty, gullt,de-
spalt,auddestltutlouthatLevleudeavotedtochatt.ThlsleadsAgambeu
toclalmthat-alludlugtoLevl'sptewatoccupatlou,whlchallowedhlm
tosutvlvethecamps,eveuaftetthewatwheuaskedlfhesawhlmselfasa
z, Ihc|niqacandthc |nsaa//c
wtltetotacbemlstbetoutlnelyteplled tbat bewasacbemlst)-onecan
gllmpsebeteagtey,lncessantalcbemylnwblcbgoodandevlland,along
wltbtbem,alltbemetalsofttadltlonaletblcsteacbtbeltpolntoffuslon"
,R,zr r ) WbydoesgambenpusbLevl 'sfotmulatlonslntblsdltec
tlonnlnltlalanswetlstogtapblcallydemonsttatetbesbottcomlngsof
etblcal categotles contamlnated" by legal ones Tbe questlon temalns,
bowevet,ofwbatatetbeytobeteplacedby.
ln IhcDreancdandthcSaocd, Levltecountsastotytoldtoblmby
asutvlvotofAuscbwltshnalSendcr/emmande.ltlsaboutasoccetmatcb
betweentbeSSandtbeSendcr/emmandetbattookplacedutlugaulutet-
tuptlon ln tbelt wotk" ,ofextetmlnatlon) . Levl wtltes. Otbet meu of
tbeSSandtbetestoftbesquadtbeSendcr/emmande| atepteseutattbe
game,tbeytakesldes,bet,applaud,utgetbeplayetsonasltatbettbau
attbegatesofbell,tbegamewetetaklngplaceoutbevlllagegteeu",clted
R,z, z, ). Tbelmageofamomentofseemlngnotmalcyatoundwblcb
tbesmokeofbutntbodleslltetallyswltlslsabauntlngone. Tblsmatcb
mlgbtsttlkesomeone,"Agambensuggests,as abtlefpause ofbumanlty
lntbemlddleofanlnhnltebottot"R,zz| ). lotAgamben,bowevet,
tbe lmage ls notone ofbope. To myeyes," be adds, llke tbose oftbe
wltnesses, tbls game, tblsmomentofnotmalcy, lstbe ttue bottotoftbe
camp" ,R, zz| ,ttanslatlonmodlhed) .Tbelllusttatlvelmpottlscleat
enougb. lotwecanpetbapstblnktbattbemassactesateovet-eveulf
beteandtbetetbeyatetepeated,notsofatawayftomus.8uttbatmatcb
lsnevetovet, lt contlnues aslfunlntettupted" ,RA, z z| ) . Tbls game
exptesses, fotAgamben, tbettuebottotoftbecamp" notonlybecause
ltlsanalltoobtleftesplte,lfonemlgbtcalllttbat, ftomtbewotk"of
extetmlnatlon tbat botb sldesweteto tetutn to lmmedlately tbeteaftet,
but also becauseltlsa hgute fotout ptesent blstotlcalsltuatlon. Dutlug
tbe tlme oftbe game tbe bottotswetenot at an end, tbeywetemetely
,andbtleBy) suspended,andltlsbetetbatAgambeuseesahgutefotout
blstotlcal sltuatlon. Aswesaw, Adotno and Hotkbelmetwtotetbattbe
devastatlngdevelopmentstbeyttacedlntbeltDia/ccticeEn/ightcnmcnt
atelntettupted,butnotdlscontluued,andtbteatentosttetcbtbemselves
actoss dlctatotsblps andwats" ,AdotnoGS, yo). ltlspteclselytbls ldea
tbatAgambensees teBectedlntbesoccetgameluquestlon. Tbectuelty
ls not ovet, tbe batbatlty bas not been clvllled aud tbe evll not been
etadlcated.lotblm,atanymomenttbetespltemlgbteud.lotAgambeu,
tbesoccetgamesetvesasapatableotemblemoftbefalseseuseofdlstauce
Ihc|niqacandthc |nsaa//c z, ;
and secutltyl nwhlch we llve. Agambens lndltectly exptessed message
seemsto be.outhlnkthattheevlllsovetandthetlme lsnowfotplay,
telaxatlon, fotgettlng, butyou atewtong the gameyouplaynow |s no
dlffetentthantheoneplayedthen.ltlsabtleftesplte, andatanymoment
thesuffetlngandctueltycancomescteamlngback.
Agambenllnksthlsgametothegteyzone"thatLevlnames,cla|m
lngthatltlstbepetfectandetetnalclphetofthegteyzone,wh|chknows
notlmeandlslnevetyplace" ,RA, z z|| ). Agambenthenlnvokesthe
angush" and the shame" ofthls unceaslngspectacle outshame, the
shameofthosewho d|dnotknowthecamps andyet,w|thoutkuow|ng
how, atespectatotsofthatmatch,wlchtepeats|tself|nevetymatch|n
outstadlums,lnevetytelev|s|onbtoadcast,|uthenotmalcyofevetyday
llfe" ,R, z z|| ). As |n InnandHiste, the toue thatAgambeu
adopts|soneofouttageand|mpendlngdanget.Theclos|ngwotdsofth|s
sectlonofthe bookmakecleatthelmpetat|ve ofth|swotk-andofthe
entlte HemeSaccrptoject. lfwe donotsucceedlnuudetstandlngtht
match,lnstopplnglt,thetewlllnevetbehope",RA,zz|| ). Thehot|zon
ofthewotklshope"-butahopethatcanbeteachedonlybyttavets|ng
thegteyzone"thatLevldeslnates.
Jhe Lnique and the LnsayabIe
The gteyzone" ln questlon-whlch ls the space oftcsnmen-s
onewhoselanguagecouldnotbemoteuncettaln. Thls uncetta|ntyalso
appllestothelanguageofthosewhowouldleatnftomlt.luRcmnane
HaschuitzAgambentefetsdltectlytoactltlclsml|ketheonewesaweat
llet ofthe outtageous ptovocatlon" ofcalllng the concenttat|ou camp
thepatadlgmofoutage ,Mayeti;, ) . 8efoteRcmnantseHaschai,
Agambenpubllshedanttlclelnaltenchnewspapetaboutthecamps. A
lettetwas sent to thepapet'sedltotaccuslngAgamben,asheh|mselfte
lates,ofhavlng ttampledupontheunlque and unsayable aniqacctin
dici//c| chatactet ofAuschwltz" ,see RA, yi z| , ttanslat|on mod|hed.
Thlsletteteatlystatesthedanget-otaltetnately, thepoteut|alfotm|s
undetstandlng-lnvolvedlnAgamben'suseofpatadlgms. Heeudeavots
to studythecamp ln all ltsh|stotlcal spec|hclty, butthe hot|zou ofh|s
undettaklnglnvolvesuslngthecampandthellfeledtheteasapatad|gm
thtoughwhlchtoundetstaudthedangetsoftheptesent.Th|sapptoach
z, Ihc|niqacandthc |nsaa//c
tequltestbewalklngofahnemetbodologlcalllnebeneathwblcblleswbat
mlgbteasllyseemalackoftespectfottbeunlqueandunsayablecbatac-
tetofAuscbwltz."
Agamben'stesponsetotblslettetfocusesontbesecondtetmofthe
accusatlon. tbeansaa//cAswesawlneatlletcbaptets,bebadoftentaken
up 8enj amln's ptoject ofellmlnatlng the unsayable" ftom language as
patt ofa latget ptoject ofdeveloplng a ptofane conceptlon ofllfe and
language-one lnwblcb tbesactedand unsayablewould cease to bold
sovetelgnswayovetoutcommunltles. Wltbouttefettlngtothoseeatllet
analyses, ln Rcmnants eHaschaiAgamben offets a sbottand etudlte
excutsus on tbe semantlc blstoty oftbe tetm cahcmm and lts lnltlal
meanlngofadotlnglnsllence."TosaythatAuschwltzlsunsayable'ot
lncomptebenslble'lsequlvalent"Agambenclalms,toacahcmmlnthls
otlglnalsenseoftbetetm. toadotlnglnsllence,asonedoeswlthagod"
,RA,,z,, ,c ). Thelettet'scbatgeglvesAgambentbeoccaslontosttess
tbat tbls lspteclselywbatbe wlsbes to avold.Wbatlscalledfot, ln bls
vlew, lstodlsslpateanyautaofsanctltyandsactalltylnfavotofaneffott
toundetstand-wltballtbatsucbaneffottentalls-wbattookplaceln,
andwbattemalnsoAuscbwltz.Tblstesponseleadstotbeclalmtbatwe
sbould not temalnsllentaboutAuscbwltz, tbatwe sbould not maketbe
mlstake botn ofa laudable tespect fot tbe suffetlng ofotbets offalllng
to petfotmtbewotkofundetstandlngnecessatyto pteventatenewalof
sucbsuffetlng.Aquestlontemalns,bowevet,astobowwellAgambenbas
teplled to tbeconcetnsvolced ln tbelettetbe blmselfslngledout. The
mattetoftbeansaa//clsonebeconvlnclnglyatguesagalnst.8utwbatof
tbeaniqac
Tbequestlonoftbe ansaa//ccbatactetofAuscbwlztemalnsspe-
clhctoAuscbwltzandlsaquestlonofbow-andtowbatend-weshould
speakofwbat tookplace tbete. Tbe questlon oftbe aniqacchatactetof
Auscbwltz, bowevet, toucbes dltectlyonAgamben'spatadlgmatlcmeth-
od, and lt ls unfottunate tbat be does notteplyto lt. The lettet

wtltet
maywellbavebeenalmlngattbesbeetptetenseofAgambendlscusslng
Auscbwltz, ptefettlnglnstead to sbtoudltlntespectfulsllence. et thls
lsnotacommonposltlon, andAuschwltzlsfatmotedlscussedthansl-
lenced,altbougbofcoutseltsunteptesentabllltylsftequentlydlscussed) .
ltlscleat,bowevet,thatwbatthelettetwtltetwasobj ectlngtowaslessthe
questlonoftcsnmentbatAgambendlscusseslnthehtstpattofRcmnants
eHaschaitz than hls use oftbe concenttatlon camp as patadlgm. ln
Ihc|niqacandthc|nsaa// zjy
RcmnantseHaschuiAgambeucoutluuesthepatadlgmatlcptactlcede-
veloped lu HemeSaccr, uotlug that uschwltzls pteclsely the place lu
whlch the state ofexceptloucolucldes petfectlywlth the tule ad the
exttemesltuatloubecomesthevetyaradig ofdallyllfe" ,R, qy | ,
ltallcs added). lu llght ofthe clalms made lu HemeSaccraud such oc-
casloualplecesastheFteuchuewspapetattlcle theaccusatlouleveledby
thlslettetwtltetcaubeseeuluallltscomplexltyaudAgambeustespouse
luallltsdlsappolutluglusufhcleucy.
To saythat oe shouldhave beeuslleutwheu oespoke ls au ac-
cusatlouteadllyausweted.Themotepettletpattofthecomplaltlslu
thehtstpattofthephtase-thepatttowhlchAambedoesuotdltectly
teply-"the aniqac chatactetofAuschwltz" ot lua cettalu seuse
audbyexptessdeslguAgambeudoes nettteatAuschwltzasuulque.ls
method-ashesttovetomakecleatlulatetlectutesltetvlewsaudes-
saysaud whlch l examlued lu the ptecedlug chaptet-tequltes thathe
uudetstaud audexamluethepatadlgmatlc case ofAuschwltzlaudfot
ltsel embedded lu lts hlstotlcal tlme aud place d ucd a meaus fot
uudetstaudlug othet tlmes aud placesabove all out owu Agambeu
uevetplacestheuulqueuessofwhatttauspltedluAuschwltzluquestlou
Nevettheless, hls patadlgmatlc method usestheplaceofthe couceutta
tloucamp audthellfeledtheteto uudetstaudothetsltuatlos audltls
pteclselythlsapptoachthatouttagedmauyteadetssuchastheouewho
wtotetotheFteuch uewspapet.Asl showed lutheptecedlugchaptet to
uudetstaudAgambeus ldea ofpatadlgm as well as hls cholce ofpata
dlgms,tequltesthatwe uudetstaud thedaugethe sees hlmselffaclug
a dauget that has evetythlugto do wlth the uulqueuess ofAuschwltz
Agambeu makes uo sectet ofthe factthat fot hlm thete ls a gteat tlsk
luvolved luseelugAuschwltzasuulqueltheseuseofauauomalythat
coulduevethappeu agalu. Hemakes cleat that he cousldets lt posslble
fotslmllathottotstooccut,audthatthepatadlgmofthatuulqueslteof
hottotcauhelpusuudetstaud-audavett-othets.
Jhe Incomprehensible Vtness
ThehtstchaptetofRcmnantseHaschui,"TheWltuess"eudsou
adoubtfuluoteaudwlthadoubtfulwltuess.AgambeutelatesLevlste-
actloutothepoettyofaulCelau.Althouhhewasauoutspokeoppo
zc Ihc |niqacandthc |nsaa//c
nent ofwbat becalledlltetatyobscutlty," Levlfoundblmselfsttangely
movedbyCelans qulntessentlallyobscutepoetty. lnwbatlsdlfhcultto
seeasanytblngotbettbanatenuous analogy, Agambendtawsapatallel
between Levl 's desctlptlonofCelan's poetty-full oflncomptehenslble
sounds andwotds-andLevl's accountofa cettaln cblldlnAuscbwltz.
Wben Levl met blm, tbe boy ln questlonwas tougbly tbteeyeats old,
patalyzedftomtbewalstdown, wltb bls small legswastedandblseyes
constantlywldewltbbungetandlncomptebenslon.ltseemedtbatnoone
badtaugbtblmtospeak.Tbecblldwascapableofuttetlngonlyaslngle
wotd,wblcbLevlttansctlbesas mans//eotmass//e, andtbatdespltethe
facttbattbecampcontalnedspeaketsofsomanylanguages,noonetec-
ognlzedotundetstood.Oftbls cblldAgambensaystbatbecannotbeat
wltness, slncebedoesnotbavelanguage",onemlgbtalsonotethatltls
because,asLevltellsblsteadet,bedlesafewdaysaftettbellbetatlonof
tbe camp) ,see RA, , ,,| ). Conslstentwltb bls avowed lntentlon, Levl
saysbebeatswltnessfottbosewbowetenotableto, andtbattbeboyln
questlon beatswltness tbtougbtbesewotdsofmlne" ,clted ln RA, ,
,, ) . Attbecbaptet'sclose,AgambensaysofLevl sactoftestlfylnglntbe
place ofanotbet, but noteventbe sutvlvotcan beatwltnesscomplete-
ly . . . Tblsmeanstbattestlmonylstbedlsj unctlonbetweentwolmpossl-
bllltlesofbeatlngwltness,ltmeanstbatlanguage,lnotdettobeatwltness,
mustglvewaytoanonlanguage/inga,crtcsnmeniarc, dcocccdrci/
esteaananen/inga| ln otdettosbowtbelmposslbllltyofbeatlngwlt-
ness" ,RA, , ,| ) .
Wbat, tben, atetbese twolmposslbllltlesofbeatlngwltness"tbat
Agamben lnvokes Tbe htst ls tbe empltlcal one tbat Levl blmselfde-
sctlbes. tbattbosewbosestotlesmostdemandtobetolddldnotllvetotell
tbemandltfallstotbesutvlvotstotelltbemlntbeltnameandmemoty.
To tbls htst lmposslblllty," bowevet, Agamben llnks asecond one tbat
lsnotempltlcalbutttanscendental, lnsofatasltconcetnsnottbeactual
posslbllltlesandlmposslbllltlesoftestllngfotanotbetbuttbesttuctute
ofllngulstlcslgnlhcatlonltsel
ln llgbt oftbe ptecedlng dlscusslon we mlgbt now tetutn to the
questlonsofunsayabllltyandunlquenesstalsedbytheltenchlettettltet.
Agamben beglns wltbtbe empltlcal lmposslbllltyoftestllng-that ls,
wltbtbestotyofanlndlvldualboylnaplacesobottlblethatltslnhabltants
bavesollttletlmeotenetgylefttbatnooneteacbesblmto speak. Levl 's
expetlenceofanevocatlvebutlncomptebenslblepoetty-Celan's-lsthen
Ihe|niqueandthe|nsaa// z6i
compatedbyAgambeuto Levl's expetleuceofthehauutlugbutlucom
pteheuslblesouudsofthlsctlppledchlld.Agambeubt|ugstogethetLevl's
twoexpetleucesoflucompteheuslblelauguagesoasto establlshwhathe
callsau"lmposslbll|tyoftestllug" thatexteudsfatbeyoudthespec|hc
hottotofaspeclhcplacetoapostulatecoucetulugthesttuctuteofall lu
gulstlccommuulcatlou."Thelauguageoftestlmouylsalauguageth

tuo
lougetslgulhes,"wtltesAgambeu, "aud that, luuotslgullug,advauces
lutowhatlswlthoutlauguage,tothepolutotaklugouadlffeteutluslg
ulhcauceinsicanz| -ofthecompletewltuess,thatofhewhoby
dehultloucauuotbeatwltuess",RA,y y ) . Agambeu'sloglchetelsless
thauttauspateut-aweakuessofthlsbookuotofteu ouud|uhlsothet
wotks-but|tlsuevetthelessposslbletofollow.Whathe|ssay|ug|sthat
thetewhetelauguagedoesuotmakeseuse-lutheobscutelytlcsofelau
audtbelucompteheuslblesouudsofthechlldofAuschwltz-ltbecomes
/etbelauguageoftestlmouyluauewtespect.ltsempltlcal|uabllltyto
slgullsaklutoattausceudeutalluabll|tytobeatw|tuessstemmlugftom
tbesttuctuteofslgulucatlou.
TbecblldaboutwbomLevlwtltescoulduottestlfottwoempltl
calteasous.bewaslucapableofspeechaudhedlduotsutvlvethecamp.
Tbequestlou,tbeu,lswbatdoesthefateofthechlld,audLevl'shauutlug
evocatlouofblm,havetodowlthas|gullugsttuctuteofbeatlugwltuess
audasttuctutallmposslbllltylodgedthetelu` luwhatwaylslauguageto
glvewayto"uoulauguage,"asAgambeusays,audlso,towhateud`The
"completewltuess" cauuot beatw|tuess,hewhohasseeuthewotst,who
bas "touched bottom" aud expetleuced the camp luall lts ctuelty, does
uotsutvlvetotelllts tale. Oulytheexceptlousto thecamp'stule-llke
Levl-llve to beatwltuess. Levl dlscusses thlsptoblem ouauemp|t|cal
level,Agambeu exteudsltto coveta telatlouluhumauspeech betweeu
lauguageaudwhathecalls"uoulauguage."The"uoulauguage"luques
tloulsalauguageofsouudbutuoseuse,alauguagewhosesemautlctegls
tets

emsemptyaudabseut,alauguagethatseemstobea"uoulauguage"
because,whethetluthepoettyofelauottheuttetaucesofthechlld,lt
meausuothlugto thosewhoheatlt. 8utto saythatlt "meaus uothlug"
lsuotcompletelyaccutate.Ouasemautlclevel,asthebeatetoadetet-
mluate message,suchlauguage ludeed meausuothlug|usotasLevlls
uuabletodeclphetthecouteutofwhatelthetelauotthechlldatettylug
to say. 8ut ou auothetaudequallyteallevel, both the poetty ofelau
audthedespetateuttetauceofthechlldmeausometh|uglmmeasutable
zz Ihc |niqacandthc |nsaa//c
toLevl.Agambenglvestotblsdlsjunctlonbetweenlntentlonandundet-
standlng, between sound and sense, tbe dlfhcult name nonlanguage,"
tbetebyptesentlngaposslbllltyfotmlsundetstandlng.Tbeptoblemtbat
Agambentalsesattblspolntconcetnstbenatuteandsttuctuteofbuman
language. OutlanguagecannevetbetbepetfectandaccutateteBectlon
ofsomestableentlty, becauselanguagebynatutelleslnanunstabletela-
tlontotbatwblcbltexptesses.oAdamlcconnectlonexlstsbetweentbe
tblngandtbewotd,otslgn)fottbetblng,languagelsagenetalsystemof
slgns,unmotlvated"lnSaussutestetms)andltsconnectlonssblftlntlme
andspace,ftomspeakettospeaketandftomlnstanttolnstant.Agamben
cltesaunlquecaseofalltetallyunspeakablesuffetlngtolllusttateanlm-
posslbllltyptesentlnalltestlmonybecauseltlsptesentlnalllanguage.
Aswesawlnaneatlletscbollum,tblscutlousexpetlenceofacmm
/eqacndiotcxcrimcntiam/ingaacwasanessentlalonefotAgamben-and
temalnsso. Tbesense beblndtbeappatentpatadoxofanldeaofexpetl-
enclnglanguage as a nonlanguage" lles ln concelvlngofan expetlence
tbatwe allbaveandto wblcb-fot teasonseasyto undetstand-we ate
tatelyattentlve. Tbls lsanexpetlenceoflanguagelndependentofltsslg-
nlfylngfunctlon-languageseenassignbefoteltlsseenasscnscandtbat
tbeteby blgbllgts bow out language ls arnca/tcd,and ls tbus dlstlnct
ftomanatutalbutlnattlculate oeiccpossessedbyotbetanlmals). lottbls
teasonAgambenevokeslnanumbetofessaysandwotksanexpetlenceof
languageasoeicctatbettbanasmcaning, asseandtatbettbanasscnsc-a
expetlencetbatbeexptessesnotonlylnfotmulaellkectm/eqacndiand
cxcimcntam/ingaac, innandspeaklnglntongues,"butalsotbtougb
tbe sounds and songs ofanlmals, ftom ctlcket to dolpbln. To elucldate
tbeldeaoftestlmonytequltes,fotAgamben,expetlenclngtbetespectln
wblcboutlanguagelsnotcompletelynatutal-yetbowfatbastblstaken
blmftomtbelncomptebenslblesuffetlngoftbecblldlnAuscbwltz`
Jhe M:/coo
Cbaptet Two ofRcmnants eHaschai ldentlhes wbat tbe wlt-
ness"ofCbaptetOnewltnessedandlnwbosenamebeotshetestlhes.tbe
Masc/mann.lntbelanguageoftbecamps,tbeMasc/mannwasanlndlvld-
ualwbobadctossedafundamentalllne,wbobadteacbedastateofpbysl-
cal lnanltlon and psycbologlcal despetatlon tesembllng autlsm andpte
Ihc|niqacandthc |nsaa// zy
saglugdeath.atlousexplauatlousoftheotlglu ofthetetmMasc/mann
havebeeuoffeted,butthemostcommousuggestloutelateslttomu/im
Atablcfotheotshewhohasuucoudltlouallysubmlttedhlmselfothetself
to thewlll ofGod, audoccaslouallyassoclated luEutopeau slaugwlth
uucoudltloual submlsslou. ,Auothetaccouutofthe Getmau tetmttaces
ltto massc/man,fotthewaythat,llkeamussel,suchptlsouets tutuedlu
outhemselves).Whatevettheotlgluofthetetm, theMac/mannwashe
otshewhohadceasedtoteactaudlutetact,uolougettespoudlugeveuto
huugetotphyslcalpalu.
The Nazl extetmluatlou camps wete subject to petlodlc "selec-
tlous," audltwas thevlslblyweakaudtheslckwhowete "selected"fot
thegaschambets.Slgusofslckuessotweakuesswetetoutluelycoucealed
fottheslmpleteasouthattheycouldcostaptlsouethlsothetllfe. The
Masc/mnncrwetebeyoudsuchcoucealmeutaud, asatesult, eectlvely
couslguedto death lu the uext selectlou. They llved lu asottofstay of
executlou.Aswaswldelyuoted bysutvlvots ftomLevl to 8ettelhelmto
Autelme,theseuguteswetetatelytteatedwlthgeuetosltyotkluduessby
thelt fellowptlsouets-lu patt because such kluduess seemed polutless
becausemetwlthuogtatltudeoteveuackuowledgemeut,adlupattbe-
causetheseugutesseemedeetlehatblugetsoftheltowulmmlueuteuds.
OueoftheteasousthattheMasc/mnncrweteuotlmmedlatelyselected
,kllled) seemstohave beeutheltusevalueasllvlugemblemsofthefate
awaltlug all ptlsouets lu the camps-the SS's mauuet ofshowlug that
becomlugaMasc/mannwas uota mattet oftempetameut otdlsclpllue,
butoftlme.
lfthlstheulswhattheMasc/mannwas,whydoesAgambeudedlcate
hlssecoudchaptetto thlsugute, audwhatlsteveallugto hlmaboutlt
Theauswetlspteclselythatwhlchhegllmpsedluthectlppledchlldwlth
whom heeudedtheptevlous chaptet becauseofhlsluabllltytotestl.
Levl talks ofhow those who llved to tell the tale ofthecampshad, by
deuu

tlou,uotexpetleucedthecampsluallthelthottot.TheMasc/mann,
ou theothethaud,wasthe exemplatyptlsouetlusofatashe otshe dld
expetleucethecamplultsfullhottotheotshe,luLevl'sphtase,"touched
bottom,"audfotthlsteasouelthetpetlshedotsutvlveduuabletotellhls
othettale.
DlscsslugLevl'stestlmouy,Agambeutheuuotesthat"assuggsted
bytheltoulcallythetotlcalltallautltleScqacsteranueme. . 0 luAuschwltz
ethlcs beglus pteclselyat thepolutwhetetheMasc/mann the complete
z Ihc |niqacandthc|maa//c
wltness,' makes lt fotevet lmposslble to dlstlngulsb between man and
nonman tra / aemeci/nenaeme ,R,|;|z| ) . Ahguteofbatellfe,
tbeMasc/mannstands ln a noman'sland slmllat to tbatoftbetltulat
hguteoftbe setles, hemesaccr. Tbetestlmonyofsutvlvots often ecboes
tbesentlmenttbattbeMasc/mnncrwetenotconsldetedllkeotbetmen
becausetbeybadsactlhcedalldlgnlty,becausetbeybadglvenuptbebope
tbatwasnecessatyfotsutvlval,andbecausetbeybadceasedtomalntaln
atelatlontotbewotldbeyondtbecamps. Agambenseeslntbemaseem-
lnglyendlesscapaclty" fotsuffetlng. tblsalmostlnhnltepotentlalltyto
suffettbatlslnbuman" ,RA, z] ). Revetslngttadltlonalatttlbutes,to
tbls hguteofunllmlted capacltybe opposes ahgute ofcapaclty-tbe
executlonet-andtutnstotbetepeatedclalmsoftbeSStbatfottbeltpatt
tbeyslmplycouldnotbavedoneotbetwlse.Agambennotestbelnslstence
wltbwblcb tbe SS tepeated aftet tbewattbattbeybadno cbolce, tbat
tbeywetemetelyfollowlngotdets. lnGetman, toactwltboutbelngca-
pableofactlnglscalled Bhnetstand, bavlngto obeyan otdet," notes
AgambenoftbeSS, andtbeyobeyed /aocrgchersam, llkeacotpse, as
lcbmannsald" R, ] ) .
Wbattemalnsto be asked andansweted,bowevet, lslnwbatsense
tbeMasc/mannmatksallmltbetweenmanandnonman,''andbowtbat
llmltlstobeundetstood.AgambenlscatefulnottosltuatetbeMasc/mann
beyondtbebuman,andfottblsteasonbesaystbattbeMasc/mannlsnot
somucb,as8ettelbelmbelleves,tbeclpbetoftbepolntofnotetutnand
tbetbtesboldbeyondwblcboneceasestobebuman"assometblngmote
dlfhcultto fotmulate, andtowblcbbetbentutnsblsattentlon ,RA, ,
,] ) . Ratbettbanwltb 8ettelbelm'svlew,Agambenallgnsblmselfwltb
Levl 'svlslonoftbeMasc/mann,lnwblcbtbathgutedoesnotmatkapolnt
ofnotetutn,adlvlslonbetweenbumanandlnbuman,betweenmanand
nonman, but lnstead ls tbe slte ofan expetlment ln wblcb motallty
andbumanltytbemselvesate calledlnto questlon" ,RA, , ,;| ). Wbat
Agambentejectsln8ettelbelm'sconceptlonofapolntofnotetutnlstbe
ldeaofabumanllfewltboutbumanlty-tbatltleavesamatglnlnllfefot
a llfe wltbout bumanlty. Slmply to deny tbe Masc/manns bumanlty,''
Agambenatgues,wouldbetoaccepttbevetdlctoftbeSS andtotepeat
tbeltgestute.TbeMasc/mannbas, lnstead,movedlntoazoneoftbebu-
manwbetenotonlybelpbutalsodlgnltyandselftespectbavebecomeuse-
less.8utlftbetelsazoneoftbebumanlnwblcbtbeseconceptsmakeno
sense,tbentbeyatenotgenulne etblcalconcepts,fotnoetblcscanclalm
Ihc|niqucandthc |nsaa// z,
toexcludeapattofhumaulty,uomattethowuupleasautotdlfhcultthat
humaultylsto see" ,R, 6,6| ,;,|) . TheMuse/manntepteseuts au
ethlcalpatadoxexptessedluLevl'stlethepatadoxoftteatlugahumau
belugluluhumaufashlou.8ut,fotAgambeu,theMusc/manntepteseutsa
dlffeteutethlcalpatadoxbecausethecategotlesofdiiaud rcensi//
iceaseto applyyettheMusc/manndoesuotfotasmuchceaseto llve.
To cousldetsuch ahgutealteadydead, otesseutlally dead, ls,followlug
Agambeu,tocoucelvemattetspteclselyasdldtheSS. Agambeu'sobsetva-
tloulsaptescleutoue, butltshould bemade equally cleatthatthetelsa
seuseluwhlch8ettelhelm'sclalmlspetfectlycoheteut.Musc/mnncracrc
esseutlallydeadluthatassoouastheyshowedthesechatactetlstlcslgusof
tadlcalwlthdtawal,theltdayswetelltetallyuumbeted.Nevettheless,aud
asAgambeuatgues, whatevetstayofexecutloulsgtautedtothemcauuot
beauythlugbuthuman.
TheptoblemhetelsthesamephllosophlcalouewlthwhlchAgambeu
begau.Theteasouthatsuchcouttadlctotystatemeutswetemadebythose
whowltuessedtheMusc/mnncrwasthattheylackedtheethlcalcatego-
tlestodesctlbesuchvloleutlybatedllfe.Wheutheylustluctlvelytutuedto
thelt,audout,phllosophlcalaudpolltlcalttadltloufotethlcaltetmslth
whlch to chatactetlze thls patadox, theyfouud oues "coutamluated" by
jutldlcalcoucepts. luaulutetvlewfollowlugthepubllcatlouofRcmnants
eHuschai,Agambeu sald hls luteutlou was "uot so much to explalu
Auschwltzasto uudetstaudthepheuomeuouofAuschwltzlultsethlcal
audpolltlcalaspects."Askedouwhatlevelthlsuudetstaudlugwastotake
place he tespouded, "ou the ethlcal otthe polltlcal-ot moteptopetly,
the blopolltlcal level" ,ATl, y). luthls case, the /iee/inca/ deslg-
uatesallfethatlsdlfhculttoldeutlashumau,audltlsluthlsllghtthat
Agambeuuotedhewasthluklugof"thetlesofthetwo booksbeatlug
thegteatestluteusltyoftestlmouy, IhcHumanRaccbyAutelme,audSc
qucsterunuemeSuriiia/inHuschai| byLevl",ATl,y). Thecategotles
ofdigiaud rcsensi/i/iseemo Agambeuluappllcablebecausethelt
hetltagelsjutldlcalmaklugthemlllsultedtotheltasslguedtask.What
the posltlou "betweeu mau aud uoumau" occupled by the Musc/mann
teveals lswhatAgambeu sald hewoulddemousttateovetthe coutseof
the book that "almost uoueofthe ethlcal ptluclples outagebellevedlt
couldtecogulzeasvalldhavestoodthedeclslvetest,thatofauEthicamerc
Huschaidcmensata" ,R, :] | ).
ltlsatthlspolutluRcmnantseHuschaithatthetetmhtstoccuts
z Ihc |niqacandthc |nsaa//
tbatbadplayedsucbacenttaltolelnHemeSaccrandlntbeattlclesbotb
leadlnguptoltandfollowlnglt.lottbelnltlalslxtypagesoftbebook,tbe
ldeaofbatellfelsptesentevetywbetebutstatednowbete.lnblsdlscusslon
oftbeMasc/mann,bowevet,Agambenwtltestbatuscbwltzmatkstbe
endandtbetulnofevetyetblcsofdlgnltyandconfotmltytoanotm.Tbe
batellfetowblcbbumanbelngsweteteducedneltbetdemandsnotcon
fotms to anytblng" ,RA, ,] ) . Dlgnlty, Agamben atgues, sbouldno
longetbetbestandatd-beatetoftbe buman. ndehned, nonnotmatlve
llfelsbatellfe, but tbls atealsfatftomexploted, andtbls unptesuppos
able, undehnable place ls, as be well tecognlzes, suptemely dlfhcult to
cbatt.Agamben clalmstbatLevl, wbobeatswltness to tbedtowned,
speaklng ln tbeltstead, ls tbe cattogtapbetoftbls new tcrra cthica, tbe
lmplacable land-sutveyot ofMsc/mann/and ,RA, ,] ) . Agamben's
ltonlctefetence to Kaa ,Kaa ls nowbete namedlntbepassage-ot
tbusfatlntbebook-buttbetefetencetoalandsutveyot"polntscleatly
ln tbe dltectlon of Ihc Casc) lndlcates sevetal tblngs. lt lndlcates tbe
lmpottanceofLevl 'stecognlzlngtbetettaln,tbetelatlonoftblsteglonto
tbesoutcesofpowetandtbetule oflaw,asln IhcCasc), aswellastbe
uncettalntyoftbeentetptlse. ln Kaa's book tbelandsutveyotdoesn't
knowwbatto sutvey, bebasblstoolsandbebasbeen summoned, but
bedoesnotknowwbeteotwbentoexetclseblsmtlet.Levl 'suncettalnty
lsequaltotbatofKaa'sland-sutveyot-buttotbatuncettalntybeop
posestbeutgencyofblsentetptlse.
are Iite and the Fabrication ot Corpses
Tbe nextstepAgamben takes ls to tutnblsgazeftom /arc/qto
dcath. Tbecotollaty, fotAgamben,oftbefacttbattbeMasc/mannlsbe
otsbewboexpetlencesallfetbatnolongetseemsllkellfelstbatbeotsbe
expetlencesadeatbtbatlsnotllkeeatlletones.ltlsnotsutptlslngtbatAg-
ambenevokesHeldeggetattblspolnt,tefettlngtoapassagelntbelattet's
lectute on tecbnology, Tbe Danget," wbetebeemploys tbe exptesslon
fabtlcatlonofcotpses" ,atetmwbosegenealogyAgambenttacestbtougb
Rllke,Atendt, andtbe SSdoctotltledtlcbnttess) . OfHeldegget'slec
tuteAgambentematks, otwltboutteason,afewyeatslatet,tbeobjec
tlonwastalsedtbatfotanautbotlmpllcatedevenmatglnallylnazlsm,
acutsotalluslontotbeextetmlnatloncampsaftetyeatsofsllencewas,at
Ihc|niqucandthc |nsaa//c z
thevetyleast,outof place",R, | |) . Agambeu'slmmedlatelutetestl s
uotthetelatlouofHeldegget'spetsouotphllosophytoNazlsm,aquestlou
hehadalteadytteatedouuumetousoccaslus) butlusteadhlsseusethat
thesedeathsdouotseemllkedeaths. Theyweteludeedtheeudsofllves
but,aklutothemodetumassptoductloudeathsthatllkedlscusses,Eu-
ttesswlshesfot, audAteudtbemoaus,theywetedeathsthatweteuotex-
petleucedass-ungcster/cncrdc,"luHeldegget'stetms-audthus
weteuotexpetleucedluautheutlcfashlou.
AgambeucoutluuesHeldegget'sllueofthoughtaudltslmpllcltte
eteuce to the ceuttal coucept of"belugtowatddeath" ftom Bcingand
mc lu thecase ofthecampstowhlch Heldegget,whlleuot dltectly
uamlug them, ls cleatytefettlug, death expetleuced as "oue's owu" ls
lmposslble because ofthe vety omulpteseuce ofdeath. Death ls uot a
"hotlzou" ofexpetleuce becauseltuevettecedes. "The teasoufotwhlch
Auschwltzls excluded ftom the expetleuce ofdeath"-ofthe sott that
Heldegget euvlslous-ls that "lt calls luto questlou the vetyposslblllty
ofautheutlcdeclslouaudthusthteateusthevetygtouudofHeldegget's
ethlcs. luthecamp, evetydlstluctloubetweeuptopetaudlmptopet, be-
tweeu posslble aud lmposslbl, tadlcally dlsappeats" ,, , o|) .
Thls lmposslbllltyofexpetleuclugau"autheutlc" death has uothlug to
dowlthbelugsutptlsedbyoue'sdeathotwlthdecldlugtoacceptotteslst
lt.Agambeutestatesthlsdllemmaas"luthecamp,themostfuudameu-
talgestute i/gcsteiree| ofHeldegget'sethlcs-theapptoptlatlou
ofthelmptopet /reaiencdc//'imree| , the maklugposslbleof
exlsteuce-temalus lueectual" ,R, i| , ttauslatlou modlhed) lu
seekluguewethlcalcootdluates,AgambeullugetswlthHeldegget'sethl-
calcouceptlousbefoteeveutuallydlsmlsslugthemasluadequatefotthls
exttemecase.Heteaselsewheteltlslmpottauttobeatlumludthedlf-
ucultyofttauslatlugHeldegget'sspeclaluseofthetetmrecrcigcn| . lt
hasuothlugofsoclalotothetcerrcccsslultssemautlcteglstet, auduoth-
lugofaathcnnci,auothettetm usedto teudet cigcn aud Eigcnt/ich/cit
luugllshttauslatlousofHeldegget'swotk) lu the seuseofau authcnnc
attlclethatouemlghtopposetoa/c.Theatouce slmpleaudcomplex
meaulug ofcigcn stemsftomtheldeaofthatwhlchlsptopet to aglveu
petsou ot thlug-thatwhlch ls lltetally "lts owu." Thewotd'stelevauce
fot the dlscusslou hete ls that the Heldeggetlau dlalectlc thatAgambeu
seesputlutoquestloubydeathluAuschwltzlsuotaboutcottectuess
aboutwhatwouldberecrlutheugllshseuseofthetetm-butabout
z Ihc|niqacandthc|maa//c
bat, lfanytblng, ls ptopetto tbe stateoftbeMasc/mann, thlsbatellfe
sttlppedofall ttadltlonal etblcalatttlbutes sucb as dlgnltyand tespon
slblllty).AuscbltzdoesnottendetHeldegget'setblcslnvalldbecauseof
tbe sbamefulsllenceltbblcb Heldeggetteactedto lt, not because of
blscompllcltylntbeteglmetbatlnstalledtbosecamps. Agamben'spolnt
betelstoputHeldegget'stadlcal conceptlons ofetblcsandoftbesoutce
ofvaluesto tbetestofAuscbltz, tothedeclslvetest,tbatofantblca
moteAuscbltz demonsttata ' 8ecause oflts focus on tbe apptoptlat
lng oftbe expetlence ofdeatb, Heldegget's dlalectlc oftbe ptopet and
lmptopetlsnot,fotAgamben,adequatetotbetaskofundetstandlngllfe
lntheexttemefotmtakenbytbeMasc/mann.
OnlyattbeendoftblscbaptetdoesAgambenapptoachthepolnt
ftomblcbsomanyofhls tedets doubtlessexpectedhlmto beglnhls
book.tbeblopolltlcalmacblne"ltbhlchHemeSaccrended.Theteal
lmpottfottbeHemeSaccrptojectoftbettaglchguteoftheMasc/mann
tevealsltselfbete.lntbeMasc/manntbehnalblopolltlcalsubstancea/n
masestanza/iee/inca| lntbeblologlcalcontlnuum"lsfoundandanab
soluteblopolltlcalsubstanceanasestanz/iee/iticaasse/ata| lsgllmpsed
,RA,, ;| ) . Onlybetelstbecampthencalledablopolltlcalmachlne"
,RA,,;| ),afotmulatlontbat,lncldentally,tecallsAdotnostefetenceto
Auscbltzastbehelllsbmacblnetbatlshlstoty"seeAdotnoGS . z] ) .
Tbecampl ssucbamacblnenotmetelybecausel tptoducescadavetsbut
because lt ptoduces sometblng ttuly /iee/tica/-sometblng unlocallz
ableeltbetlnblologlcalotlnpolltlcaltetmsandtbatmatkstbepolntat
blcbtbetodomalns-polltlcalllfeandblologlcalllfe-dovetall.
Jhe

esistance ot the Muselmann, and the Critics

At tbe end ofHeme Saccr, Agamben suggested tbat tbe Masc/
mannsoebavlot . . mlgbtoe anunbeatdofinaadita| fotmofteslstance"
,HS, r, o;| , ttanslatlon modlhed) . lnllgbtoftbetypologlcaldesctlp
tlonsofLevl,8ettelbelm,Antelme,andotbets,tblsmlghtseemanabsutd
suggestlonaslnevetycaseandfotevetyobsetvettbeMasc/mannseemed
tbevetyopposlte.tbeultlmatehguteofsuttendet.lftbeMasc/mannlstbe
ptlsonetbobascompletelysuccumbedtotbebatbatlcfotcesbtoughtto
beatonblmotbet,betelnllestbeteslstance
lnHemeSaccr,AgambensathlsteslstancelntbattheMasc/mann
Ihc|niqucandthc|nsaa// 6
dlduot"teglstetauydlffeteucebetweeuauotdetaudthecold" ,S, i,
zo;] ) . ludeed,theMusc/manncouldbe saldtohaveoffetedteslstauceto
the powets tuuulugthe camp thtough hls ot het dlsobedleuce-a dls-
obedleucethatwasthetesultofhavlugtetteatedsollywlthluhlm ot
hetselfthat he ot she uo louget had euough stteugth to atteud to the
outsldewotldaudtheotdesemauatlugftomltTheMusc/mannseemsuo
lougettofeattheblowsoftheSS, oteveutodlstlugulshthoseblowsftom
othetstlmull.etthlstespousestemsuotftomhetolcopposltlouotcouta-
geousteslstaucebutlusteadftomtheexhaustlou,thettauma,theapathy,
audtheautlsmthatchatactetlzet

eMuscmannsllmlualstateAlthough
Agambeu does uottetutu to thls hypothesls lu RcmnaneHushai
uothlugluthebooksetves tocouttadlctltotto ludlcatethatAgambeu
haschaugedhlsmludouthemattet.Fothlm,theMusc/mannlsahgute
audapatadlgm-ofslugulatteslstauce.Llke8attleby, theMusc/mannls
auuullkelyhguteluthatltseemstotepteseuttheopposlteofteslstauce
a hgutewhohas completelycapltulatedbefote the dehumaulzlugfotce
beatlugdowuoult.8attleby,ctushedbythewelghtofWallStteetaudthe
lawhesetvesthete,otctushedbythewelghtoflossshowutohlmthtough
hlswotkattheofhceof "deadlettets"luWashlugtou,seemstosuccumb
audtotutuawayftomthewotldauddleofselflmposedstatvatlou.The
wat ofatttltlou heled agalust elthethlmselfothlswold lsouehe has
lost-otsoltseems.luthecaseoftheMusc/mann,thehgutelsstlllmote
chatged-becausemoteteal. TheMc/mannseems ahguteofthesuc-
cessofthedehumaulzlugeffottsoftheSS emotlouallyaudphyslcallyex-
hausted,heotsheuolougettespoudstothewotld,uolougetdlstlugulshes
theblowsoftheSS ftomthestlugsofthecold.TheMsc/mannhaslost
thesttugglefotdlgultyaudeveuludlvlduallty-teduced,hually, tobate
blologlcalllfe.etthlslsahguteAgambeuhudsexemplatyAlthoughhe
does ludeed, the exemplatltylu questlou must be catefully uudetstood.
Agambeuofteusttessestheslmpllcltyofthetetmaradigpolutlugout
thatltcomes ftomthe Gteektetm fot"example. "8e thatasltmay,hls
mauuet ofuslugpatadlgms ls fat ftom slmple. The Musc/manncauuot
beexemplatylu the classlcal seuseofbelugau example ofteslstauceto
follow. Atmedteslstauce, eveusulcldal tevolt, seems mote dyuamlzlug,
euetglzlug,audthetebyexemplatyfotacommuultycouftoutlugthemost
uujusttteatmeutlmagluablethaua hguteofhualpasslvltyllketheoue
Agambeuhasslugledout.TheMusc/mannlsuotexemplatyotpatadlg-
matlclu the seuseofbeluga hgute to beemulated, luouepatadoxlcal
zc Ihc |niqacandthc |nsaa//c
fotmotanotbetlnstead,aswltballofAgamben'spatadlgms,ltlsahgute
tbtougbwblcbwemlgbtttytoundetstandablstotlcalsttuctute"fullof
televancefotoutptesentsltuatlon."
ltsbouldcomeasllttlesutptlsetbattblslsapolnttbatbasftequently
beenmlsundetstood.Aswesaweatllet, Matlon ,zcc)judgesAgamben's
book batsbly ,by apptoptlatlng Holocaustsutvlvots and tbelt testlmo-
nles to attlculate anonymous belngand tbe unsayable ln language, tbe
lnbuman, Agamben makes a lacunaoftbebottotofAuscbwltz-oflts
empltlcalteallty,vlctlmsandpattlclpants" iczz] ) . otbet, Agamben's]
useoftbeHolocaustlntblspatadlgmdlspatagestbeteal " ,ici).Matlon
cleatlyfotmulatestbequestlonlntetmsoftespectfotandvlolatlonofthe
slngulatltyotunlquenessoftbeempltlcalteallty"ofAuschwltz.Albeltln
lesspolemlcaltetms,RobettEaglestone,zccz)alsoseesAgambensactlhc-
lngblstotlcal tealltyfotpatadlgmatlcclatlty bewtltestbatgamben's
bate llfe lsslmply too bate. motlvated by tbe clatltyofa pbllosopblcal
patadlgm, ltovetlookswbatlslnvolved lnllvlng" ,|,) . lntbeltbook
onRcmnantseHaschaitz, lblllppeMesnatdandClaudlneKaban,zcci)
also talseaslmllatobjectlon,judglngtbatAgambenconcelvesofpolltlcs
in a/stracte, and as a tesult seeks to dlscovet ln blstotyacenttaland
unlquepatadlgmatlcfunctlon",rz) .
CtltlclsmoftblsaspectofAgamben's apptoacb does not, bowevet,
end bete. Levl and Rotbbetg ,zcc,) focus on tbls same empltlcal teal-
lty" lnvoked by Matlon and otbets and ask ofAgamben's book, Tbe
Masc/mann ls meant to beat a cettaln ttutb about tbe natute ofetblcs
aftetAuscbwltz,' but lsltnotlmpottantwbenttylngto attlculatesucb
an etblcs to teBect onwbatAuscbwltz was " ,,c) . Tbe questlon posed
betelsofcoutsetbetotlcal.TbelmpllcltcbatgetbatAgambenbasfalled
to lnfotm blmselfaboutAuscbwltz, otto teBecton tbatlnfotmatlon, ls
nottbetealone.Wbatlsactuallyat lssueate tbeconcluslonsAgamben
dtawsftombls teBectlon. Levl and Rotbbetg contlnue. Sutelysucban
accountasAgamben'ssbouldattendtotbeblstotlcal,legalandpolltlcal
condltlonstbatledtotbedevelopmentoftbecampsystem. . . sucbasa
masslve,motallylndlffetentbuteauctatlcappatatustbatdebumanlzedlts
objects'anddlstancedltsagentsftomasenseoftesponslbllltyfottbeltac-
tlons. . . lftbeMasc/mannwouldnotbaveexlstedwltbouttbesefactots,
sbouldn'tanetblcsfocusedontblshgutealsotakeaccountoftbem",,c).
Hetetoosometblngunquestlonablelsassetted. tbattbe" blstotlcal,legal
andpolltlcalcondltlonstbatledtotbedevelopmeutoftbecampsystem"
Ihc |niqucandthc |nsaa// z;i
sbould beattendedtolnanystudyofAuscbwltz.Andbete tooeven a
cutsoty glance atAgamben's wtltlngs sbows tbat be |ndeed attends to
tbesecondlt|ons.8utlt|salsobetewbetetbeteald|fhcultyfotAgamben's
teadetsatlses.Hedoesnotenattendto tbesecondlt|ons,anddoes not
enexamlnetbehguteoftbeMusc/mannlntbeltl|gbt. Hesttessesattbe
outset ofbls book tbat otbets ,sucb as Hllbetg) bavealteadydone tb|s
adm|tably and extens|vely, but tbat tbete ate st|ll consequences-etb|
calandpbllosopb|cal-to bedtawn. OntbelatgetHemeSaccrptoect,
8enam|n Rob|nson ,zoo,) teacbes a conclus|on s|m|lat to that ofLev|
andRotbbetg, stat|ngtbat"wblle Agamben's| attent|onto tbepatadox
ofsovetelgntylslllumlnat|ng,blsapocalypt|cftamewotkallbutptecludes
b|stot|calanalysls" ,;,,n. z6).Motetecently, Ol|vetMatcbatt,zoo;)bas
ecboedtblsudgment,lnvok|ngAgamben's"apocalypt|cv|slon"andatgu-
|ngtbat /ccauscAgamben] tefusestodellneatetbeb|stot|calgenealogy
ofblspatadlgmstbetesultlsatadlcallypesslmlst|cpbllosopbyfb|stoty"
,rzr, ltallcslnotlglnal). Hetetootbecbatgeconcetnsblstoty.Athtst
slgbtlt lssutptlslnglntbatAgamben doeslncludeslgn|hcantb|stotlcal
analysls ln blswotk. 8ut wbat becomes cleat ls tbat tbe patadlgmatlc
putposetowblcbtblsanalyslslsputessentlallynulllhesltfotsucbct|t|cs.
lnpetbaps tbe most sttlklng fotmulatlon oftbls ctltlque-because lt ls
madebytbeautbotsoftbeonlybookdedlcatedexclus|velyto Rcmnants
e-Mesnatd and Kaban wtlte tbat "appealed to excluslvely
asllmltsltuatlons,AuscbwltzandtbeMusc/mann. . . atenotstud|edln
tbelttelatlontotbeblstotlcalcondltlonstbatmadetbemposs|ble,butas
patadlgmsoftbenotmalandtbeevetyday," andtbat"tbetealftamesln
wblcb beatlngwltnessappeatsseemto baveno lntetestfot Agamben]
,zccrrzrz,) .

AsdldMatlon Roblnson,Levl,andRotbbetg,Mesnatd
andKaban clalmtbatAgamben basnotstudled" tbe" blstot|calcond|-
tlons"suttoundlngAuscbwltzandtbehguteoftbeMusc/mann.
Sucb ctltlclsm temalnspuzzllngso longasonesees|n |t metely a
questlonofblstotlcallnfotmatlonandanalysls. Wbat|steallyatstakels
tbeusctowb|cbAgambenputsb|sblstotlcalanalys|s.LevlandRotbbetg,
l|ke Mesnatd and Kaban, ate wtong to upbta|dAgamben fot not do-
|ngsometb|ngtbat be |nfact does ,attendto tbe "b|stot|cal, legal and
polltlcal cond|t|ons tbat led to tbe development oftbe camp system") .
Nevettbeless, tbey, llke tbeotbetctlt|cs notedabove, ate tespondlngto
sometblnglnAgamben's booktbat|sgenu|nelyunsettl|ngand tbatwe
bavealteadyseenct|t|c|zedbytheunnamedtencblettetwt|tet h|s use
zz Ihc |niqacandthc|nsaa//
ofpatadlgms. Levl and Rotbbetg hnd tbat fot tbeAgambenofHeme
Saccra camp ls a camp lfanytblng ls posslble wltbln lt, . . . no mat-
tetwbetbetotnotltactuallyptoducesMasc/mnncrand cotpses,wblle
fottbeAgambenofRcmnantseHaschaitztbe lmpottant factabouttbe
Masc/mannlsslmplytbatsucbahgutebappened,notwbeteandbowbe
becameposslble,LevlandRotbbetgzcc,,,c) .Hetetbecontoutsoftbelt
ctltlclsm atecleatlytecognlzableas ctltlclsm ofAgamben'spatadlgmatlc
metbod. TbeycbatgeAgambenwltbnotattendlngtotbeblstotlcalteal-
ltyofAuscbwltz,butwbattbeyateteallyobjectlngtolstbeldeatbatbls
undetstandlngoftblsblstotlcaltealltycanaebeusedto lllusttatevety
dlffetentsltuatlons-lnotbetwotds,canbeusedasapatadlgm.lnslmllat
fasblon, Mesnatd and Kabandeduce ftom tbefact tbatAgamben uses
Auscbwltz and tbe Masc/mann as patadlgms tbatbe dld not studytbe
blstotlcalcondltlonsbeblndtbemTbeltexpllcltclalmlstbatbelsundet-
lnfotmed,buttbeltfatmotepowetful lmpllcltonelstbatfotblm to use
sucb hgutes as patadlgms be mastbave been undetlnfotmed. Roblnson
sayssometblngslmllatlnclalmlngtbatAgamben'suseofsucbpatadlgms
allbutptecludesblstotlcalanalyslsfottbeteasontbat, lnblseyes,tbe
htstconsequenceofsucbblstotlcalanalyslswouldbetotuleoutltsuseas
apatadlgm.
raumatC cmpOraty, Or thc Ltcrna
LOntnuatOn O /usChWtz
Tbeetblcsoftbetwentletbcentuty,Agambenwtltes,openswltb
letzscbe'sovetcomlngoftesentment ,RA, z] ) . letzscbe'sattempt
toaccepttbepastnessoftbepast-tottansfotmtbeexctuclatlngltwas
lnto tbus l wantedltto be, andwbosmotto ls amerti-meets, fot
Agamben, ltsllmltatAuscbwltz.Auscbwltz, clalmsAgamben, matksa
declslve tuptute wltb tbls attempt at ovetcomlng tesentment ,RA,
z] ) . Refotmulatlngletzscbe'sptesentatlonoftbeldeaoftbeetetnalte-
cuttenceoftbesame ln IhcCaScicncc,Agambenptoposestbetbougbt
expetlment ofademon tbatglldes besldeasutvlvotand asks. Do you
wantAuscbwltz to tetutn agaln and agaln . . : `' ,R, z] ) . Agam-
benclalmstbattblsslmpletefotmulatlonofNletzscbe'sexpetlmentsuf-
hcestotefuteltbeyond alldoubt,excludlngtbeposslbllltyofltsevenbe-
lngptoposed ,RA, z] ) . Andyettbls clalm tadlcallymlstepteseuts
Ihc|niqucandthc |nsaa// z;,
Nletzsche'sldeaHetel tl saslfAgambeuwetetespoudlugtoavulgatlzed
vetslouofNletzsche'sdocttlue-ottoauothetldeaaltogethetNletzsche's
tematksweteuotmeautasauncanenofthepast,uotsomethlugofthe
uatuteofHegel'sepochal"whatlslsteasouable"ThepolutofNletzsche's
atduousthoughtexpetlmeutwastoplacetespouslbllltyfothumauaalts,
actlous,audvaluesluthiswotldtathetthaulusomettausceudeutalothet-
wotldotaftetllfeltsgoalwaspteclselytocouftoutthehottotsofthepast,
uotoulythelucldeutalopposltloustooutwhlmsaudwllls,uotoulydls-
appolutmeut,butlujustlceouthelatgestscaleTo acceptthattheaboml-
uablehashappeued,thatluuoceutshavesuffetedaudthegulltyhavegoue
uupuulshed,thatthecoutseofhlstotyhasuotbeeuwhatHegelclalmedlt
was ,"teasouable"),lswhattheexpetlmeutalmedtocometotetmswlth
Nletzsche'squestloulswhethetwecauacceptthlsaudcatveoutallmlted
justlcelutheshadowofapasttlfewlthlujustlceaudctueltyAudthetea-
souheposedltwasthathesawuoothetcholce
luAgambeu's hauds, the thought expetlmeut ls pteseuted as lflt
weteacalloussuggestlou. HowevetuufaltAgambeu's"tefotmulatlou"of
letzsche's thoughtexpetlmeutmlght be, thequestlou temalus ofwhat
Agambeu ls ttylugto do at thls polut luhls atgumeut Hls "tefotmula-
tlou"seemsatutstslghttobethelutegtatlouofAuschwltzlutothesetles
ofthlugs,hlstoty)tobewllledauluuultyoftlmesluthlscase,Agambeu
would besaylugthat uo ouewhohadllvedthtough-oteveuleatued
about-somethlugashottlbleasAuschwltzcouldposslblywlllltstetutu
Wemlghtuudetstaudthlsassessmeutftomthesldeofhlstotylutheseuse
thathlthettouothlug as hottlble, uothlug as mousttuous asAuschwltz
hadhappeued,audlultswakesuchpostulatesasNletzsche'sueededtobe
teevaluated-aud,pethaps,dlscatdedThlsassessmeutwouldcottespoud
totheldeathathlstotyaftetAuschwltzshoulduotbecoucelvedofaswas
hlstotybefoteAuschwltz, audlslulluewlthAgambeu'sattempttoput
couceptlousto "thedeclslve test" tefetted to eatllet-thatofau Ethica
mercHuschaitzdcmensata. "
lu thls llghtltwould seem thattoughthetehas alteadybeeulu
thecoutseofwotldhlstotytettlblepaluaudsuetlu-wlthAuschwltz
thescalestlpped,audthesuffetlug,seuselessuess,audctueltygtewsogteat
thatauacceptaucellketheouefotwhlchNletzschesttovewasheucefotth
lmposslble lushott, ouecoulduolougetmakepeacewlthsucha past
8utthlslsuottheposltlouatwhlchAgambeuwautstoattlve,asltsouly
altetuatlvelsthevetyethlcsofteseutmeutNletzschesetouttocombat
z Ihc|niqacandthc|nsaa//c
lottblsteason,Agambenclalmstbattbls"fallute"tbatNletzschetepte-
sents, tbls"falluteofatatbustta's lesson . . . doesnotdependontbefact
tbatwbatbappenedatAuscbwltzlstooattoclousfotanyoneevettowlll
ltstepetltlon" ,RA, IOO z] , ttanslatlonmodlhed) . TbeEngllsbttansla-
tlon tendetswlllltstepetltlonaswlsbfotltstepetltlon"-tequltlngtbe
teadettolmaglnesometblngqultedlffetentftomtbatofwblcbNletzscbe
wtote,placlnganunfatbomablypetvetsewlsblntbeplaceofaslngulat
actofwlll.Agambenwtltesoe/crnc/rctiziencandtbetebyteptoduces
letzscbe'stetm aiin Tbepolntlsnottbatone /i/ctbe past, buttbat
oneaccctltasthc astandcboosetbatlttepatablypaststateofaffaltsovet
teslstlngandtesentlngtbatwblcbnoteslstanceottesentmentcouldevet
cbange.
Agambenlswellawatetbattbealtetnatlveto acceptlngtbepastln
tbewaytbatletzscbeendeavots to do lsto tejecttbepast-atejectlon
tbatcanleadonlytotesentment.Agambenhndsjustsucbanetblcsbased
on tesentment ln tbe case ofanotbetsutvlvot, eanAmty, wbo, ln bls
ownwotds, tefusedto accepttbat wbatbappened, bappened" ,cltedln
RA,IOO ,] ). Amtyclalms,lbellevetobavetecognlzedtbatafotglvlng
and fotgettlng lnduced by soclal ptessute ls lmmotal, andbefeels tbat
puttlng beblnd tbepastaspastandlaylngasldeone'stesentments-and
evenone'sfuty-lstocommltamerattespass,cltedlnRA,IOO ,] ) . One
couldscatcelylmaglneaputetexampleofanetblcsbasedontesentment.
Andyet wblle tbe stauncb tejectlon ofany fotm ofteconclllatlon wltb
tbe past ls emlnently undetstandable, lt ls also, fotAgamben, etblcally
untenable.
AslnmanyplaceslnRcmnantseHaschai,tbepatbAgambenfol-
lowsattblspolntlsttacedfotblmbyLevl. Tbelattetlsasllttledlsposed
to fotglve" asAmty,lamnotlncllnedto fotglve, l nevetfotgaveout
enemles", cltedat RA, IOI ,] ) . et tbtougb tbe ttaumatlctemptallty
tbat botb Levl andAmtydesctlbe,Agamben hnds a new fotmulatlon
ofbls tejectlon ofNletzscbe's attempt to make peacewltb tbe past, as
well as, motebtoadly, atejectlonof"twentletbcentuty etblcs" ,RA,IOI
,] ). Onccannetaivolete] Haschaitzterctarnrctcrni, Agamben
wtltes, sinccin trath ithasncocrccascdteta/c/cc itisa/aas a/rcad
rccatingitscs sta gl sempte tlptendo] ,RA, IOI ,] , ltallcslnotlgl-
nal, ttanslatlon modlhed) . lnLevl 's nlgbtmates behndsblmselfbackln
Auscbwltz-atettllnglfnotuncommonpbenomenon. Tblseasllyun-
detstandablepsycbologlcaltesponsels,bowevet,talsedbyAgambentotbe
Ihc |niqucandthc |nsaa//c z,
statusofauoutologlcalcoudltlouLevllsuot,asluAgambeu'saccouutof
Nletzsche'sexpetlmeut,eugagedlutheeffottto"couquetthespltltofte-
veugeluotdettoacceptthepast"uotlshe,aswasAmty,eudeavot|ugto
"holdfasttotheuuacceptablethtoughteseutmeut",R, ioz || ,ttausla-
tloumodlhed) .ThemlddlepaththatAgambeuseesthettaumat|zedLevl
followlug ls howevet uucleat. WhatAgambeu hudsluLevl's poemt
au ucettalu Hout" ls "a belug beyoud acceptauce audtefusal, beyoud
the etetual past audtheetetualpteseut-aueveutthat tetutus etetually
but that pteclsely fot thls teasou ls absolutely, etetually uuassumable
inassami/i/c ,RA, ioz, |,] ) . Agambeu theu coucludes that " be-
youd good aud evll lles . . . a shame thatls uot oulywlthout gullt but
wlthout tlme" becausetheshameofwhlchhespeaks lsuottelegatedto
thepast-audcauuotbe,RAio, ,| ) ThlsleadsAgambeubacktothe
pathhehadbeguuto followeatllet-that ofthesubj ectaudofashame
wlthoutgullt. ltlsludeedlaudable-ltlseveupethapsuecessaty-luthe
uameofauEthicamercHaschaitzdcmenstrata" uotslmplytoacceptthe
past ,asNletzscheasked) audalso uotslmplytotej ectlt ,as dldAmty).
8eyoud thls opposltlou thete lles fotAgambeu, "auew, uuptecedeuted
outologlcal couslsteucyofwhathas takeuplace," but lt ls a couslsteucy
thatlsexttaotdluatllydlfhculttogtasp. Reseutmeutlsuotovetcome, as
lu Nletzsche uot embtaced as au ethlcal lmpetat|ve, as luAmty, but
suspeuded,asluLevl'scase,llkeanigharc.
Agambeu hete clalms that oue cauuot accept the sheet hottot of
Auschwltz, ofthetemuautsofAuschwltzwlthwh|chwe atecouftouted
today, uot because theyatecrsclmposslble to accept-whatevet thelt
hottotaudwhatevetsuffetlugtheytepteseutTh|semotloualappealthat
was Amty's-that ofouttaged tefusal-ls uot the oue thatAgambeu
chooses,buthelsuomoteptepatedtohaveAuschwltzplacedadactalu
thecoutluuumofhlstoty. Helstheuleftwlthaslugleposs|bll|tyhavelt
temaluluthepteseut.ThetefutatlouofNletzsche's"etetualtecutteuceof
thesame"thatAgambeu hudsluAuschwltzls, luphllosophlcaltetmsa
poot oue the past cauuottecut becauseltlsuotthepast.What lsmost
lmpottauthetelsuotthephllosophlcalvalldltyofAgambeu'steadlugof
Nletzsche ,seetheeudofthls chaptetfot adlscusslouofthlsquestlou),
butwhatAgambeulsttylugtoexptess thtoughltlfotouaphllosophl-
cal theu ou apsychologlcallevel,Agambeu'scouteut|ou aboutthetem-
uauts ofAuschwltz ls couslsteut wlth the expetleuce ofsutv|vots who
llvedto beatwltuesstoAuschwltzaudwhosesuffetlugd|duoteudw|th
z Ihc |niqacandthc|maa//
tbeltescapeftomlt.Aswebaveseen,Agambenfocusesontbettaumatlc
tlmelessnessofAuscbwltzfottbosewbobavesutvlvedltandwbocannot
telegate lt to tbepast-andfot tblsteasoncannotevenconsldetaccept-
lngottefuslngltaspast. Tbls lndlvldualttaumatlctempotallty,tbefeat
tbat adteadful past ls notteallypast) ls one tbatAgamben adopts as a
patadlgm-onetbattecallsbls clalmtbattbepatadlgmatlcsoccetgame
betweentbeSSandtbe Sendcr/emmandelsnotbottlbleoecauselt lsso
macabtealtbougbltlslndeedtbatbutbecauseltsnotovet-tbatout
ptesentblstotlcalsltuatlonlsnotsepatateftomtbatof WotldWatlland
tbepbenomenonoftbecamps.
Jhe Subj ect ol Shame
Cbaptet Tbtee ofRcmnants eHaschai tutns to tbe subj ect of
sbame-lnbotbtbesubjectlveandgenltlvesenses, lt lsan lnvestlgatlon
botboftbecategotyoftbesa/cctandoftbeaffectofshamcTbeshamc
wltbwblcbAgambenbeglnslsnot,bowevet,tbatoftbeHolocaust'smote
otlesswllllngexecutlonetstbesbameoftbegi/,butlnsteadtbesbame
oftbe inneccntwbo llved to testl. Agamben focusesblsattentlon on
tbesenseofsbameexpetlencedbytbevlctlms,ontbesbametbatso many
sutvlvotsbavetecountedplaguedtbemfotmontbs, yeats,decades-ota
wbolellfelong-aftettbeltllbetatlon. Thlssbamecame ln manyfotms,
butapattlculatlyftequentonewas,andls, tbefeellngtbattbeyllved,and
llve, lntbeplaceofotbets, tbatotbets dled lntbeltplace.Tbls shame
couldtakeconctetefotmlncaseslnwblchsutvlvotsfeel,otfelt,tbatthey
mlgbtbavedonemote,belpedmote,beenataglvenmomentbtavet,klnd-
et, motegenetous, andtbattbatmlgbtbavemadealltbedlffetencefot
oneotmoteoftbeltfellowsuffetets. Glventbecondltlons,tbemostpat-
donablelapsesbaunted,andstlllbaunt,manysutvlvots-sometblngtbat
8ettelbelm,fotlnstance seeslnaposltlvellgbt, clalmlngtbat only tbe
abllltytofeelgulltymakesusbuman,pattlculatlyl objectlvelyseen,one
lsnotgullty",cltedlnRA,, ) . Tblssenseofsbamecouldj ustaseaslly
takeontbefotmofasenseoftbelttelatlvemetltotwottb,tbattbeywete
petbaps lesswottbytban tbosewbopetlsbed,andeven expand to meta-
pbyslcalptopottlonsasasensetbatwbootwbatgovetnedwbodtowned
andwbowassavedwasslmplylncomptebenslble.Andhnally, ltcanbea
senseofsbameofaseculatbutequallyglobalnatute-tbesbamenamed
Ihc|niqucandthc|nsaa//c z;;
|nLev|'shaunt|ngt|e ,lfth|s|saman"), theshameovetwhatAtendt
andsomanyothetsexptessed assometh|ngthats|mplyshouldnothave
happenedand thatshamesallwhoexpet|ence|t, shamesallwholeatnof
lt, shames us onthe most genetallevelposs|ble. thatofbe|nghuman.
Thls senseoffundamental shame ls, ln th|s tespect, easytouudetstand
andtofeel,andexttaotdlnat|lydlfhculttocometogt|psw|th.
AttblspolntltlsusefultotecallthatRcmnantseHuschaitz|snot
Agamben'shtstencountetw|ththesubj ectofshameAchaptetofdca e
Presc|s dedlcatedto The ldeaofShame" seen ftom thepetspect|ve of
comedyandttagedyaswellas|nah|stot|calevolut|onftomtheGteeksto
theptesentday ,see l, ,, 6;6] ). Agambennotes that theenttyof
shame|ntotheaffect|ved|scoutseoftheWestseemstohaveoccutted|n
themetaphys|calspeculat|onofthed|alogueParmcnidcs,wheteoctates
shuddets andfeelssometh|ngl|keaun|vetsal shame fotthe not|on that
|deasofha|t,hlth,mud"andothetv|le"anddesultotyth|ngsex|st,l,
,|6;6] ). lnthecaseofoutmodetnageandmodetnman,"shae
ls the |ndex ofan unheatd ofand ft|ghten|ng ptox|m|tyofman w|th
hlmself /'ueme cen sc stcsse ,l, | 6] ) To conftont outselves |s, |n
th|sopt|c, toconftontoutttans|ence-aswellastofeelasenseofshame
fotnotbe|ngabletotakeoutmottalmeasutemotefully, ashameatnot
ttulyundetstand|ngoutseves ln Ihc Ceming Cemmunithequest|ou
ofshameat|ses|nequallyot|g|nalfotm, |nthequest|ouoftheot|g|nof
the|deaofot|g|nals|n FotAgamben,asenseofshame|safuudameutal
patt ofout be|ng because ofoutvetyuncetta|ntyabout outh|stot|cal
andpetsonal caing-out uncetta|ntyabout outptopetplace audtask
bothas|nd|v|dualsandasgtoups Thete|s|neffect,"wt|tesAgambeu,
someth|ngthathumansateandhavetobe,butth|ssometh|ug|suotau
essencenotptopetlyath|ng. itis thcsim/ccteencean ctcnccas
essi/i/ieretcnna/i" ,CC|, ,] ,|tal|cs|not|g|nal)Th|sexpet|euce
bt|ngs wlth |t not just someth|ng l|betat|ng and empowet|ug, but also
someth|nghattow|ng, andleadstothesensethat |nsofatashumauk|nds
mostptopetbe|ng-belngpotent|al-|s|nacetta|nsenselack|ng,|nsofat
as|t can notbe, |t |s thetefotedevold offoundat|on, andhumank|ud|s
notalwaysalteady|npossess|onof|t,"andfotth|steason,humaushave
andfeeladebt",CC,|, ,|o] ). Th|ssenseofow|nganuncetta|n" debt"
leadsAgambentothe|deathatwealwaysalteadyhaveabadconsc|ence
w|thouthavngtocomm|tanyblamewotthyact"-wh|ch,|uachatactet
|st|c tutn,hesays, |sall that|smeantbytheoldtheolog|caldoctt|ueof
z Ihc|niqacandthc|nsaa//
originalsin" ,CC,
_
o] ).

Jhesenseothaving aspecihc oecanenthat

wetailto exercise,a specihc tas/thatwe mustaccomplish,opens us, tol-
lowingAgamben`sideaotshame,tothesensethatwetailtotulhllit.Jhe
tundamental argumentthatAgamben makes intheseworks, however, is
thatwedonothave, andshouldnothave,anysuchdeterminatevocation.
Jurningtomoredi rectlypoliticalmatters, inanessayonhisselt-imposed
exiletromItalyAgambenwritesotshamctromavarietyotangles. aperva
siveexpression otshameincontemporarypoliticaldebatesinItaly, shame
asMarxdehnedit~asortotangerturneduponitselt"~andhnally, the
shame that will come center stage in Rcmnants eHaschaitz shame at
beinghuman" M\E, r,zz] ) . In all thesediscussions,whatweshould
noteisthatAgambenexaminesshameasextendingeyondtheempirical
coordinatesotanyspecihcactsromissions. '
Jo returntoRcmnantseHaschaitz,thisquestionotshamcisatthe
heart otthe ook`s reHections. Agamben begins the third and longest
chapter,entitledShame, orntheSubject," byexpressingsurprise that
thechapterinLevi `s IhcreancdandthcSaocdthattollowshismaster-
tul accountotthe greyzone"isentitledShame"andyet, inAgamben`s
eyes,provestobesuchadisappointment.AgambentracesLevi `sdismissal
otcollective guilt, and the tragic" model olguiltthathe hnds in both
Bettelheim and Des Ires, againstwhomBettelheim inveighs, betore be-
ginninghisownexcursus on thetopicbyrelatingAntelme`s account ol
a studenttrom Bolognawho, when arbitrarilycalled outtromthe ranks
otprisoners marching trom Buchenwald to Dachau at the end otthe
war, blushed a red thatlooked toAntelmelike shame.Agambensaysot
Antelme`stestimony, `uschwitzalsomeansthismuch. thatman,dying,
cannothndanyothersenseinhisdeaththanthisHush,thisshame"R,
rc| ] ) . \hy does this student trom Bologna blush:"Agambenthen
asks, and answers that it is as itthe Hush on his cheeks momentarily
betrayed alimitthatwas reached, as itsomethinglike anewethicalma-
terial ana naeoa matcriactica] were touched upon in the living being"
RA,rc|] ). Inwhatmight seem morelike shockortearthan shame
in the tace otthis Italian youth, Agamben identihes an ontological un-
dercurrent. Jhe surprising location otthis new ethical material " leads
Agambento EmmanuelLvinasandtromLvinasto thelatter`steacher,
Heidegger. Agamben tocuses his attention on Heidegger`s lecturecourse
dedicated to Iarmenides in which the topic otshame receives ample
treatmentandinwhich, tor Heidegger, theCreekterm astouches on
Ihc|niqacandthc|nsaa// z
"fuudaeutal. . . autheutlcGteekuess,"thatshamel s"motethauafeel-
lug"aud,luAgambeu'spataphtase, ls"auemotlvetoualltythatttavetses
auddetetmlueshlswhole8elug.Shamelsthusakludofoutologlcalseutl-
meutthathasltschatactetlstlcplacelutheeucouutetbetweeumauaud
8elug" ,RA, ic ] ) . Fot Heldegget-aud, lu hlswake,Agambeu
shamelsthusmuchmotethauauaffectamougothets.
Heldeggetuudsthls"outologlcalchatactetofshame"mosteatlylu
theexpetleuceofdisgst.AgambeusupplemeutsHeldegget'sscautteBec
tlous ou the dugstthat leads to shamcby tutulug to 8eujamlu. luthe
lattet's Oncwa Scct, disgstls couuected to what 8eujamlu calls au
"obscuteawateuess"thatthetelssomethlugso"aulmal "luhlmthatltcau
be"tecogulzed"bythethlugthatdlsgustshlm.Thlscutlousexpetleuce
leadsAgambeu,luatgumeutatlouthatlsofteudlfhculttofollowbecause
ltlsuuchatactetlstlcallyschematlc,ot,altetuately,hasty),towhatheoffets
asa "ptovlsloualdeuultlouofshame". " Shame| lsuothluglessthauthe
fuudameutalseutlmeutofbelugasa/cct, luthetwoappateutlyopposed
seusesofthlsphtase. to besubjectedaudbesovetelgu" ,R, ic |).

Hete at last we cau gllmpse somethlugofthe seuse behludAgambeu's

mystllugchaptettltle, "Shame, otOuthe Subject" luAgambeu'sac-
couut,shamclsmotethauauaffectbecausetheatcltdesctlbeslsthesame
asthatof"belugasubject"
Thetelsshaelubelugasubjectbecauseouelssubjectedtofotces
beyoudoue's couttol Agambeu thus employs the tetm su/cctlu much
thesamewaythatFoucaultdldFotboththlukets,whatlsesseutlalabout
thetetmsa/cctlsthecoujuuctuteofpasslvltyaudactlvlty.Tobeasubject
lsuotmetelytobeacousclousaudselfawateageutluallugulstlcsltua
tlou,couceptualschema,otsoclalfotumltlstobesubj ectedbyfotcesof
subjectlucatlou,tobesubjectedtouotmsaudcousttaluts-whatFoucault
called "techuologles ofpowet."Audlt ls thlslocatlou, at thewatetshed
betweeuactlvltyaudpasslvlty, that, luacettalu seuse, lsalso thesoutce
ofshame.
Jhe Subj ect olJestimony
At thls polutlu hls atgumeut,Agambeu tutus ftom shameto the
sa/cct, ftomwhathedesctlbes as theoutologlcal chatactetofshameto
the llugulstlc pheuomeuou of"desubjectlhcatlou," to fotms ofteBexlv
zc Ihc|niqacandthc |maa//c
ityorselt-reHexivityvisibleinSpinoza`sobservationsonHebrewgrammar
and in Keats`s letterson poetic creation. In the \estern literary tradi-
tion," writesAgamben, theactotpoeticcreation and, indeed, everyact
otspeech implies somethinglike adesubj ectihcation" ,RA, rr, rc,] ). Io-
etshaveottenexperiencedthisphenomenonasavisitationtromtheMuse,
butwhateveritscharacter,aconstanthasbeenthepoetbecoming,itonly
toramoment other ,asin Rimbaud`sepochalseltdescriptionccstanaa
trc) .Agambendoesnotleave thisexperienceintheprovinceotthepoets
butextendsittoallactsotspeech.\hatiswritlargeinpoetryis,torAg-
amben,writsmallin everyactotspeech. dcsa/cctcanen.
\hatdoesthishavetodowithAuschwitz,withthosewhosurvived
it,thosewhotestihedtoitandtoitsremnants":Jheconnecionisnotan
easyoneto make, andAgambn hrstleads his readersthroughanexcur-
sus onpoeticsubj ectivity, discussing Keats,
Z
Dante, Iessoa, andothers,
withoutaclearendinsight.Agambencontinuestorelatethesepoeticex-
periencesot desubj ectihcation"togrammaticalorlinguisticcoordinates
present ineveryspeech act, and along theway invokes a cardinal point
otreterence trom his earlier work. Benveniste`s researches into the im-
personal tunction otpronouns ,thissameaspectotBenveniste`s research
playsadecisiveroleinthe hnal section otAgamben`s essayInlancyand
History," trom thework otthe same name) . Jo this constellation otlin-
guisticexperiencesandexperimentsisaddedtheApostleIaul `saccountot
g/esse//ia,hisreminderstothepeopleotCorinththatspeakingintongues
shouldalwaysbeaccompaniedbyinterpretationandshouldnotrunaloul
otsensiblespeech),whichAgambenalsoseesasparadigmaticotdesubjec-
tihcation seeRA,rrrc). Itisatthispoint,then,thatitbecomestor
Agambenpossibletoclaritythesenseinwhichshameistrulysomething
like thehidden structureotallsubj ectivityandconsciousness. Insotar as
itconsistssolelyintheeventotenunciation, consciousnessconstitutively
has the torm otbeingconsignedto something that cannotbeassumed"
RA, rz rrzc] ).
Jhisexcursusonpoeticspeechandtheshittingspacesottheselti n
poeticcreationatlastleadsAgambenbacktoAuschwitz,andheproposes
to reread the phenomenology ottestimony" in its light ,RA, rzc ] ) .
Boththelinguisticandthepoeticotternewperspectivesonthequestion
ottestimony, language`s structure ,linguistics) and its most exploratory
instances ,poetry) castlight, torAgamben, onthe matter athand.\ith
this broadened perspective, he returns to the two sides olthe equation
Ihc |niqacandthc|nsaa// zi
ottestimony examined in the hrst chapter. the relation between those
who touched bottom"~or in Levi's other evocative phrase, saw the
Corgon"~who lived the camps in all their integral cruelty, and those
who, like Levi, did notand as aresultlived to bearwitness. In response
tothisperspectiveonsubjectivityandshame,Agamben'snewlyweighted
question becomes wheisthcsa/cctetcsnmen" ,RA, izo U| , italics
inoriginal).
Jhe hne line thatAgamben walks throughout this section otthe
book~inparticularasconcernsthe question ottheparadigmAuschwitz
otters~canbeseenwithspecialclarityintherebukethat.M. Bernstein
lodgesagainstitandthatresemblesmanyotthecriticismsnotedearlier
ItissurclyrighttosaythatthccxtrcmityoIhumansuhcringinvolvcsasystcmatic
undoingoIasubjcct'slinguisticallyrcalizcdintcntionalrclationtothcworld. Cur
owncxpcricnccsoIcxtrcmcpaincouldhavcinIormcdusoI muchAndthusit
mustbccquallyrighttosaythat, cvcn spcakinganimals,wcbclongtoaworld
whosccmphaticprcscnccwouldvitiatcourrclationtoit. Iromthis,itcquallyl-
lowsthatthc biopoliticalworldoIthccamps opcratcs throuthcdisarticulation
oIsubjcctihcation ourspcakingbcin om dcsubjcctihcation mccontingcn
oIliIc) . utnoncoIthisdirccyormcaningmllysccms to bcan thica/rcsponsc
to thcIatcoIthcMs/mann. crnstcin 2OOq, Iq, italicsinoriginal
From this charge otirrelevance Bernstein rapidly moves to the harshest
ot udgments. thatwhatAgamben eects is at most, an aestheticiation
ottheMsc/manns| late lorthesakeola

etaphysics ollanguage ,i|)

Mesnard andanalsospeculatethatben's lailuretounderstan
historiographicaldebatesontheHolocaust"stemsomanaesheticposi-
tion" ,Mesnardandahan zooi,iz6) .

AmorescathingcriticismolAg-
amben'senterprisewouldbediculttotormulate,characterizingasidoe
hisinvestigationotthehgureottheMasc/mannasanaestheticiatio'ol
thathgure'sawltatetorthepurposesotadvancingametaphyicaltheory
otlanguage. Bernstein is doubtless right thatAgamben'sstudyolmodes
otdesubjectihcation is not directly. . . an cthica/responseto thete ot
the Masc/mann " butthis is also notwhatAgamben is claimingto oer.
ether Bernstein's criticism isj ustihedhinges on the actual claim that
benismaking. notthatsuchstudyisadirect. . . ehicresonseto
thetateottheMasc/mann, " but thatitisausellinkinthechainolun-
derstandingthesubj ectolshamethatbenhassetouttolollow.
AlthoughAgamben'sreadersmighteasilybelorgivenlornotnding
zz Ihc|niqacandthc|nsaa//c
andtollowingsuchachain, it is atthispointthatthemotivationbehind
Agamben`sexcursus on traumatictemporality andways otapproaching
aterriblypresent past, alongwithhisreasontorimmediatelytollowingit
withastudyotthemodesotspeechanddesubjectihcation,becomesclear.
ne otthe most tundamental components otwhat Agamben calls the
phenomenologyottestimony" isanexperienceotthetimeinwhichsuch
shametranspires.ashamethatisnotonlywithoutguiltbutevenwithout
time" RA, rc, ,| ) . \ith Heidegger`sphenomenologyclearlyin mind,
Agambenadvancestheclaimthatuschwitzmarkstheirrecoverablecri-
sisotauthentictemporalitytcmera/itreria| ,ottheverypossibilityot
` deciding`onthedisj unction. Jhecamp,theabsolutesituation,istheend
otevery possibility otan originary temporality, that is, otthe temporal
toundation otasingularpositioning space, ota Da. Inthecamp, their-
reparabilityotthepasttakesthetormotanabsoluteimminence",,rz
ii| ) . |ust as Agamben saw inAuschwitz the retutation" otMietzsche`s
thoughtexperimentontheeternalrecurrenceotthesame,"healsoseesin
itthe irrecoverablecrisis"otHeidegger`sexperimentinreconceputalizing
authentictemporality."Jhisabsoluteimminence"recallskairological"
and messianic" conceptions ottime trom IhcMan witheatCentcntto
InnandHisteto Ihc Ceming Cemmani. Like those conceptions,
this temporalityisbasednoton sequentialityandchronologybutrather
onamorecomplexanddynamicinterweavingotpastandpresent.Vhat
is imminentinthe camp is a time otthenow," characterizedabove all
bythesutteringandshameotapastthatone cannot relegatetothepast,
andwhatremainsotthecamp tor so manyotits survivors isapastthat
isnotpast.
Jhisparadoxottraumatic temporalityleadsAgambento Derrida.
Iroceedingalongpreciselythesamepolemicallinesaswesawearlier,he
takesDerridatotasktorconceivingottimeasinhnitedeterral.Agamben
writes,Itishardlyastonishingthatitwaspreciselytromananalysisotthe
pronounI inHusserlthatDerridawasabletodrawhisideaotaninhnite
deterral, an originary disjunction~writing~inscribed in the pure selt-
presence otconsciousness" RA, rz, ii| ) . Here as elsewhere, Agamben
agreeswithmuchot Derrida`sanalysis,butdivergesatthepointwherehe
seesDerridaremaininanaporiaorinhnitedeterral,"ratherthanseeking
totranstormthataporiaintoaeuporia."tthedisj unctionbetweenworld
and text that Derridahighlights~thedisjunctionbetween livingbeing
andlanguage"~Agambensurprisinglyclaimsthat tartromauthorizing
Ihc |niqucandthc|nsaa// z,
the luhulte defettal ofslgulhcatlou-lt] lswhat allows fot testlmouy"
,R, i,cizc] ) . Retutulug,thoughuottefettlug)tohlseatlletaualysesof
thedlffeteucebeteeutheluattlculatevolceoftheuatutalwotldaudthe
attlculatevolceofmauthatAgambeuaualyzesluessayssuchas"ocatlou
audolce" audbookssuchas LangoagcandDcath,Agambeuptogtam-
matlcallyclalmsthat,tcstimenta/cs/ccinthcnen/ccearncu/nen
lutbenouplaceoftheolcestaudsuotwtltlug,butthewltuess" ,RA,i,c
izi] ,ltallcsluotlglual) .Hecoutluues. udltlspteclselybecausethetela-
tlon ,ottathet,uou-telatlou) betweeu thellvlug belug audthespeaklug
belngbasthefotmofshame,ofbelugteclptocallycouslguedtosomethlug
thatcauuot be assumed by a subject, that the cthesofthls dlsjuuctlou
caoulybetestlmouy-thatls, somethlugthatcauuotbeasslguedtoa
subjectbutthatuevetthelesscoustltutesthesubject'soulydwelllugplace,
ltsoulyposslblecouslsteucycenstcnza" ,Ri,c izi] ) .
The llukthatAgambeuaskshlsteadettomakehetelsadlfhcult
oue audluvolvessevetal couuectlous. Agambeu pteseuts the wltuess s
belug lu au lmpottaut tespect llke the poet, aud llke auy speaket setl-
ouslyteBectlugoutheslgulhcauceofhlsothetspeech,lutecogulzluga
dlsjuuctloubetweeu anaura/volce ,llketheoue thatothetaulmalspos-
sess)audacu/tora/volce,whlchsetsusapattftomothetaulmals) . Thlsls
adlsjuuctlou-thedlsj uuctlouofauuumotlvatedslgusystem-thatwe
ateeagettofotgetaudthat,wheuwetemembet,ptoducesauuucettaluty,

auxlety, aud eveu somethlug llke shamc. Thls dlsjuuctlou meaus that,
luAgambeu'swotds, weatecouslguedtosomethlugthatcauuotbeas-
sumedbyasubject"-audthatls,pteclsely,belugasu/cctAgambeutheu
lluks thls /inguncstateofaffalts-commoutoallwhospeak,whethet
theymust testl to the evll thatmau does otto somethlugcompletely
quotldlau aud desultoty-to Heldegget's pheuomeuologlcal aualyses of
shamc. luthlstlghtlycltcllugcoustellatlouofldeas,Agambeubtlugsto-
gethetthehguteofthewltuessashamedofhlm othetselfwlthaseuseof
shamethatlscoustltutlveofhumausubjectlvlty.Whatlstevealedluthe
spotllghtofAuschwltzlsashamethatlsoutsatevetymomeutaudevety
step-hatevetoutludlvldualshateofgulltaudwhethetweateawateof
ltotuot.
Wlththlslumlud,Agambeututusftomaheotyoftestlmouyaud
theshameltlucltesbacktoAuschwltzaudLevlsquestloucoucetulugthe
humauaudltsllmlts.Agambeuwtltes, "Letustheufotmulatethethesls
thatsummatlzesthelessouofAuschwltz. Ihchuman/cingthcencahe
Ihc|niqacandthc |nsaa//
cansaricthchaman/cing/ aemerce/aichcaseraoiocrca//aeme
RA, r, r] , italics in original) . As Levi remarked, the Masc/mnncr
werethecomplete"orintegralwitnesses itcstimeniintcgra/ ,andwhat
theyborewitness to, inAgamben`swords, isthat thchaman/cingisthc
inhaman thc encahesc hamaniis cem/ctcdcstrecdis thc encahe is
trahamanRA, r,, r,] ,italicsin original) . Jhisseemingoxymoronis
notascounterintuitiveasitmighthrstappearwhenwerecallhowweac-
tuallyusetheword inhamanAsnotedearlier, the inhamanissomething
that is in tact all too human. \e use the word inhuman not to denote
higher or lower orders such as gods or animals) but instead to reter to
human behaviorthatis, torus,belowthebarotcivilization,unworthyot
howwewouldlikehumanstobe.\hatAgambenseesinthisparadoxical
lessonotAuschwitz" isthattehuman andtheinhumanarenotequal
andinverseimages. Jhis ideaaboutthehumanas inhumanatlastleads
Agamben to the title othiswork. Jhe paradox here is that itthe only
one bearingwitness to the human is the one whose humanity has been
whollydestroyed"~Agambenisherereterringtothereducedstateotthe
Masc/mnncr-s means that the identitybetween human andinhu-
manisneverpertectandthatitisnottrulypossibletodestroythehuman,
that somethingalways rcmains chcresta scmrcqaa/cesa| . Ihc aitncss is
this rcmnantiltestimone quelresto RA, r,,r,rz,] ,italicsinorigi-
nal) .JheliteraltranslationotAgamben`sItaliantitleis\hatRemainsot
Auschwitz," andherehetellsusthatwhatremainsisthe aitncss.
Agamben next links this paradox~thc haman /cing is thc inha
manthcencaheschamaniiscem/ctcdcstrecdisthcencaheistra
hama"~toanother.AtterreadingAntelme`s IhcHamanRacc,Blanchot
concludedthatmanistheindestructiblethatcanbeinhniteldestroyed"
citedatRA,r,r,] ) . Agambeninterpretsthesetwoparadoxesinlight
otone othis most tundamentally held ideas~one about human nature
and its essence. Jhere is no human essence, the human being is a po-
tentialbeing ancsscrcdietcnza RA, r, r] ). Byclaimingthatthe
human being is a potential being" Agamben is drawingwhat he sees as
the necessaryconsequence otthe absence ota human essence. Forhim,
itis notsomealreadyattainedstateoralreadydevelopedtacultysuchas
speechorreason)thatdehneshumanbeing,justasitisnotsomespecihc
historical task or vocation. For this reason, human essence and human
existencearenottobeseparated. Haman/cingis, torAgamben,etcnna/
/cingin the sense that the only coherent dehnition ota being without
Ihc|niqacandthc |nsaa// z,
uxedesncel s etcntia/i.Alougsldetheuumltlgatedhottotof whathu-
mausatecapableofdolugtooueauothet-fotwhlchtheteseemtobeuo
llmlts-what the aincss ofAgambeu's tltle beats wltuess tels pteclsely
thlspoteutlalltyluallltsethlcalcomplexlty.
ZO
lotAgambeu,Auschwltzls the mosthattowlugptoofcoucelvable
ofthe coutlugeut, ptofaue, aud poteutlal uatute ofhumau belug. The
catasttophlcsltuatloulttepteseutsptovldestheelemeutsfotacleatetcou-
ceptlouofwhatltmeaustobehumauaudwhatltmeaustobeaspeaklug
subject.luothetwotds,thetelsfotAgambeualessoutobeleatuedftom
thetemuautsofAuschwltzaboutwhatltmeaustobehumau.Thehatd-
estaspectofthlslessoulleslutheldeathatthesamefteedom-thesame
poteutlalltyhatlsmau'sesseuce-thatmadesuchhottotsposslblelsalso
theoulyouethatcauhelpusuudetstaudaudcombatthosehottots.Fot
thlsteasou,luthecatasttophetowhlchAgambeulsdltectlughlsteadet's
atteutlouthetelscoutaluedaftagllettuthabouttheuatuteofbelughu-
mauthat,luhlsvlew,couldalltooeasllysllpthtoughhlstoty'shauds.
Jhe Achive
To uudetstaudwhat"temalus"ofAuschwltz,ofthe"atchlve"audof
"testlmouy,"wemusttututothefoutthaudhualsectlouofthebook.wa
latek,zoo,)haswtltteuthatgambeu'steBectlou. . . leadsuotoulytoa
tedehultlouoftestlmouybutalsotoauewtheotyofeuuuclatlouaudsub
jectlvlty",zoz).luthlsestlmatlou,howevet,shehasstoodtelatlvelyaloue.
Dttmauu,whooffetedglowlugptalsefotsuchwotksasIdaePresc aud
IhcCemingCemmani,feltlmpelledtouotethat"thelastchaptetofhc
RcmnantseHaschailshatdly mote thau a sketch, a htst dtaftwhlch
auuouuces the uufoldlugofthe atgumeut," though wlthout explalulug
whyAgambeuchosetopubllshsuchptematutehudlugs,Dttmauuzooi,
,). ThlslastchaptetofRcmnantseHaschaishatesthebook's subtltle.
"TheAtchlve aud Testlmouy." Wheteas the questlou oftestlmouy has
beeupteseutslucethebook'sutstllues,thequestlouothearchiiclshtst
luttoducedhete. Thechaptetbegluswlthauauecdotethatathtstslght
hasuothlugtodowlthAuschwltzotauatchlve.howoueofthemostbtll-
llauttheotetlclausofspeechlosttheabllltytospeak.AsAgambeutelates,
oueeveuluglui6

mlle8euveulstesuffetedasttokeluaatlslaustteet.
Thewotldteuowuedllugulstaudmembetofthe Ce//gedcranceawoke
z Ihc|niqacandthc |nsaa//c
tohndhimseltunabletospeak~astateinwhichhewouldremaintorthe
hnalthreeyearsothislite
Although it remains implicit in Agamben`s account, Benveniste`s
tateottersanemblematicbeginningtothishnalsectionotthebookinits
posinganewtheproblemotbearingwitness. Ierhapsmorethananyother
thinkerothisgeneration,Benvenistetocusedhisattentiononthestructure
otthesituationsinwhichstatementsweremade,onhowsuch statements
weresociallycircumscribed,andhowtheywereconditionedbyaprocess
otsubjectihcation inwhich language played the leading role. Jhat this
thinkerwhosawmoreclearlythananyotherintothisdiyinglycomplex
held otsubjectivityandspeech suttered the cruel ironyotbeinghimsell
strucksilentandtherebypreventedtromhnallydevelopinghisprojectola
metasemanticsconstructedonthebasisotasemanticsotenunciation"is,
itappears,thereasonheisplacedatthechapter'soutset. Viththishnal
and unhnished project in mind,Agambenasks, Vhat did Benveniste
glimpse betore talling into aphasia:" ,RA, i, iz] ) . For Agamben, an
indication is to be tound in the thinker who developed this theory ot
enunciation into the same realm otageneral metasemantics otenuncia-
tionthatBenveniste hadplanned. Foucault. ,Itwas thissameconceptol
cnanciatienthatprovedsoimportanttorFoucaultinaworkthatappeared
the sameyear inwhich Benveniste telltragicallysilent. IhcHrchace/e
enea/cdgc.)DespitetheclarityandinsightotFoucault'sexplorations
inthisdomain,AgambenseesFoucaultashavingomittedakeyaspectol
Benveniste`stheory. Inhisunderstandableconcerntodehnearcheology's
terrainwith respect to otherknowledgesanddomains, Foucault appears
to haveneglected~at least to a certain point~to consider the ethical
implicationsothistheoryotstatements" ,RA, i,i] ) . VhatAgamben
claims that Foucault neglected is thus no peripheralmatter, but instead
thevery ethical implications" without which any such theory remains
incomplete. Jo remedythis shortcoming,Agamben turns to a ditlerent
work otFoucault`s~his late essay Jhe Lite otIntamous Men," origi-
nallywritten as apretace to an anthologyotarchival /cttrcsdccachct. In
Agamben`swords,anamelivessolelyinthedisgracethatcoveredit"~a
disgrace"thattorAgambenbearswitnesstolite beyondallbiography"
,RA, i, i,,] ) . VhatAgamben sees here is not the subject's lace, but
rather the disjunction between the living being and the speaking being
thatmarksitsemptyplace",RA,i, i,,] ) . Betoreotteringhisownversion
otthis ethical element that Foucault neglected in his metasemantics ot
Ihc|niqucandthc|nsaa//c z;
euuuclatlou, audbefoteelucldatlugthls"llfebeyoudallblogtaphy" that
hesawluauothetofFoucaultstexts,Agambeututustothearchiicuamed
luthebookssubtltle.
TowhatsottofatchlvelsAgambeutefettluglshelutetestedluau
ldeaofthe atchlveaftetthe fashlou ofDettldasHrchiicFcicr,i,), lu
thefevetlshuueasethatauatchlvecauptoduce, audluthedlfhcultyof
atchlvlug,ofuxlugaudlocatlug,thetemuautsofthepastluawaythatls
ttuetothatpastaudthatcaubettuefotthepteseut-audfotthefutute
FotAgambeu, as fot Dettlda, the archiicposes a ptoblem ofhlstotlcal
kuowledgeaudofthecodlhcatlouofcultute ltlscoucetuedwlthboth
cousetvatlouaudteuovatlou,audltteBectstheltteuslous ltwouldalso
seemftomAgambeustltlethatthetemuauts ofAuschwltzatetealaud
couctete-the wltuesses aud the atchlve fotmed ftom thelt testlmouy,
ftomthedocumeutsofthosewho petlshedadthosewhoplauued,aslu
thecaseofthedocumeutsoutheFlualSolutlouthatsutvlvedtheSSsat-
tempttodesttoytheltexteuslveatchlves).Totheseatchlveswouldptesum-
ablybeaddedtheatchlvetepteseutedbythetemuautsofAuschwltz-the
physlcalplace-ltsel Couvettedluoaplaceofmoutulugaudmemoty
fotthepastaudthefutute,ltlsalsoaslteofcouteutlou,amplyteBectedlu
teceutyeatsbytheattemptoubehalfoftheatea'sCathollccommuultyto
etectactossthete,aswellasluthevlsltofaGetmaupope,8euedlctl,
luzoo6).AllofthesethlugstemaluofAuschwltz,audouemlghtwlthj us-
tlcecallthesetemuautsauarchiicetuoueofthesethlugscottespoudsto
thearchiicthatAgambeuhaslumludluhlsbookshualchaptet
The tetm so loug awalted-uamed as lt ls lu the subtltle but uot
appeatlug uutll thls late lu thewotk-ls thus luttoduced uot lu auyof
lts couveutloual seuses butlustead, as a techulcal tetm "Foucaultglve
the uame atchlve, Agambeu temluds hls teadets, "to the posltlve dl-
meuslouthatcottespoudstotheplaueofeuuuclatloucnuncienc| , the
geuetalsystemofthefotmatlouaudttausfotmatlouofstatemeutscnun
ciat ,,i|, i,,] ) . Agambeuscltatlouhetelsftom IhcHrchace/ee
neu/cdgc, wheteluarchiiclsuudetstoodluaspeclal,metaphotlcalseuse
ltlsuotacollectlouofobjectsauddocumeuts,acatalogueotcollectlou
ptesetvedftom thepastfotthefutute,buttathetasystematlcmattlxot
"geuetalsystem"fotthemaklugofstatemeutsataglveutlmeaudluaglv-
euplace.,AgambeupataphtasesFoucaultsldeaoftheatchlveaspteclsely
"thesetoftuleswhlchdehuetheeveutsofdlscoutse",i|,,i,,| )
Agambeus speclal use ofthetetm archiiclslultlallyclose to the
z Ihc|niqacandthc |nsaa//c
one Foucault developedtrom Benveniste, and Agambenwill thus dehne
thearchive" as the mass otthenon-semantic nenscmannce| inscribed
in everymeaningtul discourse as a tunction otits enunciation, it is the
dark margin encircling and limiting everyconcrete act otspeech" RA,
,] ) . InAgamben`s hands, archiocthus means the opposite otwhat
isotten meantbytheterm,theoppositeotexistingcollectionscontaining
the remnantsotthepast.Hrchiocsignihesherenotan aggregatebodyot
actualdocumentsorstatementsbutthedarkmarginencirclingandlim-
itingeveryconcreteactotspeech."InthecounterintuitivesenseAgamben
is employinghere, the archive is not the storehouse otthe said but the
shadowydomain otall thatwent unsaid. In otherwords, the archioc, in
Agamben'smodihedsense, ispreciselythatwhichdoesnotappearinany
archive,itiswhatdoesnetappearinstatements,itistheirdarkmargin,"
illegiblebutshaping.
AtterrecastingtheideaotthearchiocinthewakeotBenvenisteand
Foucault,Agambenisatlastreadyto clari[thetullsenseothissubtitle.
In opposition to the archioc, which designates the system otrelations
betweentheunsaidandthesaid,wegivethenametcstimentothesystem
otrelationsbetweentheinsideandtheoutsideot/ngc,betweenthesay-
ableand the unsayablein everylanguage~thatis,betweenapotentiality
otspeech anditsexistence, between apossibilityandanimpossibilityot
speech" R, , | , italics in original). Chapter and subtitle do not
thus name two terms that are simply opposed. Instead, theyname dit-
terent modalities, ditterent perspectives on the potentialities otspeech.
Hrchiocisconcernedwiththerelationsbetweentheunsaidandthesaid"
andthuspointstowardthepast,theunsaid"inthemarginsotthesaid. "
stimenis concerned with thesame thng~the actotspeech~but it
considersitinanotherlight.ForAgamben,tcsnmenisthesystemotrela-
tionsbetween. . . thesayableandtheunsayable,"andthusthepotentiality
otthepresent.Althoughtheparallelisnototteredwithasmuchclarityas
one is accustomed to hndinginAgamben`s writing, it is clear thatwhat
thearchiveison thelevelotthesaid, testimonyisonthelevelotthcsa
a//c. By this same token, whatthe archive isonthelevelotacma/ithe
said), testimonyisonthelevelotetcnna/ithesayable). Forthis reason
Agambencangoontosay,summoningthetermstamiliartromhisanaly-
ses otAristotle, that because testimony is the relation between a pos-
sibilityotspeechanditstakingplace,itcanexistonlythrougharelation
to an impossibility otspeech~that is, onlyas cennngcnc, as a capacity
Ihc|niqacandthc |nsaa//c z
not to be anetcrnen crc| , , i|, i,,] , italics in original. Jhese
twotermsthattormthesubtitleandexplainthetitleotAgamben'stent
bookaretusanintegralpartothisprojectotconceivingtheuestionot
potentialityinimmediateconjunctionwiththeuestionollanguageand
its speaking subject. Jhe human being isthespeaking being 'aemer
i/arntc| , saysAgamben, returningto adecisive term lrom anearlier
phase othiswork, because it is capable otits own intancy innz| "
,, i|6 i,,i,6] ) . Itishere thatAgambenrendersexplicithis choice ot
termsandmakes cleartherelationshipothisideaolcennngcntoetcnn
a/icontingencyisnotonemodalityamongothers, alongsidepossibil-
ity,impossibility, andnecessity. itistheactualgivingolapossibility, the
wayinwhichapotentialityexistsassuch. . . ontingencyispossibility
puttothetestolasubject",,i|i,6)
Jheintroductionhereottheterm cennngcnleadsAgambenback
to the subjectwith which he started. Sa/ccniiis, inhiswords, that
which,initsverypossibilityotspeech,bearswitnesstoanimpossibiityot
speech" ,RA,i|6i,6 ). Itspeechiscontingent,thepossibilitythatspeech
mightnetbepossiblemustbetakeninallitsseriousness. Jhisseriousness
istobeviewednotonlyonanempiricallevel,asinthecaseolsomeone
be it Benveniste or the kcmanndeprived otspeech, but also on a
me/one. For Agamben, testimony is a potentiality that becomes ac-
tual through an impotentialityotspeech" ,, i| i,) Jhis lormula
too risks being misunderstood ilwe do not recall Agamben's point ol
departure. the structural impossibilities ottesti[ingto the remnants ol
Auschwitzthat Levi details. In Levi's vision, thosewho trulywitnessed
the camps inall theirhorrorthosehe calls integralwitnesses"were
torever rendered speechless, and itwas thus ,empirically) impossible lor
them to testi[ to what they had witnessed. Following Agamben, this
impossibility" provides the toundation tor thevocation olthe survivor
,suchasLevi) who isbearingwitness.Joadopttheterms olanother one
otLevi`s titles, it is the testimony olthose who were drowned by thoe
whoweresaved. Jheaxiom thatAgamben drawslromLevi 's experience
is that testimony is a potntiality that becomes actual trough an im-
potentiality otspeech." Vhat was in Levi's account merely an empiri-
calimpotentialityotspeech"isextendedbyAgambento encompassthe
contingentnatureotallspeechacts.Jhisdoesnotmeanthatthosespeech
actsweremeaningless,onlythattheycarrywiththemanimpotentiality"
inthesensethatgiventhatourworldisacontingentonenoabsolute
z
Ih niqacandthc|nsaa//
necessity gied them, and it mightjustas well have coe to ass that
theywerenotspoken.
At thispointAgambenturnsto somethingthatwasnotexplicitin
HemeSaccrandthathas ledsomanyreaders to pass over in silencethe
sectionotthatworkwhere thequestionotpotentialityisraised.\hatis
renderedexplicitinRcmnantseHaschaitzistherelationotthosecatego-
riestothebiopoliticalstrugglethatAgambendedicatedhimselttoanalyz-
ing. Asearlyasi}}c~hveyearsbetoreHemeSaccr-hadstressedthe
philosophicalstakesotareconceptualizationotthemodalitiesotpotenti-
ality, actuality, necessity, andcontingency, claimingthatthetaskotthe
comingphilosophy"wouldbetoredehnetheentiredomainotcategories
andmodality" I,;6 ;;| ) . Intheyearsthattollowedhewouldemphasize
thatthiswasalsothetaskotae/itica/philosophy.
Jhe sense in which this reconceptualization is a pressing concern
notonlytoranontologybutalsotorapoliticalphilosophyworthyotour
times ismadeclearinRcmnantseHaschaitzwhereAgambenstatesthat
itis timetoattemptto redehnethecategoriesotmodalitytromtheper-
spective that interests s. Jhe modal categories~possibility, impossibil-
ity, contingency, necessity~are notinnocuouslogicalorepistemological
categories that concern the structure otpropositions or the relation ot
something to our taculty otknowledge. Jhey are ontological operators
ecrateriente/egc| ~thatis, edevastatingweaponsuseinthebiopo-
liticalstruggletorBeingagigantemachia/iee/incacr/sscrc| ,inwhich
a decision is made each time on the human and the inhuman. . . . Jhe
held otthis battle is subjectivity" ,R, i6; i6;| ) . Mot only does
this declaration bring togetherwhat in HemeSaccrremainedonly indi-
rectlylinked, which the readerneeded to read between the lines otthat
work~therelationotetcnta/ito /iee/itics-alsoclosesalargerarc
otAgamben`settortsovertheprecedingtwentyyears.Jhisiswhatbinds
Ihc CemingCemmaniwith HemeSaccrthe tormer is aworktocused
on modal thinking and its relation to collective identities, whereas the
latterturnstopoliticalparadigmstorsuchpotentialities. Inbooksandes-
saysthroughoutthisperiod, Agambenapproachesmodalcategoriestrom
a striking variety otperspectives. His aim, however, remains constant
thedevelopmentotaphilosophyotpotentialityandanauthenticideaot
individual and collective vocation. In Rcmnants eHaschai, Agamben
is thus voicing one othis innermost convictions. the inseparability ot
metaphysicaltrompoliticalconcepts.ForAgamben,exploringlogicaland
Ihc|niqacandthc|nsaa// zi
outolo categotlesl suecessatyfoteffectlugtealpolltlcalchauge,aud
fot thls easou he speaks ofoutologlcal ecraters. Fothlm, outologlcal
opetatots-themodalcategotlesofposslblllty,lmposslblllty,coutlugeucy,
auduecesslty-ateecranicelemeutsshaplugoutpolltlcallaudscape.
WhattheutemalusfotAgambeulshowtotecoucelvethesemodal
categotles. Hesttessesthatltlsctuclalthatwe netapptoachthemasthe
cousequeucesofamodetucouceptloofthesucct. ,Theteadetshould
tecallthatAgambeuttacedageuealoyofthemodetucouceptlouofsa/
cctiiitweutyyeats eatllet lu InnandHte.) "The categotles of
modalltyateuotfouudedouthesubject,asautmalutalus,uotatethey
detlvedftomlt,"wtltesAgambeu, "tathet,thesubjectlswhatlsatstake
lutheptocessesluwhlchtheylutetact.Theydlvldeaudsepatate, luthe
subject,whatlsposslbleaudwhatlslmposslble,thellvlugbelugaudthe
speaklug belug, theMasc/mannaudthe wltuess-aud lu thlswaythey
declde ou the subject" , i|; iy;| ). FotAgambeu, lt ls uotthe sub-
jectthat dccidcsoults modalltlesofbelug lusteadltlsthesemodalltles
thatshapethefotmssubjectlvltytakes. luothetwotds,the"subject,"fot
Agambeu,lsuotaselfcettaluactautthatchoosesthls otthatmode,but
tathetthepolutouwhlchtheoutologlcalopetatotsofaglveuplaceaud
tlmeatetutued.Agambeusttessesthat"modalcategotles,asopetatotsof
8elugecrateridcsscrc| ,uevetstaudbefotethesubjectassomethlughe
cau choose ottejectaudtheydouotcouftouthlmasataskthathecau
decldetoassumeotuottoassumeluaptlvllegedmomeutThesubject,
tathet,lsaueldoffotcesalwaysalteadyttavetsedbythelucaudesceutaud
hlstotlcallydetetmluedcutteutsofpoteutlalltyaudlmpoteutlallty" ,,
i|;i| iy;|) Agambeulshetectltlclzluguotoulytheautlaucoucep-
tlouofthesubject,asheexpllcltlystates,butalsothetadlcaldeclsloulsm
ofHeldegget'sldeaofsubjectlvlty.WheteasHeldegget'sDascincauchoose
toacceptltscoutlugeutuatute,cautecogulzeottejectmodalcategotls,
we uud lu Rcmnantsa vlslou ofsubjectlvltycloset to that ofFoucault
Thlslsasubjectthatlsaboveallsa/cctcd-ls,subj ecttofotces,as
muchas lt ls a selfafutmlug soutce ofactlou "Ftom thls petspectlve,"
Agambeutheuwtltes,"Auschwltztepteseutsthehlstotlcalpolutluwhlch
theseptocessescollapse, thedevastatlugexpeteuceluwhlchthelmpos-
slblelsfotcedlutothetealnc/rca/c| ,RA,i|i,;,|) WhatAgambeu
lsvolclughetels uot a motal lmpetatlve such asthatAuschwltz tepte-
seuts somethlug "lmposslbly" bad btought luto thewold ,"fotced luto
theteal"). lustead, the"lmposslble"luquestloulsthelltetalpasslvltyof
z}z Ihc|niqacandthc |nsaa//c
subjectivityanditdirectsAgamben`sreaderto thepointwhere asubjectis
subjectedtosomuch,istorcedtointegrallyexperienceitsownimpotence,
its own powerlessness, its own inherently subjected state so mercilessly,
thatthatverysubj ectivityseemstocontracttoaHickeringpoint.
Agamben`sdiscussionotFoucaulthadatanearlierpointtouchedon
thelatter`sreconceptualizationottheauthorandwhatFoucaultcalledthe
author tunction." Returningto the ideaotthe author,Agambenotters
a concise historyotthe term, stressingthatits modernmeaningappears
relativelylate. InLati

,"Agambennotes, aacteroriginallydesignatesthe
personwhointervenesinthecaseotaminor,orthepersonwho,torwhat-
everreason,doesnothavethecapacitytopositalegallyvalidact) inorder
togranthim thevalidtieherequires,"buthealso points outthatolder
meanings otthe term include vendor," he who advises or persuades,"
andwitness" ,RA,i i| ). Inwhatwaycanatermthatexpressedthe
ideaotthecompletionotanimpertectact anatteimctte| alsosignity
seller,adviser, andwitness`\hatisthecommoncharacterthatliesatthe
root otthese apparently heterogeneous meanings` " ,RA, i i| ). Jhe
lastottheseistheonethatmostinterestsAgamben,bringingtogetherasit
does aitncssandaather,andtherebyevokingtheauthorialwitnesseswith
whichhebeganhisinvestigation.
Jo claritythisconceptionotaatheri, aswellas its attendantcon-
ception otsa/cctii, involves, tor Agamben, distinguishing the vari-
ous Latin terms tor aitcss. Ittcstisdesignates the witness insotarashe
intervenes as a third party in a suit between two subject

," Agamben
writes, anditsacrstcsindicates the onewhohas tullylivedthrough an
experienceandcantheretorerelateittoothers, aactersignihesthewitness
insotarashistestimonyalwayspresupposessomething~atact,athing,or
awordthatpreexistshimandwhoserealityandtorcemustbevalidated
orcertihed" ,RA,i};c i}o| )Agambencontinues. Itisthuspos-
sible to explainthe sense otthetermaacterinthe poets as ` tounderota
race orcity,` aswell asthegeneralmeaningot`settinginto being` identi-
hedbyBenvenisteastheoriginalmeaningotaagcrcAsiswellknown,the
classicalworldisnot acquaintedwith creation cxnihi/e tor theancients
everyactotcreationalwaysimpliessomethingelse, eitheruntormedmat-
terorincompleteBeing,whichistobecompletedor`madetogrow.'Every
creator is always a co-creator, every author a co-author. Jhe act otthe
aactercompletestheactotanincapableperson, givingstrengthotproot
towhatinitseltlacksitandgrantinglite towhatcouldnot|ivealone. It
Ihc |niqacandthc|nsaa// zy]
cau couvetselybesaldthatthelmpetfectactotlucapacltyptecedes the
aactersact, aud that the lmpetfectact completes audglves meulugto
thewotdofthewltuess. Auauthot'sactthatclalmstobevalldou
ltsowulsuouseuse,justasthesutvlvot'stestlmouyhasttuthaudateasou
fotbelugoulylfltlscompletedbytheouewhocauuotbeatwltuess.The
sutvlvotaudtheMasc/mann,llkethetutotaudthelucapablepetsouaud
thecteatotaudhlsmatetlal, atelusepatabletheltuultydlffeteucealoue
coustltutestestlmouy",,,oo|) .
ThesemautlchlstotlesoftheseLatlutetmsfotaitcssthatateuec-
essatyfotatevlslouofoutmodalcategotlesalsosetvetoexplaluthesltu-
atlouluwhlchthosellkeLevlfouudthemselves.luacettalutespect,thls
sltuatlou,followlugAgambeu,was thatofevety-uudetstoodlu
theotlglualseuseofthetetm-uomattetlfofpoettyotofptose,ofhc-
tlouotofuouhctlou,uomattetlftheltcteatloulsacltyotapoemThe
aatherstacmrc-Agambeulluksvlathe semautlc hlstotyofthe
Latlu tetm to a crcanenstacmrcuudetstoodas theshaplugofpteexlst-
lugmatetlal-setvesto explaluthe seuse ofuuease ofauauthotsuchas
Levl.Thlsmlghtseemasttaugetask,fotouauempltlcallevelltlshatdly
dlfhculttolmagluewhyLevlshouldhavefeltsuchuueaseluhlspattlcu-
latauthotfuuctlou. Hefeltthecoufuslouaudsottowofhavlugsutvlved
wheteothetspetlshed, ofowlughlssutvlvaltoaseemluglytaudomcou-
tlugeucy-thathewasachemlstluaplaceaudatatlmewhetethatfact
couldsavehlsllfe-aswellasthedespaltofbelouglugtothesame"hu-
mautace"thatactedwlthsuchuuteleutlugaudseemluglyluhumauctu-
elty.Agambeu'stask,howevet,lsuotslmplytouudetstaudLevl'sauthotlal
uuease,butto uudetstaudau uueasefatmotevast,whlchAgambeusees
asluhabltlugallattemptstobeatwltuess.
Levi`s Iaradox
AlthoughLevllsuotdlscussedluthlssectlououauthotaudaacter,
hlssltuatloulsuotdlfhculttoteadbetweeultsllues,audltlsthushatd-
lysutptlslugthat luthe followlug sectlouAgambeu tetutus towhathe
uames"Levl'spatadox,"lacoulcallyfotmulatedas."theMase/mannlsthe
completewltuess i/tcsnmencintegac| " ,,,o o| ) . Thlslutegtalot
completewltuess,whlchouemlghthavetakeullghtlyasahguteofdlfh-
cultspeech,lsouethatAgambeutakeslltetally,developlugltlutoauaxl
z Ihcniqacandthcnsaa//c
omottcstimenand the aatherithatgroundsthe actottestityin
[
.Aswe
haveseen, the i nte
[
ralwitness" the Masc/mann) is onewhocouldnever
bearwitness. Jheretore, thetrueorintegralwitness isheorshewhocan-
notbearwitness thisisLevi `sparadox") . \hatAgambenseesexpressed
inthisparadoxis nothingotherthantheintimatedualstructureottes-
timonyasanactotanaacter, astheditterenceandcompletionotanim-
possibility and possibility otspeaking, otthe inhuman and the human,
a living being an oiocntc| and a speaking being anar/ntc| RA, i,i
ii| ) .
\ith the clarihcation ot this authorial structure and the modal
categories that determineit,Agamben canreturn to thequestionotthe
unique and the unsayable. tthoseho wish to quali[Auschwitzas
precisely that,Agambensays, ttheymean to saythatAuschwitzwas a
unique event in the taceotwhich the witness must in somewaysubmit
hiseverywordto the testotan impossibilityotspeaking, theyareright.
But itjoininguniquenessto unsayability, theytranstormAuschwitzinto
arealityabsolutelyseparatedtromlanguage,ittheybreakthetiebetween
an impossibility and a possibility otspeaking that, in the Masc/mann,
constitutes testimony, then theyunconsciouslyrepeatthe Mazi `s gesture
otsilencing " RAr, i| ) . |ust as in LangagcandDcathaswell as,
inlessdirecttashion,invirtuallyallotAgamben`sworkstromInncand
Histeto Ihc CemingCemmani- Benj aminianprojectotelimi-
natingtheunsayable" iscontinued. Inthoseearlierinstancestheconcern
wasageneralone.eliminating"theideathatlanguagecarriedaconcealed
secret,atranscendenttormula,asacredkernelthatitwashumanity`stask
touncover.InRcmnantseHaschaiwhatisatissueistheeliminationot
somethingmoreconcretelyunsayable.ForBenj amin,astorAgamben,the
unsayable" is an illusion tostered by an ideaotthe sacred. Here, inthe
contextotthespecihchistoricaleventthatwasAuschwitz,thecontoursot
Agamben`squestioncanbeseenwithunprecedentedprecision.Jo relegate
something to the realm otthe unsayable is to give it a sacred aura that
does itadisservice. ForAgamben, toleaveAuschwitzinsilence, to raise
orlowerittothestatusottheunsayable,"notonlyrepeatsthegestureot
the Mazis endeavoring to consi
[
n thosewho perished there to oblivion,
but also plays into the hands otthose todaywho would strive to negate
theHolocaust.In otherwords, tryin
[
to appropriatetheprerogativeotthe
unsayableis, torAgamben,supremelyilladvised.
\e woulddowelltorecallatthispointthatHe/ecaastisnotaterm
Ihc |niqacandthc|nsaa// z,
thatambeuhlmselfemploys ltlsatetmthathelufactobjectsto, of-
fetlugcompelllugatgumeutsagalusttheuseofbothltaudSheah.edoes
sofotthesameteasouthathecombatstheldeaofau"uusayable"eucltcled
byasactedauta.AseatlyasHemeSaccrhedeuouucedthetetmHe/ecaust
fotltssactedaudsactlhclaltoues,wtltlugthat"thewlshtoleudasactlhcal
autato teextetmluatlou oftheews bymeausofthetetmolocaust
was . . . au lttespouslble hlstotlogtaphlcal blluduess" ,S, IIq iz).
Elabotatlugouthlssamepolutlu RcmnantseHaschai heuotes that
he/ecaast,detlvlugftomtheGteekfot"completelybutued,"wasapatt|stlc
tetmusedbytheChutchFathetslumoteotlessautlSem|tlcfash|outo
t|dlculetheoetlugofbloodyotbututsact|hces.Agambeusaysthat"|u-
sofatasltlmpllesthesubstltutlouofal|tetaleptess|ouw|thauatteuuated
otaltetedexptess|oufotsomethlugthatouedoesuotactuallywauttoheat
meutloued,thefotmatlouofaeuphem|smalwaysluvolvesamb|gu|t|es. lu
thlscase,howevet, theamblgultylslutoletable" ,,yi z|) . Thlsambl-
gultylsfouudalmostaslutoletableastheotheteuphem|sm|uquest|ou
Sheah,a Hebtewtetm meaulugcatasttophe)-whlchls usedlutheOld
Testameutlu thecoutextofdlvlue tettlbutlou audthetebylmplles that
theewswetebelugpuulshedfottheltwaywatduess.
To tetututothechatgeoftheuusayableaudthewaysluwhlchsuch
auattltude uotoulycottespouds to theluteutlousoftheNazls butalso
playsluto thehaudsofolocaust deulets, Agambeuwt|tes that "Levls
atadoxcoutalustheoulyposslbletefutatlouofevetydeulaloftheexls-
teuceoftheextetmluatloucampseiargemcntencgienuta| " ,,i|
i,y| ). As we saw eatllet, "Levls patadox" ls dehued as "theasc/mann
lsthecompletewltuess."Thatthls ls apatadox audthatltshouldbeat
Levl'suamelseasyeuoughtouudetstaud,buthowltcoustltutesthete-
tatlou ofcicuegatloulstatgumeut ls auothet mattet.Agambeucla|ms
thatlfAuschwltzls"thattowhlchltlsuotposslbleto beatwltuess"aud
theMasc/mannls"theabsolutelmposslbllltyofbeatlugw|tuess," theulf
the Masc/mann beatlugwltuess thtough auothetlseffected, sotoo cau
Auschwltzbeattestedtoasawhole. lftheasc/mann|shewho cauuot
beatwltuessaudyetthesutvlvotbeatswltuessfoth|mothet,au,emp|tl-
cal) lmposslbll|tylsmadeposs|ble.Agambeus atgumeutholdsthatthls
appllestothecampsasawhole. ewtltes,"lfthew|tuessbeatswltuess
fottheMasc/mann,|fhesucceedslubt|uglugtospeechau|mposslblllty
ofspeech-lftheMasc/mannlsthuscoustltutedasthewholewltuess i/
tcsnmencintcga/c- the deu|al ofAuschwltzlsteted lu |tsvety
z}6 Ihc |niqacandthc |nsaa//c
toundation" RA,i6 i;| ) . Jhisanalogyis onethat,torAgamben,must
holdinordertorhispositiontohold,yetitrequiresthatoneseeaseeming
impossibilityovercomeinonedomainastantamounttoitbeingovercome
inanother.
ItthesurvivorbearswitnessnottothegaschambersortoAuschwitz
butto theMasc/mann, ithe speaks onlyon the basis otan impossibility
otspeaking," Agamben claims, then his testimony cannot be denied"
,R, i6 i;| ) . Yetwemighteasilyaskwhythisshouldbeso.Itthebasis
otnegationistarguments isaquestionaboutthe reliabi|ityottestimony,
thenit seemsthatthespecterotrelativismcannotbe banishedwithan ar-
gumentsuch asAgambenmakeshere. In consequence, the nextsentence
in Agamben`s book is almost disquieting in its peremptory certainty.
`uschwitz~thattowhichitisnotpossibletobearwitness~isabso|utely
andirretutablyproven"RA,i6 i;| ) . ntheonehand,itisnoton|yrea-
sonablebutnecessaryto concede thestructuralimpossibilityotintegrally
testi[ingtowhatookplaceinthecampsbecausethosewhoexperienced
itintullpaidwiththeirlives) . Levi `s decisionto begin Ihcreancdand
thcSaocdwiththispointgiveswhattollowsallthemorepersuasivepower.
Agamben`s extension otthis observation leads to an argument that can
tunctiononlybydisplacingthequestionotthereliabilityotwitnesseswith
thequestionotthestructureotwitnessingitsel| His reasonslorclaiming
that such speculation is preterable to a sanctitying silence are compel-
ling, but what is less so is that such an analysis provides an absolute
andirretutableproo`againstnegationistarguments.howingthatthose
arguments are evidence otthe most historically blind andmora|lybase
prejudiceis one thing, but theettectingotacomplete thcercnca/victory
overthemissomethingotanotherorder.JhatAgambenachievesthison
atheoreticalorstructurallevel ismuchto bedoubted~justasitisto be
doubtedthatheneededtoachievethis.
JhislastshortsectionotAgamben`stextintroducesitsatterword
which seems at hrst glance like the book`s retutation. Jhe last word is
lett totheintegral witnesses. theMasc/mnncrthemselves. In i;, one
year atter Levi `s death, the hrst study dedicated to the Masc/mannwas
published and included briettestimonies trom thosewho survivd their
conditionasMasc/mnncrtote|ltheirta|e.Jhenamegiventothissection
otthisstudyisI\asaMasc/mann, andwithitAgambenendshisbook.
Forhim,itdoesnotbringintoquestionhislonge|ucidationotthimpos
Ihc|niqacandthc|maa// z};
slbllltytheMasc/mannbeatlugwltuess-lusteadl t"uotoulydoesuot
couttadlctLevl'spatadoxbut,tathet,fullyvetlheslt",i, i,||)
Eveu motethau HemeSaccr, RcmnantseHaschaihaspolatlzed
teadets-audwlth good teasou. lt ls the oulyoueofAgambeu'swotks
whete steps lu teasoulug seem to have beeu slleuced otsklpped, aud lt
ls the ouly oue that shows slgus ofhaste. lts alm seems to shlft aud lts
hualclalm-atefutatlouofauyaud all uegatloulstatgumeuts-appeats
doublydublousluthatsuchatheotetlcaltefutatloulsuotcompelllugly
pteseuted as somethlug lu whlch teadets ate lu ueed, aud because the
theotetlcal atgumeutoffetedtests ou asttaluedaualogy. Geuleuclalms
that lu thls wotk "the posslbllltles ofAgambeu'stechulqueseem to be
ovetexteuded" audthat "thecouttastlugopposltlou ofthetestlmouyof
wltuesseswlthcouutlesstheotetlclaus,8euveulste,Foucault,audLvluas,
amougmauyothets)showsalackofdlsclpllue",zoo;,u).
-
Alougslmllat
llues MesuatdaudKahauuotea"teudaucytomovecatelesslyftomthe
teglstetsofaffectsubjectlvltyaudllvedexpetleucetotheotetlcalteglstets"
zcci,iz;)Whethettheptoblemllesluthetechulqueotlultsexecutlou,
thetecaubellttlequestlouthataptoblemexlsts. lubotheatlletaudlatet
wotksAgambeudemousttatedatematkableabllltytomovepteclselyaud
luslghtfullyftom theotetlcal teBectlou to the studyofludlvldual cases,
butthetecaubellttledoubtthatthlsabllltyseemstofallhlmatmomeuts
luthlsbookadthattheatgumeutlssttaluedatpoluts.luatevlewftom
zoo,Loteuzgetcalledthebook"awotkthatmustbecouutedasoueof
thegteatestphllosophlcalexpetlmeutsofouttlme")). get'stetmsate
wellchoseuthewotklsvetymuchauexpetlmeut,audltslmpllcatlousate
asmuchphllosophlcalashlstotlogtaphlcalotpolltlcal.ltssuccess,how-
evetlsauothetquestlou.
z Ihc|niqacandthc |maa//c
Scholium . \hat Is a Remnant`
Both Agamben`s tenth and eleventh books~Ihc Rcmnants e
Haschaitzand Ihc Iimc IhatRcmains, published two years later~em-
ployasingularconceptthathguresintheirtitles. thcrcmnant.\hatthen
is this rcmnantandwhy is it otsuch importance to Agamben` Jo be-
ginwiththe hrstottheseworks, thc rcmnantseHaschaitzthatgave his
tenthbookitsnamewould seem, at hrst, to reter to thosewhosurvived
Auschwitz. Jhe book`s epigraphs, among which hgures Isaiah io zz-
or althoughthypeoplebeasthesandotthesea,yetaremnantotthem
shall be saved"seem to conhrm this. However, there is more to this
rcmnanttorAgambenthanthosewhohavetestihedandthearchivetheir
testimonytorms.AgambeniscaretultopointoutthattheremnantRcs
te] isatheologicomessianicconcept" ,RA, iz i,i| ) . Lnsurprisingly, this
theologico-messianicconcept" isconcernedwithsalvation~andasalva-
tion that is to all appearances /imitcd. JheApostle Iaul writes that tor
theyarenotallIsrael,whichareoIsrael," aswellasEvensothenatthis
present time also there is a remnant according to the election otgrace"
,Remam Remans ,). s the book`s epigraphs trom the prophetic
booksottheldJestament,aswellasthosetromIaul `sLettertotheRo-
mans,underline,notallotIsraelwillbesaved,butonlyaremnant."ne
question,then, iswhyonlyaremnantwillbesaved. Isitbecauseapuri-
tyingsacrihceiscalledtor`IsitbecauseonlyapartotIsraelisworthyot
salvation`
Agamben rejects not only these particular notions but also the
tundamentalideasthat underlie them. \hatisdecisive," hewrites, is
that . . . `remnant` i/rcste] does not seem simply to reterto a numerical
portionot Israel " ,RA,i,i,z] ) . Rcmnantmustthenbemeantinanother
sensethantheconventionaloneota rcmaindcrlettovertromsomelarger
ahe/c.JhisisamatterthatAgambenaddressesinIhcIimcIhatRcmains,
whereheasks, Howshouldweconceiveotthis`remnantot Israel` `` and
answers, Jheproblemis misunderstoodtrom theverystartittherem-
nantisseenasanumericportion,asithasbeenbysometheologianswho
understanditas that portionotthe|ewswhosurvivedtheeschatological
catastrophe, or as a kind otbridge between ruin and salvation" ,JJR,
,,,,] ,translationmodihed) .Jhisdoesnot,however,resolvetheprob-
lem, and Agamben is caretul to stress that it is even more misleading
to interpret the remnant as outright identical to Israel " ,JJR, ,, ,| ) .
Ihc|niqucandthc |nsaa// zpp
A closet teadlugoftheptophetlc texts," hecoutluues, shows that the
temuautlsclosetto belugacouslsteucy censutcnz| ohgutethatsael
assumeslutelatloutoelectlouottothemesslaulceveut.tlstheefoteuel-
thetthewhole,uotapattofthewhole,butthelmposslbllltyfothepatt
audthewholetocolucldewlthtemselvesowltheachothet",TT, ,,
,;| , ttauslatloumodlhed).Agambeuthusseesthe theologlcomesslaulc
coucept"ofthetemuautasattlculatlugatelatlouofartto ahe

that
does uot fall wlthlu the ttadltloual lluesdtawu bydlalectlcal thought,
audthathas afhultleswlthAdotuo'suegatlvedlalectlcs," Dettldas d

cncc,audtheSpluozlstldeasoflmmaueuce"audmultltude"thatwee
lmpottautfotDeleuzeaudGuattatlaudfoNeglaudatdt. Llkethose
ldeas,thercmnantlslocatedluaslugulatcouceptualaudsttateglcspace,
wlththetesultthatthetemuautlspteclselywhatpteveutsdlvlslousftom
belugexhaustlve",TT,, ,|) .
Coucetulug dlvlslous asl tdoes, thls theologlcomesslalulc cou
cept" offetsAgambeu au lmpottaut patadlgm fot hls ldeaofa comlug
commuulty. "lfl hadtopolutto a polltlcallegacyluaul'slettetsthat
waslmmedlatelyttaceable"hewtlteslu Ihc Iimc IhatRcmains, be-
llevethatthecouceptofthetemuautwouldhavetoplayapatt" ,TT,
,; ,| ) . Theteasouheglves lsthatltallowsfotauewpetspectlvethat
dlslodgesoutautlquateduotlous ofapeopleauda democtacy, howevet
lmposslbleltmaybeto completelyteuouucethem. Thepeoplelsuelthet
thewholeuotthepatt,uelthetthemajotltyutthemluotlty.ustead,ltls
thatwhlchcauuevetcolucldewlthltselaswholeoaspatt,thatwhlch
luhultelytemalusotteslstseachdlvlslou,audwlthallduetespecttothose
whogovetuus, uevetallowsustobeteducedtoamajotltyotamluotlty.
Thlstemuautlsthehgute,otthecouslsteucy/censistcnz| ,assumedby
thepeopleluthedeclslvemomeut-audassuch, lstheoulytealpolltlcal
subject/'unicesectee/incerca/c ,TTR,y ,,p| ,ttauslatloumodl
hed). ElsewheteAgambeuusesthesesametetms,sttesslugthattheeal
polltlcalsubjectlsalwaysatemuaut' " ,L,zo).
uAgambeu'shauds, the rcmnantlsa couceptthtoughwhlchwe
cau vlewhow a totallty coucelves ofltselfaud oflts compoueutpats.
At htst slght, the clalm that the ouly teal polltlcal subject," the tue
polltlcalsubject,"lsatemuaut"mayseemguomlc,otpatadoxlcal,butlts
seuselleslutheldeathatattuepolltlcalsubjectlsuotmetelyapatofa
totallzlugwhole. Thlsslugulataudsepatateldeutltyotsubjectlvltylsoue
thatAgambeuchoosestocallbythetheologlcomesslaultemrcmnant.
cc Ihc|niqacandthc |maa//
\hatisatissueisthuswhatAgambencallsthedecisivepoint"otopen-
ingupahighlyinterestingwaytosolvetheproblemotidentities~ethnic
orother. Suchathingasanethnicidentitywillnevertrulyexistbecause
therewillalwaysremainaremnant" ,LL, zc).
tthegenesisothissingulartermtorpoliticalsubjectivityAgamben
remarkedinzcci,Ibegantothinkabouthowapeoplecouldbethought
otas a remnant. Mot as something substantive, and also not atter the
tashion otour contemporary democratic tradition~that is, having to
do with majorities and minorities~but as something that is always lett
over. . . . Ithinkotthepeopleassomethingtowhichapositioncan never
beascribed,itisneithermajoritynorminority.Jhepeopleasawholecan
nevercoincidewithitseltandeveryattempttoettectsuchhasresultedin
catastrophe" ,LL, zc) . ItispreciselythisideatorwhichAgambenargues
inhisessay\hatIsaIeople:"tromMcam witheatEnd, andtowhich
he returns in Ihc Iimc IhatRcmaim, where he traces the theological
andlinguistichistoryottheideaotace/cseeJJR,;t| ;ot| ) . Jhis
dividedpeoplebecomesaparadigmtorthenotionthattheideaotapeople
cannotandshouldnotbethoughtotaspure,whole, orwithoutremain-
der. Followingthephilologicalandtheologicalpathsthatthetermce/c
has taken, Agamben notes how the Septuagint translates am with /aes
andgeimwith cthnc, and that a tundamental chapter in the semantic
historyotthetermce/cthusbeginshereandshouldbetraced tothe
contemporaryusageottheadjectivecthnicinthesyntagmacthniccenict"
,JJR,; ;c| ,italicsin original) . It is thisoriginarytheologicalpolitical
tault line" that interestsAgamben ,JJR,; ;c| , translation modihed).
In hisreading, torboth|ewsandgeim itisimpossibletocoincidewith
themselves ceinicidcrc cen sc stcss and there is thus something like
a remnant between every people and itselt between every identity and
itselt" JJR, ;z ;| ) . A rcmnantis what results trom every dialectical
attempt at exhaustive identihcation and classihcation, every attempt to
create acommunitythatwouldcompletelysubsumethesingularityotits
members. Forthisreason,the rcmnantisaconceptthatcanapplynotonly
toanentirepeople,butalsotoitsindividualmembers,andtorthisreason
Agambencanclaimthatthesubjectisasortotremnant. . . . Itissome-
thingthatislettover~itrepresentsaditterence. Itistheimpossibilitytor
a subject to completelycoincide with itseltmitsichsc//st/crcinzasnm
mcn| therealwaysremainsaremnant",LL, zc). Herewecanunderstand
whyAgambenwas so emphatic in rej ectingthe ideathathis ideaotthe
Ihc|niqucandthc|nsaa// , oi
rcmnantwasuumetlcal,fotl t tefetshetetoaueutltepeopled acd to
ltsludlvldualmembets.Whatlttepteseutslsauovelwayofcoucelvlugof
pattsaudwholes,slugulatltlesaudcommuultles, thatdoesuotfocuslts
atteutlousoumluotltyaudmajotltyposltloustobedlalectlcallymetged.
Thetemuautlsatespousetothetotallzluguatuteofdlalectlcalthluklug
aud,atleastlusometeadlugs,ltsgtadualellmluatlouofdlffeteuces. ltls
thusaaradigm fotacouceptlouofbothpattandwhole. FotAgambeu,
thetheologlcomesslaulccouceptofrcmnantlslutetestlugaudlllusttatlve
lultsowutlghtasahguteluatheologlcomesslaulccoutext-aswellas
apatadlgm fotpatts audwholes luacommuultytocome. etewecau
seeauothet ofthesectetcouuectlousthatllukAgambeu's so seemlugly
dlspatatebooks, fotluthls llght the rcmnantcau be seeuasameaus of
coutluulugthe llues ofthluklug, aud the seatch fotpatadlgms, of Ihc
CemingCemmuni
lu RcmnantseHuschuitz,Agambeuwtltesthatrcmnantdsiatcs
thc censistcn la couslsteuza] assumcd/ Israc/ ahcn/ccdin rc/nen
uithaneskhatou,uithc/ccnenerthcmcssianiccicnt ,, i6, i,z| ,ltallcs
lu otlglual). lu thls llght, the rcmnantlu uo way deslguates somethlug
less thau awhole, but lusteaddeslguatesthewhole ,people, ludlvldual,
lauguage) seeu lua uewllght audhavlug takeu ou adlffeteut auduew
"couslsteucy." As lu so mauy ofAgambeu's wotks, thls dlsplacemeut ls
ptedlcatedouadlffeteutcouceptlouofnmcAgambeuwtltes, "Wemust
ceasetolooktowatd. . . hlstotlcalptocessesaslftheyhaduapocalyp-
tlc ot ptofaue telos luwhlch the llvlug belug aud the speaklug belug,
theluhumauaudthehumau-otauytetmsofahlstotlcalptocess-ate
j oluedluauestabllshed,completedhumaultyaudtecouclledluateallzed
ldeutlty. Thls does uotmeau that, lulacklugau eud unnc| , theyate
coudemuedtomeauluglessuessotthevaultyofauluhulte,dlseuchauted
dtlftlug. Theyhave uotau cndun hue] but a rcmnant" ,, i, i|| ,
ltallcsluotlglual).lullghtofthlshualseuteucewecaubettetuudetstaud
whyhlsbookbeatsthetltle IhcmcIhatRcmains,aswhatlsatlssuelsa
modeloftlmebasedou"thedeclslvemomeut"wehtstsawluIn/nand
Hute. To a uoudlalectlcal couceptlou ofthe telatlou ofslugulatltyto
commuultyAgambeuj olusauoudlalectlcalcouceptlouoftlme-sttesslug
that,fothlm, the rcmnantcottespoudspteclselytowhataul calls "the
tlmeoftheuow"aud8euj amlucalls"uowtlme",TTR,,,] ). Whethet
thlswhollytemovesthecouceptofrcmnantftomltstheologlcomesslaulc
coutextottetutusltto ltsotlglualvocatloulsaquestlouofpetspectlve.
, cz Ihc |niqacandthc |maa//c
Jhe messianic Kingdom," Agamben writes, is neither the luture ,the
millennium) northepastthegoldenage) . itis, instead,a rcmainingnmc
untempo restante| ,R, i;} i| , italicsinoriginal) .Ashehasshownin
bookslromInnandHteto thisone, lorAgambenthisremaining
timeis~atimethatis mcssianicnotinthesensethatitiswaitinglor
the machine olhistoryto move the proper pieces into place so that the
leverolrevolutionat last |alls, but, instead, inthesensethatwe ought to
conceive olevery moment aswhat Benjamincalledthe narrow gateway
throughwhich theMessiahmightenter,"everymomentasthe timeolthe
nowinwhichwemustact.
Ihc|niqucandthc |nsaa//

Sclolium II. n Genius, or Heide@er`s

Ioison and Benj amin`s Antidote
Aswe saweatllet,Agambeu clalmed that "the teal lutetest ofeu-
couutets-lullfeasluthought,"lsthat"theysetvetomakellfeposslble
,otattlmeslmposslble)",A,lll).Ofhlsowumostdeclslveeucouutets
hetheusald, "Thatlswhathappeuedwlthmymeetlugeldegget-aud
at ueatlythe same tlme, wlth my comlug luto coutactwlth 8eujamlu's
thought.vetygteatwotkcoutalusauelemeutofdatkuessaudpolsou
fotwhlchltdoesuotalwaysoffetauautldote.8eujamluwastheautldote
thatallowedmetosutvlveeldegget",AC,lllll).Wlththeptecedluglu
mlud,wemlghtattempttoauswetthequestloutalsedeatlletastowhat
luHeldegget'swotkAgambeufouudpolsouous audwhatlu8eujamlu's
allowedhlmtosutvlvelt.
Asahtststeptowatdauswetlugthlsquestlou,wewoulddowellto
tututo 8eujamlu'sowuvlewsouthetelatlouofhlswotktoeldegget's.
lu i}i6, the tweutyfoutyeatold 8euj amluwtote to Getshom Scholem
to tepottouhlsteceutteadlug. luhls lettethemeutlous auessaycalled
hetoblemoflstotlcalTlme"thathehadtead"luthelastotsecoud
tolast"lssueofthej outualcitschrrPhi/esehicundhi/esehuchcn
rin/. eelthetdoes uottecall otdoes uotbothettouotetheauthotof
theessayluquestlou,slugllugoutthe"ftlghtfulwotk," ashecallslt,fot
howlt"shows exactlyhowoue should netgo aboutapptoachlugsuch a
questlou",8eujamlui}66,iz},ltallcsluotlglual).Thestudylumedloctlty
that 8eamlutefets to hetewas oueofthehtstpubllcatlousofMattlu
eldegget.
Foutteeuyeats latet, dutlugwhlch tlme eldegget's phllosophlcal
stathaduotceasedtotlse,8eujamluagaluwtotetoScholemofhlstead-
lugs audptojects, aud agalu luvoked eldegget. e told Scholem that
hehadcometoseethattheHrcadsPrecct, llkehlseatllet Ihcrigne
Ccrman agcDrama,wouldueedauluttoductlouoffetluguothlugless
thaua"theotyofkuowledge thericdc/cennaissancc ,8eujamlut}66,
;o6). `ewtotethattheuoveltyofhlsuewwotkwassuchthatlttequlted
uot a "theotyofkuowledge"llke the ouehe hadwtltteu fot hls eatllet
wotk, buta"theotyofhlstotlcalkuowledge",8euj amlut}66, ;o6). "ltls
hete,"coutluues8eujamlu,"thatlshallhudeldeggetoumypath,audl
expectspatkstoByftomthelmpactofoutvetydlffeteutwaysofvlewlug
hlstoty." Followlug lu thls combatlvevelu, 8eujamluwtote to Scholem
c Ihc |niqacandthc|maa//
later that year othis plan to torm reading group" to be led byBrecht
and himseltwith the goal otdem

lishing Heidegger" Benjamin i}66,

;i) . Brecht, however, tell ill and the destructive summer readinggroup
cameto naught.
Years later, in i} Benjamin was dismayed to read an article in
a erman language ovietjournal that he telt portrayed him as, in his
own words, a tollower otHeidegger." In a certain respect, this is the
end otthestory. Meitherwith the help otthe powertul Brechtnoralone
did Benjamin ever set about demolishingHeidegger, and itseems never
to have occurred to Heidegger to tryto demolish, or do anythingwith,
Benjamin. It HeideggereverreadanyotBenjamin`sworks,theexperience
lettnodiscernabletraces nogreatmysterygiventhatitwasonlytoward
the very end otHeidegger`s lite that Benjamin`s works began to receive
anythingapproachingtheattention theyenjoytoday). Forareal attempt
at demolishing," the public had to wait torAdorno`s vitriolic attackon
Heideggerin Ihcargen eHathcntici, tocusedonwhatthetormerde-
scribed as Heidegger`s unbearablyclichdplayingotthe ar/icrergc/
dcs Cctcs. For all that work`s polemical intensity, whether conceptual
sparks otthe kind Benj aminenvisionedHewisopento question. any
haveseenAdornoassoemphaticallyputottbyhisobj ectotstudythatit
seemstodullhisotherwisesosharpanalyticaltaculties.)
In the years atter Benj amin`s untimely death, Adorno asserted
that thetormer`s book ontragicdramacontainedan implicitcritiqueot
Heidegger`s concept othistoricity. Beyond this point, however, Adorno
acknowledged little or no common ground and next to nothing ota
common cause between the two thinkers. In her insighttul andinHuen-
tial introduction to a collection otBenj amin`s works, Hannah Arendt,
however, saw the contrary. For her there was a cose athnity" between
Benj amin`s hgure otthecollectorandHeidegger`sreconceptualization ot
tradition Arendt i}6 6) . Inways thatwill alreadyhave become cear,
Agamben iscearlytarmoreotArendt`s mind onthematter~andsawa
close athnity not onlybetween the hgureotthe collectorandan idea ot
tradition, but also betweenawholeconstellationottermsandideas con-
cerning everything trom hrst philosophy to contemporary politics. Jhe
twohnal chaptersotIhcMan witheatCentcntaredevoted, respectively,
to Heidegger and Benjamin. Jhe hrst paragraph otAgamben`s Stanzas
callson Benjaminasamodel, and thispretace is tollowedby the dedica-
tion MartinHcidccrinmcmeriam. Ashedoesinmanylateressaysand
Ihc|niqucandthc |nsaa// y o,
books,Agambeubtlugs 8eujamluaudHeldeggetluto closecouuectlou
audmakesevetyeffotttoseewhethetspatkscaubemadetoByftomthelt
vetydlffeteutwaysofapptoachlugthemostvatledquestlous.Thlsglves
ussomethlugofaseusefottheslugulatltyofAgambeu'sclalms,butltstlll
tellsusuothlugspeclhcaboutthepolsoucoutaluedluHeldegget'swotk
otabouttheautldotetobefouudlu8eujamlu's.
As vlttuallyallwho came lu coutactwlth Heldegget sttessed, hls
luteutlousweteuot easyto fathom. Dutlughlsluaugutatlouspeech as
RectotofFtelbutg ulvetslty lu i} he auuouucedthat "the hrcrls
hlmselfaudalouethepteseutaudfututeGetmautealltyaudltslawcr
hrcrsc/st undacin utdic hcungc und/ngc dutschc wir//ich/cit
undihrCcsc| ."Thlswasatouceshocklugaudcoufuslugfotmauyptes
eut. Oue ofHeldegget's studeuts, Katl Lwlth, tematked that those lu
atteudaucewete uusute as to whethetthey should go home aud study
thepteSoctatlcsotjolutheSA,cltedbySaftauskli, z6|zz|) Aet
thewat,mostofthosewhohadkuowuHeldegget,llkethosewho came
tokuowhlmlatet,weteuusutehowto uudetstaudhlspolltlcaleugage
meut.WashetobecompatedtolatoluSytacuse-takeulubyadlctatot
audheldhostage-assomeofhlsfollowetsatguedWashlsuavetstlll
gteatet,audwashe,llkeThales,statlugsoluteutlyupatthephllosophlcal
skythathefelllutoapolltlcalwellOtwashlscholcea cuuulugoue
aud,stlllwotse,ouepetfectlylulluewlthhlsphllosophy
Aulmpottautpetspectlveouthesequestlouslsoetedbytetutulug
toHauuahAteudt.Shewasuulquelyclose,petsouallyaudphllosophlcally,
tobothHeldeggetaud8euj amlu,audwasamougthehtsttoseethestotm
ofptogtesscaughtlu the wlugs of8eujamlu's augel ofhlstoty, aswell
asauothetstotm-"thestotmthatblowsthtoughHeldeggetsthought,"
whlchshesaldls"llketheouewhlchblowsactossceututlesagalustltftom
lato'swotks" ,Ateudt i}, z,z) . GllbettRyle'slacoulcjudgmeutabout
Heldegget-"8admau. Cau'tbeagoodphllosophet" ,cltedluThtowet
i}},iz,audM. A.8etusteluzccc,6,)-wasshatedbymauy,butAteudt
dlduotacceptelthetoftheseassettlouslusuchslmplefashlou.Katlaspets,
ahatshetctltlcofhlsfotmetftleud,wtotetoAteudtlui}} deuouuclug
the "lmputlty |nrcinhcit| ," ashechoseto calllt, ofHeldegget's"soul."
Shesawhetfotmetteachet'sshottcomlugsalltoocleatly, butshealsosaw
them lu a mote uuaucedfashlou aud teplled toaspets, "Whatyoucall
lmputltyI would call lackofchatactet Chara/tcresig/cit| - lu the
seusethathelltetallyhasuoue-dehultelyuotauespeclallybadoue.8t
6 Ihc|niqacandthc |nsaa//
all thewhile helives at a depth andwith apassionthat onecannoteasily
torget" Arendt and|aspersi};, i;) .
Arendtclearly nevertorgot this depthorintensityandcontinuedto
trytobetter understanditssingularnatureandcharacter. Fouryearsatter
writingthislettershe composedatable about the love other youth that
would notappearinprint until atter herdeath itwas hrstpublished in
EnglishtranslationintheposthumouscollectionEssasin |ndcrstanding
trom i}}). Sheconsigned it to herdiaryandgave it thetitleHeidegger
theFox."Itreadsastollows.
Hcidcggcrsays proudly. IcoplcsayHcidcggcrisaIox. Jhis is thc truc storyoI
HcidcggcrthcIox.
Jhcrc was oncc a Iox who was so uttcrly without cunning that hc not
onlyconstantlyIcll into traps butcouldnotcvcn distinguish atrap Irom anon-
trap. . . . cr this Ioxhadspcnthiscntircyouthin othcrpcoplc`straps . . . hc
dccidcd to complctcly withdraw Irom thc Iox world, and bcgan to build a
dcn. . . . Hc built himsclIatrap as adcn, satdown in it, prctcndcd it anor-
maldcn notoutoIcunning, butbccauschchadalway takcn thctrapsoIothcrs
Iorthcirdcns. . . . JhistrapwasonlybigcnoughIorhim. . . . MobodycouldLll
into histrap, bccauschcwas sittinginithimscl . . . IIoncwantcdtovisithim in
thc dcnwhcrc hcwas athomc, onc had to go into his trap. CIcoursccvcrybody
couldwalkrightoutoIit,cxccpthim. . . . JhcIoxlivinginthctrapsaidproudly.
somanyIallintomytrap, IhavcbccomcthcbcstoIallIoxcs.ndthcrcwascvcn
somcthing truc in that. nobodyknows thc trap busincss bcttcrthanhcwho has
bccn sitting in atrap allhisliIc. rcndtzooz,o)
Jhepoints otreterencein this privateparableseem clearenou. Arendt
beginsbyreterringtoHeidegger`sprideatbeingthoughtcunningatox") .
achiavellihadnotedin IhcPrinccthatitisnecessarytobe atoxs oasto
recognizetraps. " ShethenturnsthemetaphorintoatableandHeidegger`s
prideagainsthim. Sheevokesthevanityandblindnessotamansheonce
adored,theinstinctivemistakeshemadeinpoliticalandpersonallite, the
traps otthought and deed he tell into and was unable to recognize as
traps. Jhe tableshe composesisironicinways that arediculttograsp
tromthetactthatshecompares Heidegger to an animal~neveraHatter-
inganalogy, butall thelesstoraphilosopherwhosingledhimseltouttor
his claim that animalswere withoutworld"~to more personal matters.
InHeideggersphilosophythetermdac//ingandreterencestoacapacious
houseotbeing"aretrequent,andthereisanaddedironyinherchoosing
themostcrampedotdwellingstorthecunningphilosopher.
Howeverwe are to understand its allusions, thegeneral outline ot
Ihc|niqacandthc|nsaa// ]O)
Arendt`sindictmentisclearenough.JhelabledepictsHeidegger'sproblem
as that olaweakness turned into astrengthandolthatstrengthturned
againstitsel| Hisabilityto discernlogicalinconsistenciesanmetaphysi-
cal mystihcations, his suspicion concerningthe lreezingolthe constant
andmaniloldHowollile,thought,works,andBeingintothehxedlorms
olconcepts and systems lelt him, lor a time,without ahome under the
stormyskiesolceaselesschange. Havingisolatedanddenouncedsomany
homesastraps,aslimitationsto thought,somanyconstructionsolhabit
aslimitingtheproductive anxietyolauthenticreHection, heloundhim
sellinadilhcultpositionwhenitcametimetoseekarelugelorhimsel
FollowingthelogicolArendt'sparable,hisacuitypoisonedhisthinking
andblindedhimtoandamentallactabouthomes,sowhenhesetabout
to buildhimsellone, he builthimsellatrap. Inotherwords, his under-
standingolthe ineluctabilityoltraps led him no less ineluctablyinto a
trap.
JhismuchArendtmakesclear~buthowshouldweviewthistrap:
swhatisat issue as simpleandsell-evidentas hispolitical engagement:
Didthetrap thatwas theMaziartyseem lor abrielperiod likeahome
becauseitpromised theendoltraps: ,Jhere canbelittledoubtthatde-
spiteHeidegger'scynicalmanipulationswithintheMaziparty, heatleast
loratimesawitasagenuinelyrevolutionarymovement.)Andmoretothe
point lor our purposes here, is the poison towhichAgamben enigmati-
callyrelersolthesamenature:
As we saw earlier, in Rcmnants eHaschuitzAgamben takes issue
with Heidegger`sstartlinglycallousrelerenceto theconcentrationcamps
organizedandrunbytheleaderandpartyhehadactivelysupported. n
a morepersonal level, Agamben waswell aware olthe dillerences~or
at leastwhatseemed like dillerences~between the man he had known
yearsalterthewarandthe oneolearlier times.Agambenhasreconted
onseveraloccasionsaconversationhehadwithEmmanuelLvinasabout
the teacher they had known at dillerent periods. Jhe image olan ex-
traordinarilyhard" man that Lvinas had retainedolHeideggerint}z
andi}z}wasollsetbyAgamben`s recollection olamanwho,nearlylorty
yearslater, singledhimselloutlorwhatAgamben called the gentleness"
olhisdemeanor,LD).JhemanAgambenknewseemedapeacelulone
with little resemblancetotheglintinglyhardandwilllulthinkerLvinas
had known. Yet all such dillerences and details risk missing the point
olAgamben's remark. Heidegger lamously began his lecture curse n
c Ihc|niqacandthc|nsaa//
Aristotlewithallthebiographicalintormationhethoughtrelevanttorhis
undertaking. Aristotlewasborn,heworked,hedied.`' Forhisownphi-
losophyhewouldhavedoubtlessaskedtorthesametocus. VhenAgamben
evokesa shadowand a poison inHeidegger that Benj amin helped him
survive,"heiscaretultomakeclearthetermsottheoperationnotthat
otthe man"butothis work.``Vhat then otthatwork
Agamben indeed saw shortcomings in the work othis hrst philo-
sophical master~including the central concept othis late philosophy.
In an essay trom i}}z Agamben characterized Heidegger`s concept ot
Ercignisas an ettort to think the end otthe state and the end othis-
tory tegcthcr which was insuthcient" and in I/ Rcge c / C/ea he
wrote that Heideggerwas unable to master the problem ottechnology
becausehetailedtoreturnittoispolitical /ecas ,MVE,iii}| ,ital-
ics in original, translation modihed, RC, z;6) . ForAgamben, this diag-
nosiswas importantenoughtorepeatinHemeSaccr,se HS, 6c6i ;c| ) .
But a philosophical shortcoming need not imply something poisonous.
DanielBinswanger,zcc;) hasaccusedAgambenotclearingHeideggerot
hisMazism, writingthat viaa detourthrougherona and Iaris where
Agamben held teaching posts| the Master trom Cermany has been de-
hnitively denazihed cndg/tig cntnazzicrt aerdcn| ,6) . Jhe Master
trom Cermany" is none other than Heidegger ,the epithet is trom Iaul
Celan`s poem Death Fugue," in which the Master trom Cermany" is
death"). AlthoughAgambenbynomeansattemptstoabsolveHeidegger
othis darkpast, he does askaboutthe relation otHeidegger` s politics to
his philosophy. In an essay entitled Heidegger and Mazism," Agamben
takes as his point otdeparture Lvinas` texts onwhat the latter saw as
a dangerous element in Heidegger`s work. In an essay trom i} whose
pointis sharpenedbyanoteheaddedtoitsrepublication ini}}i, Lvinas
locatesthesedsotMazisminVesternphilosophy~andmostintenselyin
Heideggerianontology,seeII,zzz;) .JhetruepointotLvinas`| essay
trom i}," writesAgamben, is in the radicalityotthisdiagnosiswhich
itwouldbevaintoseektoexorcisethroughcondemnationsorapologies"
,II, z;) . Jhe truepoint inquestion istheideathat itMazismwas able
tocoincide~atleastatitspointotdeparturewiththegreatphilosophy
otthetwentiethcentury, itwould betoolishtobelieveitpossibletoextri
cateoneselttromthisuneasyproximityscemedeoicinate| bycondemning
onephilosopherandabsolvinganother. Sixtyyearslaterthequestionthat
Ihc|niqucandthc|nsaa// ,o
Lvlnas'] essayposes coutluues to demauda tespouse."Agambeu theu
asks, Whatlsthemeaulugofhlsptoxlmlty",,,z).
lu Heme SaccrAgambeu offets a dltect auswet to thls questlou,
judglugHeldegget'sphllosophyaudNazlsmastadlcallydlvetgeut."The
lmmedlateuultyofpolltlcsaudllfe"thatAgambeudlaguoseslutheblo
polltlcsofoutday-audfotwhlchthecouceuttatloucampsate,fothlm,
a ptlvlleged example-"shed llght ou the scaudal oftweutlethceututy
phllosophy. the telatlou betweeu Mattlu Heldegget aud Nazlsm" ,HS,
i,o i6;] ). Exptesseddlffeteutly, theblopolltlcsofthesotthelsstudylug
lu thatwotk pteseuts a leus thtough whlch to uudetstaud the mystl
lugtelatloubetweeuHeldegget'sphllosophyaudNazlsm.Agambeuuotes
that"oulywheusltuatedluthepetspectlveofmodetublopolltlcsdoesthls
telatlouacqulteltsptopetslgulhcauceaudthlslsthevetythlugthatboth
Heldegget'saccusetsaudhlsdefeudetsfalltodo)",HS, i,oi6;] ). hatthe
accusetsauddefeudetsluquestlouhavefalledtodobecomesAgambeu's
alm. Thlstelatloulsbestseeu, fotAgambeu,luHeldegget'sldeaof"c
tlcltyotfactlcal llfe" ,whlchhehadaualyzedluauessayeutltledThe
lasslonofFactlclty"). luHemeSaccrAgambeuttlesto uudetstaudwhat
Heldeggetdesctlbedluhls i,,coutseIneducnenteMchsicsasthe
lnnet ttuth aud gteatuess" ofthe Natloual Soclallst movemeut, whlch
thewotks thatate belugpeddled about uowadays asthephllosophyof
NatlonalSoclallsmhaveuothlugwhatevettodowlth" ,seeHS, izi6] ).
Agambeuwtltes, FtomHeldegget'spetspectlve,Natloualoclallsm'set
tot and bettayaloflts luuetttuth'couslstslu lts havlugttausfotmedthe
expetleuceoffactlcal llfelutoablologlcalvalue' ,HS, iz i6| ). Wheu
uudetstood cottectly, howevet, "the expetleuce offactlclty ls equlvaleut
to a tadlcallzatlou wlthout ptecedeut ofthe state ofexceptlou ,wlth lts
ludlstluctlouofuatuteaudpolltlcs,outsldeudluslde, excluslou audlu
cluslou) luadlmeuslouluwhlchthestateofexceptlou teuds tobecome
thetule",HS, i,i;o] ). Afactlcltyofthlssottwouldtepteseutarca/state
ofexceptlou llke the oue fotwhlch 8eujamlu atgued because ltwould
bteakdowu the dlstluctlou betweeu exlsteuce aud esseuce, sacted aud
ptofaue,audwouldthetebyfotmapolltlcalotdetfteedftomthevloleut
dlctatesofsactedptlvllegesaudsovetelguptoclamatlous. Heldeggethad
hopedofNazlsmthatltwouldbtlugaboutpteclselysuchapolltlcalotdet,
but,luAgambeu'steadlug,fouudhlmselfdecelved,fotNazlsmpteseuted
somethlugvetydlffeteut,baslugltsclasslhcatlousoua" blologlcalvalue'
fotelgu to Heldegget's thluklug. lt ls at thls polut that, fot Agambeu
, r c Ihc |niqacandthc |nsaa//c
Mazism and Heidegger`s thought radically diverge," as Mazism deter-
minesthebareliteothemesaccrinabiologicalandeugenickey,making
it into thesiteotan incessantdecision onvalueand nonvalue inwhich
biopoliticscontinuallyturns intothanatopoliticsandinwhichthecamp,
consequently, becomes the absolutepolitical space. In Heidegger, onthe
otherhand, hemesafr~whoseveryownliteisalwaysatissueinitsevery
act~insteadbecomesDasein,theinseparableunityotBeingandtheways
otBeing, otsubj ect and qualities, lite andworld, `whoseown Beingis at
issue in its very Being` HS, r,, o ) . Jhis extensive discussion leaves
us,however,withastubbornquestion. itthepoisonandshadowtowhich
Agambenretersisnottobesoughtinthemanbutintheaer/,anditthis
work, tollowing Agamben, is radically divergent" trom the Mazism in
whichHeideggerplacedhistaith,wherearewetolocatethispoisonand
shadow`
Inone othis hrst essays Agamben describes a response to the idea
otoriginal sin in aa`works as a curious antidote that, like all real
antidotes centraooc/cni] , partaes otthe nature otthe poison it wishes
to counteract" IB, |). Manyyears laterAgamben again employed this
metaphor otpoison and antidote, writingothowSimone\eil evokes|
thehgureotthescapegoat,inwhomsacrihcialinnocenceandguilt,sanc-
tityandabj ection,victim and executionerare unihedtor thesake otca-
tharsis. It isnecessaryto recognizethis temptationinbothMoranteand
\eil torwhatit is, and to search in theirownwork tor the antidotes i
centraooc/cni] containedtherein" EI, o6 o| , translationmodihed).Jo
characterize intccctaa/relations as ittheywere /ediones inwhich the
very lite otthe individual was at stake is to depict a passionate state ot
intellectualattairs.Itimpliesthatalltrulyvitalideasanddecisiveencoun-
terscontainanelementotradicaluncertainty~and,thereby, danger.
Jhese remarks are, however, not the onlyonesAgamben made in
which this special metaphorical register is invoked. Jwo years atter re-
counting how Benjamin ottered an antidote to Heidegger`s poison, he
remarked that i na certain respect Benj amin is as important tor me as
Heidegger~orevenmoreimportant.Jherelationbetweenthetwoisthat
otpoisonandantidote CandCcgcng| ,LL, ) . Inzoo|,Agamben
returnedtothemetaphorandsaidthatagreatthinkershavetheirpoison
and antidote, and that in the case otHeidegger and Benj amin he used
oneastheantidotetotheother."\henoneothisinterviewersthenasked
him howHeidegger could beused asanantidoteto Benj amin,Agamben
Ihc |niqucandthc|nsaa// ,i i
laughed aud sald thatl twould be"easlettoshow the luvetse" ,LD).
ushedfatthet,Agambeutematked,"l'muotsutethatthedaugetouse-
meutluquestloucoucetusoulyHeldegget.lstheteuotaulmpllclttlsklu
evetyvocatlou ,ottevocatlou) as luevetyttulydeclslve teadlug' lua
stlllmoteteceutlutetvlew,Agambeutetaluedthemetaphotwhlleglvlug
ltacouutetbalauce,uotlugthat"pethaps 8eujamluwastheautldotethat
savedmeftomHeldegget, aud Heldegget, lusomeseuse,whatpteveuted
meftomloslugmysflu8euj amlu",DT,).ThepolsouthatAgambeu
thus evokes ls uotllmlted to thephllosoph ofHeldegget. lt ls lustead
somethluglutlmatybouudupwlthphllosophyaudltsvocatlou.
Whattheuofthe"shadow"t

atAgambeullukswlththls"polsou"
luHeldegget'swotkluauessayeutltled"Ouoteutlallty,"Agambeuex
amluesAtlstotle'stematksouvlsloulu nthcSeu/,|ib|ie)audoffets
thefollowlugpataphtase "Theobj ectofslght. . . lscolot luaddltlou,lt
lssomethlugfotwhlchwehaveuowotdbutwhlchlsusuallyttauslatedas
ttanspatency,'diahancs.Diahancstefetsuottottauspateutbodles,such
as alt andwatet) but to a natute,' asAtlstotle wtltes, whlch lsluevety
bodyaudlswhatls ttulyvlslbleluevetybody. Atlstotle does uot tell us
whathls uatute' ls hesaysoulythetelsdiahancs,' csntidiahancs 8ut
hedoestellusthattheactuallty,cncrgcia) ofthlsuatutelsllght, audthat
datkuess ,s/etes) lsltspoteutlallty. Llght, Atlstotle| adds, lssoto speak
thecolotofdiahancsluact datkuess,wemaythetefotesay, lslusome
waythecolotofpoteutlallty",,z;| ). luauothetessayftomthesame
yeats,Agambeuagaluspeaksofpoteutlalltyasshadowotdatkuess.The
datkuessthatAgambeuassoclateswlthpoteutlalltyheteaudsewhetels
thussomethlugpetllous, somethlugthatmustbecouftouted, ttavetsed,
audsutvlvedbutlsofltselfuothlugothetthau"theexpetleuceofpoteutl
allty."Fotthlsteasou,Agambeucouldtefettothlsexpetleuceelsewheteas
"thehatdestaudblttetestexpetleuceposslble",,i;).Apoteutlalltylsby
uatuteshadowy,andltlsthetaskofthephllosophettoldeutlfyaudutlllze
whatluthatshadowcaubelllumluatedaudemployed.
Agambeu has wtltteu thatwete we to attempt to ldeutl "some-
thlug llke the chatactetlstlc Snmmung ofevety th|uket, pethaps lt ls
pteclsya belugdellvetedovetto somethlugthattefusesltsfthatde
hues thespeclhcemotloual toualltyofHeldegget'sthought" ,O 6 6| ,
ttauslatloumodlhed).ThatStimmunglstobeuudetstoodluthebtoadest
audmostfuudameutalseuselsmadepetfectlycleatluauessayftomio
luwhlchAgambeuoets aphllologlcalaualyslsofthls qulutesseutlall
; i z Ihc|niqacandthc |nsaa//
uuttauslatable tetm ,see ll, f). lu Heldegget's case, thls Snmman
thlsemotloualtouallty, lsacutlousoueofglftaudtefusal. lu Langagc
andDcathAgambeu telates auauecdotelmpottauteuough to hlmthat
hetecouutsltagaluluhlsuextbook, Idca ePresc Oueday,wheuthe
semluatwas ueatlug lts eudaud the studeuts suttouudlughlmwete uo
lougetabletocoutalutheltquestlous,Heldeggettematked, oucausee
myllmlt,butlcauuot' ,ll, ;} ;}| , ttauslatloumodlhed,seealsoL,xl
;| ) .`luauaftetwotdwtltteufotthesecoudFteuchedltlouofStanzs
book, we should tecall, dedlcated to Heldegget-Agambeu takes thls
ptluclpleashlsowu,tematklugthatsomeoueelsewlllalwaysbeableto
bettetjudgewhethet. . . thepteseutwotkwas ttulywtltteulutespouse
tothe. . . posslbllltesheteopeued ,lO,z;i).Thequestlousofpetsoual
llmlt aud the telatlou ofoue otk to auothet couvetge hete. 8eujamlu
wtotethatluevetyttuewotkofattthetelsapassageftomwhlchblows
abteezecoolllkethecomlugdawu ,8eujamluGS, ;. ;};) . Thlspassage
cauuevetbe apolut ln awotbut ls lustead apattofevetywot Fot
teadetstocomeltlsthlspattthatmattetsmost.
ue ofAgambeu's most teceut books coutalus a chaptet eutltled
Geulus. Thetelu he tteats aucleut couceptlous ofgeulus, ofhow the
Romaus spokeofbothagoodaudabadgeulus-awhlteGeulus aud
ablackGeulus-thehtstcouusellugusto do good, thesecoudltsop
poslte. Hotace was ptobably tlght, Agambeu coucludes, howevet, lu
suggestlugthatlutealltythetelsbutaslugleGeulus,whlchls,howevet,
mutable-attlmescleataudatothetshadowy,attlmessageaudatothets
cottuptlug lfcatefullyteRected upou, thls meaus thatwhatchauges ls
uotGeulusbutouttelatloutolt,whlchmovesftomcleataudlumluousto
shadowyaudopaque ,lR,i;) .Agambeusuggestshetethatthemoteaud
lessgeulalwotksthatluRueuceoutthoughtaudllvesatellkegcniasluthls
autlqueseuse.Theyeachcoutalusomethlugcleataudsomethlugshadowy,
somethlugthat cau lusplte us aswell as somethlugthat cau ovetwhelm
us. lu othetotds, they ate mutable. 8ut lu llght ofAgambeu's tematk
ltlspethapsmoteaccutatetosaythatltlswewhoatemutable, audthat
whatweexpetleuceluauauthot'swotkascleatotshadowy,polsouousot
tedemptlve,hasevetybltasmuchtodowlthoutselvesaswlththeldeaof
thewotk.
lutheclosluglluesofIhcIimcIhatRcmainsAgambeuatlastuames
theptluclplethathasguldedthatwotk-audallhlswotk.Hedoesso,lu
chatactetlstlcfashlou,byquotlugthepassageftom8eujamluluwhlchthe
Ihc|nucandthc|naa// ,i,
lattetauuouucesthemostfuudameutalldeabehludhlsldeaof hlstotyaud
hlsldeaofptose. that"eachuowlstheuowofapattlculatkuowablllty"
audthat"thelmagethatlstead-whlchlstosay,thelmagelutheuowof
ltstecogulzablllty-beatstothehlghestdegteethelmptlutofthepetllous
ctltlcalmomeutouwhlchall teadlugls fouuded" ,8eujamluGS, ,.,;
cltedluTTR,i|, i,,] ). lfthetelsauautldotetobesoughtlu8eujamlu's
wotkltlsluthlsldea.thatteadluglsbasedouactltlcalact-auacttouch
lug ou the llmlts ofout llves aud thought-aud fot thls teasou lt wlll
alwaysbtlugwlthltbothauelemeutofpetllaudauelemeutfotwhlchwe
possessuobettetwotdthaupoteutlallty.
, r | Ihc|niqacandthc |nsaa//c
Scholium III. Eternal Recurrence ol the Same, or
Mietzsche and the Iotentiality ol the Iast
Agambeu's utstbook beglus wlth alougcltatlou ftom Nletzsche's
Ihc Ccnca/eg eMera Glveu IhcMan witheatCentcnts ptojectofa
desttuctlouofaesthetlcs,Agambeu's declslouto opeu thebookwltha
tematkftomthemostvehemeutoppoueutoftheKautlaucouceptlouofa
dlslntetestedvlewofattlsuttlug,audouewayofteadlug IhcMan with-
eatCentcntls as aloug aud attfulglossofNletzsche'sposltlou asstated
atltsoutset.AlthoughNletzschelsseldommeutlouedluAgambeu'suext
book,Stanzas,hlspteseucecaubefeltthtoughoutlt.Asmuchasauyoth
etmodetuthluket,letzschetheotlzedaudptactlcedjustwhatAgambeu
calls fotln Stanzas apoetlzlugphllosophyaudaphllosophlzlugpoetty
thatwouldbteakdownthebattletsbetweeuthetwo.luessaysbotheatly
audlateAgamben has offeted lucld audlnslghtful teadlugsofthe most
ceuttalldeasluNletzsche'sphllosophy, ftomagayscleuce-whlchAg
ambeuttacestoagaysabetfouudlnthepoettyofthettoubadotsaudto
LasLcsdmers,see lS, r,,r,6)-to stellatftleudshlp ,see F), to the
lucldthtesholdofmadness thatNletzschectossed,seelR,|,).etmote
thau the ldeaofthe atld ptoducts ofmodetu aesthetlcs, mote thau the
metglugofpoettyaudphllosophy, motethauascleuceteudetedgayota
ftleudshlpteudetedstellat,theldeaofNletzsche'sthatmostluttlguesAg
ambeulswlthoutquestloutheetetualtecutteuceofthesame.
ust as Spluoza's ldea ofa cltclels ut touud, Nletzsche's ldea of
the etetual tecutteuce of the same ls uelthet etetual uot ldeutlcal.
Althoughltlsludeedtecutteut-uotoulyluthevatletyoffotmslttakes
luNletzsche'spubllshedauduupubllshedwtltlugs,butalsoluthetecep
tlou ofhlswotk-lt ls the lastthlugbuta uulhed docttlue. Nletzsche's
Ftenchttauslatot,lletteKlossowskl,had goodteasoufotsttesslugthatlt
waslufactuotadocttlueatallbutsomethlugmotellkeaslmulactumof
adocttlue.'

FotNletzschehlmselthedeaofthe etetualtecutteuceof
thesamebegauludeeduotasadocttluebutasau cxcricncc. ltwas uota
coucluslouhe teached thtough cateful audcousecutlve medltatlou, but,
lnstead,auldeaotvlslouthatcametohlmoueAugustdayluiiashe
walkedou theAlplueSutlejFelseu ofSlls Matla, Swltzetlaud. Hewept
fotj oy.
Au evocatlouofthlsexpetleuceaud au exptesslou ofthlsldeautst
appeated some tlme latet lu Nletzsche'swtltlug. At the eud ofthe utst
Ihc |niqucandthc|nsaa// , ,
vetslouofIhcCaSccnccl t l s pteseutedas athoughtexpetlmeut."What
lfsomedayotulghtatemptetweteto steal aftetyoulutoyoutlouellest
louelluessaudsaytoyou. Thlsllfeasyouuowllveltaudhavellvedlt,
youwlllhavetollveoucemoteaudluuumetabletlmes mote audthete
wlllbeuothluguewlult,butevetypaluaudevetyjoyaudevetythought
audslghaudevetythluguuuttetablysmallotgteatluyoutllfewlllhaveto
tetututoyou, alllnthesamesuccesslouaudsequeuce-eventhlsspldet
audthlsmooullghtbetweeuthettees,audeveuthlsmomeutaudlmysel
Theetetualhoutglassofexlsteucelstutuedupsldedowuagaluaudagalu,
audyouwlthlt,speckofdust 'Wouldyouuotthtowyoutselfdowuaud
guash yout teeth aud cutse the temptet who spoke thus` Othave you
ouceexpetleucedattemeudous momeutwheuyouwouldhaveausweted
hlm. ou ate a god aud uevet have l heatd auythlug mote dlvlue.' lf
thlsthoughtgaluedpossesslouofyou,ltwouldchaugeyouasyouateot
petbapsctushyou,letzschezcci,i}}).Nletzscheposesaquestlouto
hlsteadet. Cauyoucoucelveofyoutexlsteuceaswlthoutauesseuceleut
toltbysomeothetplaceotfotce`Cauyouacceptthewotld'sttausleuce,
auddoyouseethatthemostapthgutefotcoucelvlugofthatttausleuce
lsthecltcle`Thatthetewlllbeuoethcrllfe, uoethcrthauthlsoue,
thatalldteamsofttausceudeuceateuothlugmotethauthat-dteams
lstheldeathatNletzsche'sthoughtexpetlmeutsoughtto exptss.What
wekuowofthewotldlsofthlswotld, saldNletzsche,sowhatlfwewete
to llve lu fuuctlou ofthls kuowledge lustead ofdlvlue, ttausceudeutal
hypotheses`lfGodlsdead,lftheceutetofallyoutvalueshasdlsappeated
ftomyout lutellectual aud motal htmameut, you ueed a uewmeaus of
asctlblugvaluetothewotldaudyoutactlouslult.Nletzsche'sthoughtex-
petlmeutlsalmedateffectlugatevaluatlouofallvalueswlthouttecoutse
toattausceudeutalspaceototdetofputevalue."Etetualtecutteuceofthe
samelsacoutluuatlouofthestatemeutGodlsdead." lfthetelsuogod,
outwotldmustbecoucelvedofluputelyptofauetetms.WhatNletzsche's
thought expetlmeut sought to pose to hls teadets wlth uewclatltywas
thequestlouastowhethettheycouldbeatthls"gteatestwelght,"whethet
theyhadthestteugthtohudthesoutceofallvalueluthiswotldaud thu
llfe.
Afewyeatsaftet IhcCa Sicncc, letzschetetutuedtohlsvlslou,
dtamatlzlugltlu IhusSe/carathusoa.Thetelutheaulmalsthatspeak
atathustta'sdocttluesay, "l come agalu,wlth thls suu,wlth thls eatth,
wlththlseagle,wlththlssetpeut-to a uewllfe ota bettetllfe ota
i6 Ihc |niqacandthc|nsaa//
slllatllfe. l coe backetetuallyto thls sae,selfsaellfe,luwhatls
gteatestasluwhatlssallest,toteachagalutheetetualtecutteuceofthe
sae ,i}66, zzi) .WhatNletzschesayslsthatwhathascomeaudwhatls
audwhatwlllcomewllluotcomeagalu as auythlugothetthauwhatlt
wasaudls ltwllluotcoeagalnttausceuded,putlued,otspltltuallzed
thetewlllbenoseachauges,nothlugtlchotsttaugewlllltsuffet. ltwlll
comebackagalnas ltwas and ls oesthlsmean alltetaltecutteuceof
evetythlugthathappeusluthlsllfeOtlsthlsmetelyaauuetofellml
uatlugthettauscendeutalftomtheequatlouvetythlugpolutshetetoau
ldeaofa/se/atctransicnccasa/se/atccrmancncc.Thlslutultlou lscleatly
exptessedbyNletzsche'slultlaltltlefotthewotkthatbecae IhasSe/c
arathastraNoouaudtetulty.Thedlfucultyhetelsthatoffotulat
lugauldeaofabolutettausleuce,oflocatlugvalueaudtealltyoulyluthls
wotld.laulCelauwastocouftoutthlssaedlfhcultyluCouutetllght,"
wheteheasks, llpasses'.doesthlsthoughttoouotbtlugalltoahalt`
,i} , . i6;) . Celau'stematksuccluctlyexptessestheesseuceaudthepata
doxlylugattheheattofNletzsche'sdocttlue.Thettausleuceexptessedls
ttausleuceftozeuluthefotofacltcle.
Ascoucetusthlsslugulatldea,auyofNletzsche'sutstteadetsaud
ostofhlsutstcoeutatotsdldwhatoueofteudoeswlththeuuheatd
of.theyavoldedlt.SoeexcusedltasapoetlcRlghtoffaucy,astheptod-
uctofathapsodlccastofNletzsche'sadveututouslud. Othetssawltas
apetvetsethoughtexpetleut,audstlllothetsassoesottoflutellectual
ttap eucoutagedluthlsbyNletzschehlselwhoouoccasloucalledlt
a Medusa's head" audahaet"). Stlllothetsvlewedltasaystlcal
tevelatloufacllltatedbythehlghalpluealtltudesluwlchNletzschewas
waudetlugaudtteatedltwlththedlsctetlouaccotdedtotellglousexpetl
euces. A few lntetpteted lt as a scleutluc hypothesls. ,lu posthuously
publlsheduotescollectedlu Ihc witePeacr, Nletzschedldludeedtoy
wlththeotlesthatdeducedftothehypothesesofluuultetlmeauduulte
attetthat all stateswouldeveutuallytecut, butthese dld uotlle atthe
heattofhlsldea.) 8uttheajotltyofthese htst teadetssawthls ldeaasa
hatblugetofNletzsche'slpeudlugaduess.
ltwaswlthHeldeggetaudothetlutetptetetsofhlsgeuetatlouthatthe
ldeautstcaetobetakeusetlouslyasafuudaeutalpattofNletzsche'
'
phllosophyaud thetebyas au ldea that could uot slply beoccluded
ot temoved, leavlug the test ofNletzsche's thought lutact. Shottly aftet
cltlugthepassage fto Ihc Ca Scicncc, Agabeustates pteclselywhat

Ihc|niqucandthc |nsaa// ,i ;
Heldeggethadbefotehlm.Wlllt opowetaudetetualtecutteuceateuot
twoldeasthatNletzschecasuallyplacesuextto eachothet, theybeloug
tothesameotlgluaudmetaphyslcallymeauthesamethlug" ,M,i
i;| ) .Motelacoulcally, lualatetessayAgambeuslmplytefetstoetetual
tecutteuceasthe cxcrimcnm crucisfNletzsche'sthought ,MWE, ;
6| ) . lu sbott, Agambeu sees etetual ecutteuce as meaulug the same
tblng asletzsche'smostcelebtatedthught ,wllltopowet) audasthe
ctuclalexpetlmeutwlthwhlchNletzsh'sthoughtstaudsotfalls.
luCleatlugs,Agambeuevokedbeluglutheobscute cltcleofex
lsteuce" ,R, ,|).Thlscltcle ls oue that much lutetestedhlmlu the yeats
that followed. As uoted eatllet, lu IhcMan witheutCentcntAgambeu
explotesNletzsche'setetual tecutteuce hstluhls dlscusslou ofthetole
ofwlll luattlstlccteatlouaudtheu, a fepageslatet, luthecoutextof
au ovetcomlugofulhlllsm ,see MW ; | , ,, iz;i| lu hls
ampletteatmeutoftheuotlouluthatbook,hewtltes, lutheldeaofthe
etetual tecutteuce, ulhlllsmattalus lts mostexttemefotm, butpteclsely
fotthls teasoulteutets azoueluwhlchsutpassluglt becomes posslble"
,MWC, o i,|] ). FotAgambeu, the vetyexttemlty ofNletzsche's

posltlou btlugswlth lttheposslbllltyfotatadlcal chauge luvlewpolut.

Etetualtecutteuceoffetsawayoutofulhlllsmaudawaytoactlou,aslt
dldfotHeldegget,whowtote, Whlleathtstblushthedocttlueoftetutu
luttoducesaulmmeuse, patalyzlugludleteucelutoallbelugs audluto
humaubehavlot,luttuththethoughtofthoughtsgtautssuptemelucld
ltyauddeclslveuesstobelugsatevetymomeut."Ascoucetusthesubj ect
ofthat ctuclal chaptet ftomAgambeu's htst bookwhlch eudswlth a
quotatlou ftomNletzscheou thewotldaswotkofatt''-etetual tecut
teuceaudlts capacltyfot ttavetslugaudsutpasslugulhlllsmoetsaway
ofcoucelvlugofattlstlcactlvltyuumootedftomtheaesthetlcftamewotks
thatAgambenlseudeavotlugtoovetcome,seeM,, i|o| ).
Agambeu tetutustothe ldealuhlshfth book, Ida e-but
thls tlme he ls uo louget coucetuedwlth the hlstoty ofaesthetlcs. lu a
chaptet eutltled The ldea ofTtuth," he calls ou etetual tecutteuce to
exptess thefuudameutal ldea behlud hls Idca efecthe abseuce of
auyhualobj ectofkuowlege" ,ll,,6 ,6] . Theetetualtetutuls, lufact,
ahualthlug,butatthesametlmethelmposslblllty, also,ofahualthlug"
,ll, ,6 ,6 , ttauslatlou modlhed). Hete, Nletzsche's speclal couceptlou
oftepetltloulsameausofbteaklugfteeftomthespellofttausceudeuce
audltsuufulhllableptomlseofahualttuth.ltlswhatltwaslu hcMan
i Ihc|niqacandthc |nsaa//c
witheatCentcnt an idea that helpsAgambenexpress his mostprotound
intention.
Jhe tollowingyearAgambenspeaks oteternal recurrence in a re-
latedlight.Aswesaw,lietzscheannouncedhisideaasthatotthegreat-
estweight."this last conversationwithalvinoAgamben recountsthat
they spoke not otthe greatest weight but otthe greatest lightness~ot
the lightness" thatwas to beone otthe topics histriendwas scheduled
to treat in the Harvard lectures that his untimely deathpreventedhim
tromgiving,CK,c) .ReHectingonthisdiscussion Agambenwrotethat
eternal recurrencewas anexemplary manner otthinkingabout theidea
otreversibility,CK, z)4 Jhatsameyear ,i}6)Agambendedicatedan
entireessaytolietzsche`sthoughtexperimentinwhichwereadthatthe
ideaoteternalreturnisprimarilyanideaotthelike Agambenhadbeen
exploring and explicating the etymology ot C/cich ,Cerman tor /i/c) in
lietzsche`sphrasecaigc wicdcr/chrdcsCleichcn| , somethingintheorder
otatotalimage, ortouseBenjamin`swords,adialecticalimage",ER,ic) .
Agamben`s reading here is a radical one. Eternal recurrence otthe same
is explicitlyinterpretedas eternal recurrence not otthe same but otthe
/i/c, otthe similar. As in Cilles Deleuze`s brilliant and idiosyncratic
interpretationoteternalrecurrenceinhisNictzschcandPhi/eseh,i}6z),
eternal recurrence is liberated trom thatwhich is most binding in it. its
sameness. \ith good philological and philosophical reason, Agamben
choosesto interpretlietzsche`s ideahere notasacosmichypothesisbut
asaphilosophicalthoughtexperiment,anexperimentinhndingvaluein
andthroughthisworld,aswellaslikeningit,insomethingotaconceptual
encomium,toBenjamin`sdialecticalimage) .
Agamben was tohndstill other ideas that lietzsche`s remarkable
thought experiment was capable otilluminating. In an introduction to
uy Debord`s Cemmcntarics enthcSecicethcScctac/ctrom i}}c, he
endeavorstoexplicatetorhisreaderswhatasituation"isintheSituationist
senseottheterm.AlthoughDebordhimseltmakesnorecoursetoeternal
recurrence,ortolietzsche,inhisownexplanations, Agambenwritesthat
nothingcouldgiveabetterideaotaconstructedsituation . . . thanthe
bare scenography in which lietzsche, in Ihc Ca Scicncc, develops his
thought`s cxcrimcntam cracis. Aconstructed situation is the room with
the spider and the moonlight between the branches exactly in the mo-
mentwhen~inanswertothedemon`squestion, `Doyoudesire this once
and innumerable times more: `~is said `Yes, I do` " ,M\E, ;} 66;| ) .
Ihc|niqacandthc |nsaa// ]I y
tetnaltecuttencel sptesentedbeteasamannetof asctlblngsuptemeand
excluslve lmpottance to tbebete andnow. ltls a questlon posed to tbe
teadet. ls tbls wotld enougb fotyou` Can you llve wltout te consol
lng ldea ofttanscendence` Agamben contlnues. What ls declslvehete
ls tbe messlanlc dlsplacement tbat intcga/ cbanges tbewotld, leavlng
ltattbesame tlmea/mestlntact. vetytblngbas temalnedthesameand
yetbas lost lts ldentlty" -tbewotldtemalns as ltwas, butoutmannet
ofseelnglteffectsa cbange so tadlcal thatAgambencallsltmesslanlc"
,MW,; 6,] ,ltallcslnotlglnal,ttanslatlonmodlhed).Watlscon
stantthtoughouttese teadlngslsthatAgamben doesnottaketheldea
ofetetnaltecuttenceofthesame" asnecessltatlngalltetaltecuttenceof
somesamestateofaffalts-anlntetptetatloncompatlblewltNletzsces
tematksonthemattet,andbolstetedbythelntetptetatlveeffottsnotonly
ofHeldegget,butalsoof Klossowsklandeleuze) . lnanessayongestute
wtltten twoyeats latet, Agamben agaln speaks ofthe ldealn the most
posltlvetetms,asanelucldatlonandexplotatlonofteldeaof etcnna/i
Tbetboughtoftbeetetnaltetutnlsonlylntelllglbleasagestutelnwlch
potentlallty and act, natutal and manneted, contlngency and necesslty
becomelndlstlngulshable",MW,,,|] ,ttanslatlonmodlhed). lnevety
one ofthese lnstances,Agambenptesentsetetnaltecuttenceasatadlcal
tougt expetlment almed at asctlblngvalue only to and ttoug thu
woldand thullfe. As such, lt ls an expetlmentl nwlchtemomentls
hlledtobutstlngwlthpotentlalltyandapatadlgmofptofanellfe
Tblslsnot,bowevet,Agambenslastwotdontemattet.Elsewete
dutlngtbese yeats thete ate botb sllent and vocal depattutes ftom tls
vlewofNletzsche'sslmulactumofadocttlne."Asllentdepattutelsfound
lnIgnandHute,wbeteNletzscbe'setetnaltecuttencelsabsentfto
tbe lt oftbought expetlments explotlng tadlcally ptesentcenteted ot
nowcenteted conceptlonsoftlmetbatmlgbtelpfotmulateactl-
tlqueoftbelnstantandtbecontlnuum."Tbls lsatmostamlnotmattet,
butjustoneyeataftettbeessayongestutecltedeatllet,Agambenoffetsan
empbatlcdepattuteftomblseatlletteadlngs. AlthouglnTeEtetnal
Retutnandtbelatadoxoflasslon",I6)etefetstoNletzsce'sdocttlne
asthlspatadoxofpasslon,tblsglvlngofselftoself. . . wlchmatkste
dawnlngofallconsclousnessandallsubjectlvlty" ,ER,i6),sucavlewls
teplacedln8attleby, otOnontlngency",i,)byadevastatlngatldlty
The dynamlc osclllatlonthatAgambenfoundln hls eatlletexplotatlons
oftheldeacomestoagtlndlnghalt.lntelatetessayAgambenobsetves
{zc Ihc|niqacandthc|nsaa//c
tbat potentlallty can be tutnedbac towatd thepastln two ways. The
utst one letzsche asslgns to the etetnal tetutn ,l, z6;) . Refettlug to
letzscbe'sowndesctlptlonofthegeneslsofthedocttlueofetetualtecut-
tencethtoughthepalnfulexpetlenceoftheludlvldualconftoutedwlththe
factthattbewlllcannotwlllbacwatd ,whatletzschecallsthewlll's
lonellestmelancholy),Agambenexamlnesthetoleoftheessi//ctheteln.
Summlng up the docttlne and offetlng a newteadlng oflt, Agamben
states, Solelyconcetnedwlth teptesslngthespltltofteveuge, Nletzsche
completelyfotgetsthelameutsofwhatwasuototcouldhavebeeuothet-
wlse,l,z6;) .WheteaseatlletAgambenhadwtltteuthatwhatNletzsche
ttledtodolutheconceptofetetualtetutulspteclselytocoucelvethehual
ldentltyofthetwoetcnnacetcntiaactioaaudetcnnaasioa| ,thewlll
topowetas aputepasslouaffectlugltselluthelatetessayNletzsche's
etetnaltecutteucelsbtandedashavlug,lnthelutetestofsupptesslugthe
spltlt oftevenge, taen the extteme measute ofevacuatlugthe past of
lts potentlallty to have been othetwlse ,and thetebyoflts coutlugeucy)
,R, i;) . Rathet than belng the shlmmetlng polnt ofldeutlty betweeu
twomodalltles, etetnaltecuttencels,lnAgamben'stadlcallytevlsedvlew,
thatwblchevacuatesthepastofltspoteutlal.Thatthlslsactuclallssuels
sttessedbyAgamben'semploylngthehatshesttetms,asletzschelssald
to tutnadeafeatto thelameutsofthosethlugsthatmlghthave beeu
andwetenot.letzsche'sldeaofetetnaltecuttenceofthesamegoesftom
aunlqueexptesslonofpoteutlalltytoltsvetyopposlte.
ln Heme accr, publlshed two yeats aftet the essay ou 8ateby,
Agamben tetutns to etetnal tecutteuce. Hete we tead that lu the late
letzscbe, the etetnal tetutn ofthesameglves fotmto thelmposslblllty
ofdlstlngulshlngbetweenpotentlalltyandactuallty,evenastheHmer n
glves sbape to the lmposslblllty ofdlstlngulshlng between coutlngency
andnecesslty,HS, ;6| ) . Wheteas8ateby,otOnContlugeucyhad
seen tbe fotecloslngofcontlugency ln letzsche's tlgld tepetltlon, hete
Agambentetutnstoanldeaoflndlstlngulshablllty-betweenttanslence
andpetmanence,llghtaudwelght,potentlalltyaudactuallty,coutlngeucy
andnecesslty-thatwesawlnhlseatllettteatmeutsoftheldea.et thls
vlewtoowlllbesoonchaugedlufavotofthemostllmltlugaudpecullat
ofAgamben's tefetences to Nletzsche's ldea. lu Rcmnants eHaschaitz,
the polemlcal thtust ofAgambeu's teadlug ofNletzsche sutpasses auy-
thlngseenln8ateby,otOuCoutlugeucy.Tutulughlsatteutlouaway
ftom tbe questlouofpoteutlalltytoldeasofttausleuceaudcoutlugeucy,
Ihc|niqacandthc |nsaa// ,zi
heofadlamettlcallyopposedlutetptetat|ouofetetualtecutteuce.All
talk ofa dlsplacemeut," ofthluklugofa llke" |usteadofa same," all
talkofglvlugpoteutlal|tytopastaudpteseut|sabaudouedasN|etzsche's
thoughtexpetlmeutlsdesctlbedasameausfothaud|ugdowuajudgmeut
ouhumauh|stoty. Agambeucategot|callyopposeshlmselftoN|etzsche's
ldea ofetetual tecutteuce ou the gtouuds that the eveut ofAuschw|tz
shattetsltsfouudat|ou,thatlttefutesltbeyoudall doubt, exclud|ugthe
poss|b|l|tyof|ts eveu be|ug ptoposed" ,, z| ). The |utt|cac|es of
th|s slugulat atgumeutwete exploted eatl|et aud ate futthet exam|ued
|uthefollow|ugfewpages. 8ut,fotthemomeut,wem|ghthtstaskwhat
btoughtaboutth|stad|calchauge|uAgambeu'spos|t|ou.
Agambeuwasasked|uau|utetv|ew|uzowhyN|etzschehaduot
playedamotefuudameutaltole|uh|swt|t|ugs,cous|det|ugwhatacous|s
teutpolutoftefeteuceNletzschewasfotthose|utetested|udevelop|ugot
|uveutlug a uouexclus|ve coucept|ou ofthepol|t|cal." ,The |utetv|ewet
seemstobeallud|ugtohgutessuchasNaucy, 8ad|ou,eleuze,Foucault,
ettlda,Negtl,audltuo.)Agambeu'sauswettothequest|ou|schatac-
tetlstlcally|ud|tect.The|utetvlewet's|utetest|scleatlyfocusedoupol|t|cal
phllosophy,yetAgambeu'sauswetdepatts|uacompletelyd|eteutd|tec
tlou.Nletzschewas|mpottautfotme,"hebeg|us,butabltl|ke8eujam|u
lseeetetualtecutteuceasllkehavlugtostayaetschoolwheuyouhave
towtltethesameseuteuceathousaudt|mes",LA,i6).

esp|tethefact
thathlslutetv|ewethaduotmeutlouedetetualtecutteuce,auddesp|tethe
factthatthosethluketstowhomhewasallud|ug,who tututoN|etzsche
fotpolltlcalcootdluates,douotaccotdgteatplacetoetetualtecutteuce|u
thelte/itica/aualyses ,theyatemotefocusedoutheldeasofai, truth,
eucr, aud gcnca/eg), lt|spteclselyto th|s polut thatAgambeutetutus
audhedoessouotabltllke8eujam|u"butexactlyl|keh|m.
8eujamlufouudtheldeaofetetualtecutteuceofs|ugulat|utetest,
butwhathesawlultwas, aboveall,somethlugmcchanica/audmludlessly
tepetltlve.Mostfamously, 8eujamluta|sesaquest|ouofptecedeuce,uot
|ug, as Agambeu would aftet hlm, that the ulueteeuthceututy Fteuch
tevolutlouaty aud autodldact LoulsAuguste 8lauqu| wtote ofau |dea
that, lu |ts esseutlal outllues, autlclpatedNletzsche's doctt|ue ofetetual
tecutteuce byteuyeats. Aftet uot|ugth|s, 8eujam|u makes the tad|cal
cla|mthatthebel|ef|uptogtess,luaueudlesspetfect|b|l|ty-aueudless
motaltask-audthetepteseutat|ouofetetualtecutteuceatecomplemeu
taty" ,8eujam|uA, , GS, i;, ttauslat|ou mod|hed). Whethet the
zz Ihc|niqacandthc |maa//c
lmptovemeuts thatletzschelmagluedluthestateofthewotldtocome
wete complemeutaty wlth the ldeologyofptogtess that 8euj amlu set
outtocombatlsdebatable,but8eujamlugoesstlllfatthetludtawlugcou-
cluslousftomthlscomplemeutatlty. Hehudsthatletzsche'steachlugls
compllcltwlth lmpetlallsm ,letzschehadaulukllugofhls docttlue's
compllcltywlthlmpetlallsm 8euj amluAl, GS, ; i;| ) audthatetetual
tecutteucelsluopposltloutothecouceptofmesslaulctlme,uowtlme,
asexploslve, uouhomogeuoustlme,butstlugwlthtevolutlouatyptomlse.
Fot 8eujamlu, etetualtecutteuce offets avlslou oftlme as blaudlyaud
blaukly ptogtesslve.

As ls ofteu the case, 8eujamlu couceuttates hls

ctltlclsmluthefotmofapattlculatlysttlkluglmage-thatofhavlugto
stayaftetschool audcopyoutthesame seuteuceaduauseum,8eujamlu
GS, i. ii;z) . Fot8eujamlu, etetualtecutteuceofthesamewas auldeaof
mechaulcal tepetltlou, audfotthlsteasouhellkeuedlttotheldeologyof
ptogtess,audtoapuulshmeut. lusteadofallowlugthechlldllkeexetclse
ofuewfouudpoteutlalltysoastowtlteallmauuetofcteatlvethlugs,etet
ualtecutteuceoffetedtheuumbluglyadulttaskofmludlesstepetltlou.
WhlleHeldeggetsawttacesofthemechaulcallutheldea,heuevet
came ose to teduclug lt to that elemeut. Fot hlm, etetual tecutteuce
hadalltheeatmatksofwhathecalled autheutlctempotalltyaudwhat
8eujamlucalleduowtlme ,acouceptlouoftlmewhoseceuttalfocusls
outhedyuamlcposslbllltlesofthepteseut) .lualectutecoutseHeldegget
statedthatwhatlsexptessedluletzsche'scouceptofetetualtecutteucels
etetultyuotasauattesteduow,butasauowthattesouudsbackupoult-
selfinsichsc//stzarc/sch/gcndcct| ,HeldeggetGA 6. ). 8eujamlu
seeslt,howevet,assomethlugdlamettlcallyopposedtothls.Fothlm,ltls
acouceptlouoftlmeaudofltsmomeutevacuatedofdyuamlcpoteutlal-
lty. Hlsmoststtlkluglmagefotthlsptogtessotleuteddocttluecompllclt
wlth the fotces oflmpetlallsm ls the chlld made to stayaftetschool to
copyoutmotallyseuteutlous seuteuces almedatmaklughlmabettet,ot
motedoclle,adult.Apptoptlatlgthestotyofauadultcopylst,8ateby,
thesctlveuet),AgambeumovesfatthetawayftomaHeldeggetlauteadlug
ofletzsche aud closet to 8eujamlu's ldea ofpuulshmeut. lultlally, fot
Agambeu, a hgute ofabsolute ludlstluctlou otludetetmluatlou, etetual
tecutteucewasrichlupoteutlallty.Hete,lu8eujamlu'swake,ltcoulduot
bepootetlult.
Whatwehavehetelspethapsuothlugmystetlous.Ovetthecoutse
ofsevetaldecadesofcoutluuedteteadlugaudteRectlouAgambeuappeats
Ihc|niqucandthcaa// , z,
to have chauged hls mlud as to the ultlmate lmpott ofa complex aud
uototlouslyeulgmatlcphllosophlcalldea. Thlsmoveluhlsthluklugcot-
tespoudedtoamoveawayftomthelle dtawubyouetteasutethluket
luthedltectlouofalluedtawubyauothet.8utwhatlsofgteatestlutetest
hetelsacottelateofthlschaugeluposltlou.Theteasoufottheslugulat
uucettalutyexptessedbyAgambeucoucetulugNletzsche'sldeallesluthat
whlchhelsttylugtothlukthtoughlt."putepoteutlallty."FotAgambeu
to thluk "pute poteutlallty" ls also to thluk the dyuamlcpoteutlallt
ofthepast.Agambeulstlghtto seethatNletzschewlshedto ellmluate
ftomthepastltspoteutlallty,lfuot,asAgambeuatgues,ltscoutlugeucy).
Nletzsche eudeavoted to coucelve ofthe past uot as ncccssa but ouly
as-tochooseatetmthatwlllplayaptogtammatlctoleluAgambeu's Ihc
CemingCemmuni-irrcara//. Nletzschewlshed tofteezethepastso
astocouftoutthemostpalufulaspectofhumauexpetleuce.thatwecau
nottutubacktlme,uudowtougs,audellmluatethemousttoussuetlug
ofthepast.Etetualtecutteucewasathoughtexpetlmeutalmedatfteelug
lndlvlduals ofthe louglugfot the past to have beeu othet thau lt was.
ThebottomllueluNletzsche'sdocttlueofetetualtecutteuce,aswesaw,
ls thattheteethguashlugwlllcauuotchaugethepast.lfteadluallbetal
llght,Nletzsche'sgoalwastodltecthumaulty'sgazemotehxedlyouwhat
wasto bedoueto btlugaboutauewotdetthatmlghtavoldsuchthlugs
tepeatlngthemselvesluthefutute.Awakeulugthepoteutlalltyofthepast
asAgambeucoucelvesltcauuotslmplybeauactofaithatacceptsthe
pastluallltslttevocablllty,thatapptoptlatesthepast'scoutlugeucyasthe
wlll 'suecesslty,whatNletzschecalledamer . WhethetAgambeu'slul-
tlalothlssubsequeutteadlugofNletzsche'setetualtecutteucehas bettet
phllosophlcaljustlhcatloulsuotthemostlmpottautquestloutoaskhete.
lustead,thequestloulsbestposedlutetmsofhowAgambeuadoptsaud
developstheldea,audhlsslugulatamblvaleuceexempllhesthedlfhculty
fothlm-bothluRcmnantseuschaitzaudelsewhete-ofdevelopluga
phllosophyofpoteutlalltyabletocometotetmswlththepast.
LMA JLK L GMJ
hc ousQcndcd oubstantvc.
Ihc Ocn Man and Hnima/
\ithatieasenigmaticas IhcOcn,thebook`sreadermightell
wonder, theopen ahatIsthetie`sadjectivetostandalone` Doesitneed
no substantive to support it` Jhis unusual title is not what one might
hrst suspect~it is not an awkward translation otthework`s original ti-
tle.Mosubstantivetollowsintheoriginal, andnoneismeantto.Jheidea
thatgivesAgamben`sbookitstitleisthatotan openness thatisuncondi-
tioned~and perhaps unconditional, unspecihed~andperhaps unspeci-
hable.
Itthequestion the open ahat can beansweredwith nosubstan-
tive,we mightask inwhatthis openingoccurs. Bctaccnwhatmoresub-
stantive things has an indehnable spaceopened`Jhe hrstanswerto the
questioncanbetoundinthework`ssubtitle.ManandHnima/.Jheopen
spaceinquestionisthatwhichseparatesanddistinguishesmantromani-
mal. Ihilosophers, anthropologists,socialscientists, zoologists, chemists,
taxonomists~andmanyothers~have had no small dithcultyin agree-
ing on the matter. Ihilosophers have traditionally held a lo opinion
otanimals. ' Descartes had especially little respect tor their minds and
inHuentially classihed them as aatemata mcchanica. AsAgambnnotes,
thegreatnaturalistandtaxonomistLinnaeusrespondedtothisassertion
withthelaconicrejoinder,Descartesobviouslyneversawanape"seeO,
z c| , translation modihed) . Ihilosophers have been moreeagerthan
taxonomists to put distance between themselves and animals~and tor
IhcScnddSu/stannic yzj
thls teasou have beeu pattlculatlylutetested lu studylugwhat sepatates
mauftom aulmal.ThelastgteatattemptluthlstegatdwasHeldegget's.
espltehlsptefeteucefottheptlmotdlalaudhls opeuuess tothewoods
audthewlldetuess,hlsoplulouofaulmals'facultleswasuotmuchhlghet
thau that ofescattes. lu hlsvlew, aulmals llve lu aueuvltoumeut lu
whlchtheyateteceptlvetovatlous stlmull butwhetetheyhaveuothlug
apptoxlmatlugwhatwe calla wotld."Aulmalsate, asheclalms, "poot
luwotld uc/tarm| "-eveuwlthoutwotld uc/ts| ."Theyllvelusuch
luteuseaudlucessautptoxlmltytothelteuvltoumeutaudltsstlmullthat
theydouotseetheexlsteutlalfotestfottheeuvltoumeutalttees.Theycau
uevettakeastepaway ftom thelmmedlacyoftheltpetceptlou audfot
thls teasou cauuotbesald topossessawotld" lu theseusethatmau,lu
Heldegget'svlew,does.
lults opeulugllues, Langoagc andDcathcltes Heldegget's tematk
that Mottals atetheywho cauexpetleucdeathasdeath.Aulmalscau
notdothls. 8utuelthetcautheyspeak" ,cltedluL, xl y| , ttauslatlou
modlued) .Heldeggetsawacouuectloubetweeuthesetwoptlvatlous,aud
ltwasthlsllukthatAgambeufollowedluhlsfoutthbook.Aulmalscau
uotspeaklutheseuse thattheycautakeuodlstauceftomtheltmeaus
ofexptesslonaudcommuulcatlou.ustas theycauuottake astep away
ftomtheltwotld to teRect ou lt ,audfotthlsteasou, Heldeggetclalms,
theyhaveuouerluhlsspeclalseuseofthetetm),uelthetcautheytake
astepawayftomtheltvolcetoteRectoult,audthushaveuo /ngagc)
Loug befote Heldegget, Atlstotlehad uoted lu hls Pe/incs that "amoug
llvlug belugs, oulymau has lauguage." Llke aulmals, we make souuds
ofpleasuteaudpaluwlthoutvolces, butwe ateuulquelupossessluga
lauguage-audasAtlstotlesays,lauguagelsfotmaulfestlugtheexpedl
eut aud the luexpedleut, thejust aud the uujust" ,Atlstotle IzQ i|,
ioi) .Thlsdlffeteucelsthesoutceofoutethlcaltespouslbllltyaudthe
lossofoutaulmalluuoceuce. ,Fotthlsteasou, luIdca ePrescAgambeu
desctlbesauexpetleuceoflauguageludepeudeutofslgulhcatlouas "the
luuoceuceoflauguage.")
AtlstotleaudHeldeggetpteseutthlsluabllltyassomethlugouthe
otdetofaptlvatlou, . . cauuot. . . uelthetcauthey. . . ").Agambeu,
howevet, sttesses luuumetousplaces that out humau state mlghtwlth
equaljustlce bevlewed as a ptlvatlou. Aswesaweatllet, Agambeu has
oftenevokedthelmmedlacyofwhatMallatmcalled iesacrcdc
z6 IhcSascnddSa/smnnoc
tcrrcingnac-the chotus ofnatutal and anlmalllfe that can soundso
joyous to humaneats. lnashott,latgely nattatlve textftomi}z entltled
IhcEnde Iheaght, Agamben wtltes ofwalklng ln the fotest and be-
lngsutptlsedby thevatlety ofanlmalvolces. ltlmately, thedouble
noteofthecuckoomocksoutsllenceandtevealsoutbelng, unlqueand
wlthoutvolcelnthelnunltechotusofanlmalvolcesnc/cerinnitedcdc
oecianima/ ,Fl, i) . As Westetn phllosophy has not tlted ofsttesslng,
thevolces ofanlmals have no capacltyfot teRectlon becausetheytake
nodlstanceftomtheltexpetlence-butasAgambenpolntsout, thls also
meanstheyhaveanlmmedlacythatwelack.Thlslswhatfotmstheketnel
ofAgamben'smanylntettogatlonsofthedoubleedgedldeaofoeiccandof
whatsepatatesoutvolcesftomthoseofanlmals.lnessayssuchasolce
andocatlon,thlsldeallesatthecentetfhlslntetestsandlsevenfound
ln the tltle ofone ofAgamben'sbooks, as 8enj amln's ldeaofptose ls
a celebtatlon oflanguagethat lstheldeaofptoseltsel andwhlchls
undetstoodbyallhumansjustasthelanguageofbltdslsundetstoodby
those botnonSuday ,8enj amln GS, i. iz}) .` FotAgamben, the bltth
oftbought ls located ln out teRectlon on the anlmal volces suttound-
lngus. ln IhcEndeIheaghthesttessesthatwhenwe atelnthemldst
ofnatute and lts many volces, lt ls then that we tty to speak and to
thln ,Fl, i) . ThlslnltlalteRectlvemomentlsnotoneofexubetanceot
j oy, andAgambennotesthatthewotdtheaghtcnsicre| otlglnallymeant
angulshandtotment,Fl, i). Thlnklnglnlanguagelssomethlngwe
can do,Agamben wtltes, becauselanguage at once ls, andlsnot, out
volce,Fl, ). Thlspassageftomlnnocenceandlmmedlacytoexpetlence
and teRectlon lsalsothepassage ttacedbetween inncanlmpottant
conceptfotAgambendutlngtheyeatswhenhewasdeveloplnghlsldeas
of oeicc and /nagc-and sccch. We should as llttle slmply bemoan
outlossoflnfancyasvauntoutpossesslonofanattlculatelanguage,the
lntetestoftheexpetlencelles, fotAgamben,elsewhete. ln anessayftom
i}c, he tefets to a nlneteenthcentuty chlldten's book that doubled as
an lllusttated gtammat ,La Crammatica dcda sigerinaMim lnwhlch
lmlleatnsthattospeaklsnotslmplytomakecettalnnolses,asanlmals
do, but to leatn language's tules, ofwhlchAgambenwtltes, ln thell-
lusttatlonto thlspassageweseetheyounggltlbetweenadogandacat,
symbolofthebumanwotdlndangetofloslngltselflntheanlmalvolce
,lS, i;;i;). Outexpetlence-andoutteRectlvecapacltles-comelnto
IhcScnddSu/smnnic ,z;
be|ug|utespousetoth|sau|malvo|ce." luInnandHiste Lanagc
andDcath, IhcEnde Iheught, audessayssuch as "Theelebtat|ouof
theH|ddeuTteasute,"thevo|cesofau|malsateofthegteatest|mottauce
fotAgambeu,aud|t|sth|steBect|ououthetelat|ouofvo|cetolauguage
thatl|esattheceutetofh|s|utetest|u Ihccn.
Asmeut|ouedeatl|et,thet|tle Ihccn|s,fotall|tssttaugeuess,uot
thetesultofauawkwatdttauslat|ouftomAgambeu'sltal|au.Nevettheless,
|tssttaugeuessdoesstem|ulatgepattftomattauslat|ou-ottobemote
ptec|se,ftomtwottauslat|ous.Thehtstofthese|sftomtheGetmau. The
Getmau|uquest|ou|saspec|aloue. theptofouudly|d|osyuctat|ctechu|
calvocabulatythat He|deggetfash|ouedfoth|sph|losoph|calputposes.
FotHe|degget, theopeu"|ssometh|ugl|tetallyfuudameutalaud|tl|es
attheheattofh|sthought.Th|sopeu"|sthespacetevealedtous|uthe
momeut wheu thewotldwel|ve |u, wh|ch because ofout mauytasks
audttava|lswe teud to take uo d|stauce ftom ,l|ke au|mals ftom the|t
st|mul|), oeus out outo someth|uglatget. Th|s momeut ofd|stauc|ug
outselvesftomoutevetydaycoucetuw|thmeausaudeuds,w|thst|mul|
audtespouse,|swhatg|vesusuotj ustaueuv|toumeutbut,|uh|swotds,
awotld."Theopeu"|swhatwetheuhudoutselves|uwheuthebustle
audhasteofouteuv|toumeuttecedesaudweseethateuv|toumeut|uall
|tssttaugeuessaud|mmeus|ty, asawotld"-ouethat|sgteatetaudless
gtaspablethau out tepteseutat|ous of|t. Th|s expet|euceof"the opeu"
|s,fotHe|degget,whatmakesushumau,audwhatsepatatesusftomthe
au|mals. Th|sopeumomeut|stheouethatl|esattheot|g|uofph|loso
phy. the humbl|ug-aud poteut|ally ft|ghteu|ug-momeut ofwoudet
that htst sputted humau speculat|ou |uto the huet aud deepet teasous
fotth|ugs.Aswash|swout, He|deggetcameupw|thaspec|alphtaseto
desct|beth|sexpet|euceofacced|ugtotheopeu-"thewotldwotlds dic
/tuc/tct|"-aud |u thevetyuextseuteuce ofthetextwhetehe|utto-
duces th|sfotmulat|oustatesthatthetockhasuowotld. llautsaudau|
malsalsohaveuowotld",He|deggetr,o,,r).

Wheuthewotld,sttaugely
euough, wotlds,"wehudthatwotldopeubefoteus,weatestaud|ug,to
adoptHe|degget'stetms,|uaeat|ug," astepawayftombothtteesaud
fotest.Thewotld|suolougettoomuchw|thusaudwesuddeulyseettees,
fotest,audoutselves|uauuueasyaudchaug|ugtelat|outooueauothet.
Ihc ecn |s oue tetm amoug mauy |u He|degget's techu|cal vo
cabulatyaud |t was ult|matelyoue that fouud l|ttleplace |u h|s latet
z IhcScnddSa/stannoc
pbllosopby. lt played, nevettbeless, a ctuclal tole ln tbe development of
tbat pbllosopby. Tbls ls most cleatly vlslble, as Agamben poluts out,
ln Heldegget's lectutes ln ltelbutg ln tbe fall semestet ofi}z. lu
tbe mldst oftbe most unspatlng combat, Heldegget was lectutlng on
latmenldes.Tbecoutsewasdedlcatedlnlatgepatttotbettauslatlonofa
slngle-a/cthcia, Gteekfotttutb.Heldeggetsuggestedanumbet
ofways ofttauslatlngtbetetm, butblsfouttbaudhnalsuggestlonwas,
sncanddasFrcicdcrLichtangdcsScim-lltetally, the openaud
tbefteelntbecleatlugof belng-otmoteslmply, tbeopeu,Heldegget
GA, ;. i};) . ln bls woodland tetmlnology, Lichmng, a cleatlng ,as lu a
fotest) , ls etymologlcallya llgbt-lng, an openlngand an lllumlnatlou.
GlventbeptldeofpbllosopblcalandpoetlcplacetbatHeldeggetaccotded
toblsowncleatlngs Lichtangn] asopenlngsontoaplacethatlsofptl
matyandptlmotdlalmeanlngandbelug,ltsbouldcomeasllttlesutptlse
tbattbetwentyhve-yeat-oldAgambenentltledaneatlypoemCleatlngs.
ln Heldegget's ontologlcal teglstet, tbe open cottesponds to otlgluaty
ttutb. ltlstbeopen spacelnwblcb ttutb lnltsotlglnal ,Gteek) meanlug
tookplace.ltstandstbus,fotHeldegget,attbebeattofpbllosopby.attbe
beattofltsblstotyandltsessence.
lu tbese lectutes htst publlsbed lu i}}, lt seems that Heldegget
attlved atbls ttanslatlon notoulybysoundlngtbe coucealed depths of
anclent Gteek, but also by soundlng the concealed deptbs ofmodetu
Getman. TblsmodetnGetmanwasapoetlcoue-tbatofRllke. Asbe
lnttoducesblsttanslatlonof latmenldes'tetmfotttutb,Heldeggetlswell
awate tbat tbe unusual exptesslon tbe open wlll lead bls llstenets to
tblnkofRllke's aineE/cgicsi}z), audlnpattlculatofRllke'stepeated
useoftbecutloustetmlntbeelgbtbelegy. ,AltbougbneltbetHeldegget
notAgambennotes tbls, tbetetmbadalongetpoetlcblstotyandlnfact
badbeenusedbyHldetllnlnoneofblsmostfamouspoems, teadand
Wlne. Se/emmdass airdas ncschaacn4 4 4 )Rllke'selegybeglns,
Wltb all ltseyes tbecteatutesees/tbeopen nc] ,Rllke i}}6,
z. zz) . lnblspoem,we,bumanklnd) ateexcludedftom tblsgllmpseof
tbe opengtantedto allotbetcteatutes. eatseatllet,onavlsltto latls's
ardindcsP/antcs,Rllke'ssensltlveeyebadbeencaptutedbyapantbet.lot
Rllke'spantbet, captlvltywastbecenttalfactofblsexlstence. ltseems
to blm,wtoteRllke oftbegteatcat, that, tbete ate/a tbousaud bats,
andbeblndtbebats,nowotld,Rllkei}}6,i. 6}) .WbatlntetestedRllke
IhcSuscndcdSu/smnnic y z
was how |mpeuettable, howfullof|ucommuu|cablewlll, stteugth, aud
s|leuce, the au|malwas, what awakeued h|s poet|cseuslb|l|tleswashow
closedoffthatau|mal 'swotldwasThewoldlessuessoftheaulmalptoves
|uthelatetpoemtobetheftu|tuotof|tsuatutebutofltscouhuemeut.lu
thee|ghthelegy,theuuuamedau|mal,dicrcator)|saccotdedad|ffeteut
gl|mpseofthewotld. |tseesthewotldluall|tsopeuuess.ltseeswhatfeat
ofdeathaudfeatofl|fepteveutus,thesmattestaudsaddestofcteatutes,
ftomsee|ug.thewotld|uall|tsluteuseaudlutetcouuectedlmmedlacy
He|degget |s qu|ck to d|stauce hlmself ftom thls |mmelacy.
Although, as he uotes, he aud Rllke ate employ|ugthe same tetm, the
same"wotd|ug" He|deggettepeatedlyuses thetetm ert/utlusteadof
theslmplet ert),"what|sbeluguamed,"saysHeldeggetofhlsuseofthe
tetm"theopeu," "|ssodlffeteutthatuoopposlt|oucouldhopetocouvey
|t," because "oppos|tlous-eveu the most extteme-emaud that those
th|ugswh|chatetobeopposedtooueauothetcaubeplacedluthesame
tealm"He|deggetGA,,|. zz)."Theopeu"thatRllkeptalsesaudthathe
seesteRected|utheeyesofau|mals|s,fotHeldegget,meteblluduess.Thls
bl|uduess|sofapattlculatsott.hlstotlcal blluduess. Rllke'sptoblem,hls
m|sappteheus|ouofthedeepmeaulugofthetetm"theopeu"au,accot
|ugto Heldegget, hls lucousequeutuseoflt stems ftomhls uuthluklug
adoptlouofattadltloualvlewofthetelatlouofmautoaulmalthatlstypl
calofafuudameutallyuuteRect|vemodetultyseeHe|eggetGA,,|.zyi,
,|.zy,).The "opeu" wlthwh|ch He|deggetttauslated the Gteek outhls
auothetouethauthatwh|chR|lkefamously|uvoked.FotHeldegget,|tls
uottheau|malsthatsee"theopeu",theyateopeutouothlugbutst|mull
Accotd|ugtoh|m,theexpet|euce|stesetvedfotusaloue.
Th|s |s the po|utatwh|chAgambeutakesh|s t|tleaudeutetsthe
d|scuss|ou. Thed|fhcultyofacced|ugto th|s"opeu" placelsouethathe
hadtefettedtoaseatlyastheeudofh|ssecoudbook, Stanzs"Eveu|f|t
weteposs|bletotevealthemetaphys|cal|uhet|tauceofmodetusemlology,
|twouldst|ll be |mposs|blefot us to couce|ve ofapteseucethat, hually
fteedftomd|ffeteuce,wasoulyapute auduud|v|dedstat|ou|utheopeu
anaara c indiiisastaziencnccte| " ,S, i, i|) Thteeyeatslatet,
Agambeu's |utetest|uthls tetm|uolog|calcouuect|oulsattestedtoluau
essay|uwh|chAgambeuuotoulypo|utsoutRllke'suseofthetetm"the
opeu" but cla|ms ofthe Duine E/cgcs that "He|degget had them cou
stautly|um|udwh|lewt|t|ugBcingandIimc",, i).Agambeu'sessay
c IhcSascndcdSa/stantioc
Tbelace,ftomi}}c ,tbengllsbttanslatlonlncottectlydatesltasftom
i}};), beglns, llllvlngbelngsatelntbeopen ,MW, }i ;| ) . lntbat
essayAgambennotestbatanlmalsatealways alteadylntbeopen, and
bumans ate slngled out ln tbat tbey ttansfotm tbe open lnto awotld
,W } ;;| ) . lnRcmnantseAaschaitz,Agambentefetslnpasslngto
tbeptlstlneadbeslontotbepentbatRllkedlscetnedlntbegazeoftbe
anlmal ,RA izziz ii ) .
ln IhcOcnAgambenneltbetlamentsRllke'sblstotlcoontologlcal
navet notaccuses Heldeggetoflnsensltlvltytowatdpoettyotanlmals.
Hlslntetestlshxedonanotbetpolnt.tbeopenplacewbetebefeelstbat
tbe two ltteconcllable posltlons meet-tbe polnt atwhlcb tbe anlmal's
unblndeted openness, ot teceptlvlty, to stlmull ln lts envltonment and
man's openness to tbewotld lnall ltsungtaspablelmmensltyconvetge.
nemlgbtaskwbetbet tbese two typesofopenness, tbese two typesof
teceptlvlty, baveanytblngln common,wbetbettbeybeat tbewelgbt of
compatlson. lotHeldeggettbeycleatlydldnot.Agambenassumestbat
tbeydo,andtblsassumptlonleadsblmtoposltanotbettypeofopenness
tbaneltbetRllkeotHeldeggetbadconcelvedoanopennessoflnactlv-
lty, of engagement ftom one's envltonment, and petbaps ftom one's
wotld
Tbls openness tbat lntetests Agamben ls not one oflmmetslon ln
lmmedlatestlmull andsbott-tetm tasks, notls ltanexaltlnglntbe lm
mensltyand sttangeness oftbe wotld tatbet lt ls a speclal sott ofln
actlvlty tbat be denotes uslng anotbet sttange substantlve-tbe ltencb
tetm decaorcmcnt ,lnopetatlveness inecresit) . Agamben dedlcates
a slgnlucant amount of Ihc Ocn to tbe exegesls oftbls tetm ,wblcb l
examlnedln an eatlletscbollum) botb at tbe beglnnlngoftbe book ln
bls dlscusslonoftbe debate concetnlnglt between Geotges 8atallleand
AlexandteKojve andattbeboo'send,wbetetbepenultlmatecbaptet
beats te tltle Dsecaorcmcnt. Aswesaw, tbls ls fatftom tbe htst tlme
tbatAgambenconftontedtbeldea.AseatlyasangagcandDcathbeex-
amlned-andquotedlongpassages ftom-tbecottespondence between
tbetwomen lntbecontextofbls lnvestlgatlonoftbetoleofnegatlvlty
lnHegel'sdlalectlc,seeL,;c; 6;6;| ) . Decaorcmcnt sanldeathat
excltedtbelntenselntetestoftwo otbetwtltetstowbomAgambenfeels
close-8lancbotandancy,wbobotb,aswealsosaweatllet,wtotewotks
centeted atound tbls tetm's use ln 8atallle's wotk and lts appllcatlons
IhcSuscnddSu/stannic , , i
beyondlt.l n Ihc CemingCemmuniAgambenludltectlytespoudedto
8lanchot'sandNancy'sspeculatlonsoudsecuircmcnt,commuulty,com
munlsm,andldeutlty. lnhlsuextwotk, HemeSaccr,hettacedthetetm's
genealogy and offeted hls own slngulatlntetptetatlon oflt. Thetelu he
wtltes that the only cohetent way to ndetstaud lnopetatlveuess ls to
thlnk oflt as a genetlc mode ofpotentlalltythat ls not exhausted ,llke
lndlvldualactlonotcollectlveactlouuudetstoodasthesumofludlvldual
actlons)luatransimsdetcnnaadacmm",HS,6z ;i|). Fot8atallle,the
tetmmeautatadlcaltetatlouoftheutllltatlaualmsofmodetusoclety
audmodetnphllosophy,teptesentedfothlmbyHegel'sdlalectlc),acom-
mltmenttolnactlvltyaudexcess,audatefusaltocouttlbutetothegteat
wotk,theecuircofdsecuircmcnt)ofhlstoty.FotAgambeu,ltlsthlsaud
mote.Aswesaweatllet,dsecuircmcntlsuotaboutexhaustlouoteveuex
cess,but,lnstead,whatAgambeucallsetcntia/i. lttepteseutsauenetgy
thathasnotbeenexhaustedaudthatcannetbeexhaustedluthepasslugof
thepotentlaltotheactual,transitosdcetcntiaadacmm).lnthepostface
to anewltallan edltlon of Ihc Ceming Cemmuni, Agambeuteceutets
hlsspeculatlonslnthatwotkatoundtheldeaoflnopetatlvenessandsug
geststhatthetetmmlghtfotmapatadlgmfotpolltlcs".lnopetatlveuess
doesnotslgnlfylnettla,buttathetatargcsthatlstosay, auopetatlon
lnwhlcbthe d lntegtallyteplacesthe that, luwhlchfotmlessllfe and
llfeless otm colnclde ln a fotm ofllfe unarma di iita| " notwotk,
butlnopetatlveness ls] thepatadlgmofthecomlugpolltlcs" ,CC ,) .
lnopetatlveness ls not lazlness ot lnactlvlty, lt ls the open space whete
otmlesslleandllfelessfotmmeetlnadlstlnctllfefotmandfotmofllv
lngtbatatetlchwltb tbelt ownslngulatpotentlallty. Thls lstheopen"
tbatAgamben' stltlesttlvestoname.
Ftom IhcMan theutCentcntonwatdwehaveseensomethlugof
atecuttentpattetn.asottofBcnamincxmachinawheteattheeudofau
essayotwotktheconttadlctlonsuncovetedotptoblemsposedate,lfuot
tesolved, placedlnanew-andmotehopeful-llghtthauks toluslghts
culledftom8enjamlu'sthought. Ihccnlsuoexceptlouluthlstegatd.
Aftet slx chaptets ofHeldeggetlau exegesls ,Chaptets Twelve thtough
Seventeen), Agambeu tutus abtuptly to 8enjamlu. ust as the kuot of
Heldeggetlanteasoulughas begun to tlghten atouud mau aud aulmal,
Agambenappeals to a couceptlou ofthe opeu takeu ftom 8eujamlu's
tefetencelnalettetftomiz,to thesavedulght."Thechaptet'stltlels
,,z IhcScndcdSa/stannic
8etween Ira| and suggests a dlffetent fotm ofthe open gllmpsed ln
tblssttangelytedeemednlght. Thlsopennesslswhat8enjamlnelsewhete
calleddlalectlcsatastandstlll,thebetweenotlntetvalbetweentwo
tetms ottwo cootdlnates-anuntesolvedopposltlon, adsecaircmcntat
theheattofadlalectlcthathadhlthettoknownnopause ,O, , , ).
ln a numbet ofhlsessays Agamben speaks ofan authot's havlng
a slngle most petsonal and lntlmate gestute. lfwe wete to apply thls
ptlnclple toAgamben'sownwtltlng,wemlghthndsuchadehnlngges-
tute ln the cutlous ldea ofa dlvlslon ofdlvlslon. Thls gestute ls best
seenlnaphllologlcalemendatlonthatAgambenmakesln IhcIimcIhat
Rcmaimandthatlexamlnedeatllet,concetnlng8enjamln'sllnedlvlded
byApelles'lnclslon). Agambentakes8enjamln'shlthettomlsundetstood
hguteasametaphotfotthelullnlandlvlslonandsuspenslon ofeatllet
dlvlslons,ew/Gentlle,cltcumclsed/uncltcumclsed,mattled/slngle,and
so on) Wbeteln lles tbe lntetest ofthls dlvlslon ofa dlvlslon' ` asks
Agamben. Hlsteplyls, Abovealllntbatltobllgesusto tblntheques
tlonoftbetelatlonofunlvetsaltopattlculatlnacompletelynewfasblon,
not only ln tbe tealm ofloglc but ln thatofontology and ofpolltlcs
,TTR , ,,,| ) Wbatwas at lssue lnAgamben's ldea ofcommunlty
was pteclselytbls undlng hgutes to thlnk the questlon ofthe telatlon
ofunlvetsalto pattlculatlnacompletelynewfashlon.Futthetglosslng
tblsdlvlslonofadlvlslon,Agambensaysthatltlsanopetatlonthatdl-
vldesthesedllslonsofthelawthemselvesandtendetsthemlnopetatlve
wltbout fotasmuch leadlngthem to an ultlmate stage an sae/e a/nme|
,TTR,,|,,). HetewecanfollowthellneofteRectlonllnklngAgamben's
teRectlons on the ldeaofthe lnopetatlve ftom LangagcandDcathto
IhcCemingCemmani, HemeSaccr, and Ihc Ocn.Whatls mote, we
canttacehlslntetestlnthehgutestlllfatthetback,bothtohlstematkson
iecatienastbatwblchtendetslnopetatlveaneatlletvocatlontathetthan
slmplyteplaclngltwlthanewgoal, andtohlshtstbook,whetewtltlng
about thedlvlslvenatute ofmodetn aesthetlcexpetlencehe clalmsthat
tbe spectatot bas no othetwayofhndlnghlmself. . . thanwhollyto
assumehlsconttadlctlon-whlch means to splltasundethlsownspllt
/ccrarc/reria/ccrazienc| , negatehlsownnegatlonncgarc/reria
ncgazienc| ,MWC,| ;z| ) . ThlsdlvlslonofdlvlslonthatAgambenhnds
and focuseson ln 8enjamln and laul, thls chatactetlstlcgestute, lsnot
onethatptetendsslmplyto efface the dlvlslons thatlsolateandallenate
IhcSscnddSa/stannic ,,,
commuultles,buttathetouethat,wlthouteffaclugthem,teudetsthem,as
lusttumeutsofpolltlcaldlvlslou, luopetatlve"
Whatevet gestute mlght be most chatactetlstlc of Agambeu's
thought,thequestloutemalusastowhyetutuedtothelssueshedldlu
IhcOcn.Wemlghttheuaskoutselveswhyheshouldbelutetestedluthe
telatlouofmautoaulmal. tlsludeedaclasslcalphllosophlcaltees,oue
tteatedbyAtlstotle,escattes, Kaut,Heldegget,audmoteteceutlysuch
hgutesaseleuzeaudettlda. 8utwhyshouldAgambeutututoltat
thupolutluhlsltluetaty`Thebestplacetoseekauauswetlslutheldeaof
batellfe"thathasguldedmuchofAgambeu'sthoughtsluceHemeSaccr.
Although IhcOcnls uotauumbetedpattofthesetles,ltshateswlthlt
aueffotttoexplotethecouceptualcouhuesofthecouceptof batellfe."
lutheopeuluglluesofHemeSaccrAgambeudlstlugulshesspeclhcfotms
ofllfe,uamedluGteek /ies, ftomz, atetmthatexptessedtheslmple
factofllvlugcommoutoallllvlugbelugs,aulmals,meu,otgods)" ,HS, i
;| ) . hlspolntlswotthsttessluguotoulytoglveaseuseofthecoutluulty
ofAgambeu'scoucetus,butalsotouudetstaudthefotmtheytakelu Ihc
cn.luthlsllght,toteadAgambeuluthecoutextofdebatesaboutaul-
maltlghtsls,thoughlllumluatlugfot thosedebates,somewhatmlslead
lugasaftamethtoughwhlchto uudetstaud Ihc Ocn. FotAgambeu,
thepolut ls uot to locateacoutluultyotaulutettuptlouluthe llue of
evolutlou, uot to allgu hlmselfwlth those advocates ofcoutluulty llke
Atlstotleotthosewhoseeafuudameutalbteakbetweeumau audaulmal
llkeescattesaudHeldegget,auduottobtlugaboutmotejusttteatmeut
ofaulmals,butlusteadtogllmpseauewauddlffeteutpatadlgmfothu-
maullfe.
Thls dlvlslou ofa dlvlslou thatAgambeuseesthtoughtheleusof
8eujamlu'swotk,audthathettaceslupatttotheluRueuceofaul,would
btlugaboutastaudstlllofthedlalectlcofoutologlcaluultyaudhlstotlcal
ptogtessthathasledtosomauyofoutpteseutttavestlesThlsdlvldlug
ofadlvlslou,otbtluglugto astaudstlllofthedlalectlc,wouldalso, fot
Agambeu,bethefteezlugoftheauthtopologlcalmachlue"thatheseesas
meuaclugtoday'ssocletles,O, , ,| ) . lu thewakeofFoucault'saualyses
ofthepowetsauddaugetsof blopolltlcs"-euewfotmsofdlsclpllue
couttol, auddomluatlouthatmodetultyhasbtoughtwlthltAgambeu
ldeutlheswhathe calls au authtopologlcal machlue" that thteateus to
close thatwhlchlsptoductlvelyaudptomlsluglyopeu lucoutempotty
IhcSascnddSa/stannoc
polltlcsTheopeuuessluquestloulstheopeuvocatlouofmau,theftee
domtotefusetoacceptthedemaudsoflustltutlouallzedfotmsofpowet
thatAgambeu sees asseeklugtoldeutl, tolsolate,audtocouttol.Thls
opeulstheuauopeuuessofhlstotlcaltask,auopeuuessofhowwechoose
toseeouthlstotlcaltaskotthelacktheteoTheblopolltlcalmachlue
setvesto dehuethebumaulultsdlstauceftomtheaulmal, audto selze
holdofsomethlugAgambeucalls batellfe. ltls thlsmeuace,whlchthe
wotkofFoucaulthelpedtomovetotbeceutetofAgambeu'slutetests,that
leadsAgambeutouudettakeauluvestlgatlouofthetelgulugcouceptlous
ofaudofthewayhumaullfelsdlstlugulshedftomaulmalllfe, the
way quallhed, categotlzed llfe ls dlstlugulshed ftom a metely aulmallc
llfe,abate auduuptotectedllfe. Toteudetluopetatlvethemachlue
thatgovetusoutcouceptlouomau,wtltesAgambeu, woulduotmeau
to seatch fot uewmote effectlve ot mote atheutlcattlculatlous of
thlscouceptlou,buttathettodlsplaytheceuttalvold,thehlatuswhlch
wlthluthehumausepatatestbe humau ftomtheaulmal , }z }| ,
ttauslatlou modlued) . Thls would meau, followlugAgambeu, to take
the tlsk upou outselves luvolved lusuch avold, lusuch asuspeuslouof
suspeuslou, a Sha//atbothofaulmalaudmau , }z }| , ttauslatlou
modlhed) . ltls thls opeueuded tlskfotwhlchAgambeu'swotkwlshes
tomakeapleauelthetsttlctlyhumauuotsttlctlyaulmal, butftomthe
opeuspacebetweeuthetwo.
C MAJLR N NL
hc xCcQtOna c O tbc otatc.
Statc Ecctin. Hm Saccr 111
bc cXCc
[
tOn s mOrc ntcrcstn

tban tbc rc

uar Casc. bc attcr

[
rOVc nOtbn

,
tbc cXCc
[
tOn
[
rOVcs cVcrytbn

.
bLmA1, J6ncu Jhr6k

lhllosophetshaveofteuwtltteuoftheuatuteofthestateaudofthe
state ofuatute. Theyhave ofteu wtltteu ofthe state ofcultute aud the
cultuteofthestate.Rately,howevet,havetheywtltteuofastateofexcep
tlouluwhlchthestate'shabltualuatuteaudcultuteatesuspeuded. ltls
tojustsuchastateofexceptlou-audtotheposslbllltythatsuchstatesof
exceptloulleattheheattofthefuuctloulugofmodetustates-thatAg
ambeu dedlcatedthe uext lustallmeut ofhls HemeSaccrsetles, Smc:]
Exccnen.
Llke thelatgetptojectofwhlchlt ls a patt, Sac eExccnenlsa
bookabout ltlsuotaboutllfeluauybaualotbellettlstlcseuse.ltls
aueatuest aud etudlte aualysls oftheethlcal,jutldlcal, aud outologlcal
cootdluatesthtoughwhlchWestetucultutehasdevelopedauddehueda
couceptof-ofltsesseuceaud ltsllmlts. The book's subtltle,whlch
theEugllshttauslatloufallsto teudet), Hemesaccr II) tefetstheteadet
to the ptoject thatAgambeu luaugutated lu Iyyj. Thls luvestlgatlou of
thellfeofpowetwascoutluuedluHemesaccrIII Rcmnansechai.
Thatwotkputsuedltsaualyslsofllfeaudltsllmltsluto theNalcouceu
ttatloucamps,audtheptodlglousdlfhcultlesofthosewhollvedto beat
{{ IhcExcctiena/LqethcStatc
wltnesstotbem.StatceExcctienHemesaccr

focusesltsattentlonon
tbesuspenslonoftbetuleoflawtbatwastbecondltlonofposslbllltyfot
tbeestabllsbmentoftbosecamps-andfotmucbmote.
TbewotofAgamben'stbatdltectlyptecededStatceExcctiendld
not belong to tbe Hemesaccrsetles. As we saw, Ihc Ocn followed tbe
conceptual blstotyoftbe tetm /qln llgbt owbat sepatated tbe llfe of
manftomtbellfeoanlmals.Aswealsosaw IhcOcntooltstltleftom
aslngulattetmtowblcbbotbRlleandHeldeggetbadaccotdedspeclal
lmpottance. StatceExcctienstltlelsalsoattanslatlon,andalsoattans
latlonftomtbeGetman. ltteetstotbelaconlcdeunltlonofsovetelgnty
glvenbyaugutefamlllattoAgamben'steadetsftomtbebeglnnlngoftbe
HemeSaccrptoject. tbe Getman jutlst andscbolatCatl Scbmltt.Aswe
saweatllet,ScbmlttbeganblsPe/itica/Ihce/e,r)bydeunlngtbesov
etelgnas bewbocandecldeontbestateofexceptlonHasnahmczastan
lnwblcbtbetuleoflawlssuspended-andltlstblssuspenslonthatglves
ltsnametoAgamben'swot.
WbatdoesAgamben lsolate lntblspbenomenon tbatScbmlttex
pettlyldentlued and fotwblcb be petsonallymllltated` oesltlntetest
blmonlyasafactoflegalblstoty-onetbatpavedtbewayfottbedena
tlonallzatlonandsubsequentgenocldeofEutopeanewty`Agambendoes
lndeedcloselyexamlnetbeteglmetbatutstcalledonScbmltt'steacblngs
and petson-butblsanalyslsoftbepbenomenonofastateofexceptlou
wbeteasovetelgnleadetsuspends tbe tuleoflawdoes nottesttlctltself
to tblslnstance. OneoftbeutstpolntstbatAgambeuwants,lnfact, to
mae cleat ls tbat ln tbellfe oftbe state sucb exceptlonal lnstances ate
notso exceptlonal. To tbls end, be setcbes agenealogyostates ofex
ceptlon ftom tbeltotlglns ln Roman law to mote modetn cases sucb as
tbe states oexceptlon declated by ltance's tevolutlonatygovetnments,
Abtabamlncoln'sautbotlzatlonlnrzoftbesummatyattestanddeten
tlonofpetsons suspectedof dlsloyalandtteasonableptactlces,andtbe
unllmltednatlonalemetgencydeclatedfollowlngtbebomblngofleatl
HatbottbatledtotbeexpulslonofseventytbousandAmetlcancltlzensof
apaneseotlgln,alongwltbottytbousandapanesecltlzens),seeSE,ff.
,ff. ). Tblsblstotlcalbacgtoundlslnnowayoffetedasatelatlvlzatlon
oftbelonganddeadlystateofexceptlonputlntoeffectbyHlet'sdectees.
ltlsmeantlnsteadtoaletttbeteadettbatthecondltlonsthatallowedfot
sucbastateofdeadlyexceptlonbadexlstedlntbeWestfotsometlme
andbavenotdlsappeatedftomlt.
IhcEccnena/LethcStc ,,;
Aswe have seeu, |u8eujam|u's hualwotks he tepeatedlyattacked
thete|gu|ug|deologyofptogtessaudthecoucom|taut|deathatw|tht|me
states audsoc|et|esgtowmotejust audmotew|se. Hewtote|ui|o, |u
tegatdtothebatbat|t|estheuuudetway, thatthewoudetoccas|ouedby
tbefactthattheth|ngsweateatpteseutexpet|euc|ugatest|ll' poss|ble|u
tbetweut|etbceututy|suoph|losoph|calwoudet ,8eujam|uGS,i. 6;).
AsbemakescleatAgambencoulduotmotefullysubsct|betoth|sv|ew.
Heconsequeutly|solatesnotonlyb|stot|cstatesofexcept|oubutalsocou
tempotatyoues. Themostuotot|ousofthese|sGeotgeW. 8ush'sdeclata-
t|ou|uovembetooiptov|d|ugfotthe|udehu|tedeteut|ou"ofuouc|t|-
zeussuspectedoftettot|stact|v|t|es. luaptovocat|veaualogy, Agambeu
cla|ms that the oulyava|lablecompat|sou to th|s legal uomau'slaud
|utowh|chthedeta|uees|uGuautuamohavebeeuthtowu,aud|uwh|ch
somauyst|lldwell,|sthelegals|tuat|ouofews|utheNaz|Lagcrcou-
ceuttat|ou camps] ,S, | i] ) . lt |s |mpottaut to paycateful atteut|ou
to the tetmsAgambeu employs hete. the aualogy betweeu deta|uees |u
Guautauamoaud|mpt|souedews|uaz|couceuttat|oucampscoucetus
the|t jut|d|cals|tuat|ou-thet|ghtsaud tecoutses theyhaveuotthe
pol|t|cal|uteut|ousoftheteg|mes|uquest|ou,otthephys|caltteatmeutof
those|udehu|tely|mpt|soued.

FotAgambeu,thev|oleuce ofstatesofexcept|ou|saptoblemmote
pteseutaud ptess|ug uowthau evet befote. lu a uewspapetatt|cleftom
i;hepo|utstothespec|allaws"passeddut|ugltaly'sannidiiem/e,
wh|chatest|ll|ufotceaudcastas|u|stetshadowouthel|feofoutdemo-
ctat|c|ust|tut|ous",CM,,).Th|sobsetvat|ouleadsAgambeutoj udgethat
|u ltalytheexcept|ouhas becomethetule audto offet au|uceud|aty
patallelbetweeuthoselawsaudthe rerdnangzamSchaien//and
Staatthtoughwh|ch theaz|govetumeutsuspeudedtheatt|clesofthe
coust|tut|oucoucetu|ugpetsoual audc|v|l l|bett|es, the t|ghtto ftee as-
sembly, the|nv|olab|l|tyofthehome,audthept|vacyofep|stolatyaudtel-
ephou|ccommuu|cat|ou ,CM,,) .

luStatceccnenAgambeu|solates
the case oftheu|tedStates, judg|ugthat |ts govetumeuthas declated
uoth|uglessthauaglobalstateofexcept|ou" that|smob|le" audthus
cauapply|tselfwhetevet |t l|kes thtough the occas|ou pteseuted bythe
watoutettot|sm.Wheuthestateofexcept|ou. . . becomesthetule,"he
cout|uues, theuthejut|d|copol|t|calsystembecomesamach|uewh|ch
mayat auymomeut tutu lethal ,S, 6 |). lt|s th|s lethal ach|ue
, , Ihcccnena/ethcStatc
wbose blopolltlcal motot ls tbe state ofexceptlou tbat ls, lu Agambeu's
aualysls,leadlugtbeWesttowatdaglobalclvllwat",S, | ) .
Jhe rigina| Structure ot the State ot Exce
j
tion
Agambeuexamluestblsblopolltlcalmacblueuotoulyasablstotl-
cal,j utldlcal,audpolltlcalpbeuomeuou,butalsoassometblugmote.Tbe
stateofexceptloulswbatbecallsauotlglualsttuctute sattaraerigna
c] ,S, , ] ). lu tbls otlglualsttuctute,thelawlucludes. . . thellvlug
i/oiocntc| tbtougbltsowususpeuslou" ,S, , | ) . Thlsdeusefotmula
tloutefets to tbeceuttalpatadoxofsuchstatesofexceptlou. thestateof
exceptlouls tbepolutatwblchtbelawptovldesfotltsowususpeuslou
ltlstbelegalsuspeuslouoftbedlstluctloubetweeulegalltyaudlllegallty.
Agambeu ls ptofouudly lutetested lu Schmltt's "state ofexceptlou," uot
metelyasakeyjutldlcaltetmamougothetsbutasacouceptmatklugthe
vetyllmltsoftbelaw. Fot tbls teasou,Agambeu speaks,lutegatdtotbe
state ofexceptlou, ofa uomau'slaud" be sees lylug betweeu "clvlllaw
audpolltlcalfact,"betweeujutldlcalotdetaudllfe",S, io). Thestateof
exceptloulstbepolltlcalpolutatwblcbtbejutldlcalstopsaudasovetelgu
uuaccouutabllltybeglus,ltlswhetetbedamofludlvldualllbettlesbteaks
audasocletylsRoodedwltbtbesovetelgupowetoftbestate-wbatu
dltb8uetcallsapatalegaluulvetsethatgoesbytbeuameof law" ,8ut
letzoo,) .
lsolatlugtblsotlglualsttuctute"lsuoeasytask,bowevet,lylugaslt
doesluauauomlspace",alltetally"lawless"space).Agambeueudeavots
to dellueate tbls space by dltectlug bls teadets to ettlda's aualysls of
tbe fotce oflaw." Tbe geuetal ptoblem bete ls oue tbat geuetatlous of
j utlsts aud polltlcal pbllosopbetsbavesttuggledwltb. the fotce tbelaw
lsjustluedluemploylug.Seeuftomadlffeteutaugle,tbequestloulsoue
ofvloleuce-tbedlstluctloubetweeulegltlmateaudlllegltlmatevloleuce.
Ftomtbepetspectlveoftbestate,wbatlsatlssuelsdtawlugthelluetbat
sepatatestbeoueftomtheothet. llottlugthepoluts thlsllueshouldfol
low usually seuds tbeotetlclaus back to tbe otlglus-the fouudlug ofa
state-aud to the shadowy but uecessatydlstluctlou, sovlvldlypteseut
lutevolutlous, betweeu censnmnocvloleuce-thevloleucethatfouudsa
state ,audwasusedtoovetthtowwhatcamebefotelt) audcensntatcdvlo
leuce-tbevloleucethatlstheupattaudpatcelofthestate'sfuuctloulug
IhcEccnena/LethcStatc , ,
,the e memeausl t holdsl utesetvetohaudlespeclalcasesofextetual
thteatL lutetualuutest). Aswesawlu HemeSaceraudluthetespouse
toNegtlthatAgambeuoffetsthetelu,coustltutlvevloleucecsm//uheslaw,
aud coustltutedvloleuce maintainsthatlaw. lu theoty, the dlstluctlouls
alteadydlfhculttomake,luptactlce,ltlsofteuuexttolmposslble.
Wheu left to speakfotthemselves,stateshavellttlettoublelstlu
gulshlugbetweeulegltlmateaudlllegltlmate uses offotce, audtheyem
ployaslmpleaudcltculatteasoulug.theuseoffotcelslegltlmatebecause
ltlslegltlmated,bythestate). Coustltutlvevloleucewlthltsuuavoldable
excesses aud auatchlc appeatauce ls to be dlstlugulshed followlug the
staudatdexplauatlouthatstatesoffet ftomcoustltutedvloleucelubelug
chauueledaudcodlhed-eveulfthlscodlhcatloulucludesauexttalegal
tealm that lsuot, howevet, expllcltlylllegal ltls astateofexceptlou lu
whlchcettalucoustltutlouallyguatauteedtlghtsaudptotectlousatesus
peudedsoastocouftoutaeataudpteseutdaugettothestate.Atelllug
lcoufotthlsexceptloualstatethatstateslmposelsfouudluauessayby
AgambeuftomizluwhlchhetecallsMoutesquleu'sobsetvatlouthata
vellwasplacedoutheStatueofustlceatthemomeutofthedeclatatlou
ofastateofexceptlou,seeMWE,ii, o| ).
Wlth thls ashl sbackgtouud, Agambeu ttaces the hlstoty ofthe
Fteuch phtase that captlvates Dettlda,/rccd/ei ,"fotce oflaw"), aud
tefotmulatesltlul

ghtofthestateofexceptlou hels lllusttatlug. lu the

stateofexceptlou,thefotceoflawlschauged.erccaud/atheuuolou
getstaudluatelatloushlpofmeaustoeuds,wlth/rccasthetecoutsethat
/aumayemploytoachlevecettalueuds) butate,sotospeakcouttacted
luto aslugle polut otllue. Agambeuexptessesthls telatloushlp thtough
th typogtaphlcal tecoutse "fotceolaw rzdi/ce| " ,SE, ]y jz| ).
et fotthlstobeposslble, /u, asasepatateeutltyllmltlugaudcouttol
llugthe/rccusedlultsexetclse,lssuspeuded, oteveucaucelled-whlch
Agambeu exptesses thtough thealtetatlou "fotceo di | "
,SE, , ,z| )o Such typogtaphlcal measutes, employed by Agambeu's
teachetHeldegget-aud also ofteu byDettlda-amplyteBectthedlfh
cultyofhudlugauadequateextessloufotsuchauotlglualsttuctuteaud
the"auomlspace"ltoutllues.
The coucluslou that Agambeu dtaws ftom thls couttactlou aud
suspeuslou offotce aud lawls uot llmlted to the exceptloualltyofstate
sttuctutes. Such a jutldlcal fotm teveals a phllosophlcal telatlou-oue
{(O Ihccctiena/qethcStatc
ln wblcb potentlalltyandact ate tadlcallysepatated ,S, { ;z|
teadet unfamlllatwltbAgamben's otbetwotksmaybe sutptlsod
sucbtetms asetcntia/iandactlnsucba context. Heotsblg
equally sutptlsedbytbesuggestlonofan actotactaa/isepat
tbe etcntia/i tbatwould ptecede lt. lfevetytblng tbat ls acl u
bavebeenutstposslble-fotlfltbadnotbeenposslble,tbenltntud
bavebecome actual-bowatetbe two to besepatated` Howa
dlvotcedftompotentlallty`Andwbatdoes tblsbavetodowlte
polltlcal sltuatlon tbat Agamben dlagnoses-wltb tbe planty ll
wat towatdwblcbbesees usbeadlng`
TblsteRectlonontbecategotlesofpotentlalltyaudactulltylo
newelementln Agamben'sspeculatlous. Notoulybastbeldofp
tlallty,andltsavtats, latencyandlnfancy") beeu atthecto ls
eatlletlnvestlgatlons,butltbasalsoplayedacenttal,lfattlmesnlgl,
tolelntbeHemesaccrptoj ect.Aswesaweatllet,lnapassageftoe
Saccrtbat caused lts teadets tbe gteatest confuslon, Agambn decltd
tbat
onlyan cntircly ncw con unction olpossibility and rcality, contingcuc auuc-
ccssity . . . will makc itpossiblcto cutthc knot that bindssovcrciguto usti-
tutingpowcr. donlyilitispossiblc to thinkthcrclation bcwccuotcntility
andactualitydicrcntlyand cvcn to think bcyond thisrclationillitbos-
siblctothinkaconstitutingpowcrwhollyrclcascdlromthcsovcrciguban.utila
ncwandcohcrcntontologyolpotcntialit. . . has rcplaccd thcontologloudcd
onthcprimacyolactualityanditsrclationtopotcntiali, apolitialthcorrccd
lromthcaporiasolsovcrcigntyrcmains unthinkablc. HS,qq ,i)|
Altbougbtbatwotkdoesnotexpandontblspolnt,otoetlnslgbtlntotbe
fotmtbatatblnklngtbatnolongettelatespotentlalltytoactualltylgbt
take,tbequestlontemalnedattbebeattofAgamben'sptoj ectlntbewotks
andyeatstofollow.lntbestateofexceptlontbatAgambenlsolates,poten
tlalltyandactatetadlcallysepatated. lstbls not, tben, lnllgbtofwba
tbeutstvolumeoftbesetleslongsfot,anewandcobeteutoutolog'tba
ceasestofoundltselfontbeptlmacyofactuallty) , tobedeslted`dls
tbls notwbatlsusbetlnglntbeplauetatyclvllwat aboutwblchAgam
ben watns us`
IhcEccnena/LethcStatc ](:
Jhe Real State ol Exception
8eujamlu'selghththesls outhephllosophyofhlstotyteadsasfol
lows Thettadltlouofthe opptessedteaches usthatthe stateofexcep
tlou' Hasnahmczastan luwhlchwellvelsthetule.We mustattlveata
couceptlouofhlstotythatcottespoudsto thls fact.Theuwewouldhave
befoteouteyesasout taskthebtluglugabout ofarca/stateofexceptlou
uir/chcn Hasnahmczastan| whlch would bettet out posltlou lu the
sttuggle agalustfasclsm" ,8eujamlu GS, i , ltallcs added). Agambeu
wtoteofthlstheslsluauessayftomizthathyyeatslatet,8euamlu's
dlaguoslshas. . . lostuoueofltscutteucy. Slucetheu,thestateofemet
geuchasbecomethe tule luevetypatt ofout cultutalttadltlou, ftom
polltlcsto phllosophyaudftomecologytolltetatute" ,, io z6,|). lua
semlual essayftomthefollowlugyeatAgambeu cltes 8euamlu's elghth
thesls, obsetvlugagaluthat hftyyeats latet" lthas lostuoue oflts tel
evauce" ,MWE, 6 i,| ) . luacltatlouwlthoutquotatlouftomauessayou
coutempotatypolltlcsftomiz, Agambeudeclatesthat thcsmtcecx
cctienisthcra/c, "audlu thesesameyeatshetefetsto theuewplauetaty
polltlcalspaceluwhlchtheexceptlouhas becomethetule" ,WE, ::]
o| ,ltallcsluotlglual,MWE,iy io| ,ttauslatloumodlhed).Thestate
ofexceptlou," hewtltes luthebookofthatuame, has uowteachedlts
maxlmalplauetatyexpauslou,"audluauessay

bllshedthatsameyeat
beluvokesthethteatofapetmaueutstateofexceptlou" ,SE, U] EDL,
). Couuectlugthlsldeatothemostcouttovetslalpatadlgmluhlswtlt
lug,Agambeutematkedelsewhetethatthccam thcsaccuhichecns
uhcnthcstatcecxccnensmrtste/ccemcthcra/c," aud thetebylusctlbes
hlsstudlesofthecouceuttatloucampsbothlutheseessays audluRcm
nantseHaschunzaspattofalatgetteRectlououtheldeaofastateofex
ceptlou,MWE,y y| ,ltallcsluotlglual,ttauslatloumodlhed).
To show that thls fotmulatlou aud the dlaguosls" lt coutalus ate
ctuclalfotAgambeulsuot,howevet,touudetstaudthem.Thettadltlou
oftheopptessed"hasaulmpottautlessoutoteachus,8euamluwtltes,
butwbatlsthlslessouWhatlsmote,howatewetouudetstaudthetltulat
stateofexceptlou,"audwhatlstosepatateltftomwhat8uamlucalleda
tealstateofexceptlou"Thewotdthat8euamluhtstluttoducesluquo
tatloumatks--audtheuadoptsashlsowulsouethat
hehlmselfhasbottowed-ftomwhatmauyhavefouudtobeasutptlslug
soutce atl Schmltt. Thls subtle tefeteuce to Schmltt ls uot the ouly
,|z IhcEcctiena/LqethcStatc
oneofltsklndlnhlswotk. 8enj amlntespectfullytefettedto Schmlttas
eatlyas IhcOrigneCcrman agcDrama,andtwoyeatslatet,lni,o,
hewtote acompllmentatylettetto Schmltt ,see 8enjamln GS, i. z|,f).
8enj amln's admltatlon fot the Thltd Relch's most ptomlnentjutlst has
oen appeated to hls commentatots as puzzllng, and even scandalous.
Whatlsmote, althoughtheotlglnofthekeytetmusedlnthlsthesls
Hasnahmczastands beenldentlhedasftom Schmltt, 8enjamln's use
oflthastemalnedsomethlngofamystety. Notheotlstofthetwentleth
centutyhas been soexhaustlvely commented onandanalyzed lntecent
yeats as 8enjamln. et thlsattentlonhasbeenunabletoglveacohetent
accountofthlsenlgmatlcpassage. neofthegoalsofStatceExcctienls
totemedythlslack.
Thesubtextofthestateofexceptlon-andofStatceExccnens
a covett engagement between Schmltt and 8enj amln ,whlch Agamben
had begun to teconsttuct ln an aslde ln Heme Saccr see HS, z;z
,,,|] ) . To thls end, Agambenexamlnesnot onlythe exotetlcdosslet
ontheknown-scanty-telatlonsbetweenthetwothlnkets,whlchcon
slsts ofthe tefetenceto Schmlttln 8enj amln'swotkon 8atoquedtama,
8enj amln'slettettoSchmltt, andatefetencebySchmlttto 8enj amlnln
thefotmet'sHam/cterHcca/a,i,6)wtlttenmanyyeatsaftet8enj amln's
death. 8eyond these few establlshedconnectlons, Agamben also exam
lneswhathe calls the esotetlc dosslet ofthe case ,see S, ,z 6] ). ln
dolng so, hebeglns by tutnlngthe clockofthe encountet backsevetal
yeats to 8enj amln's Fot a Ctltlque oflolence, publlshed lnizi lna
joutnal that Agamben shows Schmltt tegulatly tead and fot whlch he
evenwtote. lnthlseatlyessay8enjamlnevokessomethlngheenlgmatl
cally calls pute vlolence rcinc Ccua/t| ," whlch ls desctlbed as havlng
no connectlon to law ,see 8enjamln GS, z. i,) . Thlsvlolence becomes,
fotAgamben, the teal polnt ofdepattute fot hls lntellectual exchange
wlth Schmltt, whlch would teach lts hlghest pltch ln the elghth thesls
onthephllosophyofhlstoty. Revetslngthecustomatyconceptlonofthls
telatlonshlp as beglnnlngwlth awotkofSchmltt's ,Pe/itica/ Ihce/eg) ,
Agamben ttaces lt htst to 8enj amln. He then sees Schmltt's celebtated
tematkslnhlsPe/itica/Ihce/egnotasthebeglnnlngoftheexchangebut
asatesponseto8enjamln'seatlletessay. Schmltt'sdocttlneofsovetelgn
typutsuedlnhlsPe/inca/ Ihce/eg," atgues Agamben, canbeteadasa
punctualtesponseto8enj amln'sessay,S, j ;o] ,ttanslatlonmodlhed).
IhcEccnena/LethcSmtc ]q]
Thestateofexceptlou,"hecoutluues,lstheuthecouc

ptthtoughwhlch
Schmltttespoudsto8eujamlu'sassettlouofaulutegtallyauo|huau
actlou" ,SE, ,q ;i| ,ttauslatloumodlhed).
luthlsesotetlc"llght,8eujamlu'stelatlou to Schmlttlssudeuly
lessscaudalous,audmotecompteheuslble.lfAgambeu'sclalmlscottect,
theu |twas uot Schmlttwho was couttolllug thegame audlts tules of
eugagemeut, as hadhlthetto beeuthought, but 8euj amlu. Thedeclslve
move|uthe esotetlc couBlct betweeu the two theotlsts-audltls cleat
thatAgambeu sees the two as playlug a sttateglc game, otlocked lu a
sttuggle,wlthoueauothet-lstheeulgmat|celghththeslsthatAgambeu
had,aseatlyasiz,soughttogloss,luTheMesslahaudtheSovetelgu
TheltoblemofLawluWaltet8eujamlu"). ThequestlouthatAgambeu
theueudeavotstoauswet|sthequestlouthatevetyoueofthetheses'lu
tetptetetshaseudeavotedtoauswet.Whatdld8eujalumeaubycalllug
fotd rca/stateofexcept|ou",luaueatlletvetslouofthetheses8eujamlu
h|mselfuudetl|uedthewotd rca/uir//ichcn| ") lt|sdlfhculttolmaglue
that8euj am|u|swelcom|ugheteastateoflegalexceptlouotemetgeucy
l|ke the ouethat, at the t|meofh|swt|t|ug, hadalteadytelguedlu the
couuttyofh|sb|tthfotseveuyeats. Hlsuseoftheslmpleadj ectlve rca/
|mpl|es,howevet, thatacleatdlstluctloulstobemade, audthatthestate
ofexceptlouluplace-whlchthteateuedtobecomethetule-wasluoue
mauuetotauothetacnicoue.ltwasofcoutseuothctlvelutheseuseof
lmag|uaty-thestateofexceptlouwas tealeuough-butlts tecoutseto
lawaudj ustlce,ltsalleucompasslugsuspeuslouofludlvldualtlghtsaud
lucotpotat|ouofthepetsoualspheteofthestate'sc|tlzeus, seemedto be
basedouajutldlcalcnenthatwasatthesametlmeahctlouofj ustlce
8eujamlu'sluteutloutheuappeatstohave beeutosttessthefalseuesso
thathct|ou thtoughtheldeaofateal"stateofexceptlouthatwouldglve
thel|etotheouethat,fothlm,hadbecomethetule.Thlsldealspetfctly
cous|steutw|thAgambeu'stematkluHemeSaccrthatthev|oleucethat
8eujam|u dehues asdlvluelssltuatedluazoueluwhlchltlsuolougt
poss|bletodlstlugulshbetweeuexcept|ouaudtule.ltstaudsluthesame
telat|outosovetelguvloleuceasthestateofactualexceptlou,lutheelghth
thesls,doestothestateofvlttualexceptlou",HS, , ,|) FotAgambeu,
8eamlu's |uteutlou, eatly aud late, |s a sttateglc oue, aud thls elghth
thesls|sexpllcltlya|medatwhat8eujamlucalledelsewhetebettt|ugout
hghtaga|ustfasclsm",8eujamluGS,i. 6;).Howpteclselyth|srca/state
; IhcEccnena/LqethcStatc
ofexceptlon" ls to be dlstlngulshedftom a state ofexceptlon" lncteas
lngly ln effect ls a dllemma that no commentatot hasyet succeeded ln
solvlng-andltlsdoubtlesssuchpassageslnthethesesthat,aswesaw,led
8techt,onutstteadlngtbem,tothlnwlthdlsmayofhowteadetsweteln
aposltloneventoundetstandthem.
ltshould comeasllttlesutptlsethatAgamben'sownposltlonlnex
plotlngtblsdlfucult dlstlnctlonln8enj amln's thoughthasoftenlefthls
teadetsuncettaln.Kalyvas ,zcc) obsetvestbatAgamben'sassettlonthat
tbenewpolltlcswlll beanonstatalandnonjutldlcalpolltlcs' . . . comes
dangetouslyosetotheoneofanexttalegal,petmanent,thoughsovetelgn
less) exceptlon," andlndolngsoltechoesthetesetvatlonsto 8enjamln's
concluslonsvolcedbyteadetsftomScholemtoHabetmas,) .De8oevet
,zcc) , fot hls patt, has wtltte, The confuslng thlng . . . ls that the
state ofexceptlon . . . also emetges lnAgamben'swotln anothetllght,
asastatethatshouldnotbeavoldedbutthatls,lnfact,almostdesltable"
i;;). The cuttentstateofexceptlonlslndeednotdesltable-ltlslnfact
thelast thlngbutdesltable. evettheless,somethlngthatoftenseems ot
sounds tematablyslmllat to lt-what 8enj amln called a rca/state of
exceptlon"-lsfotAgambenabsolutelydesltable.
Agamben's attempt at outllnlng thls deceptlve dlstlnctlon and at
glosslng thls passage lsmotlvated by hls sense that ln thls elghth thesls
8enj amlnexptessesanundecldabllltybetweennotmandexceptlon"that
heseesasputtlngSchmltt'stheotylntochec" ,S, , ;). Thlsdecl-
slvemovelspteceded,howevet,bysevetaldellcateones.Theutstofthese
ls8enj amln'sposltlngofaspheteof anomlchumanactlon"-aspheteof
actlonoutsldethespheteofthelawfotwhlchhechoosestheslmpleand
sttllngtetm oie/cncc Ccaa/t] . Agambenteads 8enjamln's tefetencesto
vlolence"andputevlolence"asdenunclatoty,sttateglc-andessentlally
esotetlc.FotAgamben,8enjamlnlsnottefettlngtoactualactsofphyslcal
vlolencethathewlshestolsolate,glotlfy, otputlfybutlslnsteadplaylnga
conceptualgamewlthtbeotlstsofthestatewholnsttumentallzetheuseof
vlolence.Hlssutptlslngtecoutsetothetetmls,fotAgamben,asubtleand
unexpectedmovethat allows hlm to sutptlse-and to checmate-hls
consetvatlveopponents.
Tbe teal state of exceptlon that 8enj amln envlsloned has, fot
Agamben,notonlyasttateglcfunctlonbutalsoaposltlvecontent.Followlng
Agamben's teadlng ofthe elghth thesls, thls rca/state ofexceptlon ls a
IhcEcnena/LethcSmtc ]qj
tevoluouatystateluwhlchatotallydlffeteut-auddlfhculttodehue
telatloushlpoflawtollfewouldptevall luHemeSaccr,Agambeuwtote
ofKaa'scutlouscouceptlouoflawaudofthedebate8eujamluhadou
thequestlouwlthScholem,addlugluhlsowuctyptlcgloss, "Lawthatbe-
comesludlstlugulshableftomllfeluatealstateofexceptloulscouftouted
byllfethat, luasymmettlcalbutluvetse gestute, lseutltelyttausfotmed
luto law" ,HS, ,, 6|] ). Llfe eutltelyttausfotmed luto law ls a place of
ulghtmatlshcouttol.ltsmystetlousluvetsehgute,howevet,seemstooet
thegteatestptomlse,audltls thlshgutethatAgambeuseeslu arca/state
ofexceptlou." Schmlttwauted to tetalu fot the sovetelgu audthe state
thelusttumeutal useofvloleucewlthluattadltlouallegalcoutextdetlv-
lug ftom the dlstluctlou betweeu coustltutlve vloleuce aud coustltuted
vloleuce. FotAgambeu, byshowlugthelmposslbllltyofsuch, 8eujamlu
suggestsafullydlffeteutcouceptlouoflaw-ouewlthtevolutlouaty,aud
messlaulc) ttaltsluwhlchwhatlscombatedaudovettutuedlsaueutlte
loglcofdlsclpllueaudcouttol,aswellasatttlbutlouaudpossesslouThe
telatlousofstatetolaw,oflawtovloleuce,ofludlvldualtocollectlve,aud
ofpoteutlalltyto actualltyateall to beseeu auewluthlstevolutlouaty
llghtaudmesslaulcllfe.
Ltopianism, MihiIism, and _amben`s Critics
Thestateofexceptloutepteseuts,fotAgambeu,a"catasttophlc"de-
velopmeut.Askedluaulutetvlewpteclselywhathesawasslguallugsuch
acatasttophe,heteplled,"Thetelsapolut-ouealteadyuotedby8euja-
mluwheuhesaldthatthestateofexceptlouluwhlchwellvehasbecome
thetule.lhaveslmplyexteudedthlsobsetvatloutoltsexttemepolut.Thl
ueeduotappeatasacatasttophe,audcau,outhecouttaty, pteseutltself
as somethluguatutal. ou cau hud thls atea ofludlstluctlou lu evety-
dayllfe, luthatthedlstluctlousbetweeuptlvateaudpubllc,polltlcalaud
blologlcal,dlsappeat.We uolougethave cleatctltetlato dlstlugulshbe-
tweeuthesesphetes" ,L,i). Glveuthlstadlcalstateofaffalts,atadlcal
solutloumutbesought,audasluAgambeu'seatlleteffotts,ltshouldbe
soughtuotludlstautmodelsaudutoplauschemesbutlusteadluthecata-
sttophlcptocessltselThlttythteeyeatsbefoteStatceExccnenAgam
beuwtote,ccotdlugtotheptluclplebywhlchltlsoulyluthebutulug
housethatthefuudameutalatchltectutalptoblembecomesvlslblefotthe
, Ihcccena/qethcStatc
hrsttime,art,attheturthestpointotitsdestiny, makesvisibleitsoriginal
project. "JhepoliticalhouseinHamesottoday`splanetarystateotexcep-
tion"isoneinwhichAgambenbelievesitsoriginalproject" ororiginal
structure")canbeglimpsed,anditisinthisburninghousethattheperen-
nialproblemsot\esternpoliticsappeartohimmostclearly Itwecanno
longerdistinguishbetweenthesespheres,wemustaccept~andutilize
this irrevocable tact, to see and understand better notonlyourpoint ot
departure,butalsoourpointsotpotential arrival.
Inthe HemeSaccrbookstheexception becomesthetundamental
paradigmtortheverytunctioningotthelawbecause, torAgamben, the
exceptionistheoriginarytormotlawrmaerignariadc/diritte| ,HS,
z,z| ) .Yet,ittheexceptionistheoriginarytormotthelaw,andthistact
isottenoccultedinlegaldebates, howisonetobringaboutitsrevelation
andwhat would this revelation ettect: IartIIIotthe HemeSaccrseries,
Rcmnants eHaschaitz, laid particular stress on the danger otreplacing
ethical conceptswithjuridical ones. Itour ethical concepts must beex-
tricatedtromthe paradoxesotsovereigntyand the legalsystemsbasedon
them,what istobemadeotthe law:Askedwhethertheaspirationbehind
theHemeSaccrprojectwassomehowtodoawaywiththelawsRccht
a/zaschan] ,Agambenreplied.I`veottenaskedmyselthowoneshould
dealwiththelaw aicmanmitdcmRcchtamgchcn mass| . I am,however,
very skeptical as concerns the simple demand to do away with the law
thatwehndinsomerevolutionarymovements,andeveninsomereligious
ones. \ouldnotthebeststrategybetocontrontthemeansandmethods
otlaw~andto try to inventa potentially newuseotthelaw Cc/raach
dcsRcchts] In otherwords, couldwe playwith the law: nncnairmit
dcmRcchtsic/cn I\I, z) . Jhis hnalsuggestion, that we might try
to playwith the law," is so dithcult to envision that we might wonder
whetheritisamisunderstandingotthe sortottentoundin interviews. It
welook,however,toAgamben`sworkbothearlyandlatewehndthat
this comment corresponds to his manner otconceiving the problem ot
sacred privileges and is tarless Hippant than it riskssounding.Agamben
is indeed intentonirreverentlytoyingwithlawitis, intact, oneothis
mosttundamentalintentions Inanarcotspeculationthatstretchestrom
InnandHistetoPrenanens, heottersparadigmstorplayingwith
IhcEccnena/LethcStc , | ;
sactedobjectsptotectedbythelaw.8uthowdoes thlseucouutetwlththe
ldeaofthelawtelatetotheldeaofthestateofexceptlou
usutptlslugly, auswetlugthlsquestlouhasledtouosmalluucet-
talutyamougteadetsaudctltlcs.AftequeutteactloutoStatceExccnen,
aud to the HemeSaccrptojectmote geuetally, lsclatltycoucetulugthe
dlaguosls aud uucettalutycoucetulugthe temedy. euuyEdklus ,zoo;)
volces acommouseuseofuucettalutywheusheaskswhatlsbelugadvo-
catedaudobsetvesthatwhethetAgambeu'swotkcallsfotauovetatchlug
eschatologlcalmoveoftedemptlou, ota patleutpolltlcsthatmoves step
bystep wlthlu the cousttaluts ofexlstlugpowet, ls . . . debatable" ,).
Ascoucetusthespeclhcquestlouofplay, eveuAgambeu'smostfavotably
dlsposedctltlcshavesttessedthat ltlsdlfhculttolmagluehowwemlght
actually take thls ttuly polltlcal ' actlou, whlch Agambeu calls play'
,Motgau oo;, |;). Thls ldea ofa dlsactlvated law that lsto be played
wlth has seemed cavallet aud eveu lucoheteut to some teadets-pattlc-
ulatlythosewhosebackgtouudlslulaw. LegalscholatssuchasStepheu
Humphteys,oo6),whohudsthattogethetwlthHemeSaccr. . . Stce
Exccnenpetmltsateluvlgotatlouofthetelatloushlpbetweeuphllosophy
audlaw-to thelattet'seutlchmeut" ,6;),audavldFtaset,i),who
wtltesthattheteateposslbllltlesaudcomplexltlesluheteutluAgambeu's
apptoachwhlchmlghtallowustocometoamotecompleteuudetstaud
lugoflawaudethlcsbefoteaudaftetAuschwltz" ,|o6),atefatlesscom-
mouthauthosewhoatguethecouttatytobethecase. Fleutohus,zoo,),
fot lustauce, uotoulylocateswhat she feels to bea detetmlulstlcsttalu
luAgambeu'sthluklugaboutepochalshlftslulegalcultute,aklutothe
ouethatbothLaclauaudNottls ldeutlfy), butalso atgues thatfotthose
wotklugtowatdjudlclaltefotmofstatesofexceptloullketheouetelgulug
atGuautuamo8ay, theeffectofsuchcommeutatyasAgambeu's] lsto
cemeandeffotts to cuttallthe expetleuce ofdecldlug ou/lutheexcep
tlou"6,ltallcsluotlglual) .Motegeuetally, Fltzpattlckaudoyce,zoo;)
udthatuotwlthoutatouchoftheteudeutlous. . . wehud. . . Agambeu
lustauclugpetslsteutlttesolutlouslujutlsptudeuceaudlutheheldoflaw
audsoclety",6) .
Thlsuucettalutyhasledtosuchcategotlcalctltlquesasthatofaolo
ltuo,oo),who,aswesaweatllet,j udgedthatAgambeuwasathluket
wlth uo polltlcalvocatlou" ,,|) A uumbet ofothet ptomlueut ctltlcs
IhcExcctiena/LqethcStatc
havetespoudedtothlsuncettalutybychatactetlzlugAgambeu'spolltlcal
teRectlous as utoplau. luzcczNegtltematkedofAgambeu'sguldlug
couceptofbatellfethatltsouudsllkeautoplauescaperc) .Followlug
thepubllcatlouofStatceExcctienayeatlatet,Negtlfouudluthatwotk
a fevetlsh utoplau auxlety wlth the same evaslve ttalts as HemeSaccr
zcc,zr) .LaCaptazcc) alsoemploysthlstetmtoattlculatehlstesetva-
tlous.Oftheldeaofdlvotcluglegalftomethlcalcoucepts,hewtltes,The
uustated hotlzou ofthlsvlewwould seem to beau ecstatlc, auatchlstlc
toplathattemalustettalucogultaaudwhosetelevaucetoptesentptob-
lemsotcommltmeutslsleft uttetlyblank r). LaCaptathusteachesa
slmllatcoucluslouasltno-thatAgambeulsathluketwlthuopolltl-
calvocatlou, otluhlswotds, televauce. Elsewhete, LaCaptauses thls
sametetm,lamentlugablank,toplau,messlaulc,post)apocalyptlclsm
luAgambeu'sthought,LaCaptazcc,rr) .Thetecutteuttetm //n/ex-
ptessesallthatLaCaptauudslacklugln Agamben'spolltlcalteRectlous.
CatloFotmeutl 'sctltlcls

oftheHemeSaccrptojectlsalsoluthlsvelu,as
fothlmltlsmotethauatefouudatlouthepolltlcal,auescapeemlt
,lotmeutlr, z,ltallcsluotlglual) .Thequestlonposedhetelswhethet
therca/stateofexceptlonthatAgambenevokeslsmetelyavagueexptes-
slouaudhollowpatadlgmot, onthecouttaty, ateale/itica/tespouseto
adltestateofaffalts.
Othet commentatots have seenAgambeu, lnstead ofReelugftom
thepolltlcalluto utoplau speculatlon, dolugsomethlugmotedangetous.
mlsallgnlughlmselflnthepolltlcalateua.ohauuFtedetlkHattlezcc)
offets a pattlculatly hatsb judgmeut ofAgamben's attempt to lsolate a
putevloleuce lu8eujamlu's thought, saylug ofthls passageln Statc e
Excctienthatltsouudsulce,butdoesuotmeanmuch,audmeausespe-
clallyllttlewheuoueteadsltlntelatlouwlthwhatAgambeuseesuudet
theslguofamachluemadeoflawaudvloleuce. Fatftomdeptlvlugfas-
clsmofthemeausoffuuctloulng, HattleseesAgambeuplayluglutothe
haudsofsuchfotces.8ecausethlsoff'buttouofmystlc'vloleuceseems
tollebeyoudalltealpolltlcalcouRlcts,hewtltes,Agambeu'sthoughtls
oulypootlyptotectedftomtlghtwlugcousetvatlve,mls)lutetptetatlous
audauthotltatlau apptoptlatlouslutheuameofasupposedlymesslaulc
polltlcalsubjectlvlty. luesseuce,HattleaccusesAgambeuofsomethlug
hlghlydaugetous.Agambeuhastepeatedlytecouutedauauecdoteabout
8euj amlutoldto hlmbyllette Klossowskl.Wheucouftoutedwlththe
Ihcccnena/LethcStatc ,|
eudeavotsofthesectetsoc|ety

cha/c,ofwh|ch8atallewasamembet),
8eujam|u excla|med, ou ate wotk|ug fot fasc|sm " see HS, ii, iz,
aud8lS,u;). 8eujam|uwasofcoutseuotaccus|ug8ata|lleofkuowugly
hght|ugfottheeuemybut, |ustead,ofuuw|tt|uglysupply|ugthemw|th
couceptualatms.

Fotthosewhoatemotefavotably|ucl|uedtowatdAgambeu'spol|tl
calvocat|o

,thequest|ouofhowtouudetstaudthedeaofastateofexcep
t|outema|usptofouudlyuucetta|u. G|useppeGo|s|s,zoo;),fot|ustauce,
asks|fthehattow|ugpatad|gmofthestateofexceptouthatthteateusto
becomethetule|smeauttoteawakeu . . . the|utellectualeuetgesaud
themotaltesoutces"ofdemoctac|es,ot|ustead|stobeuudetstoodasau
absolutelyteal|stlcpatad|gm"po|ut|ugtothefactthatcettauptofouud
dyuamcscauuotbemod|hed"z,)Go|s|sleavesthemattetuudec|ded,
uotlugs|mplyhowmuchhewouldl|ketokuowgabeu'sgeuu|uepo|ut
ofvlewouthequest|ou" z,|).Wheuheasksh|mselfth|s sameques
tlonofwhethetAgambeu lsd|aguos|ugau|uopetable d|sease otmetely
alettlugustoadaugetousstateofaffalts,EtuestoLaclau,zoo;) emphat|
callytespouds that pol|tlcal ulhlllsmls Agambeu's] ult|mate message"
,zz) . FotLaclau,Agambeudtawsap|ctutebywh|chthebecom|ugtule
oftbeexceptloutepteseutstheuuavoldableadvaucetowatdsatotal|tat|au
soclety" i;). ,Fothlspatt,Laclaucla|mstocouutetsuchaualyses.ltty
todetetmluewlththegeuetal|zatlouoftheexcept|oual,'alsocouutetteu
deuclesthatmake|tposs|bletoth|ukaboutthefutute|umoteopt|m|st|c
tetms"] )
Aswesaweatl|et,Agambeuwasfoudoftematk|ug,|uapataphtase
ofatx, that theabsolutelydespetate state ofaa|ts |u thesoc|ety|u
wh|ch l llve hlls mew|th hope," audth|s m|xtute ofdeuuuc|at|ou aud
hopelsouethatmauyctlt|cshaveuudetstaudablyfouudd|fhculttogauge.
Coucetulug Go|s|s's quest|ou, howevet, |t seems thatAgambeu's geuu-
|uepoutofv|ew" |s that the stateofexcept|ou |s both oftheseth|ugs.
Agambeu'suseofthepatad|gm|scleatlyuotmeauttobepatalyz|ug.Ou
thecouttatyh|sexttemepos|t|ousoupol|t|calstatesofaa|tsateclealy
madew|ththe|uteutofbothshakugteadetsftomdogmat|cslumbetaud
|ust|ll|ugthebel|efthatsometh|ugcaust|llbedouetoavettmpeudug
catasttophe.8uttheseateuotmetethetot|caldev|ces employedtoatttact
theteadet'satteut|ou.Theyatealsopatad|gmsfotmoteptec|selyuudet
staud|ugoutpteseuts|tuat|ouThequest|ou,theu,swhethettheyshould
, c Ihccctiena/LethcStatc
be called, as Golsls asks, absolutely teallstlc." Followlug Agambeu, a
patadlgmlsatouceembeddedluaglveuhlstotlcalsltuatlouaudatoolfot
bettetundetstaudlugthepteseutsltuatlou."Thesepatadlgmsmusttheu
walkauuelluebetweeu pastaudpteseut,audfotthlsteasoutheytequlte
tbemostcateful uudetstandlng-atoncehlstotlcalandhetmeueutlc-lf
theyatetoachlevetheltend
ne ofthe centtal lssues ln such ctltlclsms ls a chatactetlstlc of
Agamben'sthoughtptesentftomtheoutset,audwhlchweuotedlutela-
tlontohlsutstbook-theptoxlmltyofdaugettosalvatlou,ofpolsou to
temedy, whlchlsasvlslbleluhls patadlgmsfotpolltlcalchaugeasluhls
lultlalexamluatlonoftheatts.Focuslugoupteclselythlspolut,Thomas
Khutaua ,zcc)wtltesofadlstutblugptoxlmltythatmakesAgambeu's
tboughtatoncesofasclnatlngandsoptecatlous"andthat,Khutananotes,
appeatslnasetlesofexceptlonallydellcatedlstlnctlons,"suchasthedlf
fetencebetweentbestateofexceptlontbatspellsdlsastetandtbetealstate
ofexceptlon tbat would be out llbetatlon ftom lt ,,c). Wltb thls polnt
lnmlnd, Khutanajudgesthatgamben'sptojectcannelthetbeundet
stoodasutoplannotastestotatlve,"andbepetceptlvelyshlftsthequestlon
to how convlnclng a polltlcal analysls can be nwhlch the ptomlslug
patadlgmsofacomlngcommunltyatesolntlmatelylutetlacedwlththe
sttuctutalchatactetlstlcsofthestatusquouudetattack" ,|,). To auswet
thlsquestlonweneedtolookmotecloselyattheptecatlousptoxlmltyof
thedlsastousstateofexceptlonthatchatactetlzesoutageaudattherca/
stateofexceptlon"thatwouldtepteseutoutllbetatlouftomlt.
Thethoughtofouttlmeuudsltselfcouftoutedwlththesttuctute
oftbeexceptlonlnevetyatea,"Agambeutematks ,HS, z, ,] ) Glveu
tbls sweeplngstatus, lt should come as llttle sutptlse thatauAssmauu
,zcc, |) hascalledthestateofexceptlouAgambeu's Lc/cnsthcma. lflt
lstbecasethat,asAgambensttesses, thethoughtofouttlme" lscou-
ftoutedwlththesttuctuteoftheexceptlouluevetyatea,"howthenate
weto gtaspthlsomulptesentsttuctute"-audtowhateud` Elsewhete,
Khutaua,zccz)haswtltteuthatAgamben'sptojectmotecloselytesembles
aHeldeggetlauhlstotyofbelugthanaFoucaldlauatchaeology,"audthat
whatlsatlssuelsacouceptlouofpolltlcalbelugpteseutluaudttavetslug
outpast . .whlchluthemodetuetatevealsltselfaswhatltalwayswas.
blopolltlcs",r) HenotesthatthestateofexceptlouthatAgambeuunds
lnso manytlmes audplaces andthathechatactetlzes as theotlgluaty
IhcEcnena/LethcSmtc ,,i
fotmofthelaw" |suotttacedauduotttaceableasah|stot|calpheuom
euaamougothets.lthasaspec|alstatus-asttuctutaloue-audbeueath
thechaug|ugh|stot|calmau|festat|ous,ftom hemesaccrtoMusc/mannto
Guautuamo deta|uee, l|es a lateut aud |deut|cal sttuctute. the state of
except|ou. Khutauauotes|uth|scouuect|outhatwhat|sptoblemat|c|u
Agambeu'stheotyofexcept|ou|sthat|t|satpo|utsclosetolocat|uguot
oulytheot|g|uofpol|t|cs|uastateofexcept|ou,butalso|ulocat|ugthe
ttuevocat|ou ofall pol|t|cs |u |ts becom|ug |ts owu state ofexcept|ou"
,oo,i,).Khutaua|ss|ugulatlyshatps|ghted|u|solat|ugth|s|ssueasthe
watetshedptoblemta|sedbythebook-thed|st|uct|oubetweeuastateof
except|outavag|ugoutpol|t|callaudscapeaudarca/stateofexcept|ou"
thatwouldspell|tseud.lfpol|t|csasasepatatespheteofhumauact|v|ty
atoseasatesultofastateofexcept|ou,aud|fth|sexcept|oualsttuctutehas
takeuouevetmotes|u|stettta|ts|uteceuth|stoty, theauswetcauuotbe
soughtbysomehowmag|callystatt|ugovet-aud|t|sth|ssusp|c|outhat
ledsuch|uc|s|vect|t|csas|tuo,Negt|,LaCapta,Fotmeut|,audLaclauto
|solatesometh|ugl|keautop|auelemeut|uAgambeu'saualyses.
Jhe Idea ol the Irolane
FotAgambeu, thedesttuct|vepowetsofthestateofexcept|ou cau
beueuttal|zedoulythtoughwhathecallsatealstateofexcept|ou."How-
evet,thestateofexcept|outhatAgambeusees|uthefouud|ugofthestate
|suotthesameastherca/stateofexcept|ou"heseesas|tsdes|teddest|ua
t|ou. Th|s d|st|uct|ou|souethatwecaubestuudetstaudthtoughoue of
theceuttal |deasofAgambeu'steceutwt|t|ug.the|deaoftheptofaue.
lu the Heme Saccr ptoect, the |dea ofthe ptofaue has followed
Agambeu'sstud|esofthesactedl|keashadow.luoueofh|shtstpubl|shed
essayshetefets tooutmodetuwotldasouewheteatotalabol|t|ou a/
e/iziencteta/c| ofthesacted"hascomeabout,FF,).AsteadetsofHeme
Saccraud|tssequelscaueas|lyattest, th|s|sapos|t|outhathehastad|-
callyalteted.Appeataucesuotw|thstaud|ug,atotalabol|t|ouofthesacted
has, |uAgambeu'sv|ew,byuo meaus takeu place. Althoughthesacted
has,|uoutseculat|zedage,tecededftomv|ew th|stetteathasleduotto
|ts abol|shmeut but oulyto |ts adopt|ugevetmote subtle gu|ses. What
Agambeusees|utheamb|guoushguteofhemesaccrthatgaveh|sptoect
|ts|mpetusaudt|tle-audthathegl|mpsed|uthe|utetst|cebetweeuthe
, z Ihcctiena/LqethcStatc
two reekterms tor lite, zand ~was a hgure otthe sacred that,
betoreorbeyondthereligious,constitutesthehrstparadigmotthepoliti-
cal ream otthewest" HS, rz ). Jhis paradigm reveals that, tar trom
beingabolished,theideaotthesacredisaspresentaseverinthedivisions
anddistinctionsotcontemporarysociety
In an essay trom rz,Agamben reters to the taskotthe thought
to come" as the conceivi ng otan absolutely protane lite which has at
tainedthepertectionotits ownpotentialandotitsowncommunicability
and over which sovereignty and law no longer have anyhold" M\E,
r r ). As we saw in the context ot IhcCemingCemmani, much
rides on properly understanding what Agamben sees under the sign ot
therencand whathe calls here an absolutelyprotane lite." Although
a total abolition otthe sacred" has byno means come to pass, we must
unconditionallystrivetorititanunprecedentedbiopoliticalcatastrophe"
istobeaverted.
\herearewethen to seeksuch an absolutelyprotane lite~or al
ternatively, a total abolition otthe sacred: In the closingpages otHeme
Saccr, Agamben, expressingskepticism abouttheFoucauldianprojectot
discoveringaditterenteconomyotbodiesandpleasures,"states,|ustas
thebiopoliticalbodyotthe\estcannotbesimplygivenbacktoitsnatu-
ral liteintheei/essoitcannotbeovercomeinapassagetoanewbody~a
technicalbodyorawhollypoliticalorgloriousbody~inwhichaditterent
economyotpleasures andvital tunctionswould once andtor all resolve
theinterlacementotzand/iesthatseems todehnethepoliticaldestiny
otthe\est. Jhisbiopoliticalbodythat is bare lite must itseltinsteadbe
transtormedintothesitetortheconstitutionandinstallationotatormot
litethatiswhollyexhaustedinbareliteanda/iesthatisonlyitsownz"
HS, r zrc ). Atormotlite"thatcouldnotbeplacedinastateotsacred
exception is a protane lite, onewhere /ieswould coincidewithz.Itis
thusnotthepassagetoanewbody," but,instead, areconceptionotthe
ideaotlite. Agamben`sintentionisnottotheorizeanewbodythatwould
escape the powers otcapture andrecuperation otastate system~aswas
thedesi reotFoucaultand, tollowinghim,Deleuze~butinsteadthetree
usage"ot barelite"thatis,torhim, bestunderstoodasprotane."
AttheendotLanaagcandDcathitisthisemptyaspectotthesacrcd
thatAgambenapproaches. Hewritesotsacrccand thesacrcdinapassage
IhcEccnena/LethcStc y ,y
hefouudlmpottauteuoughtotepeatvetbatlmluauothetessaythatsame
yeat.
HowcvcroncintcrprctsthcsacrihcialIunction,thccsscntialthingisthatincvc
casc, thc action oIthc human communityis groundcd in anothcr action. . . . At
thc ccntcr o|thc sacrihcc is simplya dctcrminatc acnenthat, d such, is scparat-
cd and markcd by cxclusion, in thiswayit bccomcs sacerand is invcstcdwith a
scrics o|prohibitions and ritual prcccpts. Iorbiddcn action, markcd by sacrcd-
ncss, is not, howcvcr, simply cxcludcd, rathcritisnowonlyacccssiblcIorccrtain
pcoplc and according to dctcrminatc rulcs. In this wa it Iurnishcs socicty and
its ungroundcd lcgislationwiththc hction oIabcginning. thatwhichis cxcludcd
|romthc communityis, in rcalit thatonwhich thc cntirc liIc oIthc communi-
tyis Ioundcd. IO, io; ii), italicsin original, translation modihcd, scc also P
i;i6i&&)
ltlspteclselyagalustthlssactedexcluslou thefouudatlouofthecom
muultythatAgambeu's comlugcommuultyaudhlsptactlceofptofaua
tlouatedltected, audltlspteclselythlsuugtouudedleglslatlou"thatbe
comes the ceuttal tatget ofa bookwtltteu ueatlytweutyhveyeats aet
LangagcandDcath-Prenanens.

lutheceuttalchaptetofPrenanens,ptogtammatlcallyeutltled"lu
ltalseofltofauatlou,"Agambeuchoosesapolutofdepattutethat,aslu
HemeSaccr, ls bothjutldlcal aud hlstotlcal. "Romaujutlstskuewpet
fectlywellwhatltmeauttoptofaue,' "Agambeuwtltes,butalthoughthey
mayhavebeeucleatastowhatltmeaut,wetodaylackthlsclatltyaudate
theteby opeu to teal audtettlble daugets ,lR, y) AsealyasLanagc
andDcath,Agambeusttessedthatthesactedlsuecessatllyauamblguous
audcltculatuotlou,"audluthewotksthatfollowedhegtaphlcallylllus
ttatedthlsfact,L,io,iyiyz| ) . usutptlslugly,therencalsocoutalu
amblgultlesaudcltculatltlesluueedofclatlhcatlou.
Sacted ot tellglous," wtltesAgambeu lu Prenanens, "ate those
thlugsthatbelougedluouefashlouotauothettothegods."Fotthlstea
sou,theywetetemovedftomthefteeusagea/ /i/crease| audcommetce
ofmeu,audcoulduotbesold,glveuasdeposlt,otcededluusuftuct",lR,
y) . Theldea ofsactllege" stemmedftom thls sacted exceptlou audlts
cottespoudlugtules, butfotAgambeuptofauatloulsbestuudetstoodlu
telatloutoauothettetm. censccratien. lfcousectatlouwasthetetmthat
deuotedtheleavlugofthespheteofhumaulaw,ptofauatlouslgulhedthe
tetututothefteeusagea/ /i/crease| ofmauklud",lR,y)Tokuowhow
, ,| Ihcccnena/LqethcStatc
to ptofane ls to nowhow to tetutn thlngs that have becomesubjectto
astateofsactedexceptlon-thlngsthathavebeenconsectated-tothelt
otlglnal-ptofane-context. To ptofane,Agamben thus wtltes, does
not slmplymeanto abollsh otcancelsepatatlons, butto leatnto mae
newusesofthem ,lR, rcc). Thegoalofrenatienlsthetefoteatonce
to tepeal thls ungtounded leglslatlon tefettedto eatlletandto undnew
uses fotwhattemalns. Thecteatlonofanewuse,Agambenwtltes,ls
onlyposslblethtough dlsactlvatlnganolduse-tendetlngltlnopetalve
,lR,) .ltlsfotthlsteasonalsoaputemeans anmceare-thatls
tosay, ameanswlthoutend anmcescnzanc| ,lR,).Theldeaof
renatienlslnthlstespectcloselyllukedtotheldeasofoecanenandthe
inecranoc,toetcnna/iandaconceptlonofmcansaitheatcn.Atthe
endofLanaagcandDcathAgambenwtltesthatphllosophylspteclsely
the foundatlon ofman nziencdcdaeme| as human . . . audthe
attemptto absolve asse/ocrc| manofhlsungtoundeduessandtheunsay
abllltyofthesactluclalmystety ,L, rc6 r,,] , ttanslatlon modlued). lt
lsthlssactluclalmystetythatwlllbeexplotedlntheongolngHemeSaccr
setles, as well as ln the new petspectlve offeted by Prenanens. lute,
ptofane,andllbetatedftomsactednames,Agambenwtltes,lsthethlug
tetutnedtothecommonuseofmanklnd,lR,,).
lnTheCtltlqueoflolence-wtlttenlnrrandrzo-8euj amlu
madea passlngsuggestlonthatlaydotmaut uutllAgambeu uudettook
HemeSaccr. ltmlghtbewotthwhlle,hespeculated,toluvestlgatethe
otlgln ofthedogmaofthesactednessofllfe ,8enjamln GS, z. r,,, clted
lnHS, 66;,| ) Ftomltstlepageto ltsunalllnes,HemeSaccrconcetus
ltselfwlthpteclselythls-ashad,lnlessdltectfaslon,eatlletwotssuchas
LangagcandDcathandlatetonessuchas Ihc IimcIhatRcmains, Statc
eccnen, Prenanens, andIRcgne ca C/eria. lt ls thls dogma of
the sactednessofllfethatAgambenttacesto the mosttemotecotnetsof
Westetnlntellectualhlstoty.Andalthoughhlslnvestlgatlonofthe ldeaof
thesactednessofllfelsnotslngulat,whathepaltswlthlt-anlnvestlga
tlonoftheldeaoftheptofanenessofllfe-ls.
Agambenhasshownthatlnvestlgatlngtheotlglnofthedogmaof
thesactednessofllfehasasltscotollatydemonsttatlngthatthlsdogmals
essentlallythat-dogmaandthatfotcommunltlestocomeltshouldbe
teplacedbyafocusonthelntegtallyptofaneuatuteofhumanexlstence.
Ashemadecleataseatlyas LangagcandDcath, thesactedlssetapatt
IhcEccnena/LethcSmtc ,, ,
byuothlugs omuchasthetltualsthatsepatateltftomthecoutluuumof
evetydayllfe, thus cteatlugaud cotdoulug offasactedspaceaudsacted
powetstobewleldedovetthemauybythefew. luHemeSaccr,Agambeu
testates thls polut, sttesslug that fot socletles llke classlcal Gteece, "llfe
became sacted ouly thtough a setles oftltuals whose alm was pteclsely
to sepatate llfe ftom lts ptofaue coutext" ,HS, 66 ;6] ). Agambeus lu-
teutou-ou pattlculatlycleatdlsplaylu Prenatiens- to tevetsethls
ptocess aud tetutu llfe to ltsptofauecoutext. Cousequeutly, to ptofau
somethlug-luthespeclaluseheasctlbestothatactlvlty-lsuottodehle
ltbutlusteadtollbetatelt,totemoveltftomthespheteofthesactedaud
fteeoutselvesftomtheldeathattheteatesomethugsthatatesactedaud
somethatateptofaueaudthattheyshouldbeheldsepatatelestthehd
deubalauceofthewotldbelost. luslmplettetmsAgambeu'scouceptlou
ofthetelatlouofsactedaudptofauelsadcsacra/izcdoue. 8yhlsaccouut,
thete ls uothlug luheteutly sacted lu sacted thlugs aud uothlug luhet-
eutlyptofaueluptofaueoues.Theyatecategotlesllkeothets,butttessed
by those luwhose lutetest ltwas to have audholdfastto such dlstluc-
tlous. FotAgambeu, toptofauesomethluglsthus u uoseusetodebase
ltsuatuteotteduceltsvalue.To ptofauels,fothlm,htstaudfotemosta
posltlveactsetvlugtollbetatethlugsaudptactcesfotcommuualusage.
Fotthlsteasou,Agambeuwtltesthat"pute,ptofaue,audlbetatedftom
sacteduameslsthethlugtetutuedtothecommouuseofmaukud",HS,
66 ;). Thls chalu ofadjectlves- renc,-shows both the
luteutofptofauatlouaswell asthe teasouAgambeuwlshes to ptaset.
Thegoalofptofauatloulstoputlaudfteethlugsofthe"sacteduames"
thatcotdouthemoffastheptovluceofthefew,ltlstotetututhethlugs
ofthewotldtotheltuatutalcoutext.commouusage."
Glveuthlsvlew,thetetutuofthethlugsofthewotldtothetotlgl
ualcoutextwhetetheywouldbesubjecttofteeusageseemsllkeauatutal
movemeut, buthowouelstoeuvlslouthlsttausltloutoaputelyhumau
coutextlsauothetmattet. Oueauswetto thequestlouoftowhatouels
totetututheseptofauedthlugsls, slmply, tothespheteoffteeusage. lu
McanswitheatAgambeuhadalteadydeclated,"thatwhlchdemauds
teRectloulstheposslbllltyaudthemodalltlesofaccasagc" ,ME,
,] , ttauslatlou modlhed, ltallcs lu otlglual) . lu au lutetvlewwth the
Fteuchjoutual acarmc,heoffetedaulllusttatlouofwhathesawassuch
fteeusageluthedebatethatsptaugupbetweeutheCathollcChutchaud
, Ihccctiena/LethcStatc
theFranciscanorderoveratreeusageotthethingsottheworld.Motonly
did the Franciscans rej ectthe idea that theypossessedpersonalproperty,
but they also retused to accept communal property in the name otthe
order) . Jhe Church suggested that theyclassi[theirmannerotlivingas
dreit dasagc ,asaactas, as distinguished trom the right otownership).
Agamben relates that the Franciscan order retorted in his own para-
phrase) ,Nen,ccnst asandreitdasagc, cstdc asagcsansdreitMo,this
is not a lawtul usage, it is lawless usage" BM ). Jhisexamplemakes
clear that the tree usage in question is not simply a usagewith a more
ampleorliberallegaldehnition, butausagethatcategoricallyrejectsthe
ideaotlegitimatepossession.Jhislawlessusage"isnotapurelyanarchic
one,butitdoesrejecttheparadigmsotteredbythej uridicalcultureotits
daywiththetrulyrevolutionayimplicationthatlawtulusage"asthen
understoodbychurchandstatewastartromjust. Itshouldthencomeas
nosurprisethatAgambenreturnsinPrenatienstotheideaottreeusage
advocatedbytheFranciscansandthatIope|ohnII respondedtowith
suchvehemenceseeIR,) . Jheideaotalawlessusagecorresponds
to a tree usage in which the things otthe world~and above all those
things andpractices thathave beenconsecratedbyasacredtew~would
bereturned" totheiroriginalcontext.
Itoneagreeswiththenecessityotsuch arevaluationotvalue,with
the need tor such a change in our conceptions, how then does one go
about protaning` Jo protane," we read, means to open the possibility
otaspecialtorm otnegligence ncg/igcnza| that ignores theseparation
orrather, makes aparticularusage otit" IR, ). Jhe hrsttorm otthis
negligence that Agamben otters as paradigmatic easily risks seeming
light-hearted, assimplyanarchicorunseriousandreturnsusto atopic
raisedin relation to thelaw play. Jhis too istar trom anewconcerntor
Agamben, and the movement trom rite to game and the protanizing ot
sacred practices issomethingthatAgamben hrst studied intheessayIn
Ilayland. ReHectionsonHistoryandIlay," alargelystructuralistattempt
the essay is dedicated to Levi-Strauss) to understand the systems" and
mechanisms" wherebyrites becomeprotaned~which is to say, become
gamesandviceversa. Jhemajorityotourgames,"Agambenobserves
inPrenatiens, buildingontheseearlierreHections, derivetromancient
andsacredceremonies,tromritualsanddivinatorypracticesthatbelonged
tor a time to the religious sphere" IR, ,). He then cites a series ot
IhcEccnena/LethcStc ,,;
sucb es-ballgamesthatteptoducethegods'sttugglestopossesstbe
sun, andsuchobjectsasthespluulugtopaudthechessboatdthatwete
lultlally dlvlnatoty lusttuments. The coucluslouthatAgambeudtawsls
tbattblsslgnlhesthattbegamellbetatesauddlvettshumaultyftomthe
spbeteoftbesacted,butwltboutslmplyabollshluglt ,R, 6).Abolltlou
wouldlnvlteatestotatlou-adlalectlcaltevetsalthatwouldtelustatethe
sactedTbecbaugethatAgambeuwlshestoeffectwouldbemotetadlcal
andmotedutable
Howvet,audasAgambenpolutsout,tecoutsetogamesaudplayls
notaslmpleactlvltyluoutdayaudage-aboveallbecause"thegameas
meausofptofauatlouhasfalleulutodlsuse,R,;).Thlsdoesuotmeau
thatgamesassuchhavedlsappeatedftomoutcultute-outhecouttaty,
theyatemotepteseutthauevet.8uttheydouotplaytheptofaulzlugtole
thatAgambeuldentlhedlneatlletcultutes."Thatmodetumauuolouget
kuowsbowtoplay, hewtltes, lsto beseeupteclselyluthevettlgluous
multlpllcatlonofoldauduewgaes ,R, ;).hatouehudsluthese
uewgameslsnotaptofaulzluglusttumeutotfotce,buta"despetateaud
obstlnateeatchtotetututothelostfestlvala/stacrdu| ,atetutu
to the sacted aud lts tltes ,R, ;). "lu thlsseuse, the televlsed games
fot the masses ate patt ofa uew lltutgy, seculatlzlug au uucousclously
tellglous lntentlou ,R, ;). Fot thls teasou, "To tetutu the game
to ltsputelyptofauevocatlou a/sua iecaziencuramcntcrena| lsa
polltlcaltask ,R, ).
Agamben seeks ln tbe ptofaue a tespouse to the sovetelgu state
ofexceptlon aud the loglc ofsactallty ouwhlch lt depeuds lu llght of
Agamben'sldeaoftheptofaue,tbedlsslmllatbooksHemeSaccr,Rcmnan
eHaschuitz, IhcIimcIhatRcmains,Stceccnen,Pre/natiens,au
I/Rcgec C/eriaateultlmatelytesponsestothesameptoblem, audall
euvlslon speclal audpatadlgmatlc fotms fotplaylugwlthsactedobjects
soastoeffecttheltdesactallzatlon Astateofexceptlouexteudedwlthout
llmltwouldbea rca/stateofexceptlouwlth,ascotollatles,attulyexcep-
tlonalstateaudattulyexceptloualexlsteuceluwhlchthevloleutdlvlslous
ofsovetelgutyaudsactallty,wlththeltlusttumentallzatlouofpattlalstates
ofexceptlou,wouldbeteudetedluopetatlve. Sucharca/stateofexcep-
tlonwouldcottespoudtoawotldthatls"lutegtallyptofaue"-awotld
thathademployedthe devlces ofptofauatlousoas to dlsatthesovet-
elguotdetaudsuspeudthedlvlslousbetweeuthesactedaudtheptofaue.
, Ihccctiena/qethcStatc
\hen seen in this light, a long arc o|Agamben`s work becomesvisible.
Jheconcernwithsacralityraisedattheendo|LangagcandDcathistak-
enupwithgreater|ocusandintensitymore thantenyears later, and itis
thisidea thatlinkssuch dissimilarbooksasthescholarlyHemeSaccrand
themorepersonalPrenatiensJhesebooksapproachthesameidea|rom
radicallydi||erentsides~Saccr|romthesideo| law, IhcIimcIhat
Rcmainsand I Rcgne c C/eria|rom the side o|theology, Prenatiens
|rom the side o|personal experiences~with the goal o|dehning a rca/
stateo|exceptionthatwouldalso|ormatrulypro|aneorder.
Jhe hctive stateo|exception that maintains a distinction between
sacredandpro|ane, immanenceandtranscendence, thatwhichiswithin
the juridical order and thatwhich is beyond it must, |or Agamben, be
replacedi| wearetoavoidaplanetarycivilwar" ~andtheremedyliespe-
riouslyclosetothepoison.Inr,,Agambenhadalreadywritten, be|ore
extermination camps are reopened in Europe somethingthat is already
starting to happen) , it is necessary that the nationstates hnd the cour-
age to question the very principle o|the inscription o|nativity as well
as the trinityo|state-nation-territory that is |ounded on that principle"
M\E, z z ). ForAgamben, i|wewantto abandonasourbiopoliti-
cal paradigm" the concentration camp, we must bring about a rca/state
o|exception, an integrallyactual and integrallypro|ane order inwhich
the destructive distinctions between sacred and pro|ane, the exception
and the norm, the singular and the universal are neutralized~and put
behind us. Jhey are not to be somehowmagically destroyed, not to be
annihilated|romthememoryo|man,butinsteadaretobeseeninanew
light~thesamelightthatAgambenelsewherecallsmessianicandthatwe
will tur to shortly. Insuchapro|aneorder, distinctionswouldcontinue
toexistallpersonsandallobjectswouldnotHoat|reelyinaspacewithout
meaning,buttheywouldceasetohavethedivisive|orcetheycarrytoday
they would cease to be instruments in the hands o|those in power. At
such a momentwe could literally toy" with them, because they would
have become relics, and theywould beopen towhatevernew usages lie
at hand. Although this subtle coherence o|Agamben`s interests is oen
missed in analyses o|his thought, it does not, however, o||era concrete
answer,oradehniteparadigm,|orhowwewouldi nventanewuseo|the
law," and|or themoment this remains the most pressing questionto be
posedtoAgamben`spoliticalphilosophy~aquestionthattheessaysand
bookstocomewill,hisreaderscanonlyhope, seektoanswer.
IhcEccnena/LqethcStatc , ,
ln actuclalpassageftomRcmnantseHaschai,Agambeuspeaks
ofa slngulatly dangetous ptocess, alluded to eatllet-what he calls the
contamlnatlonofethlcalcouceptsbylegaloues."Asjutlstswe|lkuow"he
tematks, lawlsnotdltectedtowatdtheestabllshmeutofjustlce.Notls
ltdltectedtowatdthevetlhcatlonofttuth.Lawlssolelydltectedtowatd
judgment, lndependent ofttuth and j ustlce" ,, i i|). At the eud
ofSmtceExccnen,Agambenstates that "polltlcshas suffeteda|astlug
ecllpsebecauselthasbecomesocontamluatedbylaw" ,SE, | ) . Ft
thlsteason, "toshowlawlnltsuoutelatloutollfeaud,cousequeutly, llfe
ln ltsnontelatloutolawmeansto opeu betweeuthetwo tetms aspace
fothumauactlou" ,SE, z| , ttaus|atloumodlhed). WhatAgambeuls
theusttlvlngfotlstheteallzatlouofauotheta-stateofexceptlou
opeuenoughfotthepoteutlalltytothluk,toact,audtollvetobeglveu
fteetelgu.
, c IhcEcctiena/ethcStatc
Scholium I. Adorno, Irotaniq, and
the Secular rder
TheteatefewthlnketswhoseconcetnscolncldewlthAgamben'sso
often asAdotno's. Glventhls fact, lt ls sutptlslnghowtatelyAgamben
tefetstoAdotno.Askedabout thls,Agambentematked, Mytelatlonto
Adotnohastakenplaceftomthebeglnnlngundettheslgnof8enjamln. "
AftettheessaylnInnandHistecentetedatoundanexchangeoflet
tets between 8enj amln andAdotno, the lattet ls onlytately tefetted to
otclted lnAgamben'swotk-even whenAgamben's teadet mlght most
expect lt. ln Heme SaccrAgamben clalms that todaylt ls not the clty
buttathetthecampthatlsthefundamentalblopolltlcalpatadlgmofthe
West" ,HS, rr zcz] ). Although Agamben does not mentlon the ptec
edent, hewas notthe htststudent of8enjamln's to seesucha datkhg
uteattheheattofouteta. 8efotehequestlonedthestatusofpoettyaftet
Auschwltz,Adotnowtote, lnanessaycomposedlnr and r|c as te
pottsaboutthecondltlonslnGetmanconcenttatloncampsbegantohltet
thtoughtohlmlnAmetlcanexlle,thatoutagewastheageofthecon
centtatloncamp",AdotnoGS, rc. z) .ConsldetlngthefameofAdotno's
categotlcallmpetatlveconcetnlngAuschwltz,thatAuschwltznothappen
agaln. . . thatltnottepeatltself"seeAdotnoGS,rc. |) andhlstematks
on att aftetAuschwltz ,aftetAuschwltz, wtltlng a poem ls batbatlc",
Adotno GS, rc. ,cseealsoAdotnoGS, .,) , ltlslndeedsutptlslngthat
theyatenotevenmentlonedlnthesectlonsoncategotlcallmpetatlvesand
attlnRcmnantseHaschaitz. lnaddltlon,Adotno'sdenunclatlonof the
nothlngness that the concenttatlon camp demonsttated to lts subjects",
ofthe dtastlcgulltoftheonewhowasspated" lnAuschwltzandwho,
lntevengefotbelngspatedwlllbevlsltedbydteams,suchasthathedld
notsutvlveofthelnvocatlonofabatellfe//ecmLc/cnaswellasof
theldeathatthefalluteofcultutethatAuschwltzemblematlzeslttefut
ablyptoved"the lnvalldltyofKantandHegel 'sfalthlnfteedomateldeas
thatonemlghthaveexpectedAgambentolnvokeheteandthathedoes
not,AdotnoGS, |. |, .,, .,, .) .
lnRcmnantseHaschuiAg
ambentefetstoAdotnolnpasslng,andtathetdlsmlsslvely,attheconclu
slon ofhlsdlscusslonofHeldegget'sdlalectlcofdeath, statlugthetethat
theamblgultyofoutcultute'stelatlontodeathteachesltspatoxysmaet
Auschwltz. ThlsspattlculatlyevldentlnAdotno,whowantedtomake
IhcEccnena/LqethcStc y i
Auschwltzluto akludofhlstotlcalwatetshed", ,|)ousldet-
lugtheslmllatlty-otatleasttheptoxlmlty-oftheltteBectlous, oue of
thesutptlsesthatRcmnantseHuschaioffetslsthatAdotuoaudhlssttl
deutptoclamatlousdouotplayauyslgulhcauttolethetelu.
Auothetpolutofequallycloseptoxlmltyaudsubtle,audslleut,dl-
vetgeucelsfouudluthe ldeathatleudsAgambeu's Prenanenslts tltle.
Adotuowtoteto 8euj amluthatheplauued to makehlmself"theadvo-
cateoftheologlcalmotlfsluyout-aud,pethapsl mlghtsay, myowu
phllosophy." Heweutoutowtlteof"savlug" theologythtoughwhathe
sawas8eujamlu's"altetatlous"oftheology,Adotuoaud8eujamlui|,
yz yzy| ) Adotuoalsouotedwheteluhesawthesealtetatlouslylug-lu
whathecalledtheology's"lmmlgtatloulutoptofaultyEinaandrungin
dcrPreni t| " ,yz yzy|). luthe samelettethe also wtote of"maklug
the powet oftheologlcal expetleuce auouymouslyavallableluptofaulty
dicra dcr thcechcn Ehrunganenm indcreni tme/i/zu
machcn| " ,yz yzy| )
Thls much ofAdotuo's declated luteutlou appeats ldeutlcal to
Agambeu's effottsluPrenanensaudthestudlesleadlugup to lt.eats
latet,howevet,Adotuowouldtetututotheldeaoftheptofaueaudtothe
movemeutoftheologlcal expetleucelutoltstealm,wtltlugthat"uothlug
oftheologlcalcouteutwllltemaluuuchauged,evetythlugmustbeputto
thetestoflmmlgtatluglutotheseculat,theptofaue",AdotuoGS,io. 6).
HeteAdotuotetutustotheldeaofau"lmmlgtatloulutoptofaulty"whlle
appeudlugtoltasecoudtetm-thesccu/r.Audltlshetethatwehuda
ctuclal dlvetgeuce betweeu Adotuo's audAgambeu's ptalse ofptofaua-
tlou.WheteasfotAdotuotheptofaueaudtheseculatcouldbeuamedlu
aslugle bteath aud asaslugledestluatlou, fotAgambeultlslmpetatve
thattheybeclealydlstlugulshedftomoueauothet.
ltofauatloulssomethlugcompletelydlffeteutftomseculatlzatlou,"
Agambeutematkedluateceutlutetvlew."Seculatlzatloutakessomethlug
ftom thesactedspheteaudsccmsto tetutultto thewotldlysphete8ut
lu thls casepowet's mechaulsms ate uotueuttallzed. Wheu theologlcal
powetlsttausfotmedluto seculatpowet,thlsptovldes afouudatlou fot
seculatpowet. 8utseculatlzatlouuevetttulydesawaywlththe sacted.
Aud lt ls fot thls teasou uot a good solutlou to out ptoblemou the
couttaty. We must ueuttallze thls telatlou to the sacted-that lswhat
ptofauatlouhtstmakesposslble" ,ll, zz, ltallcs luotlglual).

Thls ls
, z Ihcxcctiena/qethcStatc
tbelasttblngbutan lsolatedllneofteRectlon,audlt ls to tblspoluttbat
AgambentetutnslnPrenatiens,wbetebewtltes tbatseculatlzatlouls
atypeoftemovalwblcbleaves fotces lntact,wblcb llmltsltselfto mov-
lng tbem ftom one place to anotbet" ,lR, ). Fot tblsteasoubeclalms
tbattbepolltlcalseculatlzatlonoftbeologlcalconceptsonlydlsplacestbe
celestlalmouatcbylntoatettesttlalone" ,lR, ). lullgbtoftbepolltl-
cal tas" cuttentlyfaclng us,we must, be atgues, dlstlngulsb between
seculatlzatlonandptofanatlon" ,lR,).
Agamben'sadoptlonof8enjamln's ldeaoftbeptofanedlffets ftom
Adotno's lntetest lutbatsame coucepttbtougbltssepatatlonofseculat-
lzatlon audptofanatlon. AltbougbAdotno sets tbetwo tetms alongslde
one anotbet,Agamben opposes tbem, and ln so dolngbe clatlheswbat
beseesastbefunctlonaudgoalofptofanatlon.FotAgamben,tbecbange
tbat seculatlzatlon btlngs about ls a supethclal one. lt sccmsto tetutn
sometblngftomtbeotbetwotldlytotbewotldlyspbete, buttblslsoften
deceptlve. Seculatlzatlon may appeat to llbetate ldeas and tblngs ftom
tbesactedspbetelnwblcbtbeybaddwelt,but,actually, tbatptocessonly
cbangestbelocatlonoftbeclosed-offatea. FotAgambeu, seculatlzatlon
consetves"tbedlvlslonslnbetlnglntbeologlcalconcepts,metelydlsplac
lngtbeltcentetofpowetwblletetalnlngtbeltsttuctuteandtbeltlllegltl
mateptlvlleges.Wbatbeenvlslonsundettbeslgnofptofanatloulsmote
tadlcal.lnblswotds,seculatlzatlondoesnotdoawaywltbtbesacted"
andtbatlspteclselytbegoalofblsptofauatlous.
IhcEcnena/LqethcSmtc , 6,
Scholium II. Carl Schmitt, or Iolitics and Strate
TheptomlueuceofCatlSchmlttluAgambeu'spolltlcalwtltlugsof
the last tweuty yeats has sutptlsed aud ttoubled mauy teadets. Schmltt
uot ouly theotlzed a state ofexceptlou, he also helped btlug about au
effectlve declatatlou ofsucha state. lu i,| he ptomlueutly suppotted
Hltlet'smouutlugsovetelgutyaud, lu i,6, wtote ofthe ueed to putl
Getmaulegalcultuteofthe ewlshmeutalltydischcm Ccut| " hesaw
cottuptluglt.Ayeatlatethebegautotecedeftomthelmpottauttolehe
hadhlthettoplayedlutheNazlpattyaudtheltvloleutstateofexceptlou,
latetclalmlugthatheuudetweutauluuetemlgtatlou." lui|,,Schmltt
wasattestedaudlmptlsouedbytheAllledauthotlty. pouhlsteleaselu
rchewasfotblddeuftomplaylugauytoleluthelegalotacademlclu-
stltutlousotdebatesoftheday, audhe

lvedoutthetestofhlslougllfe
,hedledlurattheageof) guatdlugadehautslleuceoutheques-
tlouofhlspetsoualtespouslblllty. Thlsslleuceappeatstohavebeeubto-
keuoulyludlscussloushehadlateluhlsllfewlththeewlshphllosophet
acobTaubes,whofeltthelttalkswetesubjecttothesametulesofsectecy
astellglouscoufesslou.
luauessayouAgambeu,aulel8luswaugetzcc,) spokefotmauy
wheuheobsetvedhowtematkablelstheteualssauceofthepollt|calphl
losophyofCatl Schmltt"-lupattlculat,what8luswaugetchatactetlzed
asthefascluatlououtheLeftfotthecousetvatlvetevolutlouatyaudlatet
ctowujutlst'oftheThltdRelch"6).ThecouslousluwhlchAgambeu's
studlesofSchmltthavetesultedateuowheteoumotesttlklugdlsplaythau
luauessaybytheedltotofthehtstEugllshlauguagewotkouHemeSaccr,
Audtew Nottls, whose dlsmlssal ofAgambeu's patadlgmatlc method ls
llukedtothetoleSchmlttplayedluAgambeu'sthought.ufottuuately,"
Nottlsdeclates,gambeu'sacceptauceofSchmltt'sdeclsloulsmmakeslt
lmposslblefothlsaualysestohaveauygeuetalvalldlty."lethapswotse,"
ottlscoutluues, ltputs Agambeu] lutheposltlouofdecldlugouthe
campvlctlmsouemote tlme, thetebytepeatlugthegestute ofthe SS lu
pteclselythewayhesayswemustavold" ,Nottlszcc,,z;). TheRawslu
ottls'aualogybetweeuphllosophlcalatgumeutatlouaudlegaldeclata
tlou ate uoted lu au eatlletchaptet, butwhatwe should atteud to hete
ls the exteut to whlchAgambeu ls seeu bysuch au lufotmed teadet as
uuctltlcallyacceptlugSchmltt'sldeasaud,whatlsmote,daugetouslyclose
tocompllcltwlthpastctlmes.
Thls uote souuded by 8luswauget aud Nottls ls ludeed uot the
, IhcEccnena/ethcStatc
onlyonebeatdln tbectltlcallltetatuteonAgamben.AnselmHavetkamp
,zcc, ,zr) baswtltten tbat HemeSaccrconftontsandtefutes Scbmltt's
mytblcsupetsttuctuteoftbeexceptlonwltbltsptoto-typlcalappllcatlonln
RomanlawandSatabloutclau,zcc,rc)basaptlycbatactetlzedtbat
bookasanattempttotblnktbeScbmlttlanpolltlcalftomtbelnsldeout.
eemlngAgamben'suseofScbmltt'sldeasasateRectlonontboseldeas
ftomtbelnsldeoutlsaptovocatlvesuggestlon,andonewbeteAgambenls
seenasnotmetelyfollowlngScbmltt'sdatkleadbuttbequestlontemalns
as to bowwemlgbtbettet undetstandtbls telatlonshlp. Fout elements
seemwottbnotlngbete.Tbehtstconcetnsagenetalmystetytbesecond,
8enj amlntbetbltd,tbelawandthefouttb,sttategy.
Tbe enlgmaofa man ofSchmltt's fotmldable acumen and etudl-
tlonmaklngtbepolltlcaldeclslonsbedldlsevetybltastematkable,and
evetybltasdlsconcettlng,asHeldegget'svetydlffetentcase.lnmanyte-
spectsltlsstlllmotedlsconcettlngglventbefatmoteptofoundlnRuence
thatSchmlttbadontbecoutseofevents.Tblslndlvldualmystety,whlch
motlvatedsucbvlsltots asTaubes andAlexandteKojveto seekScbmltt
out,beatsnotlng,buttblslsnotsometblngthatAgambenfocusesonot
tbatplays anyexpllclttolelnbls teRectlons. Tutnlngto thesecondele-
ment,j ust as manyofAgamben'steadets hndSchmltt'sptesence ln hls
wotkssutptlslng,andevenscandalous,sotoodoteadetsof8enj amln,as
wesaweatllet).Altbougbthls patallelanswetsno questlonsconcetnlng
Agamben'slntetest lnScbmltt's ldeas, lt does polnt to one oftbepaths
tbat ledAgamben tbete. As ls on pattlculatly cleat dlsplay ln Statc e
xcctien, Agamben endeavots to undetstand the tlddllng telatlonshlp
between8enj amlnandScbmlttandtoseeltlnanewllght.Tbetbltd
elementconttlbutlngtoAgamben'slntetestlnScbmlttalsodatesftomtbe
beglnnlng ofAgamben's cateet-bls legal studles. Agamben's ctltlclsm
oflegal conceptlonssucb as sovetelgnty-aswell as bls mote genetal
ctltlqueoftbemannetlnwblcblegalconceptlonsbavesetvedasstand-ln's
fotetblcalones,lslnfotmedbyScbmltt'sexample.Tbectltlqueoftbelaw,
and tbeneedtodlstlngulsbetblcalconceptlonsftomlegalones,hnds,fot
Agamben, atest case lnScbmltt.Tbefouttb, hnal, and most lmpottant
elementlssttateglc.
As ls pattlculatly cleat ln Mcans witheatndand Heme Saccr,
Agamben's ldea of polltlcal pbllosopby ls lntlmately llnked to hls
IhcEccnena/LqethcSmtc , 6,
couceptlouofpolltlcalsttategy,audasl s equallycleatl uStatceExccnen
audI/Rcgec/ C/eriaAgambeu huds Schmlttafotmldablesttateglst.
Whatlsatlssueluthelattet'steRectlousate uothluglessthauoutmost
fuudameutal polltlcal couceptlous. As he sttessed lu hls dlscusslous of
ebotd, Agambeu ls ptofouudly lutetested lu thesttateglc posslbllltles
pteseut lu polltlcal coucptlous. That he begau to wtlteabout Schmltt
dutlugthepetlodluwhlchhewasexplotlugthepatadoxofsovetelgu-
ty should theu come as uo sutptlse.

Fat ftom uuctltlcally acceptlug

Schmltt'sldeasoupolltlcaltheology,howevet,Agambeuclealyaspltesto
opposeSchmltt'ssttateglcshaplugofsuchcouceptlousassovetelgutyaud
ltsdehulugstateofexceptlou.lf Agambeulstolllusttatesuccessfullythe
lllegltlmacyofcettalu systematlc uses ofstatepowet, audto tettacethe
theologlcalotlglus ofoutpolltlcalcouceptlous, theuhehasevetyteasou
toeugagewlthoueofltsmostsubtleaudtesoutcefuldefeudets.

LMAP JLK JL^

+hc Ncssah, Or \n thc oaCrcd
and thc !rOanc
Mo ideais so central toAgamben`s philosophyotpotentiality, and
noneplays so enigmaticaroletherein, as the messianic."Agambentre-
quentlyinvokesmessianism," theMessiah," messianictime,"themes-
sianicevent,"themessianicKingdom,"petrihedmessianism," messian-
icdisplacement,"messianicconcepts,"andtheconceptotthemessianic."
etwhatpreciselyheenvisionsunderthesignotthemessianicistartrom
selt-evident.Itweturntothecriticalliteraturetorclarihcationwehndthe
termusedwithequaltrequencybyAgamben`sinterpreters,butthesimple
itdithcultquestion otwhatismeantby it israrelyraised,with bothde-
tendersanddetractorsseemingto take itsmeaningtorgranted. LaCapra
,zcc,rr) , torinstance, denounces a ablank, utopian, messianic post)
apocalypticism"inAgamben`sthought,andalthoughwecaneasilygather
thatheislamentingthisstateotconceptualattairs,theroleotmessianism
thereinisnotimmediatelyclear.Attheotherendotthecriticalspectrum,
Heller-Roazen ,r) notes that whether the subject isAristotleor Spi-
noza, Heideggeror Benj amin, whatis at issue inAgamben`swriting| is
alwaysamessianicmomentotthinkinginwhichthepracticeotthe` his-
torian`andthepracticeotthephilologist,`theexperienceottraditionand
theexperienceotlanguage,cannotbetoldapart",) .Herethemessianism
inquestion isclearlyavirtue, butitsprecisenature is, again, letttor the
readerto tormulate. DoesAgamben`s ideaotthe mcssianicreter tosome-
thing to come, something that is here, or something alreadycome and
gone~to something in thisworld, somethingin another, or something
IhcMcssiah, erOnthcSacrcdandthcPrenc , 6;
lnboth`ls theMesslah" metelyametaphot, otlsltsomethlugmote` lf
ltlsthefotmet,whatlsthehgutalmeaulugltlsmeauttocouvey`Andlf
ltlsthelattet,whatlsthatsomethlngandhowshouldweuudetstaudlt`
Whatevetelsetheyate,Mcssiah, mcssianic,andmcssianismatequlutesseu
tlallytheologlcaltetms.To answetthesequestlous,wemlghttheubeglu
byclatllngAgambeu'sldeaoftheology.
Agamben`s Idea olJheolog or
Jhe lotting-Iaper and the Ink
FewaspectsofAgamben'sthoughtatesodlfhculttogtaspasthetole
oftheology.To beglnwlthauexemplatywotkftomthemlddleofAgam
ben'scateet, IhcCemingCemmanipteseutschatactetlstlcchalleugeslu
thlstegatd. lubllshedlnthelmmedlateaftetmathofthefallofcommu
nlsm, thebookseemstobehtstaudfotemost-tobottowachaptettle
ftomthewotkthatptecededlt-ateRectlououtheldeaofcommuulsm,"
offetlngas lt does a setles ofptovocatlve patadlgms thtoughwhlchthe
ldeas ofcommunltyandcommunlsmmlght benewlycoucelved. Refet-
eucestodebatesaboutthestatusofldentltyanddlffetenceaudaboutthe
telatlonofpatttowhole lncommunlsttheotyandptaxlsabouudthetelu
andchaptetssuchasWlthoutClassesaudTlananmeu"cleatlyluvoke
bothalaudablecommunlstldea,asocletywlthoutclasses)andthedeplot-
abletesultsofcettaluattemptstobtlugltabout.lnshott, muchpolntsto
outundetstandlugAgamben'scomlugcommunltyasauesseutlallycom
muulstone.etuosoonetlsthlsnotedthanaglatlngcouttadlctlouseems
toatlseThecomlngcommunltythatAgambeuevokeslscleatlyuoten
apolltlcalone. RefetencesluthebooktoAquluasaudAugustluetoha
los, llmbo, andputgatoty, to theKabbalah, Halacha, Haggadah, Skekl
nah,audTlkkuuallcleatlydltecttheteadet'sattentlou towatdtellglous
patadlgmsfotllfelusuchacommunlty.etatethesetwoheldsoftefet-
enceuotmutuallyexcluslve`oesuottheuoveltyofcommuulsmllelults
dlsmlssalofcouceptlonsoflncluslon ot exclusloubasedou tellglousbe
lleandlsuotltsfoundluggestuteadlsmlssaloftellglouastheotgaulz
lngptluclpleofcommuulty`Howdowetheutecoucllethesecommuulst
elemeutswlththetheologlcaloues,audwhatmlghttheyhavetodowlth
theceuttalhguteofthesedlscusslous-theMesslah`
To answet these questlous we should beglu by obsetvlug that
, IhcMcssiah, erOnthcSacrcdandthcPrenc
tellglousandcommunlstpatadlgmsatebynomeansopposedtoonean-
othetln Ihc CemingCemmani. Theyate, on the conttaty, lntlmately
llned.AqulnasandAugustlne,llmbo,halos,andeventheShelnahate
all evoed ln Ihc Ceming Cemmanias patadlgms fot concelvlngofa
communlty no longet based on excluslve condltlons ofbelonglng. Thls
ls equallyttuefotthemotecenttal tetmsMcssiahand mcssianic, whlch,
lnAgamben'shands,ptovesodlfucultto gtasp.At utstslght,theldeaof
themesslanlcseemsslmplyandltteduclblytellglous,andanyattemptto
undetstandltasanythlngelselncohetent.We mlghtthenwellas,lfthe
esslah ls not a tellglous ugute,whootwhatls` et glven Agamben's
vehement tej ectlon ofall models ofhlstoty based on the ldea ofa cu-
mlnatotyevent, the ldeaofthe messlanlc-ofa esslah to come ,otto
tetutn) -seems to tun countet to thevlslon ofhlstotyhe has espoused
slncetbe beglnnlngofblscateet lntheplaceofsuchmodelsofhlstoty,
Agamben appeals to bat 8enaln called a nowtlme and hat he
blselfcallsaal tology vetytblngaboutAgaben'sapptoacbsees
toexcludesucblllennlaexpectatlonsandystlcallntetventlonsasate
sooftenexptessedlntheldeaofacolng,ottetutnlng,esslah
lotAgabentheptoxlmltyofmesslanlcandatxlstldeashasan
lmpottantptecedent,utstdlscussedlnChaptetThteelntelatlontoInnc
andHisteThtoughout8enjamln'scateet-butpattlculatlylnthenotes
leadlngup to and lncludlnghls Ihcscs enthcPhi/eseh eHiste-
llnedatx'scommunlstconceptlonswlthmesslanlcones.8enj amlnap
peatstohavebeenptomptedtowtltethesethesesbytheshocheexpe-
tlencedonleatnlngoftheHltlet-StallnpactlnAugustr,. Shottlyaftet
theltcompletlon,heteadthemaloudtohlsftlendSomaotgenstetn.ln
alettetwtlttenyeatslatettoScholem, otgenstetntecountsthlsevent,
notlnghls sutptlse at the amount offalth 8enj amln had placed ln the
Sovlet ptoj ect, and telllng ofhls havlng ased 8enj amln at thls tlme
whethethehadnotlcedthathlsfalthlnatxlsmLenlnlsmwastelated
to theewlsh belleflnthe tedemptlon ofthewotldthtough aesslah"
,8enjamlnGS, .z) . otgenstetntepottsthat8enjamlnteplled-not
wlthoutltony-youmlghtgofatthetandsaythatKatlatxandallof
nlneteenthcentutysoclallsm ls but a dlffetent fotm ofmesslanlcfalth"
,8enj amlnGS, z.,). Thls temat madeofatxaudhlssoclallst
fellowttaveletsseculatlzlngthlnetsofthemesslanlc-whethettheywete
awateofltotnot.Thatthlswasfot8enjamlnmote than ametelyocca-
slonal, otltonlc,ldeacanbeseenlnthe Handcxcm/rofhls Ihcscsthat
IhcMcssiah, erOnthcSacdandthcPrenc ,6
waslostaftethlsBlghtftom latlsaudthatAgambeutedlscovetedluthe
Bi//iethqacNanena/c.ltcoutalusauaddltloualtheslsluwhlch8eujamlu
wtltesthat"luhlscouceptlouoftheclasslesssoclety,Matxseculatledthe
couceptlouofmesslaulctlme" ,8eujamluGS, i. iz,i).To thlsobsetvatlou
8eujamlu appeuded au apptalsal. "Aud he dldwell to" ,8eujamlu S,
. z,i) . ltwaspteclselythlsbtluglugtogethetofsuchsttaugebedfellows
that,aswesawlucouuectlouwlthInnandHte,mystlhedsomauy
teadetsof8eujamlus Ihcscs, lucludlugsuchftleudsasScholem,Adotuo,
aud8techt.Whetethesedlvetsethluketssawaglatluglucouslsteucycou-
cetulugtellglouaudcommuulsm, messlaulsm, audMatxlsm, 8eujamlu
sawasubtlepatallel-asdoesAgambeu.

Askedluau lutetvlewwhyhe so ftequeutlytetutusto tellglousot

theologlcalmotlfsluhlswotk,Agambeuausweed,"lthlukthatltlsouly
thtoughmetaphyslcal, tellglous, audtheologlcalpatadlgmsthatouecau
ttulyapptoacbtbe coutempotatyaud polltlcal-sltuatlou" ,Wl, zz).
gamoen'slntetvlewettbenasked,udbowclosedoesouethetebycome
totbedocttlueofalvlultytowblchgambeuteplled.
Mybooks. arccon|rontationswith thcology. Waltcrcnjaminonccwrotcmy
rclationtothcologyislikcthat o|blottingpapcrtoink.Jhcpapcrabsorbsthcink,
buti|itwcrcuptothc blottingpapcr, notasingcdropwouldrcmain.hisisc-
actlyhowthingsstandwiththcolog Iamcomplctclystccpcdinthcology, dso
thcnthcrcisnomorc,allthcinkisgonc. zz|
lu chatactetlstlc fashlou, Agambeu pteseuts the tole oftheology lu hls
thoughtthtoughaueulgmatlchgutebottowedftom8eujamlu.Thlslsuot
thehtsttlmehehasemployedthlslmage,hecltedltbothluauessayou
8eujamluluizaudluauluttoductloutoCaptoulssamsalui
Thesetepeatedtefeteucesmakecleathowaptaulmagehehudslt,butwe
mlghtwell askwhatpteclsely8eujamlu-audthtouhlm,Agambeu-ls
ttylugtoexptessthtoughlt.
The tematk to whlch Agambeu ls alludlug ls ftom 8eujamlu's
Hrcadcs Precctaud teads as follows. y thluklugls to theologywhat
theblottlugpapetlstoluk.Thelattetlscompletelysteepedluthefotmet
Weteltuptotheblottlugpapet, uothlugthatwaswtltteuwouldtemalu
McinDcn/cnocrh/tsichzarIhce/egcaicmLsch//ttzarintc.Es t
ganzoenihroe/csegcn. Cingccsa/crnachdcmLsch//tt, seardcnich
hdgcschc/cnist, /rig//i/cn| ",8eujamluAl,q)I, S, ,.,,ttauslatlou
modlhed) . luthlsslugulataualogy, 8eujamluequatestheblottlugpapet
,c IhcMcssiah, erOnthcSacrcdandthcenc
toblstbluklugaudtbeologytoluk.lfltweteuptohlstbluklugtothe
blottlugpapet) , tbetewouldbeuotbeologyluk)left.Followlugtbeloglc
oftbemetapbot,blstbluklugwouldfullyabsotbtbeologyauduotblugof
ltwouldtemaluvlslbleoutbepage.ettblsleavesuswltbaulmpottaut
uestlou.Wbatatewetomakeofwbatdecstemaluoutbepage`
To auswet tblsuestloudemaudsoftbeteadetsometblugdlfucult.
togtasp8euj amlu'scouceptlouoftbeolog. ltomblsutstwtltlugstobls
last, 8euj amlu employed tbe most vatled tbeologlcal motlfsftom bls
lcoulc augel ofblstotytotbe ugute oftbeesslab, ftom catasttopbe
to tedemptlou Wbat ls mote, be dldso lu csetcricfasblou. luastate-
meut ofpbllosopblcal putpose, 8euj amluwtote lu a lettetftom r,r, l
bave uevetbeeuabletostudyottotblukluotbettbaulfl mlgbtsa
so-a tbeologlcal mauuetaud uamely oue tbat follows tbe Talmudlc
docttlueoftbefotty-uluelevelsofmeaulugcoutaluedluevetypassageof
tbeTotab ,8euj amlur, z.z).ltbougbbesttldeutlyopposedwbat
be fouud to be tbe bollow aud scbematllug tbeologlcal lutetptetatlous
ofKaaptoducedbytbescboolofltague ,ptluclpallybyMax8td),
be uevettbeless tead Kaa lu tbe llgbt castfot blm by tbeology-eveu
lfltwas, asbe ouce calledlt, tbeologyoutbe tuu see 8eujamluS,
lll. z) .lutbeptefacetoIhcOrineCcrman IracDrama,8eujamlu
uotestbatblsuseoftbescbolastlctetmtractatasthetelulsasubtleallu
sloutotbeologlcalmattetsaudtbatwltboutsucbdevlces ltlslmposslble
totbluofttutb 8euj amlu S, r. zc). lualettettoMaxRychueteu
deavotlugtoclatltbeesotetlcelemeutslutbatsamepteface, 8eujamlu
wasstlllmoteexpllclt,clalmlugtbatouecauoulyuudetstaudlt] lfoue
kuowstbeKabbalab 8euj amluS, r. ).

luapassage towblcbgambeupays speclal atteutlouat tbeclose

of Ihc Iimc Iha/Rcmains, 8eujamlu compates tbeolog to a small
aud ugl ugute tbat by uo meaus ls to be seeu, but wbose coucealed
ptesucecaueusutetbevlctotyofblstotlcalmatetlallsmovetltseuemles
,8euj amlu S, r. ,) . Tbls tluypatable ls ftom tbe utst of8euj amlu's
Ihcscs pou utstbeatlugtbem, otgeustetu deduced tbat all follow
lug tbeses ate a developmeut oftbls utstoue ,S, z) . Latet lu tbe
Ihcscs 8euj amlu employs futtbettbeologlcalugutes sucb as messlaulc
fotce, messlaulctlme,audamesslaulcfteelugofeveutstbatbede
sctlbesasatevolutlouatyoppottuultylutbeugbtfottbeopptessedpast
,8euj amluS,r. ,r.c,).luactuclalftagmeutftomblsHrcadcsPrecct
8euj amlu sas ofout expetleuce of tbe speclal fotm of temembtauce
IhcMcssiah, erOnthcSacrcdandthce/nc , i
he calls Eingcdcn/cnthat lt "as llttle allows us to coucelve ofhlstotyas
atheologlcal as lt allows us to wtlte hlstoty lu uumedlated theologlcal
tetms" ,8eujamlu GS, ,. ,).8eujamlusmethodtheubecameto thluk
audtowtltethtoughtheologlcalhgutes-butuevettodosolu"uumedl-
atedtetms," thuskeeplugthe hgute oftheologycoucealedbeueaththe
sttateglcsutfaceofhlswotks.
Wlththlslumludwecautetututotheevocatlvelmageoftheology
audwtltlugthatAgambeu adoptsaudveututeaulutetptetatlouoflt lf
thoughtabsotbstheologysofullythatouedoesuotseeltouthepage,thls
doesuotmeauthattheologylsabseut.Outhecouttaty,ltlspteseutluev-
etywotdofevetyllue.Atthe eud ofI/Rcgnec/CrmAgambeuptalses
apassageftom8ossuetluwhlchthelatteteuvlslous Godhavlugcteated
thewotldaslftheteweteuoGod ,RG,,i|). luaslmllatvelu,oueofthe
hualftagmeutslu IhcCemingemmaniteads, "Thewold-lusofatas
ltlsabsolutely,lttepatablyptofaue-lsGod",CC, |] ). Toexpetleuce
thewotld as "lttepatable"-ttausleutlultspasslugauduuchaugeablelu
ltspast-aud"ptofaue"byuomeaustequltesthatouedeuytheexlsteuce
ofGod.Ouemlghtjustaswellequateevetyatomaudlustautofthewod
wlthsuchaDlvlulty.
Jhe Messiah
Although the ptecedlug dlscusslou addtesses both the telatlou of
messlaulsm to Matxlsm aud theluvlslble, otbatelyvlslble, pteseuce of
theologlcalcouceptsluAgambeuswtltlug, ltdoesuotaccouutfotallof
theplaceswheteAgambeudltectlyemploystheologlcalhgutes,otfotthat
mattet, what, pteclsely, he uudetstauds uudet the ctuclal headlug "the
messlaulc."Agambeulsludeedofteudtawutotheologlcalhgutesaud,ht-
tluglyeuough,tououesoluteuselyastheMesslah.Aswegllmpsedeatllet
luthlsbook,Agambeustefeteuces to the Messlah, messlaulc tlme, aud
themesslaulcateftequeutaudplayauesseutlaltoleluhlsteBectlous. et,
ashasalsobeeuuoted,uoldeahassothotoughlypetplexed,audeveuftus-
ttated,hlsteadets.Messlaulctlmelsauldeaweeucouutetedaudelucldat-
edealletluthlsbook.WhattheuofthemesslaulcaudtheMesslah
luMcamitheatAgambeuwtltesthat"theMesslahlsthehg-
uteluwhlchtellgloucouftoutstheptoblemofthelaw,"audluHemSaccr
hewtltes that "theMesslahls the hgutelu whlch the gteatmouothelstlc
, z IhcMcssiah, erOnthcSacrcdandthcPrenc
tellgloussougbttomastettbeptoblemoflaw,W,r,rc] ,ttauslatlou
modluedHS, ,,] ) . Tbeesslablstbusaugutetbatallowsustosee
bettetablstotlcallydeclslvecouftoutatloubetweeutbeclalmsoftellglou
audtboseoflawgambeuwtltestbat luudalsm, asluCbtlstlaultyot
Sbllte lslam, tbeesslab's attlvalslguluestbefulullmetaudtbecom
letecousummatlooftbeLaw,H,,,] ) . Tbecouseueucebedtaws
ftotblslstbat louotbels,esslaulsmtbscoustltutesuotslmply
oue categoty oftellglous exetlence amoug otbets but tatbet tbe llmlt
couceptoftellglousexpetleucelugeuetal ,HS, ,,| ) .
ltbougbtblsl sagteatdealtoseeuudettbebeadlugoftbemesslau-
lc,gambeuseesstlllmote.ustasfotblmtbestateofexceptloulsuota
categotyofpolltlcalexpetleuceamougotbetsbutlusteadmatkstbellmlt
ofe/itica/expetleuce,messlaulsmmatkstbellmltofrc/igieasexpetleuce
aud tbe polutwbetelt couftouts uestlous oflaw. Tbls llmlt, bowevet,
doesuotlluktellglououlywltblaw.lsewbetegambeuwtltestbatmes-
slaulsm tepteseutstbe polut ofgteatestptoxlmltybetweeu tellglou aud
pbllosopby,audbeecboestblsposltlouluaulutetvlewluwblcbbeuotes
tbat because pbllosopby ls coustltutlvely bouud up lu a couftoutatlou
wltbtbelawancenentecen/a cggc| ,tbemesslaulctepteseutstbepolut
ofgteatestptoxlmltybetweeutellglouaudpbllosopby ,l,r, z] LSl,
) . Tbeuguteoftbeesslablstbus augutestaudlugattbectosstoads
of/a,rc/ien,audhi/eseh. 8utlocatlugahcrctblsugutestaudslsbut
oueelemeutluuudetstaudlugltstolelugambeu'stbougbt.
8ecause so mauy ofgambeu's tefeteuces to tbe esslab, mes-
slaulc tlme, aud tbe messlaulc ate made lu tbe coutext ofdlscusslous
of8eujamlu's wotk,bete too tbe bestway to apptoacb tbe uestlou ls
tbtougbtbatwblcbso mystlued teadets sucb asdotuo, Scbolem, aud
8tecbt aud so cleatly euttauces gambeu. cnamin ldea oftbe mes-
slaulc.Tbemostfamousaudmosteulgmatlcof8euj amlu'sftagmeuts,bls
eatly Tbeologlco-lolltlcal ltagmeut, begluswltbtbeesslab. Ouly
tbe esslab blmsel be wtltes, completes all blstotlcal occutteuce,
lu tbe seuse tbat He aloue tedeems, completes,cteates cr/st, oedcndct,
sch] lts telatlou to tbe messlaulc ,8eujamlu SW, , .,c GS, z. zc,) .
lu tbettadltlouluwblcb 8eujamlulswtltlug, tbeseopeuluglluesptes-
eutuogteatlutetptetatlvedlfucultles.Tbeesslabwlllcome,audwbeu
He does, tbat comlug wlll complete bumau blstoty. lot Cbtlstlaus,
tbeesslabbasalteadycomeauduutllHlsSecoudComlugHeoffets
IhcMcssh, erOnthcSacrcdandthce/nc ,;,
tedemptlou byvlsltlugtheludlvldualheattsofmauklud. luthlsseuse,
tedemptlouthtoughChtlstoccutslutheptlvatewotldofeachludlvldual
touchedbygtace. lutheewlsh ttadltlouluwhlch 8eujamlulswtltlug,
bowevet, tedemptlou thtough the esslah ls uothug ofthls sott. Not
oulyhastheesslahuotyetcome,butwbatlsawaltedwheuHedoesat-
tlvelsuotauludlvldualexpetleuceoutlusteadacommuultatlau-apub-
llcandpolltlcal-eveutthatwllltakeplace,tobottowScholem'scauoulc
deuultlou, outhestageofhlstotyaudwlthluthe ewlsh] commuulty"
,Scholemr;z,r).
Wheteastheutstclauselu8eujamlu'sftagmeutlspetfectlyuucou-
ttovetslal,thesecoudclauseassettssomethlugthathaslougdlvldedmes-
slaulcthought.Thetelu8eamluwtltesoftheMesslahthat"Healouete-
deems,completes,cteatesltstelatloutothemesslaulc"8eujamluseemsto
sayhetethatwecaudouothlugtoluBueucethetelatlouofhumauhlstoty
to the esslah, uothlugto hasteu otslowHlsattlval. ltls thMesslah
who uotoul tedeems" aud "completes," butalso "aloue . . . crcatcs" a
telatlou to humau affaltsaudhumauhlstoty.Althoughthlslsapolutof
somecouttovetsy,ltlsuevetthelesscleatlypattofthemesslaulcttadltlou
Thequestlouthattheftagmeuttalses, howevet, lshow8eujamlumoves
ftomthlsmoteotless otthodoxcouceptlouoftheMesslahaud Hls com-
lugto, attheeudoftheftagmeut, a"method"called"ulhlllsm" that, so
he clalms, ls uothlug less thau "the task ofwotld polltlcs dieaa/c
dcr/e/in/ drcnMcthedcNihi/ismzahecnhat| " ,8euj amluGS,
z. z).
To uudetstaudthlsslugulatcoustellatlouofldeas,wemustuotethat
fot 8eujamlu nihi/ism has uoue oflts customatyuegatlve couuotatlous.
lota thluketllkeNletzsche, ulhlllsm ls au alltoohumau cousequeuce
ofthedeathofGod"audofthe"devaluatlouofallvalues"thatfollows
lu ltswake. Such ulhlllsm,"howevet, lsfat ftomwhatoue could clla
method"havlugsomethlugdeclslvetooffet"wotldpolltlcs",althoughlt
couldofcoutsebe aptecutsotto such). Theulhlllsmthat8eujamluhas
lu mlud, howevet, ls closetto the auatchlsmofthe Russlau "ulhlllsts"
,such as Nlkolal ChetuyshevskyaudDmlttl llsatev). We wlll tetutu to
what8eujamlumlghtmeaubyhlsulhlllstlcmethod,butfotthemomeut
lt ls esseutlal to uote that8eujamlu's couceptlou ofulhlllsm ls dlfhcult
to gtasp, above all because oflts uucouveutloual valotlzatlou. Thelluk,
howevet, betweeu thls mostposltlve ofpteseuces, theMesslah, audthe
, Ihccssiah, ernthcSacrcdandthcPrenc
etbod tbat 8euj amlu calls ulblllsm ls fully comptebeuslble ouly
tbtougbtwootbettetmstbatplaydeclslvetoleslu8euj amlu'sftagmeu.
transicnccaudtberenc
8euj amlu coutluues bls teasouluglu tbls ftagmeut by uotlug tbat
tbe tbytbm oftbls etetuallyttausleutwotldlyexlsteuce, ttausleutlults
totallty, lultsspatlalbutalsolultstempotaltotally, tbetbytbmofmes-
slaulcuatute,lsbappluessdcrRhthmas,dicscscaigocrgchcndcn, inscincr
ta/itt ocrgchcndcn, in scincrram/ichcn, a/craachzciichcn ta/itt
ocrgchcndcn wc/ichcn, dcrRhthmasdcrmcssianischcnNatar, istC/c/
,8euj amluSW,, .,c,GS z. zc) .Twothlugsateassetedbeteaudbotbof
tbematesutptlslug.8uj amluloosabwotldaudsees"ttausleuce"
complete aud total ttausleuce. Tbls empbasls ls fat ftom selfevldeu
Iransicncclsofcoutseauesseutalpattofoutexpetleuceofbewotldaud
maesfotmucboftbebeautyweuudlult.We atemovedbyltsftaglllty,
bytbeuulmagluabletoucboftlmetbatwlllsooutaeltftomus. Fottbls
teasou,ttausleucelsattbe beatt ofpoetty, but lt ls also, less evldeuly,
at tbebeattofpbllosopby. lt ls, ou tbecouttaty, fateasletto clalmtbat
ttausleucelsopposedtopbllosopby,fotlfpbllosopbylsabouttblugstbat
ate uotj ust tempotatlly aud coutlugeutly ttue but tbat also pteteud o
uulvetsalvalldlty, tbeycauuotbefouudedoulyoutbebaslsoftblugstbat
ate ceaselesslypasslug away. llato's ptoject ofsavlugappeatauces was
to sbowtbattbls transicncc, tblscoutluualpasslugawayoftbetblugsof
tbewotld,was uottbeultlmate tealltyofbumauexlsteucebut, lustead,
metelyltslmpetfectteRectlou.Tblugsdouotrca/passaway,fotasllato
sald lutbe Iimacas, tbe cteatotoftbewotldcousttuctedamovluglm-
age ofetetulty, audlu otdetlug tbebeaveus be made tbls lmage etetual
butmovlugaccotdlugtotbelawsofuumbet,wblleetetultyltselftestslu
uulty,audtblslmagewecalltlme,llato, Iimacas,,d,ri) .Tbeseem-
lugttausleuceoftblswotldlstedeemedbytbetealetetultyofauotbet.
lutbeCbtlstlau tedemptlouoftbettausltoty, tblsetetultylsglveu
aslugle dlvlue face aud lt ls tbe lovlug audwatcbful eye ofGod wbose
gtace ttausfotms tbe ttausleut luto tbe lastlug, aud tbe desultoty luo
tbemeaulugful. lutbeGospelsofbotbattbewaudLuewebeattbls
vlgllauceexteudedeveutobemostluslgulucautelemeusofoutwotldly
exlsteuceaudmottalpetsou,audweatetoldtbateveu "bevetybaltsof
yout bead ate all uumbeted ,Matthcaic. ,c, La/ciz.). luawotldlu
wblcbevetytblugseemstopassaway, luwblcbevetybluglscouslguedo
IhcMcssiah, erOnthcSacrcdandthcPrenc ] )y
tuluaoss,thetel s aptluclplethatptesetvesevetythug. ubothclass-
calaudChtlstlaucouceptlous,thetelsauothetwotldotplace-atmeless
oue-thatttausceudsthlstlmeaudthlsplace.8yassettlugthatthewotld
ls"etetuallyttausleut,"8eujamlustejectlugthlsmlleuulahetltage.
8eujamlu dtaws two coucluslous ftom the "etetual ttausleuce" he
sees. thatthlsttausleucecottespoudsto "messlaulcuatute" audthatltls
"happluess." 8eujamlulsuotlguotlugthefactthatuothluglullfe sso
dlfucultto acceptasthatltwllleud. Outhecouttaty, heackuowledges
thatlt lssuptemelydlfuculttoacceptthatuotoulyweoutselves butall
thatwe expetleuce-all thatweloveaudlose-ls destlued to pass aud
fadelutouothluguess ,"ulhlllsm,"lutheslugulattutu8eujamlnglvesto
thetetm). Outmottalseuseofjustlcedemaudsthatthewotldnetbeaul-
hlllstlcoue-thatthetebeaposltlveptluclpleofjudgmeutaudtettlbutlou
fotallthectueltyaudsuffetlugweseeatouudus.Weaskthatthejustbe
tewatdedaudtheuujustpuulshed.Outmottalseuseofbeautydemauds
thatthesepasslug thlugshavesomedutableteallty. ltlsuot slugulat ot
sttaugetolookatthewotldaudsee, as8eujamludld, ttausleuce audlt
lsuotslugulatotsttaugetoclalmthatthlslsallthetelstothewotld8ut
fotalltheteasousuotedabove,ltisslugulataudsttaugetouudluthlsfact
thesoutceaudldeaof "happluess."Outhecouttaty,wouldweuotexpect
touudmelaucholyauddespaltlultsstead
ltlsfotthlsteasouthat,luthecomptessedloglcof8eujamlu'sftag-
meut, hetefetsto a"messlaulcluteusltyoftheheatt" that couslgusltto
"uuhappluess |ng/c/| lu the seuse ofsuffetlug" ,8euj amluSW, y .yo,
S,z. z, ttauslatloumodlued).Theexttaotdluatyuatuteof8euj amlu's
couceptlou lles lu hls effott to locate happluess uot lu a ttausceudeut
tealm lylugelsewhete, but lusteadhete auduowlu thls, audoulythls,
wotld,luthls,audoulythls,llfe. What8eujamlulsasklughlsteadetsto
euvlsloulspetfectlyaualogouslultscouceptualcootdluatestoNletsche's
thoughtexpetlmeutoutheetetualtecutteuceofthesamethat8eujamlu
so petemptotlly dlsmlssed. luboth Nletsche's etetual tecutteuce aud
8eujamu's"thythm"of"messlaulcuatute,"thegoallstheacceptauceof
thlsttausleuceaudthecousequeuttejectlouoftheldeaofauuukuowable
ttausceudeutaltealmlylugbeyoudlt.
That Agambeu ls petfectly awate ofthls elemeut lu 8eujamlu's
thought, audthat lt ls a ctuclal oue fothlm, ls seeu lu he me at
Remains whete he couttasts 8eujamlu's vlslou ofttausleuce wlth the
, IhcMcssiah, er OnthcSacrcdandthcPrenc
postlelaul's. Whlle,fotlaul,cteatloulsuuwlllluglysubjectedtottau-
sleuce cadacit] aud desttuctlou aud fot thls teasou gtoaus audsuffets
whlleawaltlugtedemptlou, fot 8eujamlu,whotevetses thls lu au luge-
nlousway,uatutelsmesslaulcpteclselybecauseofltsetetualaudcomplete
ttauslence,audthethythmofthlsmesslaulcttausleucelshappluessltsel'
,TT, rr r,r] , ttanslatloumodlued) Nihi/ismfot8eujamlulsthusuot
meanluglessuessoutlnsteadanacceptuceofthe transicnccofthlswotld
audate ectlouofthe ldethatouthappluess should be shaped andout
acts gulded oy a ttausceudeutal tealm seeu oulylu sactedgllmpses by
ptlvllegedlndlvlduals luthefaceofwotldlyttausleuce,thebestmeth-
od,thebestpathtofollow,lsuotouethatfollowsaueudlesstoutetowatd
somettausceudeutalplaueotplace,butouefocusedfullyouthistlmeaud
thisplace.
ltlsatthlspolutthatwecaumotefullylutegtate8eujamlu' s-aud
gambeu's-ldeaofmesslanlctlmewlthhls ldea oftheesslah aud
themesslanlc. lot8enamln,toconcelveofttansleuceandthemesslaulc
togethetlstogtasptheptesentasthenow-tlme'. . . loadedwlthspllutets
ofthemesslanlc S/ittcrdcrmcssianischcn] ,8euamlnGSr.c).8ythls
tokeu,wheu8euj amluwtoteofmesslaulctlme,hemeautuotthetlme
whlle onewaltedfot the comlugofa esslah but lustead a mauuetof
expetleuclugaudactlugouwhat lsalteadyhetelu thepteseut. luothet
wotds, what ls messlaulc lu8eujamlu'scouceptlouofmesslaulctlme ls
uotwhatlstocomebutwhatlsalteadyhete. esslaulctlme ,thetetm
thatcameto teplacethe kaltologyweutstsawluInnandHute)
tejectsahlstotlcaldlalectlcofptogtessaud lts loglcofdefettal, lttejects
the posltlug ofthe completlou ofa hlstotlcal task lu au ludetetmluate
futute.To mauy, messlaulctlmesuggestsludetetmluatewaltlugfotthe
esslah to come, tedeem mauklud, aud complete humau hlstoty. lot
gambeu,howevet, messlanlctlme meaus, asltdldfot8euj amlu, the
vetyopposlte. Thlsmesslaulctlme lsuotoueofapocalypse, butoflm-
medlacyboutthlspolutgambeulspetfectlyexpllclt, uotlugthatthe
soleposslbllltywehavetottulygtaspthepteseutlstocoucelveofltasthe
euddasndc] .Thatwas8eujamlu'sldea,audhlsmesslaulsmlstobeuu-
detstoodaboveallaftetthlsfashlou ,L, r) . lotgambeu, 8eujamlu's
messlaulsm, llkehlsowu, lsauattempttogtaspthepoteutlalltlesofout
pteseutsltuatloulotthlsteasou,thepatadlgmfottheuudetstaudlugof
thepteseutlsmesslaulctlme ,L, r). luInnandHistegambeu
IhcMcssmh, erOnthcSacdandthcenc ]))
wt|testhatthe"ka|tology"heeuv|s|oued|souethatshouldbesoughtuot
atthem|lleuu|umbutnea, "aud|t|sth|sdyuam|cposs|b|l|ty|uheteut
|uevetyh|stot|calmomeutthatheheats,l|ke8eujam|u'ssutteal|stalatm
clock,t|ug|ug"s|xtysecoudsevetym|uute."
Jhe Irolane rder
Althoughwehavelocal|zedthemssageaudmeau|ugofoansicn
|u8eujam|u'sftagmeut,thetetema|usast|llmoteceuttaltetm-fotboth
8eujam|u audAgambeu-that|s uecessatyfot uudetstaud|ughowthe
twoth|uketscouce|veoftheMess|ahaudthemess|au|c.Thattetm|sthe
renc.Aftetackuowledg|ugthettaus|euceof"woldyex|steuce,"8euja-
m|u|uttoducesth|sdec|s|vetetm|utoh|sd|scuss|ou.TheEugl|shttausla-
t|onmakesth|spassageexttemelyd|fhculttouudetstaud.ltteads."The
seculatotdetshouldbeetectedouthe|deaofhapp|uess" ,8euj am|uS
,.,c,). Th|s |s notcrscad|fhcult |deato euv|s|ou, but|t |sd|fhcultto
al|gnw|th8enjam|u'sothetcla|s|uthatftagmeut.Thete|sagoodtea-
sou fot th|s. |t |s uotwhat 8eujam|u wtote. What he d|d wt|te |s both
motetad|calaud mote coheteut. "The ptofaue otdetDicOrdnangdcs
Prencn |s to beetectedouthe|deaofhapp|uess",8eujam|uGSz. zo,).
Thecho|cemadeby8eujam|u'sttauslatot|satouce uudetstaudableaud
uufottuuate.Outheouehaud,aswesaweatl|et,8eujam|uftequeutlyd|s-
cussesthe|deaof"seculat|zat|ou" -ftomtheseculat|zat|ouofthe|deaof
themess|au|c|uMatxtothemotegeuetalseculat|zat|ouofthetheolog|-
cal|upol|t|cstotheseculat|zat|ouofatel|g|ous"auta"|uaesthet|cexpet|-
euce.Thetetmthat8eujam|uemployshete,howevet,|sad|ffeteutoue
ouethatshouldhavepteseuteduoptoblemsofttauslat|ou.Althoughsuch
a cho|ce |u|t|allyappeats to ease the teadet's taskby offet|uga fam|l|at
coucept,thescca/r)|ufam|l|atfash|ou,|tult|matelyh|udetsauyfulluu-
detstaud|ugofwhat|sbe|ugd|scussed.

As we saw, 8eujam|u ofteu employed the tetm sca/raud had a

cleat aud systemat|c use fot the tetm, buthechoseto evoke hete uot a
"seculat otdet" but a "ptofaue otdet." hat theu |s th|s ptofaue otdet
A seculat otdet would be, aftet all, easy euough to |deut| a woldly
as opposed to a tel|g|ous otdet, w|th the opetat|ve d|st|uct|ou betweeu
the rc/igieasaudthescca/r. Theptofaue,howevet, |spattofa st|llmote
auc|eut pa|t|ug-oldet thau Cht|st|au|ty, w|chfotgedthe tet sca/r
, IhcMcssiah er OnthcSacrcdandthcPrenc
lu lts modetu seuse-aud ls lu fact oue ofthe oldest aud most deeply
lugtalued ofcultutal dlstluctlous. lt ls paltedwlth aud opposed to the
sacrcdaudoucedlstlugulshedthosewhoweteallowedlusldethetemple
,thesacted) audthosewhowetekeptftomlt,theptofaue) .The"ptofaue
otdet, we cautheuassume, lsopposedtoa "sacted otdet-aud ludeed
8eu amln'svehemeutteectlouof"theoctacylntheftagmeutpolutspte
clselylnthlsdltectlon.
Todlsmlss"theoctacyas8euamludoeslstodlsmlssasactedotdet
outslde thls wotld, chooslug lustead to dwell mote fully lu a ttausleut
wotldwhetethlugs pass aud fade, awotldwlthoutaosolutedlstluctlous
otptlvlleges. Ttausleucecauoeasoutceofsaduessauddespaltaudcau
pushludlvldualstotheotlukofthelteudutauce,justasltcauoeasoutce
oflloetatlou. Theldeaofhappluess that 8eu amlu exptesses ls ptofaue
lupteclselythesameseuseasAgamoeu'sldeaofacomlugcommuulty
lu lts alllucluslveuessluthatlt does uot oaselts tlghtsotptactlcesou
acouuectlouwlth a sacted otttausceudeutal tealm. Prenchetemeaus
oeluglutegtallyfocusedou thiswotldaud thisllfe. Opposedtothlshap
pluesslstheuuotoulythepaluwefeelatthepasslugawayofthlugs,out
alsotheptlvllegesofasactedotdetthatluttoducesdlvlslousofpowetaud
ptestlge,ptopettyaudpetmlsslou,audsoofteuemploysthemostvloleut
meaus to tetalu them. 8eu amlu's "ptofaue otdet ,llk the "ptofaue ll-
lumluatlou hewas to seeyeatslatet) ls acousequeuceofau "etetually
ttausleut wotld aud lmplles the teectlou ofa dlstluctlou oetweeu the
sactedaudtheptofaue.lfthewotldlsttulytooecoucelvedofasttausleut,
suchdlstluctlousasthoseoetweeuthesactedaudtheptofaueateatolttaty
oueshumaudlstluctlousmaskedasdlvlueotdluauce.
ltlslutelatloutothlsldeathatgamoeuclalmsthatltlsthtough
the ugute ofthe messlaulc thatwecau oest see the telatlou oftellglou
tolawandtellgloutophllosophy. luhls teadlug, thegteatmouothelstlc
tellgloussought"tocouttolaudteducetheesseutlalmesslaulcptopettles
oftellglouaudphllosophy l,r, z,,] ) . Theycoulduevetfullysucceed,
howevet, oecause "the messlaulclspteclselythatelemeutwhlch,lutell-
glou, goesoeyoudlt,exceedsaudcompletesltatevetypolut a ccccdc c
cemicinegiante]LSl,) . evettheless,thlshasleduotoulytothe
couslsteutteptesslonofmesslaulcmovemeutswlthluthegteatmouothels
tlctellglous,outalsotoaslugulatuseofmesslaulsm'sceuttalfeatute.the
rca/stateofexceptlonltcallslutooelug.ThatfotAgamoeutheldeaofthe
IhcMcssh, erOnthcSarcdandthcenc ,
ptofauelslutlmatelyllukedwlththeldeaofthetealstateofexcept|oucau
beseeuwhetehewtltesthat"messlau|ct|mehasthefotmofastateofex-
ceptlou",l,i6cz,z] ). Elsewheteeuotesthat"ftomthejutld|copol|t|cal
petspectlve,messlaulsmls. . . atheotyofthestateofexcept|ouexcept
fottbefacttbatlumesslaulsmtetelsuoauthotltytoptoclalmthestate
ofexceptlou,lustead,tetelsteMesslahtosubvettltspowet",HS, ,,
6] ). Tbe messlaulc stateofexceptlouthatAgambeu evokeshetewould
cottespond towat8euj amlueulgmatlcallycalled"arca/stateofexcep-
tlou"whetethestateofexceptlouthathasbecomethetulelssttlppedof
ltsdlvlslvepowet. ltlsfotthlsteasouthatAgambeuspeaksof"thetask
thatmesslaulsmhasasslguedtomodetupolltlcs,"audwhlchhedehuesas
"tocoucelveofahumaucommuultythatwouldhaveuotouly)thehgute
ofthelaw" ,MWE,i,,i,6ic,] ,ttauslatloumod|hed).
Theestiadiiamklugdom thatAgambeucoucelvesoflsthusuot
ouewhetetetemplesatedesttoyedotwheteallatectammedlutothem
butwetetedlstluctlousthatsepatate sactedaudptofaueateteudeted,
to cbooseoueofAgambeu'sceuttal tetms, inecratioc. The"ptofaueot-
det" lsglveutatuamebecauseltlsauotdetftomwhlch thesacted-the
soutceofexcluslouaudexceptlou-lstemoved. Themesslaulcklugdom
setvesasapatadlgmfotthecomlugcommuultybecauselthasuelthetau
cluslveuotaucluslveldeutlty.Thedlvlslousthatsepatategtoupsaud
ludlvldualscauuotbeslmplyaud|ustautlymadetodlsappeat,audludeed
theydouotueedtobeauu|hllatedotfotgotteubutfotAgambeutheydo
ueedtobeueuttal|zed,tobeteudetedinecranocaudthetebydept|vedof
theltdesttuctlvepowet.ThehgutesthatIhcCemingCemmanipteseuts
atepatadlgmsfotsuchaptofaueotdet.Wlthluthecoutextof8eujam|u's
ftagmeut,thlsexplalusthetelatlouofoansicnctotherenc, aswellas
8eujamlu'slatettefeteucetoau"lutegtalactuallty"teBectedluaslugulat
ldeaofptose.Audltlsthlsldeaofthemesslaulc-whlchlsatouceauldea
ofthe ptofaue-tbat leadsAgambeu to speakofa "messlaulc momeut
luwblcattstaysmltaculouslystlll, almostastouuded-falleuaudtlseu
luevetylustaut."Agambenwtltes"falleuandtlseu"luevetylustautbe-
causelutellghtcastbyaptofauewodthetelsuoopetatlvedlstluctlou
betweenthetwo. Evetycteatuteaudevetygestutelusuchaulutegtally
ptofaueandlntegtallyactualwotldlsequallyaudatevetymomeut"falleu
audtlseu."
, c IhcMcssiah, e r n/hcSacrcdand/hcPrenc
OW tO Drn
[
/bOut thc LOmn
[
O thc wcssah
ltbougbtblsdlscussloumlgbtclatlfytbetelatlouoftbeptofaueto
tbesacted,aud tbemeaulugofaptofaueotdetaslttelatestotbeldeasof
ulblllsmaudttausleuce,weateuevettbelessleftwltbtbeugutetbat8eu-
j amluplacedattbeoutsetofblsteRectlouaudtowblcbgambeusoofteu
tetutustbeesslab.Wbatplace,lfauy, does tbeesslabbavelusucba
ptofaueotdet
Tbetelsapassagelu8euj amlu'swtltlugwbetebetellsoftbemost
dlfuculttbluglutbewotld. btluglugabouttbecomlugoftbeesslab.
Wltb tbls lu mlud, gambeu uotes lu Ihc Ceming Cemmani tbat
tbetelsawell-kuowupatableabouttbeesslaulcKlugdomtbatWaltet
8euj amlu,wbo beatdltftom Getsbom Scbolem) tecouutedoueeveulug
totust8locb,wbolutututtausctlbedltluSarcn ,CC, _ |,] ). 8locb
wtltes. tabbl, a teal caballst, ouce sald tbat lu otdet to establlsb tbe
telgu ofpeace lt ls uot uecessaty to desttoy evetytblug uot to beglu a
completelyuew wotld. lt ls sufucleut to dlsplace tbls cup ottbls btusb
ottblsstouejustallttle,audtbetebyevetytblug. 8uttblssmalldlsplace-
meutlssodlfuculttoacbleveaudltsmeasutelssodlfuculttouudtbat,
wltb tegatdto tbewotld, bumaus atelucapableofltaudltls uecessaty
tbattbeesslabcome,uotedatCC,, |,] ,ttauslatloumodlued) .Tbe
patable tbat passed tbtougb tbe bauds ofScbolem aud 8euj amlu, aud
tbat 8locb bete tecouuts, coucetus tbe mostdlvlslveuestlou luewlsb
messlaulc tbougbt. Wbat, lfauytblug, cauwe do to basteu tbe attlval
oftbeesslabauytbluketsbavebeldtbattbeesslablswaltlugfot
cettaluwotldlyctltetlatobefululled.Oucetblsctltetlou,ottbesectltetla,
atefululled,tbeesslabwlllcome,completebumaueffotts,audclose
bumaublstoty. wa/exactlytblsls-tbecomlugofattulyjustmau,tbe
fotmlugofattulyustcommuulty, tbeteacblugofacettaluglobalstate
ofaffaltssucbaspeaceoueattbotatetututotbeHolyLaud-lsamattet
oftbegteatestuncettalntyandconeutlon.
Tblsbaslcptemlse,boeet,basnotbeenadoptedbyallbluketslu
tbemesslaulctadltlon. uotbetscbooloftbougbtbasseeutbecomlug
oftbeesslabasdetetmlued lnadvauce, ludepeudeutftombumauac-
tlousaudtbusftomtbefululllugofauywotldlyctltetla.Tbeesslabwlll
comewbeuHelsdestlnedtocome,audtbetelsuotblugwecauotcould
dotobasteuotslowHlsattlval. Wbatevettbecutteutstateoftbewotld,
IhcMcssiah, erOnthcSacrcdandthcPre/nc , i
whatevetltsmeasuteof justlceotlujustlce,Hewlllcome.l uthefotmet
case,evetythlugdepeudsouhudlugouthowtofulhllseemluglyuukuow-
ablectltetla. lu thelattetcase,uothlugcaube douetoslowothasteuHls
attlval,audouehasoulytowalt.
lutelalon to thesetwo cutteuts ofmesslaulcthought, 8loch'ste-
countlug of the patable tepteseuts somethlug tadlcal. Although thete
ls ludeed somethlugwe mustdo lu otdetfottheMesslahtocome, thls
lsuothlugmouumeutal-uothlugto dowlth soclaljustlce ,aj ustcom-
muulty) otpolltlcalhegemouy,atetutu to theHolyLaud), butlustead
somethlugso subtle aud so small-lfpethaps lueablygeuulue-as to
seempetfectlyluslgulhcaut. Hete,howevet, lswhetethecoutoutsofthe
patablebegluto blut. Howcauwedlscetuwhlchstoueotwhlchcupto
dlsplace-and howfat` 8ecause thls "small dlsplacemeut" lssotluy, we
wllluevethudlt,weate"lucapableoflt,"says8loch)audfotthlsteasou
weueedtheMesslahtocome-ofHlsowucalllug.Wlththlsldeaofthe
"smalldlsplacemeut,"8lochbtlugsthetwoschoolsofmesslaulcthought
lutothegteatestposslbleptoxlmlty.
AsAgambeutemludshlsteadetlu Ihc CemingCemmani, 8loch
wastoldthepatable-otsomethlugllkelt-by8eujamlu,audhelsuot
theoulywtltettohavecommlttedavetslouoflttopapet.As8eujamlu
chose o tecount the patable heatdftom Scholem, thlugs staud a tluy
but declslve blt dlffeteutly. Hewtote, "The Hassidim tell a stoty about
thewoldtocomethatsaysevetythlugthetewlllbejustasltlshete.ust
as outtoom lsuow,soltwlll be luthewotldto comewheteoutbaby
sleeps uow, thete too wlll lt sleep lu the othet wotld. Aud the clothes
weweatlnthlswotld, thosetoowewlllweatthete. Evetythlugwlll be
as lt ls uow, just allttledlffeteut" ,8euj amluGS, z |,z).

lt seems that
8enjamlu'svlslon ofthemesslaulcklugdom lsmote tadlcal-aud mote
petplexlug-thauwhat8loch uudetstood,otchoseto uudetstaud, oflt.
ln8loch'stelllug,themesslaulcklugdomaudthlswotldateastoulshlugly
close,outnouetheless sepatate.Thetluydlsplacemeutlu8eujamlu'stell
lng focuses lustead ou somethlug absolutely dlffeteut. The emphasls ls
nolongetouwhatwemustdotobtlugaboutthecomlugoftheMesslah,
butouwhatthewotldwlllbellke acrHehascome.Aud,sutptlslugly
euough,thecomlugoftheMesslahseemsalmostsupetBuous.Themessl-
aulcwotldlsuotthlswotld,yetnethingbechaugedlult.Eictin
says8euj amlu"wlllbeasltlsuow"-allthlugswllltemalulutheltlaces
, z IhcMcssiah, e r On/hcSacrcdand/hcPrenc
audtbevatlousvocatlousofmeuaudwomeuwllltemalutbesame-ot
almost.vetytblugwlllbeasltlsuow,says8eujamlu, justallttledl
feteut.vetytblugtbeullesluuudetstaudlugtblsdlffeteuce.
Tbeesslablstbeauolutedouecometottausfotmtbewotldaud
to matk a fuudameutal cbauge lu all lts dlstluctlous. laulseemstosay
sometblug aklu to tbls lu tbe Fltst Lettet to tbe Cotlutblaus,wbete be
uotes tbat lu tbe tlme oftbe eud we wlll temalu lu out placesmeu
wlll temalumeuaudwomeuwllltemaluwomeu, tlcbaudpootwlllte-
malutlcbaudpoot ltlsoulytbattbesedlstluctlouswlll cease to dlvlde
tbem as tbey bad lu tbe past tbey wlll uot cbauge tbelt calllugs, but
tbelttelatlouto tbecategotles, ualltles,possesslous,audptopettles tbat
bad bltbetto deuued tbem wlll cbauge. Tbe cltcumclsed wlll temalu
cltcumclsed,tbeuucltcumclsedwllltemaluuucltcumclsed,butcltcumcl-
slou wlll become, lu laul 's wotds, uotblug ,r Cerin/hiam. r)tbat
ls, uotblugtbatueeddlvldeus. 8utbowatewetoeuvlslousucbawotld
wbeteevetytblugtemalustbesameexceptfotasmalldlffeteuce`tewe
towaltfotHlscomlugto actuallesucb aulutegtalvlslouofattausleut
wotld` Cleatlyuot. Fot8eujamlu, lt ls afalsemesslaulsm tbatsees tbe
lvlueKlugdom. . . astbetelosofablstotlcaldyuamlc ,8euj amluS,
z. zc,z. zc).Sucbklugdomls,fotblm, uottbegoalic/] ,butlustead
tbe eud Endc ofblstot ,S, z. zc,z. zc) . ihi/ism ls tbe task of
wotldpolltlcsbecauselt tepteseuts tbeeffottto see tbewotldasuotblug
motetbau lt lsto cousttuctwotldpolltlcs uotoutbebaslsofasacted
otdetto come, butlusteadouaptofaueotdettbatlsalteadytlgbtbefote
outeyesaudtbatlstbeoulywotldwebaveevetkuowu. luuowaydoes
beexcludetbe ldeaofadlvlue otdetbeyoudtblswotld otaesslabto
come.Wbatbedoeswlsbto lsolate atetbedaugetslubeteutlutbeldea
ofasactedotdet.udltlsfottblsteasoutbatbe beglus byevoklugtbe
declslveugute lutbatotdet. tbeesslab. couuectlou to tbeesslab,
8euj amlu clalms, ls uot to becteatedftom /hisslde, ftomtbe ttausleut
aud ptofauewotldtbat ls outowuwbetbet lt takes up tbe mautle of
tbesactedotuot. lftbetelsaesslab audlfbelscomluglssometblug
wecauuotkuow. ltlsatelatloutbat,fotbotb8euj amluaudgambeu,
caubemadeoulyftomtbeotbetslde.lutbemeautlme,webaveoulytbls
wotldaudtblsllfe.udwebaveuotlmetowaste.
\OnCusOn. +bc !dca O tbc NOrK
lu a pteace to oue ohlswotks, Agambeu tematked that "evety
wtltteuwotkcaubetegatdedasthepteace,ottathet,thebtokeucast)oa
wotkuevetwtltteu,audthatouecessltytemalussobecauselutelatlouto
ltlatetwotks ,lututupteacesotmouldsotothetabseutwotks) tepteseut
butsketchesotdeathmasks",lH, , vll] ). Elsewhetehehasuotedthat"lu
acettaluseusemybooksatelutealltybutasluglebookwhlchls,lututu,
uothlugbutasottopteace to awotkuevetwtltteu,audlmposslbleto
wtlte",lGA,,,).Athtstslghtthesechatactetlzatlousoevetycompleted
wotkasbutapteacetoauuuwtltteuouemlghtseemtoexptessaseuseo
theuuattaluabllltyoaspltatlous.AsbecomescleattoAgambeu'steadet,
howevet,hehasavetydleteutldealumlud.
Jhe Idea ol Incompletion
Agambeu's tematks outhesectetlle opteaces audbooksteBect
aulmpottautldeaothlm-theldeaolucomplet|ou. At |ssue heteate
uot metelythe obstacles that staud lu thewayolud|v|dual cteat|ous,
audAgambeudoesuotmeautatauthotsalwaysuudetsootthe|tmatk
otovetestlmatetheltcapaclt|es, uotlsheteett|ugtotheextetualfactots
thtpteveutawotktomattalulugtheulluessltm|ghthaveac|evedad
uotgteedywluemetcauts,hatty|ugta|lots,audeloqueutpaudetetsd|s-
ttactedthegteatm|udstomte|ttasks.Wate|stty|ugto eluc|date
thtoughh|stematksoulucomplet|ou|ssometh|ugsttaugetaudmoteelu-
slveh|sldeaofthewotk.
, |
lthoughhenowhetelndlcatesthls,ln hls eatllettematkgamben
lsptactlclnganatthehaslongmasteted-8enjamln'sattofcltlugwlth-
outquotatlonmatks"lnalettetto llotensChtlstlanRangftomanuaty
rc, rz|, theyoung8enjamlnwtotethat aconsldetatlonofthetelatlou
betweenthewotkandltsutstlnspltatlon. . leadsmetotheconcluslon
thatevetycompletedwotklsthedeath-maskofltslntultlon" ,8enjamln
G8, z |c) loutyeatslatet8enj amlntetutnedtothlsslngulatlmagelna
sectlonofhls Onca StrcctentltledTheWtltet'sTechnlquelnThltteen
Theses"The thltteentband unaltheslsthetelnteads. Thewotk lsthe
deathmask ofconceptlon" ,8enjamln GS, | rc). ln 8enjamln's lmage,
the wot

appeats as a tlgld and llfeless fotm-not llfe, but lts lmptlnt

Glvengamben's lmpassloned famlllatltywlth 8enj amln's wotk, thete
can oe llttle doubt that he had thls lmage ln mlnd when he wtote the
passagescltedabove,justasthetecanbenodoubtthatthelmagecattles
aspeclalslgnlucancefothlm.Thequestlontemalns,howevet, astowhy
the ldeaofthecompletedwotk shouldconjutesuchdatkassoclatlonsfot
thetwowtltets.
8enjamln's lmage assoclates completlon wlth death, and what ls
allve,byconttast,lstheconcelvlngandcteatlngofawotk lot8enjamln
thetelsamelanchollcnotetobeheatdattheendofanywotk, asatthe
endofanyenllvenlngexpetlence8uttheugutehetelsnotonlythatofa
cteatottaklngleaveofachetlshedcteatlon,ltalsolnvolvesleavlngthellm-
ltlesstealmofpotentlalltyfottheconunesofactuallty 8enjamln'slmage
conslgnsevetycompletedwotktocompletlon,butaswesaw,theman-
net lnwhlchhe undetstands such lncompletlon ls ldlosyuctatlc lnhls
unal,audununlshed,wotk,heclalmedthat,temembtancecanmakethe
lncomplete ,happlness) complete, and the complete ,paln) lncomplete"
,8enjamln GS, ,,) ln thls sutptlslngtevetsalofcategotles, lt ls the
complete-ftozen ln place-that 8enjamln equates wlth paln, wheteas
happlnesslsfoundundetthemotemoblleslgnofthecomplete.
Thlstevetsallends 8enjamln'sldeaofptoselts slngulat fotm lna
ftagment that gave gamben's ufth book lts tle, 8enj amln states that
the messlanlcwotldlsthewotldofcompleteandlntegtalactuallty" ln
suchawotld,8enj amlnwtltes, hlstotylsnotwtltten.ltlscelebtatedasa
festlval.saputluedfestlval,howevet,ltdoes nothavethechatactetofa
cetemonyandknowsnohymns. ltslanguagelsafteedptose,aptosethat
hasbtokenthechalns ofwtltlng" ,8enj amlnGS, r . rz,,) . Thlsfestlvellfe
Cenien ,,
lsouewhetethedlvlslou betweeu sacted audptofaue uolouget has auy
meaulugaudlswlthouttlte because thetelsuolougetauythlugtosepa-
tatethetwosphetesltlsthefestlvltyofallfewhetealllllumluatlousate
ptofaue.Suchawotlduolougetwaltsfotauyttausceudeutalcousectatlou
otculmluatlouaudwhatltcelebtatesltcelebtatesslmply,evetymomeut
ofevetyday. Thelauguageltemploysls,ftomoutpetspectlve,aulucou-
celvableoue. a"fteedptose" thathas"btokeuthe chalus ofwtltlug"To
bteakthechalusofwtltlugcauoulymeau to fteethewtltteuwotkftom
ltsftozeufotm-otluothetwotds,toexpetleuceltluallltspoteutlallty.
lu au essay that gave lts tle to a collectlou ofAgambeu's essays, "The
loteutlalltyofThought,"hetemludshlsteadetof"themostdemaudlug
audluescapableexpetleuceposslble. theexpetleuceofpoteutlallty"aud
ltlspteclselythlsexpetleucethatthecompletlouofawotkoets ,l, i;
z|] ,ttauslatloumodlhed).
Aswesaweatllet,Agambeutook8eujamlu'sldeasaboutlucomple-
tlou aud happluess wlth the utmost setlousuess. Showlug petceptlble
admltatlou, Agambeu clted asatl 's tematk about Leouatdo da lucl
that, "thauks to hls lutelllgeuce lu the atts, he statted mauy ptoj ects,
audhulsheduoue" ,LD).ettheldeaoflucompletlouthatsooccuples
Agambeu cleatlyexteudsbeyoudquestlous ofthe actual completlou of
ludlvldualwotks. luthepoem"Cleatlugs,"Agambeu evokeshow"alllu
us/temaluslucomplete," audlutheopeulugwotdsofauessaypubllshed
ayeateallet-lui66-he tematked that "lt ls to bedoubtedwhethet
thecouceptofthewotklseveucoucelvableluuuamblguousfashlou" ,R,
,,, l8, |z).

ThlslsadoubtthatftomthatdaytothepteseutAgambeu
has tetalued, sttessluglu mauysubsequeutwotks all thatls amblguous
abouttheldeaofthewotk.ThesecoudpattofAgambeu'ssecoudbook
dedlcates a sectlou to the ldea of"The uhulshed Inenne| " aud
auothettowhathecallsthe"EcllpseoftheWotk" ,seeS,,||,| ,ttausla-
tloumodlhedaudS,,|,,6,| ) . ludeed,lueachofAgambeu'sbooksthe
ldeaofthelucompleteaslttelatestotheldeaofthewotkhasbeeuf

tmu
latedluouemauuetotauothet.Chtlstophet8udd,i)haswtltteuthat
Agambeu's| wotklsouethatspatksgteatuewttalus ofthoughtluthe
teadet,butdoesuotbtlugauytoclosuteltsel , ,,)AthoughAgambeu
mlghtuotagteewlth8udd'saualysls,thete

sevetyteasouthathewould
agteewlththecoucluslouThlslsllkelytheteasouthatAgambeutepeat-
edlyspokeoftheptopeyphllosophlcalelemeutluawotkaslts"capaclty
, Cenc/asien
fotdevelopmeut."ttheheattofevetyuulshedwotkgamoeuuudsuot
ouly somethlug that ls uotuulshed out somethlugthat cauuot oehu-
lshed aud thls lsllkelythe teasouhehas uoted thathe "always fouud
hlmselfmotelutetestedlutheoefoteaudtheaftetofthewotkthauluthe
wotkltsel' ,L) Rathet thau lmpatleucewlth the act ofwtltlugot
eagetuesstomoveonftomoueptoecttotbeuext thlsldeateRectsutst
audfotemostgamoeu'slntetestluallthatthecompletedfotmofawotk
canuototlugluto lts closedcouuues. lushott fotgamoeu the ldea of
lucompletlonlslusepataoleftomtheldeaofthewotk.
The lncompletlonofluspltatlouaudthecompletlouoftheuulshed
wotk meet fotgamoeu ln the ldea ofstudy. lu a chaptet ftom Idca
erescentltled The ldeaofStudy" whlchgamoeufouud lmpottaut
enoughtotepeatvetoatlmluauotbetessay heuotesthat"theeudofstudy
mayuevetcomeandluthlscasethewotkfotevett

malusaftagmeutot
asketcbotcolucldeswlththemomeutofdeathwhenwhathadseemed
acompletedwotktevealsltselfslmplyasstudy",ll, |,] seealsoGK,
) . s wltb 8eu amlu's ugute ofa death-mask gamoeu's eud ofthe
wotkhasauualltytoltllketheuualltyofllfe.Thecompletlouofallfellke
thecompletlouofawotklsauestlouofpetspectlveaudlsotoughtaoout
slmplyeuoughoyltseud.luauaftetwotdwtltteufotthelteuchedltlou
ofStanzas, gamoeu employs Leloulz's ugute ofa "palace ofdestlules
to lmaglueallotaty ou theluuulteshelves ofwhlch atecousetvedthe
posslolevatlautsofeachwotktheoookswemlghthavewtltteuhadsome-
thluguotlutetveuedataglveumomeutleadlugustowtlteaudpuollsh
theoookwedld" ,lOzc) .luthecompauyoftheseposslolewotksuevet
madeactualtheactualwotkappeatstohlmaudtomauyofhlsteadets
luauewllght.
hc Lnd O ays
ln renatiensgamoen asks a uestlou he utst talsed lu all lts
complexltyln Ihc CeminCemmani ls asocletywlthoutsepatatlous
posslole " ,lR rcc) . Theauswetheoffetslsthattheuestlouassuchls
pootlyfotmulated. Thesocletywlthoutclasseslsuotasocletywhlchhas
aoollshedaudlostallmemotyofthedlffeteuceofclass" hewtltes "out
tathetasocletythathasleatuedtodlsactlvateltsptotocolssoastoteudet
auewusageposslole" ,lR rcc) . luau essaypuollshedthe same yeatas
IhcCeminCemmanit,rc) ,gamoeutefetstoa"thtesholdofdepto
Cenien , ;
ptlat|ou dcreriaienc| audde|deut|hcat|ouofallmodesaudallqual|-
t|es" ,MWE, ] ).

Th|s|sthe laul|uemessagethatAgambeu sees

evetywhete|u IhcCemingCemmani-ftomHe|degget|auoutologyto
theptefeteucesof8attlebytopotuogtaph|chlmswhetethes|gusofclass
ate tetaluedbut uo lougetcattyauymeau|ugthatsepatates|ud|v|duals
ftomoueauothet.Whatthesevatledpatad|gmsoutl|ueatethecoutouts
ofwhatAgambeucalledluadlffeteutwotk"ae/inca/commuu|tyot|eut-
edexcluslvelytowatdthefulleujoymeutofwotldlyllfe",MWE,ii|c] ,
ltal|csluotlglual,ttauslat|oumod|hed) . lusuchacommuu|ty,theexclu-
slouatylog|cofbeloug|ugthatd|ctatesthatouecaueujoyacommuu|ty's
ptotectlou ouly |fcetta|u sauct|hed ct|tet|a ate fulhlled-ouly |foue |s
Musl|m,ltal|au,commuu|st,otwhatevetelse-|steplacedbyad|eteut
coucept|ouofcommuu|ty, couce|vedofthtoughsuchtheolog|calhgutes
as thcmcssianic/ingdemaudthe rcmnant. Whatsott ofpol|t|caltask|s
botuofsuchamess|au|cv|s|ou`luauessayou8eujam|uhtstpubl|shed
|ur,audtowh|ch,|uateceutltal|autepubl|cat|ou,Agambeuadded
hualpage, hewt|tes, "Tocouce|veofahumaucommuu|tyaudahumau
lauguagewh|chwoulduolougettefet |tselfto auuusayablefouudat|ou
audwoulduolougetdest|ue|tselftoau|uhu|tettansm|ss|ou |s] cetta|u-
lyauatduoustask" ,ll,,|).ettoemploythetetmsthatAgambeuuses
lsewhete-theuudetstaud|ugaudthefotm|ugof"th|semptyauduupte-

upposablecommuu|ty qacscemmanit oaetacimrcsueni/i/c| " -|s

foth|mthe"taskofgeuetat|oustocome",lH, IO xv] ). lusuchacoucep
t|ou,wehaveataskbutouethat|scompletelyuudehued-aud|t|sfot
th|steasouthat|t|ssoatduous.
A commuual task otvocat|ou ofth|s otdet tecalls the |ud|v|dual
vocat|ouseeu|uthe|uttoduct|outoth|sbook.Aswesawthete,Agambeu
bel|evesthat"thefactthatmustcoust|tutethepo|utofdepattutefotauy
d|scoutse ou eth|cs ls that thete ls uo esseuce, uoh|stot|cal otsp|t|tual
vocat|ou, uo blolog|cal dest|uythathumaus must euact otteal|ze." He
addsthat"thls|stheoulyteasouwhysometh|ugl|keaueth|cscauex|st,
because|t|scleatthat|fhumausweteothadtobeth|sotthatsubstauce,
thlsotthatdest|uy,uoeth|calexpet|eucewouldbepss|ble-thetewould
beoulysks to bedoue" ,CC, |, ,] ). The estiadiciamwotld" that
Agambeueuv|s|ous|suotacom|ugcommuu|ty|uwh|chsomesetstate
ofaffa|tsmusthtstcomeaboutottowh|chajudgmeutmustbehauded
dowuftomasactedsoutce.lt|suoteveuoue|uwh|chaueud ott|pp|ug-
po|utofd|alect|calptogtesshastobeteached.luapostfaceto IheCeming
, Cenc/asien
Cemmanithatgamoenwtoteeleven yeats aftetcompletlngthatoook
he tendeted expllclt what was lmplled theteln. ceming does not mean
mrc,CCz, ltallcslnotlglnal) .tutstlghtthlslsaconfuslnggloss
ofthatwotk'stltleslntheconceptlonsofmesslanlctlmethathestudled
ln8en amlnandlaul,gamoen'sown"tlmeofthenowlsonenolonget
waltlngfotaunalfotm lothlm, manklndhas no set"destlny ltmust
follow, ust as lt has no detetmlnatewotk, essence, task, otvocatlon. lt
canhatdlyoeovetsttessedthatthlslsnotquletlsm thatthetelsnospe-
cluc"tasktofulullot"vocatlontoexetclsedoesnotmeanthatthetels
nothlngtooedone.gamoen'stejectlonofthel

eaofaslngulathuman
"essenceot"destlnylsmadelnthenameofatlmethatlsnowandan
actlonthatlsptesslnglyandunavoldaolyoutown.lnhlsvlew,whatttuly
leadstoapathyandquletlsmls nalveoelleflnhlstotlcalptogtessllkethe
oneheattackedlnInnandHiste. ltlsthlssameldeathatleadshlm
toclalmlnca ePrescthat"theonelncompataoleclalmtonoollltyout
ownetamlghtlegltlmatelymakelntegatdtothepastlsthatene/engcr
aantingte /cahisterica/cech,ll, i] ,ltallcsln otlglnal).
Thls ldea of"theend ofhlstoty lseasllymlsundetstood, aud fot
good teason. ltls not ttuly the end ofhlstotyoutlslnsteadmetely the
end ofa cettaln conceptlon ofhlstoty. lts modetn otlglus ate fouud lu
Hegel's dlalectlc and lts anclent ones ln eatly Chtlstlanlty's udgmeut
ay. Humanltywlllhaveaunal day, whethetlnadozeu, ahuudted, a
mllllon,otahundtedmllllonyeats.8utwhatlluthemeautlme,wewete
todoawaywlththeldeaofaLastudgment`Thecutlousmesslaulsmthat
gamoenlnhetltedftom8en amln does notdlctatethatltlslmposslole
fottheteto oean ndofays,aayofReckonlng,oteven aesslah
ltonlylndlcatesthatweshoulddltectouteffottstothlswotldandtoout
tlmetathetthanawaltatellgloustaptuteotaseculatculmlnatlon. "The
end ofhlstoty ls thus oest undetstood as the end ofa cettaln type of
hlstoty, one thatvlewshumanhlstotyas on asetdlalectlcalcoutse. lot
gamoen, thete lsan aosolutelyctuclal dlstlnctlon to oemade oetween
theendofdaysandthedaysoftheend,theendoftlmeandthetlmeof
theend. Theonelsapocalyptlc,theothetmesslanlc.Whatlssodlfucult
aooutgamoen'suseofthetetm mcssianiclspteclselythlsdlffeteuce.
ln thls llght we can at last fully uudetstand gamoeu's tepeated
clalmsthatmanklndhasnohlstotlcaltask, calllug,wotk,otvocatlou
whethetlndlvldualotcollectlve.Whengamoeuwtltesthatmaukludls
"lnopetatlve helsnotsaylngthatltlsdysfuuctlonalotthatlts uatutal
statelstest.Helssaylug,lnstead,that"maulsaoelugofputepoteutlallty,
Cenasien ,
aud hlch uo ldeutlty aud uo vocatlou cau exhaust" ,ll, ,,o . 8y thls
tokeu,humauhlstotyaudhumaullfeatecoutlugeut.To saythathumau
hlstotyaudhumaullfeatecoutlugeutlsalsotosayaudtoseethatthey
ateftee-fteeto coutluueastheyategolug,fteetocommltauduudetgo
uulmaglnableattocltles,j ustastbeyatefteetochaugethecoutseofeveuts
audbtlugaboutamotejustaudegalltatlauotdet.
lu the same postface to Ihc CemingCemmaniAgambeusttesses
thattheldealtselfofacalllug. . . otofahlstotlcaltask. . . ueedstobe
lutegtallytethought,CCi) .Whatlscalledfothete|sabteaklugwlth
the mllleuula ldea ofa taskto be completed aud the ueed to fotm au
electcotpstoaccompllshlt.ThlslspteclselytheseuseluwhlchAgambeu
meaus-luhatmayseemathtstslghtaueulgmatlcfotmulatlou-that
outslsthehtstetathatmlghtuotbeahlstotlcaloue.Thlsdoesuotmeau
thathumauhlstotywllleudwlthoutgeuetatlou,butltdoesmeauthata
lthettodomluautmodeofcoucelvlugthathlstotym|ghteud. "Thete|s
lueffect,"tltesAgambeu, "somethlugthathumausateaudhavetobe,
butthlssomethluglsuotauesseuceuotptopetlyathlug.ituthesim/e
cteenceuncxutcnccdessi/i/ieretcnna" ,CC, |, ,| , ltal|cs
luotlglual).Auethlcswotthyoftheuamecoulduevets|mplybeal|stof
hlstotlcal tasks to accompllsh otspltltual exetclses to petfotm. lt must
temalu,fotAgambeu,ptecatlouslyopeu.8euj amluwtotethat"ulhlllsm"
lsthe"task"of"wotldpolltlcs."Agambeu'svetslouofth|stematk|sthat
wotldpolltlcshasuoset"task"atall.
luMcn inDar/ IimcsHauuahAteudtwtltes, "What beg|usuow,
aftettheeudofwotldhlstoty,lsthehlstotyofmauklud" ,Ateudti,o.
Wlthaslmllatldealumlud,Agambeuwtltesthat"thel|fethatbeglusou
eatthaftetthelastdaylsslmplyhumaullfe",CC, ) iz| . Theuamethat
Agambeuglvesto theptofaueotdet, tothellfethatbeglusaftetthelas
a-irrcara//c-s,aswehaveseeu,tobeuudetstooduotlutheseuse
ofuotbelugcapableofbelugbetteted,"butlusteadasmeaulugthatuo
maglcaudotsactedsceptetwllleudoutoes.Suchallfeuolougetwalts
fotaculmluatotyeveutthatwlllctystalllze, dlssolve ttausfotm,otttau-
substautlatelt-whethetaftetthefashlouofadlalectlcofptogtessotau
EudofDays.Fotthlsteasouallouteffotts-|udlv|dualaudcollect|ve
shouldbedltectedtoatdwhatAgambeucallsluateceutwotk"theeud
ofdaysthatlsevetyday",lR,o) .
Ntcs
ABBBV1AT1ON8 O1 AGAMBN

8 WOBK8
. InAgambcn and Lclcuzc, tj
z. Jhrcc unoIhcial but cxtcnsivc clcctronic bibliographics oIAgambcn's
works and onc print bibliography arc currcntly availablc. Jhc clcctronic oncs
arc Lddic Ycghiayan's GiorgioAgambcn. A Sclcctcd ibliography at http.
sunjlibuci. cdulcycghiaylIhilosophylColloquialagambcn. html thc bibliogra-
phy compilcd by thc Luropcan Graduatc School, http. llwww.cgs. cdulIacultyl
giorgioagambcn.html, and thc bibliographyoIthc unoIhcial Agambcn wcbsitc
Agambcniana, httpllagambcniana. at.inIoscck.co.jplindcx. html. Most rcccntly,
asclcctcd bibliography oIAgambcn'sworks has appcarcdinprint as an addcn-
dum to Calarco and LcCaroli's CiergeHgam/snSeosrsiandLzoo;).
Jhclattcrisavaluablcrcsourccbutitscompilcrsgivcmislcadingdatcsandsourc-
csIoranumbcroIkcyworks. Iorcxamplc,Agambcn'st;;cssaybyarburg
cascicnzascnzanomc"isdatcdnott;;buttwhcnitwasrcpublishcdwith
a postscript). Jhc samc dating and rcpublicationproblcms arc Iound with thc
ncwandcxpandcdcditionsoIAgambcn's books,whicharccithcrnotindicatcd
as such orsimplyabscnt asis thc casc, Ior instancc, Ior thc rcviscdcditions oI
bothLacemanitchsoisnsandIdsads//resa).Althoughthisbibliographygocs
throughthcycarzoo;,itIailstonotccithcroIthcbooksthatAgambcnpublishcd
thatycar ,Laetsnzads/snsisreand Pre]nien.AlloIthcscbibliographical
rcsourccs arc oIgcnuinc assistancc, but it is rccommcndcd that thc rcadcr usc
thcm inconjunctionwith onc anothcrandbcarin mindthatcvcn thcn thclist
thcyIormwillbcincomplctc
PB1AC
. Cn this library, scc LrnstGombrich'sH/r/argHnInts/hcma/iegra-
h,cspcciallyIritzSaxl'smcmoironitshistory,publishcdasanappcndixtothat
workSaxlt;o).Agambcn himsclIwritcs oIthis libraryinan cssay Iromt;;,
AbyWarburgandthcMamclcss Scicncc" I, &-toj) andrcIcrs to this "lawoI
,

z Netcs
thcgoodncighbor" in his IhcIdcae PrescII, 6 ). Iormorc on Agambcn`s
rclationshiptoWarburg,sccChaptcr1wo o|this book.
z. Rcportcdby5axip;oi .
LLL L
. Char lcd a Rcsistancc ccl i nhis nativc Irovcncc. Hi scxpcricnccs o|this
timcarcpocticallychroniclcdinhisFcuidctsd1nesIcavcso| Hypnos ip6).
1hisworksoimprcsscdArcndtthatit|ormcdthc startingpoint|orhcrBctuccn
PastandFuturcip6i)
z. Agambcnwas prcscnt atthcscminarshcldinip66andip6& onHcraclitus
and Hcgcl, rcspcctivcly). Irotocols IromthcscminarscanbcIoundinthc com-
plctc cditiono| Hcidcggcr`sworks JhcscprotocolsdonotcxplainthcgcncsisoI
thcscminar,oritsmakcup,bcyondthcrcmark,Vczin,IcdicrundcauIrctwcrc
joincdbytwoItalian|ricnds, GincvraompianiandGiorgioAgambcn" Hcidc-
ggcr GA, i;. z6;) . Agambcn is sccnalongsidcHcidcggcrinscvcralo|thcphotos
publishcd by anothcr mcmbcr o|thc scminar, Iraois Icdicr, in his Seantc-
dcuhetegrahicsdcMartin Hcidccr ip;z). Mot notcd in any publishcd ac-
count o|thc scminars ishowAgambcn camc to bc among such asclcct|cw In
ip66,thcycaro|thchrstscminar,AgambcnwasinIrovcnccwithChar`sstudcnt,
IrcnchpoctLominiucIourcadc.Agambcn`sproximitylcdtohisbcinginvitcd
to thatscminar,whichconsistcdo|hvcstudcntswhowcrc|cdandlodgcdinthc
smallHtc/duChasscs.
1hc tcrmthatAgambcnlcavcsinGcrmanisthc ccntralonc in Hcidcggcr`s
BcingandIimc. Itposcdsuchaproblcmo|translation thatthchrstLnglishcdi-
tion o|thatbook by|ohn Macuarric andLdward Robinson, ip6z) simplylc
it in Gcrman. Although thcrc wcrc good philosophical rcasons |or doing this,
it crcatcd thc imprcssionthatthc tcrmwas so arcanc, so philosopohicallyspc-
cializcd, that no corrcspondingwordcxistcd. Although it is truc that it is phc-
nomnally di|hcult to hndan cuivalcnttcrm, this is notbccausc thcwordis so
rarcorobscurc. Itsclcmcntsarc-thcrc"-and scin-bcing"-and itis |ar
|romtcchnical in its rcsonancc. nsurprisingly, onctranslationhasbccnbcing
thcrc,"butthishaso|tcnbccnrcjcctcdbccauscthc/cingthatisthcrcaboutwhich
Hcidcggcrspcaksisourown,andoursclvcs-whichisthcrcasonthchrstIrcnch
translationchosctorcndcritashumanrcality ra/ithumainc| "Hcrcasclsc-
whcrcAgambcnlcavcsthctcrmuntranslatcd.
. Agambcncxprcsscsthissamcidcainaworkthathas oecatinasoncoIits
principaltopics-Ihc IimcIhatRcmainsHemmcntaqenthcLcttcrtethcRe-
manszooo) . 1hcrcinAgambcnclaimsthat, IorIaul, mcssianicvocationisthc
rcvocation o|cvcryvocation" and gocs on to notc that in this way, it dchncs
whatto mc sccms thc onlyacccptablcvocation. What is avocationbut thc rc-
vocation o|cach andcvcryconcrctc |acticalvocation diegicencrctaoecainc
Netcs ]y]
ttizia| " R, zj-z(, z, translationmodihcd).Achaptcrcnttlcd JhcIdca
oIVocation" in Agambcn's hIth book strcsscs thc diIhculty oIthcmatizing"
thcsubjcctoIavocation II,(;-(6z;-z&) . Iorananalysis oIthctcrm oecanen
IromadiIIcrcntpcrspcctivc, scc also Agambcn's cssay VocatonandVoicc" in
II, ;;-&).
;. SccLanicl HcllcrRoazcnsrcmarkinthcintroduction to thccollcctionoI
Agambcn`scssayshccditcdthatasinglcmattcranimatcsthcworksgathcrcdto-
gcthcrhcrcamattcrcxprcsscdinthctitlchcchoscIorthatvolumc.Petsnna/i
nsHcllcr-Roazcn, t, t).
6. JhcGrccktcrmaesisaprivativcIormoIsrgenactivityorwork.
; ItmightbcobjcctcdthatthisisIorcingthcrmsoIthcdcbatc-atlcastas
thcyarcraiscdinAristotlcsEthics-tyingaccomplishmcnttoIunction Man-
kindmighthavc as an-orthc-activitypropcr to itto livcwcll orto rcason,
withoutthisimplyingaedacnosIunctionitmustIulhll.
&. HisrcasonsIorthisrcsignationarcgivcninanarticlcpublishcdinLaRs
a///ica Sclo stato scqucstra il tuo corpo,"|anuary &, zoo(, -(j) and syn-
dicatcdinthcNsar/ IimssandahostoIothcrlcadingnationalncwspapcrs.
Ior anothcrcxamplcoIAgambcn`sj ournalistic intcrvcntions, scchisvchcmcnt
rcsponsc to a proposal thatwould lcgalizc torturc undcrccrtain circumstanccs
conncctcd to combating tcrrorism), Violcnza di diritto," in Lmani, May
tz, zoo(.
. Jhis dchnition isonctowhich hc hadoItcn turncd inthc past sccSI,
(;,ILV,andLJI,().
to. Jhis conccption oIthc unsaidhas a prcccdcnt, or hnds a kindrcdccho,
inWittgcnstcin's rcmarkthat my Iractams consists oItwo parts. oIthc onc
whichishcrc,andoIcvcrythingwhichIhavc netwrittcn.Andprccisclythisscc-
ond part is thc important onc undatcd lcttcr to udwigvon IickcrIrom latc
tt,citcdbyMonk, t;&, italicsinoriginal).
tt. HemeSacsrbcgan as a bookand bccamc a scrics Jo datc, hvc volumcs
havcappcarcdandatlcastoncmorcisIorthcoming.Jhcncxt-nonscqucntial
volumc to appcaraItcr HemeSacsrwas Rsmnane/Haschaitz, HemeSacsr
int&,IollowcdbyStatse/Excsnen,HemeSacsr inzooj,/Rsgnes/C/
rm, HemeSacsr 2, inzoo;, andsacramsnted//ingae HemeSacsr j,
inzoo&.JhcIourthandhnalpartoIthcprojcctwilltrcatthcconccptsoIIorms
oIliIc and stylcs oIliIc." Although Msans witheatEnd,publishcdint6, is
notanumbcrcdpartoIthcscrics,Agambcnnotcsthatitbclongstothcsamcsct
oIinvcstigationsasHemeSacsrML,iito). ItbcarsnotingthatHemeSacsr
is sodiIhcult and socontrovcrsialabookinpartbccauscitisamodclinminia-
turcIora largcr projcct. Its thrcc parts-andcvcn thcindividualscctionscom-
posingthoscparts-prcscntccrtaindiscontinuiticsthathavc provcn baIhingto
cvcnthcbcstdisposcdrcadcrs.ApromincntcxamplcoIsuchisthcchaptcrIo
, etcs
tcntialityandIaw. ")Inthcsucccssivcvolumcs in thatscricsthcdiIIcrcntstrands
that arc so tightly intcrwound in HemeSacsrhavc tcndcd to bccomc dctachcd
Irom onc anothcr, thus making HemeSacsran casicr bookto rcad in thc back-
ward light thcycast.
iz. IranchigocsontostrcssthccontinuityoIintcrcstinassthsticissucsinAg-
ambcn`swork. Hcsccs thccommonground" oIthcpoliticalandacsthcticsidcs
o|Agambcn`sproductioninthcthcmcoI passivity." Iranchilinksthcpoliticso|
passivitythat hc hnds inAgambcnwithIaoloVirno`sconccpto|cxodus" scc
Iranchi zoo, &).
i Although thcsc arc thc hrsttwo books in Lnglishtobccxclusivclydcdi-
catcdtoAgambcn`swork,thchrstbookinLnglishto trcatAgambcnisJhomas
CarlWall`s Radica/Passioioinas, B/nchet,andHgam/sntppp).Wall`sanal-
ysisisIocuscdonAgambcn`s IhsCemingCemmani.
i. Ior rcprcscntativccxamplcs, scc Kalyvas, Rancirc, andIassavant. Kaly-
vas zoo) writcs that byassimilatingpolitical rclations to asinglcmastcrcon
ccpt, that oIsovcrcignty, Agambcn can no longcr localizc thc contingcncy o|
politicalandsocialstrugglcs" ;). Rancirc zoo) hndsthat`gambcn`s argu-
mcnt is in linc with thc classical opposition bctwccn thc illusion o|sovcrcignty
andits rcal contcnt. As a rcsult, hc misscsthclogico|political subjcctivization"
o;) . Iassavantzoo;) argucs thatAgambcncmploys two contradictory thco-
rics o|thc statc" oncthat is, in cbord`s scnscoIthc tcrm, ssctaca/rand an-
othcrthtis modclcdonj udicialsovcrcgntyand its dchningstatco|cxccption)
i;) . AhostoIothcrcorrcctivcs to individual political conccptsarcdiscusscdin
Chaptcrs5ix, 5cvcn, and Minc.
i. Innothcrintcrvicw,hco|IcrsamorclighthcartcdvcrsionoIthisrcmark.
Wcll, thcsituation isgravc,butnotdcspcratc-oritisdcspcratc, butnotgravc"
IWI, z).
. Mchacl Hardt ipp6 z) writcs oIthis slogan that it did not mcan a rc-
IusaloIcrcativcorproductivcactivitybutrathcrarcIusaloIworkwithinthccs-
tablishcd capitalist rclations o|production." Cn thcscworkcrs` movcmcnts, scc
alsoJrontiip&o, z&.
I] IorAgambcn`sdiscussionoIthis Iormula, scc I, (II;I.
i&. 1hcLnglishtransltorschosc powcr" totranslatcetsnzahcrc, although
latcrinthcsamcparagraphthcytranslatcdthcsamcwordas potcntiality." Jhc
choiccisbynomcanswrong,butitobscurcsthctcrmsatissuchcrc,andthcwcd-
dcdscnscoIactualandpotcntialpowcrcxprcsscdbythcItalianetsnza.Jhisisa
rccurrcntproblcmintranslationsoIAgambcn`swork. Spcakingo|his collcction
Laetsnzads/snsisreJhc IotcntialityoIJhought),Agambcnrcmarkcd, i n
mybooketsndocsnotmcansomuch `powcr` etsrs as`possibility,` `potcn-
tiality` essi/i/it,etsnzia/it" LJI, ;).
Netcs , ,
t. Ihs Ces/e/SaintMatthsauscs manynonproIcssonal actors-nclud-
ng Iasoln`s own mothcr as Mary). Jhc thcn twcnty-two-ycar-old Agambcn
plays thcApostlc Ihlp. Agambcn spcaks brchyoIthc cxpcrcncc nan ntcr
vcwIrom t&;, notng among othcr thngs thathc ddnotpartcularlycnjoyt
scc \IGA, jj).
zo. Wcwas anmportantthnkcrIor Llsa Morantc, wthwhomAgambcn
wasntcllcctuallyandpcrsonallyclosc. CncoIthcIcwplaccsnAgambcn`spub-
lshcdworkwhcrcWcsmcntoncdsnancssayonMorantc,whcrchcnotcsn
passngthcmportanccoIWcltoMorantc`sthoughtsccLI, toz to;j ).
Z. SccWct(& t;.AlthoughWcldocsnotnotcths,thcwordsdcrvcd
IromaIourtccnth-ccnturyIrcnch tcrm. Ittoosabscnt, howcvcr,Iromcvcnthc
mostcxhaustvcmodcrndctonarcs and docs notappcarn LsCrandRe/srt,
n Littr, ornthc serdsm/ngosanaos. Jhc tcrm sIound,howcvcr, n
IrcdcrcGodcIroy`s Dicnennairsds/nisnns/ngsanaos, stdteussssd
/sss da s aasics, whcrc t s dchncd as "dmnuton." It was through
Wcls uscoIthctcrmthatpoctAnncCarsonwaslcdto t. Carsonuscspoctry,
cssay, and cvcn opcrato cxplorc thc tcrm n hcr Dscrsanenzoo;). Scc also Stc-
vcnst;, ;;o.
zz AskcdabouthsntcllcctualmastcrsnanntcrvcwIromt&;,Agambcn
spokc oIbothHcdcggcrand|osc crgamn, notngthatdurngthcrlIctmcs
hcthoughtoIthcmascxamplcsandasIrcnds"andthat"onlyaItcrthcrdcaths
ddIcomcto thnkoIthcmasmastcrsmsst \IGA,jz) .
zj. In a smlar vcn, Hcdcggcr had announccd n a lccturc a ycar carlcr
tz;), III amIorccdtocmployhcrc cumbcrsomcandunattractvccxprcssons,
thssno mcrcwhmonmypartandstcmsIromnospccalIondncssIorhavng
myowntcrmnology.Instcad,trcspondstothcconstrantplaccduponlanguagc
bythcphcnomcnathcmsclvcs" HcdcggcrGAzo. zo;). Notcvcryonc,oIcoursc,
wasconvnccdoIthcphcnomcnologcalncccsstyoIsuchasngularlanguagc.In
arcccntlydscovcrcdlcttcrscnttoIaulJllchonAprltj, Ij, JhomasMann
wrotc, Hcdcggcr-I could ncvcr stand ths Nazarsxotsncs Jhc challcngc
oIrcadnghsphlosophcaljargonoItcrrormadctdIhculttokccpholdoIthc
book. Onsean-nsss Shouldnotsuchwrtngbcsubjccttopunshmcnt" hrst
publshcdnthcFsuidstenoIthcFran/rtsrHdgsmsinsZsimng,|unczo, zooz,
;). Mann`s IrcndJhcodorAdornowasto takc Hcdcggcr aggrcssvcly to task
IorwhatManncallcdHcdcggcr`s Schrsc/snargenn Ihs/aene/Hathsnnci
tq, sccAdorno GS 6.(tj-;zj).
2 JhsclcmcntnHcdcggcr`sphlosophywas carlyandoItcncrtczcd
and by no onc sovchcmcntlyasAdorno, who Iro hs hrst attacks on Hcdc-
ggcrandthcncwontologyoIthc tjos to hs morcstrdcnt/argene/Hathsnnc
icastgatcdthc dcalsm hcsawnHcdcggcr`s conccpton oIpotcntalty. Cn
thcsccarlcrattacks,nwhchAdornodocsnotmcntonHcdcggcrbynamc,scc
, etcs
catricc Hansscn's discussion olAdorno's cssay"1hc Idca ol Matural History"
ipp&, ill. ).
LJV I
I. 1hcEnglishtranslationolIhsMan witheatCentsntippp) has onitstitlc
pagcthclollowingnotc. "riginallypublishcd in Italian inipp undcrthctitlc
L'aemessncentsnate ippby uodlibct." 1hc bookwas in lactpublishcd
twcnty-lourycars carlicr, thccditionrclcrrcdtohcrcisthcsccondonc. Itisim-
portanttobcarthisinmindnotonlysoasnottorobthcbookolitsrightolpri-
mogcniturc, but also so as to allowthcrcadcrto bcttcrsituatcits claims indc-
batcs olthc day. InEva Gculcn's book-lcngthintroductiontoAgambcn'swork,
CiergeHgam/sn zarEinhrangzoo;), although shc announccs that shc will
bccmploying "scarcclyknown carlicr tcxts" inhcr invcstigations, hcr chronol-
ogylor cvcnAgambcn's bcstknon tcxts is inaccuratc. Earlyinhcr studyshc
rclcrs to Agambcn's "hrst book, In/nandHiste" Gculcn zoo;, i;) . In/n
andHite,lromip;&,waspublishcdcightycarsaltcrAgambcn'shrstbook, Ihs
Man witheatCentsnt, andis his thirdbook. Ina latcr chaptcr, Gculcn rclcrs to
IhsMan witheatCentsnt,by its Italian titlc and givcs as its datc olpublica
tion ippwhichshows that shcwas consultingncithcr olthc two Italian cdi
tionsolthcworkbutinstcadthcEnglishtranslationlromwhichthiscrrorstcms
sccGculcnzoo;,).1o complctcthischronologicalconlusion,Gculcnrclcrsat
stillanothcrpointtoAgambcn's"hrstbook, n"-whichshcalsogocsonto
dcsignatcas `gambcn'shrstpublication" sccGculcno;,;, &). Iublishcdin
ip;;, StanzsisAgambcn'ssccondbook,andnotonlydocsanothcrbookprcccdc
itbutsotoodomorcthanadccadcolothcrpublications. 1hcsccrrorsarcinno
waycharactcristicolthcrcccptionolAgambcn'sworkinGcrmanyandarccoun-
tcrbalanccdbymanyhncinsightsinGculcn'sownwork.
z. 1hcinitialEnglishtranslationolBsingandIimsby|ohnMacquarricand
EdwardRobinsonlromip6ztranslatcsDsstra/nensimplyas"dcstruction."1ry-
ingto capturcitsunconvcntionalusagc,|. GlcnnGray, OavidFarrcllKrcll,and
|oan Stambaugh translatc Dsstra/tienas "dcstructuration" scc Hcidcggcr ipp,
ipp6).
Hcidcggcr oltcn turnsto Hcgcl 's cpochal claim. An important instancc
olthis isloundinthcaltcrwordto his "1hc rigin olthcVorkolArt" andis
cchocd in his lccturcs lrom thc pcriod. For a lurthcr cxamplc, scc Hcidcggcr's
scminar lrom ip6; on Schillcr's Lsttsrs enHssthsnc Edacanen Hcidcggcr
zoo;,il).1hcrcasonHcgcl 'sstatcmcntwasolsuchcnduringintcrcsttoHcidc-
ggcrwas that thc rolc olartwas a ccntral topic or Hcidcggcr. Inanintcrvicw
givcnthcycarthatAgambcnmctHcidcggcrip66)hcrcmarks,"1hatisthcgrcat
qucstion. Vhcrcdocs artstand`Vhatisitsplacc`"GAi6. 6&z). In this samcin-
etes ]y)
tcrvicwhcrcIcrs to contcmporaryltcraturc"as prmarlydcstructvc asitgs
hsnddstru/no cdcggcrGAt6. 6;o).
(. JhcclcarcstcxprcssionoIths sto bcIoundnthcRsu//ic. Scc Rsu//ic
j&a.IIaman, thcn, t sccms,who was capablcbyhscunnngoIassumngcv-
crykndoIshapcandmtatngallthngsshouldarrvcn ourcty,brngngwth
himsclIthcpocmswhichhcwishcdtocxhibit,wc shouldLlldownandworshp
hmasaholyandwondrousanddclightIul crcaturc, butshould saytohm that
thcrcisnomanoIthatkndamongusinourcty,noristlawIulIorsuchaman
to arisc among us, andwc shouldscnd him away to anothcrcty,aItcrpourng
myrrh down ovcr his hcad and crowninghimwithhllcts oIwool, butwc our-
sclvcs, Ior our souls'good, should continuctocmploythcmorc austcrcand lcss
dclightmlpoctand talc-tcllcr,whowouldimitatc thc dcton oIthc goodman
andwould tcll his talc in thcpattcrnswhichwc prcscrbcd in thc bcgnnng,
whcnwcsctoutto cducatcoursoldicrs" Ilatot&(,qj).SccalsoRu//ic6L

c
`ndsowc mayatlastsaythatwc should bcjustihcdinnotadmittnghm nto
a wcll-ordcrcd statc, bccauschc stimulatcs and Iostcrs thisclcmcnt n thc soul,
andbystrcngthcningittcndstodcstroythcrationalpart,justaswhcninastatc
oncputs badmcninpowcrandturnsthccityovcrto thcmand ruins thcbcttcr
sort Irccisclyinthcsamcmanncrwc shallsaythatthc mimctc poctsctsupn
cachindividualsoulaviciousconstitutionbyIashonngphantomsIar rcmovcd
Iromrcality,andbycurryingIavorwiththcscnsclcssclcmcntthatcannotdstn-
guishthcgrcatcrIromthclcss,butcallsthcsamcthingnowonc,nowthcothcr"
Ilatot&(,&jo).
;. Jhs clcmcntoIAgambcn'sargumcntbcars a clcardcbtto Ldgarnds
HrtandHnarcht6j). ind'sworktakcsastspontoIdcparturcthcsamcdca,
thatthcdivincmadncssIlatobothrcvcrcdandIcarcdhasdisappcarcdIromour
cxpcrcncc oIthcworkoIart. ikcAgambcn, ind Iollows thc hstorcal sta-
tions oIthis loss. JhcsacrcdIcarisno longcrwth us,"indwrtcs, and art
issowcllrcccivcdbccauscithaslostitssting" t6j ). ndstrcsscsthat thc
outwardcircumstanccsundcrwhichgrcatartisproduccdarcoItcn LrIromrc-
assuring"andthatartis-lctusIaccup toit-anuncomIortablcbusincss, and
particularlyuncomIortablcIorthcartisthimsclI" t6j,iz)Jhsisapointthat
willprovcccntral toAgambcn'sargumcnt, althoughAgambcnwillshithcdc-
batcIromaculturaltoanontologicallcvclthatinddocsnotdscuss.Jhcidcas
thatWindIollowsinHrtandHnarchcanbcIoundhrstinhisnaugurallccturc
as PrioatdezsntIorphilosophyin amburgntjo scc Cn Ilato's Ihilosophy
oIArt" in Wind t&j, t-zo). Wind rcmansapointoIrcIcrcnccIorAgambcnn
his ncxtworkandis namcdinonc oIAgambcn's mostrcccntbooks scc S, q

SR, ;o).
6. Jhcmanwthoutcontcnt" cvokcsoncoIhisrclativcs,RobcrtMusil's Ihs
Man witheataainss,DsrMannehnsEigsnschasn,whichtranslatcdintoItal
, etcs
ian is L'asmsssnzaqaa/it, making thc symmctry ol thc titlcs as clcar in Ital-
ianasinEnglish) . ItbcarsnotingthatbythcpointinAgambcn'sbookwhcnhc
hasatlastrcvcalcdtohisrcadcrthcmcaningolthctitlc,hchasalrcadytwiccrc-
lcrrcdtoMusil 'snovcl.InMusil'sGcrman,whathismanlacksarcEigsnschasn,
which arcindccd"qualitics"inaccrtainscnsc,butqualitics that, asthcGcrman
word'sctymologyrchccts, arc olonc's "owncralting" or"crcation"thcrcspcc-
tivcc|cmcntsolthccompositcnounEi

snschasnarc"own," si

sn,and"crcatc,"
schan) IikcMusi| 's protagonist,Agambcn's artistic manwithoutcontcnthas
nothingthatishis"own"adthusstrugglcsgrcat|yinthcactol "crcating."Con-
ccrningAgambcn'scontinucdintcrcstinMusil, scc S, xix xvi] and z6 ] , and
AE.
; Inancssaywrittcn a|mostlortyycars|atcr,AgambcnplaccsArtaudinan
Avcrroistlcgacya|ongsidcOantc, Spinoza,andHcidcggcr1OI, xi).
&. Rclcrcnccsto Iaso|ini'sinhucncconAgambcn'sconccptionsolartandlilc
arc rarc.An cxccption isloundinanic| Morris's "Iilc, orSomcthingIikc It"
zoo,I) . AsccondcxccptionisloundinFabio Vighi zoo),who sccsAgambcn's
intcrcstinthchgurcolthcrclugccas"rcminisccntolIasolini'suncompromising
radicalism"and, morcgcncra||y, hislinkingolthc "wrctchcd" andthc "sacrcd"
inthchgurcolthchsmssacsr asrcminisccntol Iaso|ini 'sacsthcticvision. zoo,
io;) . InarcccntworkAgambcnrclcrsto Iaso|iniinthccontcxtolthcidcaol "sc-
riousparody arsdiassria thathcsawIaso|inisharingwithElsaMorantcscc
IR,,i) .Forapo|cmical trcatmcntolthcrolcolthcauthorinanagcinwhichlit-
craturcsccmstodcclinccvcrmorcincu|tura|inhucnccandimportancc,andthat
makcs its argumcnts viatwo artists whowcrc pcrsonallyclosctoAgambcn, scc
Carlacncdctti 's Pass/inicsntra Ca/oins,i). 1hcrcin, thcvirulcntlycngagcd
Iaso|iniisplaccdagainstthc distanccdlormalistCa|vino to cxposcthccontra-
dictionsolourartisticagc.
Continuingin this vcin, Agambcn statcs thatlorthcvicwolart thatacs-
thctics has outlincd, "thcsuprcmc truth olthcworkolartisnowthc purccrc-
ativclorma| principlc that lu|hlls its potcntiality stsnza in it, indcpcndcntly
olanycontcnt" MVC, ;;i ) .
IO. Vithhi scustomarywit,Vind,i,) rcmarks."Iti sworth|istcningto
Hcgc|onthispointVhatcvcrthcwcakncssolhismctaphysics,asanobscrvcrol
thcwor|dolmcnhcwasassharpsightcdasMontaignc."
. InanumbcrolhisworksHcidcggcrcmp|oyscrosscdouttcrmstoindicatc
that thcy arc "undcr crasurc"a practicc that Agambcn a|so cmploys in |atcr
workssuchasHsmsacsr atatssExcstisnandthathcsharcswith,among
othcrs, Ocrrida).
i. Sccalso."Vhi|cinthc`rcadymadc'thcspcctatorwas laccdwithatcch-
no|ogica||ylabricatcd objcct which incxplicably prcscntcd itsc|lchargcdwith a
dcgrcc olacsthctic authcnticity, in pop art thc spcctatorwas laccdwith awork
Netes
olart which appcarcd t ostrip itscllolits acsthctic potcntial to assumc para-
doxicallythcstatusolanindustrialprojcct" MV, ] , ;] , translation
modihcd).
t . Anaddcdillustrationolthis idcamightbcloundinaworksuchasRobcrt
Morris's "Oocumcnt" tp), houscdinthcMcworkMuscumolModcrnArt.
"Oocumcnt" accompanicsMorris's"Iitanics"andtakcsthclormolanotarizcd
statcmcntinwhichthcartistdcclarcs,"Ihcrcbywithdraw. . . allcsthcticquality
andcontcnt"lromthcworkinqucstion.
t. Inarcccntwork,Agambcncallsthistrcnd,"thcmuscihcationolthcworld
/amasscaziensds/mende" IR, p6). Clariinghis curious choiccolword,
hc notcs, "massamdocsnotdcsignatchcrcaplaccoraphysicallycircumscribcd
spacc",rathcr,itis"thcisolatcddimcnsionintowhichistranslcrrcdallthatoncc
was, butnolongcris,lcltastrucanddccisivc" IR, ).Agambcnspccicshcrc
thatamuscuminthisscnscmightcoincidcwithancntirccity,witharcgion,or
cvcnwithagroupolindividuals.
t;. Agambcn'sintcrcstinHcidcggcr's"1hcriginolthcVorkol Art"issccn
notonlyin IhsMan witheatCentsntbutalso inancssaypublishcdlourycars
carlicr, `1lpozzodiabclc scccspcciallyI, z).
t6. Suchcvocationsolontologicaloriginhavcindccdsoundcdvaguc, incan-
tatory, orworsctosomccars-suchasthoscolAdorno,whovigorouslyattackcd
"thatprcstigcword erigin"sccAdorno GS, ;.&t).
t;. 1hc tcrm stractara/ism is olcoursc thc coinagc olncithcr arthcs nor
1odorovitstcmslromRoman|akobsonanddatcslrom:zp).Itwas, howcvcr,
in thc ycars whcn IhsMan wtheatCentsntwas writtcn andpublishcdthat it
camctoholdswaynotonlyinthclinguisticcirclcslromwhichitcmcrgcdpri-
marily through |akobson, Saussurc, and cnvcnistc), but also in virtually all
rcalmsolthcsocialscicnccsandthchumanitics. Foranovcrvicwolthishistori-
calandconccptualproccss, sccullcrtp;;.
t&. 1hc crucial rolc assigncd hcrc to thc conccpt olrhthmwith its ccntral
pointsolrclcrcnccinHldcrlinandGrcckantiquityiscchocdbyashortcssayol
Hcidcggcr'sinwhichhcturnslromRimbaudtothcGrcckpoctArchilochusand
attcmptstoanswcrthcqucstion,"VhatdocsthcGrcckwordrhthmhcrcmcan"
HcidcggcrGAt . zz6).AnothcrunnamcdsourcclorAgambcn'sstrcssonrhthm
can bclound in cnjamin's IhsOrigin e/Csrman IragicDrama tpz&). In that
work'sprclacccnj aminwritcsolthcrhythmthatmarksthcidcaolorigin. "r-
igin rsrang ,althoughancntirclyhistoricalcatcgory, has,ncvcrthclcss, noth-
ingto dowithgcncsis Entstshang" cnjamintp;;a,;6 GS. zz6 ) . rigin
isthusnotconhncdtoasinglcmomcntatthcbcginningolthccrcationolawork
olart. Itissomcthing, incnjamin'sconccption, morcabiding. 1his surprising
claimisollcrcdsomc poctic) clarihcation "rigin is ancddyinthcstrcam ol
bccomingand in thcrhythm sct by its currcnt inssinsRhthmi/ it swallows
|cc Netcs
up thc matcrial ol its gcncsis. " "1hat which is original," cnj amin continucs,
"isncvcrrcvcalcdinthcnakcdandmanilcstcxistcnccolthclactual, itsrhythm
Rhthmi/] isapparcntonlytoadualinsight"thatincludcssomcthingrcstorativc
andrccstablishingalongsidcolsomcthingunhnishcdandincomplctc cnjamin
ip;;a,6 . zz6] ). Hldcrlin'sccstaticclaimthat"cvcrythingisrhythm,thccntirc
dcstinyolmanisonchcavcnlyrhythm,just ascvcryworkolartisoncrhythm"
islollowcdbyAgambcnto thchcartolthcidcalaspccialstructurctothcwork
olart. 1his rhythm thatisin"cvcrything" andthat makcs olcvcryworkolart
"oncrhythm"mayringolpanthcisticoutpouring,butitalso anticipatcs thcsin
gular idca olsrignthatcnj amindcclops andthatwill bc alastinginhucncc
onAgambcn'sconccption olhistory.
ip. "Ioliticsinalitcraryworkislikcapistolhrcdinthcmidstolaconccrta
s/inqasdnsanssaors/ittrairs, cstancsaditshtaami/isad'ancsncsrt "
Stcndhalip;p, z6).
zo. 1his lcttcr writtcn in Engish) is datcd Fcburary Z ip;o, and isto bc
lound in thcHannahArcndt papcrs houscdin thcIibrary olCongrcss itcm
oo;zz). Agambcn notcd that hc hrst rcad Arcndt in thc summcr olip6& scc
LI, i;i&).
zi . For Emcrson's rcmark, scc Emcrson, i.;6. Mictzschc's rchcctions arc
lound in his cssay "n thc Lsc and Misusc olHistory lor Iilc" in nnms
Msditatisns .
zz. For abroad rangc olapproachcsto thcrolcolthis ccntral tcrmincnja-
min's thought,scccnjaminandsborncipp.
z . ApassablcanalogyinthcrcalmolEnglishlcttcrswouldbcthcrcvivalol
intcrcstinthcpoctryol|ohnOonncthattookplaccduringroughlythcscsamc
ycars.
z Agambcn's continucd intcrcst in thc hgurc olthc collcctor is rcturncd
to in thc contcxt olan analysis ollctishism in Stanzas scc S, ; ] ) . cnja-
min'sandAgambcn'sidcasaboutcitationarctrcatcdinaScholiumtoChap-
tcrFour.
z;. InalatcrworkAgambcncntruststhistasktoabroadlyconccivcd)philol-
ogy. "1hc abolitionolthcdistanccbctwccnthcthingto bctransmittcdandthc
actoltransmission, bctwccn writing and authority, has in lact bccn philology's
rolcsinccitsbcginning" ,H, i6 i6] , translationmodihcd).
z6 Inancssaypub|ishcd lourycars carlicr,Agambcn cvokcd Kalka inoth-
crtcrmsasthcwritcrwhomostdccplylcltandauthcnticallyrcspondcdto thc
paradox olthc work olart as that which would cxhaustivcly cxprcss what can
ncvcrbccxhaustivclycxprcsscd. lilc. 1hcrcinhcwritcsthat"Kalkaisthcwritcr
whohaslcltinallitsdcpthsthisprcdcstincdlailurc naaags] olthcwork. . . "
I, ;) . KalkawillrcmainaccntralhgurcnotonlylorAgambcn'sconccptionol
thcworkolartbutalsolorahostolothcrccntralidcas. Foroncinstanccamong
Netcs |oi
many, Agambcn rclcrs in a rcccntcssaytoKaaas "thcgrcatcstthcologianol
thctwcnticthccntury" H, i,).
z,. 1hc story olcnjamin's intimatc rclation to this painting iswcll docu-
mcntcd cnough to omit hcrc. It bcars noting, howcvcr, that in a rcccnt cssay
Agambcn rcturns to thc imagc not in rclation to thc philosophyolhistorybut
through agcncalogyolangcls. 1hcrcin hc makcs thc surprisingclaim that i n
ourculturcangclologyandthcphilosophyolhistoryarcsointcrtwincdthatonly
whocvcrisablcto graspthcirrclationtooncanothcrisinapositiontointcrrupt
anddissolvcit-notsoasto rcachasuprahistoricalbcyond,butinstcadtograsp
thcvcryhcartolthcprcscntmomcnt" H z,-z).
z. Rimbaud'scnigmaticrcmarkislromalcttcrdatcdMayi,,i,i.Inhar's
i,,introductiontoasclcctionolRimbaud'svcrsc,hcsinglcsitoutascsscntialto
undcrstandingRimbaud'sconccptionolthcrolcolthcpoct. Inatcxtlromi,
publishcd in i,6) cntitlcd "Rim/audoioant,"Hcidcggcranalycsthissamcrc-
mark,askingwhcthcrthc"snn"-whichhctranslatcsas im erausssin"
ismcanttcmporally, asaprivilcging, rran),orassomcthingmorcmstcri-
ous HcidcggcrGA, i,. zz,i,. zz,).Askcd in an intcrvicwlromi66whcthcran
individualorphilosophycaninhucnccthccourscolcvcnts,Hcidcggcranswcrcd,
Ihilosophywill not bc ablc to cllcct any immcdiatc and unmcdiatcd unmit-
ts//ars changc in thcstatc olcontcmporaryworldaairs" GAi6. 6,i). Hc thcn
addcd, "1hisapplicsnotonlytophilosophybuttoallmcrclyhumanrchcction,"
bclorcollcringthcOclphicuttcrancc,"nlyagodcannowsavcusNurnechsin
Cett/annunsrsttsn GA i6.6,i).Vhat philosophyandpoctry, Dsn/snund
Dichtsn, can cllcct, lollowing Hcidcggcr, isto prcparc thc way lor thc oming
olsuchagod GAi6. 6,i). Foranundcrstandingolthcpocticrclationshipbc-
twccnHcidcggcrandhar,sccalsoHcidcggcr'scollcctionolshortpocms, Cs-
dchtss," which bcars thc dcdication "FrRsnCharinsuncha/ichsm Cs-
dn/sn," publishcd in Gcrman and Frcnch in i,i in a spccial issuc olLss
dcdicatcd to Char HcidcggcrGA,i,. zzi-i,zz|). Scc also IGA,,z.
z 1hcpossibilityoladynamicrcvcrsibilityiscvokcdinanumbcrol Agam-
bcn'slatcrworks-includingmostrcccntlyhis/sacramsnteds/ /ingae,which
closcs with a similar injunction scc SI, ). In Irogram lor a Rcvicw," writ-
tcn inthcycars dircctlylollowing IhsMan withsutCentsnt,Agambcnlounda
namc lor his singularlydcstructivccntcrprisc. lthcobjcctivchcwishcdto as-
signto this rcvicwwhichncvcrmatcrializcd)hcwritcs, 1hc taskimposcdupon
thisrcvicwbyitssituationcannotthcrclorcsimplybcdchncdasa dcstruction,'
albcita ncccssaryonc, oltradition, butrathcra dcstruction oldcstruction,' in
whichthcdcstructionolthcmodcoltransmission,whichmarksourculturclun-
damcntally, isdialccticallybroughtto light" IH,i|,i|, ). Itwasthis"dialccti-
calbringingto consciousncss" olthcdcstructionolthctransmissibilityolcu
oz etcs
turc" thatwas to bcthc goal olthc rcvicw. 1hathis "dcstructionolacsthctics"
was to bcsccn as olapairwith thc "dcstruction oldcstruction" lrom this pro-
poscdprojcctlorarcvicwismadcclcarbythcimagcthatdircctlylollowsAgam-
bcn's cvocationola"dcstructionoldcstruction". "Itisonlyinadcstruction'ol
thiskindthatthccatcgoricalstructurcsoltalianculturccanbccomcvisiblc,likc
thclundamcntal architccturalprojcct i/rsgsttsarchitsttsnics/ndmsnta/s ol
ahouscinhamcs" IH, i; i;] , translationmodihcd).
o. 1his qucstion is discusscd in Hugo tt's Martin Hsids_sr H Ps/ica/
L ip&] ipp). 1hc mostbalanccdaccount olHcidcggcr'spoliticalalhliations
andthcirrclationtohisphilosophyisloundinRdigcrSalranski 'sunlorgiving-
lyticdEinMsutsraasDsach/ndHsids_srandssinsZsitMarnHsids_sr:
BstassnCssdandEvil] ipp] ipp&).
LJV z
I. Errorsinthccriticallitcraturcconccrningthcpublicationdatcsandchron-
ologicalordcrolAgambcn'shrstbooksarcloundhcrcaswcll sccChaptcrnc,
notc I) . oth Gculcn zoo;) andMcsnard andKahan zooi, pp) rclcrto Stanzs
asAgambcn'shrstbook.
z. Ocrrida's huid tcrminologygavc manynamcs to this phcnomcnon, such
ashsnscsntrsm ammats/sg d rsncs, disssminatisn, and dscsnstracsn, as
wcll as othcr, closcr and morc distant cognatcs. As Ocrridaoltcn strcsscd, that
thisphcnomcnoncannotbccircumscribcdbyasinglchxcdtcrmwasancsscntial
partolhisphilosophy.
Icttcr to thc author, April 6, zoo;. 1hc lattcr rcmark ,Dichtangkann
man narhi/ssshisrsn) is a paraphrasc ola statcmcnt madc by Vittgcnstcin
thatAgambcn citcs at thc closc ol"1hcEnd olthc Iocm". "Ihilosophyshould
rcallyonlybcpocticizcd h/ssshidsmansigsnt/ichnardichtsn]" EI, ;,
p). 1hcrcmarkinqucstion isloundinVittgcnstcin's Ca/tarsanda/asip&,
). Inan analogouslashion, Furio|csi, an authortowhomAgambcn lcltclosc
andwhoscworkhc hclpcd support, wrotcolthc "scicntihc andartistic" aspira-
tionsolhisownphilologicalwork,saying,"1othcqucstion, `Ooyouncvcrthink
olwritinganovcl`' I canonlyrcply Ihavcncvcrdoncanythingclsc" |csizooi,
;6, italics inoriginal).
Earlicrandshortcr) vcrsionsolIarts IandII olStanzaswcrcpublishcdin
ip;andip;z, rcspcctivcly.
; 1hc lact that thccssays in thc collcction arc callcdparts implyingauni-
hcdwholcolwhichthcyarcparts) undcrlicsthiscontinuity. Itwaspcrhapsthis
thatlcdthc translatorolthcEnglishcditionto lcnda stillgrcatcrcontinuityto
thclourpartsolthcbookbycontinuouslycnumcratingthcirindividualchaptcrs
that is, thc hnal chaptcrinthcvolumcisnot, as inthcoriginal, Chaptcr1hrcc
olIartFourbutChaptcrMinctccn) .
Netcs (o
6. Fcon t&6ttp) isbcstrcmcmbcrcdlor hisrcmarkablc critical insight
hcwasancarlychampionolRimbaud,Apollinairc,andthcImprcssionistpaint-
crs), aswcllaslorthccxtrcmclaconism olhis litcraryproduction.
;. 1hc English translation lalscly rcndcrs thc Italian scadimsnteas cxtinc-
tion." ScadimsntebclongstothcsamclinguisticlamilyasthcEnglishworddsca
dsncsthc act ol lallingol -cadsrs) andmcansdccadcncc" or dcclinc."
&. Ms/anchewillrcmainn abidingintcrcstlorAgambcn. Scc, lor anim-
portantinstancc,RA,tl l.
p. Agambcntakcs issucwith thcir hndingsinbotholhis hrsttwo works, as
wcllasinancssaylromtp;-sccI, &, n. tp.
to. 1hc translator uscs thc tcrmhantainstcad ol/ntato translatc thc
Italian/ntam.1hcrationalclor this choiccsccmsto bcrchcctcdin thc Oxd
Eng/uh Dicnena dcscription. In modcrn usc/n and han, in spitc
olthciridcntityinsound andinultimatcctymology, tcndto bcapprchcndcdas
scparatcwords,thcprcdominantscnscolthclormcrbcingapricc,whim,lanci-
lulinvcntion,'whilcthatolthclattcris imagination,visionarynotion'
. AsinAgambcn'sItalianoriginal,thcEnglishtranslationlcavcsthismotto
inGcrmanbutunaccountablychangcsitlrom"DsrlicbcCettstsc/timDstai/to
Dsrgutc Cestsc/timDstai/. Agambcn also discusscs this motto inthccon-
tcxtolthcidcaoldivincandnaturalsignaturcsinSignatararsramsccSR)).
t. Varburg, howcvcr, ncvcrcmploycdit in his writing. Ithrt appcarcd in
printundcrthcpcnolVarburg'slricndandcollcagucE. R. Curtiusinthcpub-
lishcdtcxtolthcculogyhcgavcatVarburg'sluncralintpp.Ithrsgaindwidc
currcncyncarlytwcntyycarslatcr through thctwo rclcrcnccsCurtiusmakcsto
itinhis EaresanLitsratarsandthsLannMi/sHgss &6). Itsactualorigin,
howcvcr,rcmainsunccrtain. InhisH/war/argHnIntsdscaa/Bieah,Ernst
Gombrich,thcnhcadolthcVarburgInstitutc,claimcdthatitwasatranslation
olaphrascolFlaubcrt's, IcbonOicucstdanslcdctail," althoughhcdocsnot
indicatc whcrc Flaubcrt allcgcdly cmploycd this lormula scc Gombrich tp;o,
t) .Althoughanothcrhgurccloscto thcVarburgInstitutc, ErwinIanolsky, cx-
prcsscdskcpticismaboutthisdcrivationascarlyastpp thc bulkol Gombrich's
book on Varburgwas composcd during thcsc ycars), and dcspitc Gombrich's
subscqucnt inability to hnd thc sourcc dcspitc its supposcdly stcmming lrom
oncolthcbcstknownandmoststudicdcorpuscsinFrcnchlitcraturc, thisdu-
biousdcrivationisstillcitcdtothisday ForasignolthcsprcadolGombrich's
apocryphaldcrivation,sccatcllinginstanccinItaloCalvinosszieniamsricans
whcrchccitcsFlaubcrt'salhrmation"thatIc bonOicucstdanslcdctail" ;;] ,
although without rclcrcncc to Varburg or Gombrich). Anothcr lormcr dircc-
torolthcVarburgInstitutc, EdgarVind,was morcoutspokcnthanIanolsky,
rcmarking that thc attributionwas madc without anyrclcrcncc to an authcn-
ticscntcncc inFlaubcrt, whoscwritings arc not inacccssiblc" lrom a rcvicwol
|c| etcs
Gombrich'sH/var/argthc IimssLitsraSa/smsnt,|uncz;,tp;t, ;;6,
rcprintcdinVind's IhsE/eqasncse/Sm/e,ttz).Inthccditorialaltcrwordto
Varburg'sHasgsah/tsSchrsnandvrdigngsn,OictcrVuttkcrcstatcswhat
Vindhadnotcdconccrningthcmotto'sprovcnancc sccVarburgtp;p, 6zz).
i . Agambcn brings togcthcr thc two writcrs at a numbcr olpoints in his
writing, mostnotablyin "Mymphac." Formorcon cnjamin's intcrcstinVar-
burg'swork, sccGalitzand Rcimcrsipp;,l
i. 1hc lattcrcssay, lromipp6,is cntitlcdbsolutcImmancncc" sccI zzo
p) .1hcconccption olimmancnccthatAgambcnhndsinOclcuzcandinFou-
cault) iscxplicitlyrclatcdthcrcintoaconccptol"lilc"thatAgambcnsccsas"thc
subjcctolthccomingphilosophy"andthatwillncccssitatc"agcncalogicalinqui-
ryintothctcrm-prccisclythcprojcctthatthcHemeSacsrscricstakcsupon
itscll" I,z& zp] ) . ForamorcrcccntrclcrcncctoOclcuzc,sccthcbcginningol
Agambcn'scssay"Fricndship."
i;. Conccrningthc qucstion olhowarthistorianshavcconsidcrcdVarburg
andhisp|accinthcirdisciplinc,comparcLlrichRaulll'srcmarkinarcccntbook
onVarburg. "1wcntyycars ago oncwouldhavcrcccivcdas answcrto thcqucs-
tion as to what disciplinc Varburg bclongcd that hc was an art historian. 1o-
day . . . arthistorianssccVarburgnotasanarthistorianbutasa`scholarolim-
agcs' Bi/daisssnschar] who|ibcratcd thcir disciplinc lrom anarrowstudyol
worksolhigh art" ,Rau|llzoo , ;) .
6. SccVarburgs"ta|icnischcKunstundintcrnationalcAstro|ogicimIalaz-
zoSchilanoj azuFcrrara" inVarburgip&& II, ;pll.
;. 1hishna|tcrmisloundinart-historicaltrcatiscsas lar backasthcscvcn-
tccnth ccntury butwas rarclycmploycdbclorcVarburgrcvivcd its usc and rc-
coincd itin polcmical distinction to thc cstablishcd subdisciplincolicenegrah
,gcncral|ysccn as that part ol art historical study involving thc dcciphcring ol
thccentsntolaworkinrclativcindcpcndcnccolthcstylisticmcansuscdtorcn-
dcrit) .Vithtimc,howcvcr, icene/g,likcitstcrminologicalprcdcccssors,provcd
too narrow lorVarburg's nccds, and itwas lcltto onc olhis studcnts-Erwin
Ianolskyto makc icene/eg' lamc andlortunc. It is a mattcr olgcncralcon-
scnsus that icene/egasdcvclopcdbyIanolskydocsnotcorrcspondtothclargcr
intcrdisciplinaryaspirations ol Varburg's study. Modcrn intcrprctcrshavcbccn
carclul to point out that Ianolsky's psychological rcductivcncss was not inthc
spiritolVarburg's inquirics. 1hisisnotcdbyAgambcnaswcllas,inlcsspoint-
cdlorm,byCarloGinzburg,andinmorcpointcdlormbyGcorgcsOidi-Hubcr-
man. Raullllalscly crcdits Oidi-Hubcrman with hrst drawingattcntion to thc
distanccthatscparatcsIanolsky's approach lromVarburg's Agambcnprcccdcs
himinthisrcspcctbymanyycars,sccRaulllzoo;,t;).
i&. Agambcnwritcs olhis cssayonVarburglromtp;; that itwas conccivcd
"as thchrstola scrics olportraits dcdicatcd to cxcmplarypcrsonalitics, cach ol
Netcs (o;
which w t orcprcscnt a human scicncc," andhcnotcs that this scrics olpor-
traitswas to bc madc inthc intcrcst olthc projcct ola gcncral scicncc olthc
human" I, ioi i|| , thconlyothcrportraitonwhichAgambcnbcganwork
dcdicatcd to thclinguist

milccnvcnistc-rcmainsuncomplctcd). cnvcnistc
suggcstcdthatthclundamcnta

charactcrolourlanguagc-tobccomposcdol
signs-mightprovc commonto thctotalityolsocialphcnomcnawhichconsti-
tutccu/mrs/nssm//sdsshnemnssseiaquicensnmsnt/culturc] ,"andit
is doubtlcss this aspiration thatlcdAgambcn to placc him alongsidcVarburg
cnvcnistci66-i,|,i. ||,italicsinoriginal). InnAgambcnsaysolcn-
vcnistcthathcis alinguistwho has, inouropinion, ccctcda ncw situation'
olthcscicnccollanguagc" andthatto him wcowcthc mostlucidpcrccption
olthcinadcquacyolthc scmioticpcrspcctivcundcrstoodinthcnarrowscnsc)
loranundcrstandingolthclinguiticphcnomcnoninitstotality" S, i, i6) .
Aswcwi|lsccinChaptcrScvcn,Agambcnrcturnstocnvcnistcinthccontcxt
olthcidcaolthcarchivcinthc hnal scction olhis Rsmnantse/Huschai. cn-
vcnistca|soplaysaccntralrolcinAgambcn' sanalyscsolvowsandoathsi nI/sac-
ramsnteds/ /in

aa_ie scc cspcciallySL, ;ll.)

ip. Agambcn rclcrs in Iart ol Smnzas to a Nach/s/snol thc cmb|cmatic
lorm"insuchauthorsasE.1.A. Hollmann,EdgarAllanIoc,andKaa,andin
thccaricaturcsol. . GrandvillcandSir|ohn1cnnicl,aswcllasto aNachh/sn
olimagcslromourcu|turc'smythicpastinancssaylromInandHistescc
S, i
i;i] , andIH, ,i| ).
o. AgambcndchncsandpraiscsVarburg'scclcbratcdncologismPatherms/
clscwhcrc in saying that it dcsignatcs an indissolublc intcrtwiningolan cmo-
tiona| chargc and an iconographic lormula inwhichit is impossiblc to distin-
guishbctwccnlormandcontcnt,"andthatitsulhccstodcmonstratcthatVar-
burg's thought cannot in any scnsc bc intcrprctcd i ntcrms olsuch inauthcntic
oppositionsasthoscbctwccnlormandcontcntandbctwccnthchistoryolstylcs
andthchistoryolculturc" I,oiz|). Inamorcrcccntcssay,Agambcnsaysol
Patherms/that itisa hybridolmattcrandlorm, crcationandpcrlormancc,
hrst-timc-ncss rimaoe/nt andrcpctition"-andhccmploysthcsamctcrmsi n
SiaturarsrumM,6,SR, ,i, sccalsoSR ,).
Z. Lvi-Strauss also plays a dccisivc rolc inAgambcn's carlythoughtand i n
hi sprojcctlorabroadcncdmultidiscipli narystudy.hcinhucnccolLviStrauss
is moststronglylcltinAgambcn'sncxtbook, In/nandHote mostpartic-
ularly thc chaptcr dcdicatcd to him. In Ilayland. Rchcctions on Historyand
Ilay" scc IH, 6,f 6,f ). AlthoughrclcrcnccstoLviStraussarcmorcrarci n
thcworksthatlollowthisonc,hcrcmainsanimportantgurclorAgambcn.For
atrcatmcntolLviStrauss'sthoughtasitpcrtainstothclogicolsam/sands
csnen,sccAgambcn'sHemeSacsr,z,

o ).
zz. AgambcnrcturnstoVarburg'snamclcssscicncc"i nSR,]Q
|c Netcs
z . 1hc translator curiously rcndcrs approach" hcrc as history". a global
histsolculturc. . . . "
z. Agambcn's latcr collcction olcssays IhsEnds/thsPssmtcstihcs to his
abiding intcrcst in thc bcginnings olvcrnacular poctry and in thc troubador
stilnovist,andOantcanpocticproj ccts.
z;. ItbcarsrccallingthatCorbin'sownintcrdisciplinaryintcrcstslcdhim lar
lrom his principal hcld olstudyIslamicculturcto notonlypocticsbutalso
philosophy. ,HcwasthchrstFrcnchtranslatorol Hcidcggcrwithhistranslation
olVhat IsMctaphysics` "lrom ip;.) Morc rcccntlyAgambcn discusscs Corb
in'sstudicsolthcthcologicalhgurcolthcangclinH, z;z6.
6. 1hcEnglishtranslationlalsclyrcndcrsthctcrmritrsoarsnotasrccovcr"
butas discovcr."
z;. InthchrstbookinEnglishtoanalyzcAgambcn'sworkcxtcnsivcly,1hom
as CarlVall ippp) discusscswhathccallsa scnsc olalmost comical crudition"
inAgambcn'swriting,iz) .
LV ]
I. 1hcoriginal aswcll as thcrcviscd Italian cditionsolthcworkcontain six
chaptcrs. 1hc Englishtranslationcontainsa scvcnth chaptcr cntitlcd Motcson
Gcsturc." 1his addition is nowhcrc acknowlcdgcd as such inthc cdition and is
ncithcrcxplaincdnorcvcnnotcd ,thuscrcatingthclalscimprcssionthatthc cs
saylromippzwasanoriginalclcmcntolthcworklrom ip;&).Agambcnhimscll
includcdMotcsonGcsturc"inhisipp6collcctionolcssaysMsanswithsatEnd.
1hc EnglishtranslationolMsanswithsatEnd,lrom zooo) alsoincludcsthiscs
say,inancwtranslationandnowhcrcnotingthccarlicrcxistcnccolapublishcd
English translation) .
z. Agambcnollcrsnorclcrcncclorhis citationapracticcthatinItaly's aca
dcmic culturc isnotcxccptional. Somcwhatmorccxccptionalisthathcdocsnot
dircctlynamc thc cssaylrom which it is drawn, mcrclystating that it is lrom
ip"andthatitdiscusscsapovcrtyolcxpcricncc" ,ancxprcssionthatAgambcn
lcavcs in quotation marks, assuming that this indication would sulhcc lor thc
curiousrcadcrtolocatcthccssayinqucstion). InstcadolsimplyrcproducingAg
ambcn'srcmarks,thcEnglishtranslationgivcsalullbibliographicalrclcrcncc
buttothcwrongcssay,sccIH 6z,n. i) .1hcinlormationgivcnislorcnj amin's
1hc Storytcllcr." 1hat this is not thc cssay in qucstion can casily bc sccn not
onlyinthcallusiontothcwork's titlcbutalso inthclactthat1hcStorytcllcr"is
notlrom ipbutlromip6. Itshouldbcnotcdhowcvcr, that1hcStorytcllcr"
dcalswith thcmcsvcrysimilarto thoscincnj amin's carlicrcssayandcvcnin
cludcspassagcsrcproduccdvcrbatimlromit.
Netcs (o)
. Itshouldbcnotcdthatcnjamin'sintcrcstinthctcrmandcatcgoryolsx
srisncshas notonlysociological butalso philosophicalsourccs. 1hc attcr arc
loundinhisrcsponscsto Kant undcrtakcn inthclatctccnsandinhisrcjcction
olthc nco-Kantian philosophical schoolso inhucntial inthc Gcrman univcrsi-
ticsolthcdaywhoscvicwswcrccrystallizcdinHcrman ohcn's antIhse
e/Exsisncs, publishcdin t&;t).Aslatc astpt;, cnjaminstillplanncdto writc
adisscrtationonKantlocusingonthccatcgoryolcxpcricncc. Rcmnants olthat
projcctarctobcloundincssayssuchas"nthcIrogramolthcomingIhilos-
ophy" tpt&),withitscallsloracorrcctionolthcdominantrcadingolKantand
lor"adccpcr,morcmctaphysicallylulhllcdcxpcricncc"asopposcdtothc"math
cmatical "and"mcchanical "oncloundinKant,alongsidcacall"tocrcatconthc
basis olthc Kantian systcmaconccptolknowlcdgctowhichaconccptolcxpc-
ricncc Eqhrang corrcsponds" cnjamin GS, z. t6o). lthc "actualvaluc" ol
Kant'sconccptionol "cxpcricncc"cnjaminclaimcditwas"virtuallynill"cn-
jaminGS, z. i;p) .
It is usclul to bcar in mind that cnjamin's position on cxpcricncc was
oncc vcrydillcrcnt. In onc olhis hrstpublications, thcshortcsyExpcricncc
Eqhrang' cnj amin himscll placcs thc titular "Expcricncc" in quotation
marks) lrom ipi, thctwcnty-onc-ycar-old cnjaminattacks "cxpcricncc" as thc
mcans olrcprcssion cmploycdby oldcr gcncrations-abovc allthc "philistincs"
amongthcm-againstthcyoung. "ccauschc hasncvcrgazcd upward toward
thcgrcatandthcmcaninglul,thcIhilistincmakcsolcxpcricncc Ehrung his
gospcl,"writcs cnj amin GS, z. ;;). 1his carly andpassionatclyidcalisticcssay
lcvclsanattackonthcrcstrictcdimaginationolthc"Ihilistinc,"whoisignorant
and boastlul olcvcrything "cxpcricncc" hasgivcnhim. Iarcnts andIhilistincs
insccrctcollaboration) uscthcwordsxsrisncsasamagicwandtoconvcrtthcir
ownarbitraryopinionsintolacts thatthcyoungarccxpcctcdtoacccptblindly.
1hc"cxpcricncc"cxcoriatcdin thiscssayisan cxpcricnccunworthyolthcnamc
thusthcscarcquotcsinwhichhckccpsit),andrathcrthanbcingthatwhichhc
willlatcrlamcnthisgcncrationhavinglost, itisancarlysignolthatlossalrcady
undcr way. Mcvcrthclcss, thc paradox implicd in his latcr championing olthc
tcrmsxsrisncsdidnotcscapccnjamin,andinanotcwrittcnycarslatcrunda
cdbutinalllikclihoodlromtpzp),hcwritcsolhisworklromtt "Inthiscarly
cssayImobilizcdallthcrcbclliouscncrgicsolyouthagainstthcwordcxpcricncc
Eqhrang .'Mowthiswordis alundamcntalclcmcntinmanyolmywritings
OcspitcthisIhavcrcmaincdtructomyscllMyattackpicrccdthcwordwithout
annihilatingit.Itmancuvcrcditscllintothchcartolthcmattcr" cnj aminGS,
z.poz) . InthcnotcslorhisHrcadssPrescthclistsasolidrccourscto"cxpcricncc
Eqhrang " as part olthc "clcmcntarydoctrinc olhistorical matcrialism" tat
guidcdhisinvcstigation scccnjaminGS, ;;p;).
|c Netcs
;. 1h English translation omits thc tcrm stractars /a strattara lrom this
passagc.
6. Agambcn'srcmarkshcrcarcsubstantiallyrcproduccdinancssaypublishcd
twoycarslatcrsccIS, i;;i;&).
; Although this prclacc was adoptcd in thc English translation olIn/nc
andHistsr,itsspccialprovcnanccthcFrcnchtranslation)andlatcrdatcolcom-
position,ip&p) isnowhcrcnotcdthcrcin.
& AgambcnrcturnstothisidcainhismostrcccntbooksccSI, p;)
p. ncolthcdcdicatccsolthischaptcrolIn/ncandHistsrisFrcnchschol-
arandGnosticismspccialist Hcnri-CharlcsIucch,anditislikclythathiswork,
aswcllasthatolHcidcggcr's studcnt andGnosticismscholar Hans|onas, inhu-
cnccdAgambcn'sscnscolthctcmporalcxpcricnccthatispropcrto Gnosticism.
IucchisalsorclcrrcdtoinRG,;&.
IO. 1hisisatopictowhichAgambcnwillrcturnin Ihssa srsss,whcrc
hcclaims thatitisinAristotlc'sdcscriptionolplcasurcinthcicsmachsanEthics
thatthccatcgorics olpotcntialityandactarcatthcirmost"transparcnt" sccII,
;i ;i] ). Inoncolthclcw asidcsinAgambcn's cncyclopcdiacntryontastchc rc-
lcrsto thcdoctrincolplcasurcwhichistosay,olcthics /adsttrinads/iacsrs,
ciscsn/'stica| G,iozo).
. InaposthumouslypublishcddraltloraprclacctohisMatsria/imits/sgici,
Furio|csicmploysakindrcdimagc,writingolthcsctitular"mythologicalmatc-
rials" thatthcyarc"thatwhichwcdisposcoltoday, thoscmythologicalmatcrials
stampcdbythchcryclockwhichplaccshistnancovcrcvcrysupposcdsncsaen
atims"|csizooi, ;o, italics inoriginal).
iz. Itisdoubtlcsswith this idca inmindthatAgambcnrclcrs to Marxs idca
ola classlcss socicty as bcinglor cnjamin "agcnuinclymcssianic idca" I, ;6
&] ).
i . For morc on thc idca olthcmcssianic and thc idca olthc prolanc, scc
ChaptcrsMincand1cn.
i. Foranimportantvicwonthiscomplicatcdqucstion,sccScholcm'sintcr-
vicwlrom ip;6 inwhich hcdiscusscsAdorno's misundcrstandingolcnj amins
rclusaloldialccticalmcdiation scc Scholcmip&o,ziz).
i;. cnjamin placcs thc cxprcssion "all lactualityis alrcady thcory" inquo-
tationmarksbccauscitisborrowcdlromapassagcinwhichGocthcwritcsthat
"thchighcstachicvcmcntwouldbctograspthatalllactualityisalrcadythcory."
i6. ccausccnj aminhad not mcant thcm lorpublication,hchad not givcn
thcm atitlc. 1hc onc thatAdornocvcntuallychoscwas /srdsnBsgr dsrCs
schichtsnthc Conccpt olHistory), which bccamc Ihssss en thshi/esehs
HistsrinEnglish.
i; Sic.Asarulc,rcchtdidnotcapitalizcsubstantivcsasGcrmangrammar
dictatcs) inhisHr/sitsarna/.
Netcs (o}
:&. Morc rcccntlyAgambcnhas cxplicitlylinkcd cnjamins idcawith Fou-
cault'sclaimthathishistoricalworkwaswrittcninthcshadowcastbyhisthco-
rcticalinvcstigationolthcprcscntsccCCC, z&).
:p. Inasimilarvcin,Agambcnsaysol thcimagcsVarburgcallcdPatherms/n
thatthcyowc thcir "particularaura" to thcir"kairologicsaturation saraziens
cairs/gca" M, ;). InancssaylromtppzhclinksVarburg'sconccption olthc
imagcto cnjamin'sdialccticalimagcaparallclhcrcturncdtomorcthanadc-
cadc latcr inadillcrcnt cssayonVarburg scc MVE, ;;; p] and M, ;&l) .
It should thcn comc as no surprisc that Agambcn will say olboth Varburg's
Pathsrms/andcnjamin's"dialccticalimagc"thatthcyarc"chargcdwithtimc
cacatsditsms IV, andM,;l)
zo. Alain adiou,thcauthorolavcrydillcrcntbookon Iaul, vicwsAgam-
bcn'slinkingolIaulandcnjaminwithskcpticism,rclcrringtoitasa"paradoxi-
calproximity" sccadiouzoo6, ;&).
Z. Ocscribingthcstatuc,Iosidippussayshchadhishairovcrhiscycsbutwas
bald bchind bccausc opportunitycould bc graspcd as hc approachcd butncvcr
oncchc had passcd scc Hnth. P/n. . z;; and Ihs Ox/rdC/ssica/Dictiena
cntryonKairss.
ZZ. Agambcn also rclcrs to thc tcrm's usagc bythc Stoics scc IH, :ot to ) .
Aslor cnjamin's lormula, Agambcn sccs in i tan ccho olKaa's claim that
"|udgmcnt ayis thc normal condition olhistory" IH, :oz to&] sccalso Kal-
ka's claim that thc dccisivc momcnt in human dcvclopmcnt is pcrpctual im
msrahrsnd Kaa :p66, po). In Adorno's lcttcr to Horkhcimcr glossing
cnjamin's lourtccnth thcsis hc writcs that it "is not without rcscmblancc to
thc /airssolour 1illich" scc cnjamin GS, ;.;;). Adorno has good rcason
toalludcto asimilaritybctwccnthctwo conccptions.1hc Gcrmanthcologian
andphilosophcrIaul1illichdistinguishcdinhiswritings-suchasthctpcs-
say"Kairos"bctwccnchrenes,orchronologicaltimc, and /aires, amomcntol
truthwhcn radical innovations could bccllcctcd. 1illich bclicvcd at thc timc
thatGcrmanywasatjustsuchamomcnt.) cnjaminmight,howcvcr,justascas-
ilyhavcborrowcdthctcrmlromIaul,asAgambcnclaims,orlromthcGnostics,
and bccn inhucnccd by Kicrkcgaard's idcaolthc "instant." Itistcllingin this
conncctionthatarcccntsclcctionolcnjaminswritingshasbccnpublishcdun-
dcrthcticKairesoo;).
z . Agambcn's conccption olcnjaminian tcmporality is radicallydillcrcnt
lrom thcconccptionolacriticsuchasMichaclAndrcrnstcin,wholcclsthat
cnjamin contradicts himscllin saying that "nothing that has cvcr happcncd
should bc rcgardcd as lost lor history," bccausc lor crnstcin such a vicw "rc-
quircsanundcrstandingoltimcasasucccssionolcontcntrichdicrcnccs, cach
validinitsownright,rathcrthanasancndlcssrcpctitionolidcnticallymcanin
|r c Netcs
lcssunitssuddcnlypunctuatcdandrcdccmcdby thcthundcrclapolthccataclys-
micallysignihcantcrisis" crnstcin2OOO, &&) .
cnxrrra
+
1. 1hchrstIta|iancditioolthcworkcontaincdon|ythirtychaptcrs.1hosc
addcdto thcGcrman,Frcnch,and Lnglishtranslationsolthcwork,whichwcrc
incorporatcdintothcsccondItaliancditionlrom2OO2) , arc"1hc IdcaolStudy,"
"1hc IdcaolIolitics," and "1hc Idca olIanguagc II. 1hc Lnglish translation
givcsasitssourcctcxtthcp&hrstIta|iancditiondcspitcthclactthatitcontains
thcscthrccchaptcrsnotlo

ndinthatcdition.
2. 1hc lattcr is lalscly rcndcrcd in thc Lng|ish translation as "1hc Idca ol
Lnivcrsal|udgmcnt."
. 1hc English translation's rcproduction olthis imagc is unlortunatcly ol
poorqualityand rcndcrs it almost unintclligiblc 1hc idiosyncratic translation
olitstitlcas "FrcnzicdIovcon aSnail"makcsthctaskolundcrstandingitstill
morcdilhcult.
+
. 1hiscvocativcimagc has hadalongand richlilc. nc olthc most inhu
cntia| Grcck commcntators onAristotlc,AlcxandcrolAphrodisias sccondccn
turyx.o. ), paraphrascd it thus. "rcason is] likc a tablct that has notbccnwrit-
tcn upon"and itwaslrom this cxprcssionthatA|bcrtusMagnusand1homas
Aquinas dcrivcd thc cclcbratcd tcrm ta/a/ rasa Agambcn rclcrs to Aristotlc's
imagc in his ncxt book, Ceming CemmaniCC, ; ] ) . In a sidc notc
to thchistoryolthis imagc, Curtius tclls howinthc twcllth ccnturyaudriol
ourgucil, "a plcasant poctwho had a particular londncss lor thc scribal art,"
chosctooutdoAusonius,whohadwrittcnanodcto papcr, bydcdicatingpocm
altcr pocm to his wax tablct notcbooks, in this hc was aworthyinhcritor to
OamasciussccCurtiusipp , i;).
]. Alrcady inhis hrst book, altcrcxaminingAristotlc's distinction bctwccn
potcntia|ityandcntclcchy,Agambcnturns tothcmodcrnconccptionsol"work-
inprogrcss" and "opcn work" in |ight olAristotlc's idca ol potcntiality scc
MVC, 66 o] ) .
6. 1his dcscriptionollanguagc's matcrialaswoodlikc sccmstorclcr tothc
lactthatthcGrcckwordlorthcoriginalorhrstmattcrolthcunivcrsc, thc
samcword thatAristotlccmployswhcn discussinghrstmattcrdcrivcslroma
Grcckwordloraeedinthcscnscol"lorcst"), thcIatintranslationolwhichwas
sia 1hc Iatin matsriaalso sharcd this connotation, rclcrringto wood notin
thcscnscollorcstbutasthc usablcwoodolatrcc.)
]. 1hisprclacc is lromthchrstFrcnch cditionolIn/nandHisteip&p).
1hcLnglishtranslationipp)rcproduccs this prclaccbutwithoutanywhcrcnot-
ingthat itwas not part olthc original ip;& Italian cdition itgivcs as itssourcc.
Netcs (ii
1hcprclaccwas hrstpublishcdinItaliani nthcsccondcxpandcdcditioolIn
]nziasstsrminzoot.
&. 1hat Agambcn cmploys thc Iatin sxsrimsntum to indicatc somcthing
thatisbothan sxsrimsntandan sxsrisncsisattcstcdtobyhisuscolthctcrm
c|scwhcrc. Forthc carcstinstanccolsuch"an cxpcricncc sssrisnza , an sx
srimsntam scc,p t;
p. nthcrc|ationshipolthis qucstionolancxpcrimcntalcxpcricnccollan-
guagcitsc|lasitrc|atcstothcidcaolawritcr's mstioamorvocation,sccalsoAg-
ambcn's discussion olOantc. "in rcsponsc to this intimatcaptitudclorjargon
thatcvcry|anguagcposscsscs Oantc] proposcsnotthcrcmcdyolanationallan-
guagc and grammar as a longstandinglalsihcation olhis thought maintains)
butinstcadatranslormation olthc cxpcricnccolspccchitscllanatrasrmazi
snsdsdssrisnzstsssads//ars/| , which hc callcd osarsi/astrs-dclivcr-
anccnotgrammatical,butpocticand political-olj argons in thcdircctionol
thc/ctam/sqasndi ,,6p;&] , translationmodihcd).
to. Had this bccn madc car, dc Man's cxchangc with M. H. Abrams that
lol|owcd thc |ccturc which is rcproduccd in IhsRssutancs ts Ihss) would
doubtlcsshavcadvanccdalongcarcrlincs.
. 1his allcctivcscalcis lound throughoutHdsgsriss s/Rsadig, IhsRsso-
tancsts Ihss andHssthsncIds/s, aswcll asin morcdiusclormin hiscar-
licrcollcctionB/indnsssandInsight
tz. |ust as in Grcck asriamcant a pcrplcxing diculty-and it has bccn
adoptcdintomodcrnlanguagcstodcnotcsuch-thcmorcrarc sasmcansa
thingcasilyandmoothlydonc.
t. AgambcncitcsthisrcmarkwithquotationmarksinIHtxiv])andwith-
outthcminbothI o z;] ) andII;p) .
t. Agambcn's translator and studcnt Oanicl HcllcrRoazcn cchocs thcsc
qucstionsatthcoscolhis IhsInnsrachzoo;)."1hatwhichcannotbcrcp-
rcscntcdasanysinglcthingrcvcalsitsclatthclimit,inthcbarcstolpcrccptions
withoutobjcct.inthcmcrcscnscthatwcarcscnsing'andinthcsimplcthought
thatwcarcthinking HcllcrRoazcnzoo;,zpp)
t;. 1hislcttcrisquotcdbutwithoutnotingitssourcc)byAgambcni nboth
IHVII] )andI ; ;] ).
t6. Inhi shnal and unhnishcd) work, Hssthsnc Ihss,Adorno quotcs this
passagc, claiming that this "climination olthc unsayablc" is bcst undcrstood
withthc "addition" that"thcontologicalasccticismollanguagcisthconlyway
to ncvcrthclcsssaythc unsayablc" AdornoGS, ;.;o).
t;. Agambcnsccmshcrctobcalsoalludingtoanumbcrolothcrtrcatmcntsol
this thcmcbyphilosophcrsbothancicntandmodcrn.1hcrcadcrmaythink,lor
instancc,olVittgcnstcin-notonlyolhis cclcbratcdhnalscntcnccin thc -
tatas, but alsoolsuchprivatcrcmarks as thoschcwritcs in alcttcrlrom:p:;. "i l
i z Netcs
on|yyou do nottryto uttcrwhat is unuttcrab|c-thcn nethinggcts|ost. utthc
unuttcrab|cwi||ttacentainsdinwhathasbccnuttcrcd " Icttcr
to Iau|Lngc|mann,Apri|,ii; citcdinMonkio, ii, ita|icsinorigina|) .
i&. Itshou|dbcrcca||cdthatoncolthcccntra|goa|solAgambcn's Langaags
andDsathwas thcstudyolthcVcstcrn phi|osophica|tradition's|inkingol|an
guagcwithncgativitandtattotiscndhcsoughtto|ocatcanorigina|struc
turcolncgativity ,sccIO,xii ) .
ip. 1hispassagci s a|soloundvcrbatimi nMVL, & 6;o] .
zo. Hcrc wc can bcst apprcciatc thc insight and intc||igcncc olHc||crRoa-
zcn's rclcrcncc to Agambcn's most origina| phi|osophica|projcct. tecencsiose/
thssxistsncse//ngagsasthssxistsncse/etsntia/i" I, i , ita|icsinorigina|) .
zi . Va||conc|udcs that this idca olindircction rcndcrs "anylorma|prcscn-
tation" olAgambcn's thought impossib|c. `nycommcntaryonthcwritings ol
Icvinas, |anchot, andAgambcnwi||bcdilhcult,bccauscachwritcsinsucha
way that our powcrto rcadisncutra|izcdanddispcrscd. Each olthcsc thinkcrs
writcsinsuchawaythatcommunicationisintcrruptcd,andanylorma|prcscnta-
tionolthcirthought,suchasourshcrc,isccasc|css|ypostponcd" Va|| ippp, 6).
zz. 1hisidcaisa|sowc||rchcctcdinAgambcn's1raditionolthcImmcmori-
a|," pub|ishcdthcsamcycaras IhsIdsae/Press1hccssayiscomposcdoltwc|vc
scctions, cach olwhich is dividcd bctwccn a short rchcction on tradition and
its mcmoria|ization byAgambcn, and onc ormorc citationswithoutquotation
markslromauthorsranginglromI|atotoHcidcggcr,Aristot|ctoVittgcnstcin,
Oamasciusto Mancy, H|dcr|into Cc|ansccI, ioll. i;ll ) .
z . 1hcc|ausc"which is|anguagc"i s notloundinthcEng|ishtrans|ation.
z OominickIaCaprac|aimsthatinAgambcnswriting, "asustaincdintri-
cacyollormu|ation and an insistcnt|yparatacticor `poctic sty|cinphilosophy
makcitbothdilhcu|tto undcrstandhim inawaythatcnab|cscritica|cxchangc
and possib|c lor a sympathctic or pcrhaps cxtrcmc|ygcncrous) rcadcr or ovcr-
writcr) to g|oss qucstionab|cpassagcs inaquasi-thco|ogica|manncr that a|ways
disp|accsattcntiontoothcr,|cssdubiouspassagcs, cvcnilthcyarctobcloundin
anothcrwork" IaCaprazoo;, ii) .Agambcn'scsotcric-orindircct-man-
ncrolapproachingthc qucstions thatarcmostimportantto himmcansthat,ol
ncccssity, rcadcrsawaitingatransparcntmcssagcwi||bcdisappointcd-andno-
whcrcsomuchasinsaePress
z. 1hisrcmarkprovidcsthc tit|clorA|cxandcrGarattmann'sintroduc-
tion to thc Lng|ish trans|ationolIdsa e/Press Scc ttmann ipp, z. tt-
mann's ana|ysisp|accs spccia| cmphasisonthcproximityolAgambcn'svicwsto
thoscolnot on|y cnjaminbut a|soAdorno, aswc| | as strcssingthc ro|c olpo-
tcntia|ityinAgambcn'sthinking.
z6. 1hisphrascisloundvcrbatiminancssaycntit|cd"uattrog|osscaKal-
ka" FourG|osscslorKalka") pub|ishcdin t&6 scc GK,) .
Netcs qI]
z;. I t bcarsnotingthatmanyolthccitationsthatcnjaminuscdinhis Ori-
gns/Csrman IragcDramaarc not to bc loundwhcrc cnjaminlocatcs thcm.
nthiscuriouspoint,sccthccditor'srcmarksincnj aminGS, t.p;&t.p&t,and
Voigtzooo,&z6ll.
z&. Agambcn rclcrs in Stanzs to "a vicious circlc olauthority and citation
thcauthorityisthcsourccolthccitationbutthccitationisthcsourccolauthor
ity), which rcndcrs impossib|cthc birth olrcal authorityin thcmodcrnworld,"
and which hc distinguiscs lrom thc practiccs olthc Middlc Agcs S, ; &;] ) .
ElscwhcrcAgambcnattacksthccliquishcitationalpracticcsolacadcmics,locus
ingparticularlyonlootnotcs sccAA,xixii).
zp. EinStimmsnimitatsrislitcrallyanimitatorolvoiccs,aswcllasanallusion
to thctitlcolaplayby1homascrnhard, DsrSnmmsnimimter:p;&).
o. Hc intcrruptcd this projcctwhcn Silvio crlusconi's MondadoriMcdia
sctcorporation acquircdthcpublishinghousc Einaudi) lorwhichhchadbccn
prcparingthccdition.
t. SccIR,Missactp&, oll. , andcnjamin GS, ;.;z6.Agambcn'sarticlcan
nouncing thc discovcrics is briclan lormal, listingthcdiscovcricsandnoting
thatthcycontaincdpapcrslromcnjamin'syouth, includingascricsolsonnts
writtcnaltcrthcdcatholhischildhodlricndHcinlc, aswcllasagroupoltcxts
lrom thc tpos Inan intcrvicwconductcd scvcralycars latcr, hc notcd that thc
two largc loldcrs hc had uncarthcd had bccn placcdwith thc privatc alirs ol
ataillc'slatcwidow, andthat "thcrchavcnotlailcdto bc. . . ccrtainsupcrhu
ousnationalisticandprolcssorialj calousics"linkcdtothisdiscovcryIGA,).
IaulHcgartyupbraidsAgambcnlorwishingtodistanccataillcandcnjamin,
wronglyclaimingthatAgambcn"ignorcd] . . . cnjamin'scntrustinghispapcrs
to ataillcwhcnlcavinglorSpain" Hcgartyoo;,2, n. &).
z. 1hccditorsolthcGcrmancditionrcturntothcmattcrclscwhcrc,thank-
ingAgambcnloraphotocopyolthcthcscsaswcllascxprcssinglrustrationthat
dcspitcrcpcatcdrcqucstshchasrcluscdtodivulgcwhcrchcdiscovcrcdthisand
othcrmanuscriptssccGSVII.;&z).AgambcncndshisbriclBi//iethusNanen
a/sarticlcbyannouncinghisdiscovcricsoltp&twiththcnotc, "onccrningan-
othcr, morcrcstrictcd, groupolcnjamin's manuscripts thatIhavcbccn ablcto
rccovcr containing, among othcr itcms, thc Handsxsm/rolcnjamin's /sr
dsnBsgrdsr Csschichts) Iwillgivc lurthcrdctails inthcncar luturc" IR, 6).
Inan intcrvicwinwhich hc discusscsthisdiscovcry, hc notcsonlythatlikchis
othcrdiscovcrythcywcrc loundinIaris, but"indillcrcntcircumstanccs" lrom
thcloldcrslromthcMationalIibraryIGA, ).Agambcnrcproduccdapho-
tographolthcsccondthcsislromthisHandsxsm/rin Ihs IimsIhatRsmains
scc 11R, to to] ) .
. Agambcn's account i snot, howcvcr, lully accuratc. Apcllcs, thcvoritc
paintcr olAlcxandcr thc Grcat and widcly crcditcd in antiquityas thc grcatcst
|r| Netcs
paintcr ol a|| timc, |ivcd at thc cnd ol thc lourth ccntury .L. Most olwhat is
knownolhimcomcslromI|iny's Hi/sriaa/araisscccspccia||y, lorthcancc
dotcinqucstion,vo| . ;,&i&) .1hcstorythatAgambcnsummari|yrccountsis
aslo||owsApc||cscomcstoRhodcstovisitthcpaintcrIrotogcncs. Findinghim
notathomcbutapanc|lrcsh|yprcparcdtobcpaintcdon inhisstudio,Apc||cs
takcsupabrushandmakcsasing|c,cxtrcmc|yhnc|inc,whichhcthcnconhdcs
to ascrvantolIrotogcncs, askingthat this |incscrvc as his ca||ing card. Iroto
gcncs,rcturninghomc, hnc|ydividcsthishnc |incwith onc olhis own, inadil-
lcrcntunnamcd) co|or, andinstructshisscrvantthatinthccvcntthatthcvisitor
comcs again, hc shou|d bcshown thc panc|. Apc||cs, rcturningsomctimc|atcr,
hnds Irotogcncs again not at homc, andwhcn hc isshownhis |inc dividcd, hc
dividcs it again with a third |inc, cvcn hncr, ina third unnamcd) color. Iroto-
gcncs, rcturninghomc,rccognizcsthcski|lolApcllcs, rcnounccsanyattcmptto
bcttcrit, andrushcstothcporttogrcctApc||cs. Agambcn'saccountlorcshortcns
thccpisodc,|cavingoutthchrstvisit,andthchrstlinc, olApcllcs,aswcllApcl|cs
andIrotogcncs'crossingpathsscc11R, ;o;i ;z; ) . 1hcpanc| inqucstion
wasprcscrvcdand|atcrdisplaycdinthcpa|accolthcCacsarsinRomcunti|pcr-
ishing ina hrc. Mo cxtanttraccsolApc|lcs' paintings cxist. Sccalso Gombrich
i;6ii;, andOamischi;, izoz .
1hcincrcasing|yimportantro|colAgambcn'sdcvc|opmcntolcnjamin's
idcas can casi|y bc sccn in thc rcprcscntativcwork BsnaminHand/achLs/sn,
vsrk, virkangIindncrzoo6).
; Hc||cr-Roazcn choscthis rcmark lor thc tit|colhis introduction to Ps
/sn/ia/i/iss and notcd cnjamin's rccurrcnt usc olit in I, z;; n. . In addition
to thc occurrcnccs hc notcs thcrc is an additiona| onc in cnjamin's work
thc cpigraph to Ksnos/a/MDsr/ansar olthc HrcadssPrssc/sccGS, ; ;z).
cnjamin borrowcd thc phrasc lrom Holmannstha|'s p|ay Dsr randdsrd
"Ocath and thc Foo|," i&), thc hna| |incs olwhich arc as lo||ows von Hol-
mannstha|i&, ;&o) .
DR ODindsmsrksh//s/ndngsama/gsh/
vis aandsrossinddis ssn,
Dis, aasnich/dsa//ar, dsnnschdsa/sn,
vasnisgsschris/snaards, /sssn,
srasrrsnss/shsrrschsnd/indsn
ndgs nschimaigDanks/nndsn.
Netcs ( ;
cnxrrra ;
. Vall hnds that "thc structurcolAgambcn's bookis crazy, slightlydrunk
cvcn as thcthinkingin itisprcciscanddclicatc)" tppp,tz:). Hc comparcs its
chaptcrs to "pancls likc incomicbooks) bclorc notingthat"wcmaydcscribc
thcbookas cruditc, oras aphilosophicalscrcndipity, butthatsccmsbcsidcthc
point,loritisasilthcscpanclscamclromclscwhcrcthanoncmindoroncthink-
cr" zi).
Z. It bcars noting that a ycar altcrMancy's book appcarcd Agambcn pub-
lishcdancssaycntitlcd "ataillcc ilparadossodcllasovranit,"whichdiscusscs
thcidcasolcommunityloundinataillc,lanchot,andMancy,aswcllasantici-
patingimportantclcmcntsolboth IhsCemingCemmaniandHemeSacsr.
In his cntry on Agambcn lor thc Enesdia e/Pestmedsom, Oavid
Clippingcr zoot) writcs, "Icrhaps thc most signihcant contribution byAgam-
bcnhasbccnhismcditationuponhowthcpostmodcrncmphasisuponidcntity
politics prompts arcturnto thc ccntraltyolcthics inanydiscussionolthcso-
cial" 6)
Aswcwillscc,thissamcsingularstatusothccxamplc-lyingbothwithin
andbcyondthatwhich it rcprcscnts-corrcspondsprccisclyto thc spaccolthc
sovcrcigninpoliticalthcoryandtothccxccptioninlcgalthcoryasthcscarccx-
plorcdin HemeSacsrand Statse/csnen.
;. Anothcraspcctolthcthcologicalqucstionolthcrcsurrcctcdbodyisraiscd
inPre/nanenssccIR, zp).
6. Agambcn'sdiscussionolthcparadigmaticstatusolthcChristianconccp-
tionollimbowillrcmainasourccolintcrcstandaparadigmlorthcprolancor-
dcrhccnvisions. InPre/nanenshcrcturnstothistopic scc IR, ;). His intcrcst
in suspcndcd hgurcs isalso lound in"Mymphac,"whcrchc discusscs thc crca-
turcsolwhich Iarcclsusspcaks suchasnymphs),whoinAgambcnsparaphrasc
arc"lorcvcrbcyondthccconomyolsalvationandrcdcmption" M,z).
). 1hc dcgrcc towhichAgambcnj uxtaposcs|cwish and Christianthcologi
calmotilsisrarc, andhasitsmostsignihcantparallclinthcworkolAdorno.
&. 1hcIatintitlcisrctaincdinthcEnglishtranslation butismistranscribcd
as"Irincipiumindivuationis").
p Iikci tsauthor,"artlcby,thcScrivcncr.AStoryolVallStrcct"islamous-
lyobscurc. Mclvillcpublishcditanonymouslyint&;and, likc hismostlamous
novcl,itkncwncxttonosucccssduringhislilctimc.Aptlycnough,nocomplctc
manuscriptolthc copyist's talc hassurvivcd-all that rcmainsis a singlc pagc
containingabriclpassagccopicdoutinAugustaMclvillc'shand.Altcrcopying
out clcvcn lincs olthc story, shclclt ol pcrhaps lrustratcdby an inkblotthat
arrcdhcrclcancopy. 1hcshcctolpapcrsurvivcdinMclvillc'spapcrsbccausc
shclatcrrcuscdittocopyoutlistsoladdrcsscssccMclvillc:p&, -).
|i Notcs
io. ^gamc corrcctly calls artlcby not a scribc ,scri/a but a scrivcncr
,scriaa adistinctionimportanthcrc bccausc ascrisnsrisnotonlyacopyist
butalsoanotaryandthcrcbyamanolthclaw.Mclvillcmakcsthisamplyclcar
byrclcrringto himasa"law-copyistorscrivcncr" Mclvillcip&;,i).
. 1hc two cssays wcrc publishcd togcthcr in Bart/s/ La/rma/ ds//
crsaziasAgambcn and Oclcuzc ipp). Oclcuzc's cssay, "artlcby, or thc For-
mula," is translatcd in Essas Critica/aadC/inica/Oclcuzc ipp;) and thc origi-
nalisloundin Criqasstc/iaiqasOclcuzcipp). AlcxandcrCookcclaimsthat
"thcargumcntsmadcbyOclcuzcandAgambcn,whichcanbcultimatclyunitcd
undcrthcconccptolrcsistancc, lailto accountloran importantclcmcntolthat
whichthcyuncovcrin` artlcby, thcScrivcncr' "andthatCookc calls "thcmUtt-
ria/iolthclaw" Cookc zoo;, &o, cmphascs in original). In Emirs, Mcgri and
Hardt zooi, z, 6, n. i)writcthatartlcby's prclcrcncc" is thcbcginningol
alibcratorypolitics, butitisstillonlyabcginning." In light olAgambcn'sintcr-
cst in thchgurcol artlcbyabovcalllromthcmid-ip&osto thcmid-tppos-it
isintcrcstingtonotcthatthcsixtholthcHarvardlccturcsthatCalvinoplanncd
togivc,andthconlyonchcdidnotlivctowritc,wastotrcatartlcby. Calvino's
daughtcrhas notcdolthis lccturc, "Iknowonlythat itwas to rclcr to Hcrman
Mclvillc's artlcby Calvinoipp,vi).
iz. Itshouldbcrccallcdthat artlcby's rclusalis not only arclusaltowritc.
Itishrstcopyngthathcwouldprclcrnotto do, butasthcstoryprogrcsscs, thc
things hcwouldprclcrnot to do bccomc morc vitalcndingin his prclcrcncc
lornotcating.1hclattcrprclcrcncclcads him inthcwarolattritionhchasbccn
wagingwithan unsccn advcrsaryto his prclcrringsimplynot to bc. n apsy-
chologicallcvcl, itshouldbcnotcdthat artlcbyisgivcnallthc apathctic traits
ola lormolautismas inhis pcrsistcnt "turningaway" lrom his intcrlocutors
ad his prclcrring not to look thcm in thc cycs to his hnal curlingup to lcavc
his lilc Mclvillcip&;, ;) . In latcr works, such as Rsmnantse/Haschaitz, thc
hgurc olautisticwithdrawal isonc that intcrcstsAgambcnmostccntrallythc
hgurc olthc Massmaaatthcrc too it is not thc psychological coordinatcs
thathcstrcsscs.
i . Aviccnna's distinctionsarcbascdon^ristotlc'sprcccdcntscc OathsSea/
izap andMstahsics&a;) .
i From Icibniz's Ihsedic. Agambcnrcturnsto this hgurcinthclatcr ar-
tlcbycssay, aswcllasinanaltcrwordto a Frcnch cditionolStaazasinipp.
i;. 1hc cxtraordinarily rcclusivc lanchotworkcdas a right-wingjournalist
andactivistinthciposandmadchisonlylatcrpublicappcaranccinsupportol
thclclt) inMayip6&.Asconccrnshisprivacy, lanchotgavc no intcrvicws, and
thctwosurvivingphotographsolhim thathavcbccn publishcdarccmblcmatic
thchrst,datinglromaroundipz;,showshimwithtic,spats,andcancpcrchcdon
thctrunkolanautomobilcncxttoancquallyyoungIcvinasandinthccompany
Netcs q;
olanothcr v lricndandtwoladics,thcsccond,lromip&;,isagrainyimagcol
thcagingwcraloncinasupcrmarkctparkinglot
i6. 1hcmassacrcinqucstiontookplacc on|unc(, tp&p, andis customarily
rclcrrcd to by that datc. 1hcrcwcrcprotcsts throughoutMay, but to rclcr to a
"ChincscMay" is tocvokcabovc all thcstudcntprotcstolMay(, tpip. ncrca-
sonlorAgambcn's rclcrcncc appcars to bc thc symmctry with thc Frcnch pro-
tcsts olMayip6&
i;. 1his isbynomcansamattcrolgcncral conscnsus,andwhatcvcrthcpara-
digmaticvalucolthc1iananmcn protcsts andmassacrc,thcrcactionolthcgov-
crnmcnt, howcvcr contcmptiblc, is not a maor anomaly-cspccially givcn thc
thrcats to communismtakingplaccclscwhcrc in thcworldthatycar,aswcllas
domcsticissucssuchashighuncmploymcnt.
i&. n a numbcr oloccasions Agambcn crcdits acts olsovcrcign violcncc
with arcmarkablc dcgrccolintcntionality and "lucidity." Hc uscs virtually thc
samctcrmstodcscribcthissamccvcntinancssayonOcbord"thchincsclcad-
crs actcd, lromthcir point olvicw,withpcrlcctlucidity" MVE &p ;]) . 1hc
clarityascribcd to suchviolcncccanalsobcsccninancssaylromtpp;inwhich
Agambcnrclcrs to thc "lucidlury"withwhich "thcGcrman e//" tricdtolor-
cvcr climinatc thc|cws lrom thc bodypolitic as thc|cws rcprcscntcd an idcn-
titynot bound to thcstatc scc MVE,
1
(
1
(]). In thcsc cascs thc "lucidity"as-
cribcdto acts olstatc-sponsorcdviolcncc dcmands clarihcation. 1his is notthc
calculating lucidity ola brutal Rsae/in/, but a dccpcr lucidity, an instinctivc
rcsponsconthcpartolrcprcscntativcsolthcstatctoclcmcntswithinitthatthcy
havcdilhcultydisciplining, controlling, andpunishing bccausc thosc clcmcnts
rcsist idcntihcation, localization, and subcction. In an articlc trcatingAgam-
bcn's Rsmnantse/Haschai, Oavid idussa crcditsAgambcnwith "aconsidcr-
ablc philosophical scnsibility" anda "rarc capacitylor rchccting onlcxical and
linguistic plancs," but a "ccrtain insulhcicncy on thc analytical planc." Hc lo-
catcs this insulhcicncyincrcditingthcMaziswitha"diabolicalintclligcncc" in
thctrcatmcntolthcirvictims,whcrcas, inhisvicw, itwaslarlcss"intclligcncc"
than"lcrocity"thatwascharactcristicolthcMazis'actionsidussatpp&, u, u).
Althoughthisistruc,itmisscsthc thrustolAgambcn'sargumcntVhcthcrAg-
ambcn isrightconccrningthc rcalityolsuch thoroughgoingordccp "lucidity"
isolcourscanothcrmattcr.
ip. 1hcEnglish translation mistakcnlyrcndcrs mendea/ita/i/sas"ninhab-
itablcwod."
2O. Agambcn hrst rcadOcbordinthcsummcrolip& sccLI, t;). Inascc-
tion lrom Smnscntitlcd "Eclipsc olthc Vork," Agambcn cvokcs thc Situa-
tionists,andinthcycarsthcrcaltcrhcrclcrrcdtoOcbordandhis idcaswithin-
crcasingrcgularityS, ; ) . MotonlydoOcbord's insightsplayarolcin Ihs
CemingCemmani, HemeSacsr, andMsanswtheatEbut thcyalsolcaturc
|r etcs
promincntlyin Agambcn'srcccntbooks,Prs/natisnsandIRsnssa C/sriascc
cspcciallyRG, io-ii,zo)
zi. 1his is an idca that is also lound in an cssay on Ocbord by Iaolo Virn
lrom acollcction cntitlcd ISiaazisnsti,which bcginswith an cssaybyAgam-
bcn) , who strcsscs that in Ocbord's socictyolthcspcctaclc, "languagc prcscnts
itscllat onccasthcarcaolconhictandaswhatisatstakc" Virnii, z). For
ananalysisolthcscmanticrangcand rclations olthctcrmsscta/sas it rclatcs
into thc tcrms ssciss, ssctsr, ssca/am, ssca/tisn, ssciss, andcvcn thc Grcck
sidss,sccIR, 6ill.
zz. Agambcn rclcrs to thc Shckinah in an cssay on cnjamin lrom izin
conncctionwiththcidcaolrcdcmption,andhcrcturnstoittwoycarslatcrinhis
discussion olthcpoctryolIaul Cclaninthccssay"1hc|ustOoMotFccdn
Iight"lrom IhsEnds/thsPssmsccI,i|, i, ) .
z, . 1hc sccond instancc is in thc scholium tothis chaptcr, thc third is i n
MVE, .Agambcnalsorclcrstoi tinpassinginH, i,-i.
z

Elscwhcrc, Agambcn, citingHldcrlin, says ola"lrccuscolthcpropcr"

thatitis"thcmostdilhculttask" I,zo,i ) .
z, AlthoughAgambcndocsnotrclcrtoMictzschci nthisconncction,hi scx-
prcssioncchocs thc lattcr's rclcrcncc, in vitsPsasr, to nihilismas "thismost
uncannyolalgucsts dissanhsim/ichstsnasrCts .''1hatHcidcggcrsinglcs
outandcitcs Mictzschc'scpithctinadiscussion olErnstngcrmakcsitallthc
morc likcythatAgambcnwas lamiliarwith it and had it in mind scc Hcidc-
ggcrGA,

,;) .
z. 1hcEnglishtranslatorsmistranslatcthctcrm sxtrsmshcrcas"tcrminal."
z;. Falsclydatcdaslromi,inthcEnglishtranslation.
z. Hcllcr-Roazcncnds his introduction to Pstsntia/itisswith a rclcrcncc to
this "comingcommunity," which hc dcscribcs as "withoutidcntity, dchncd by
nothing othcr than its cxistcncc in languagc as irrcduciblc, absolutc potcntial-
ity" I, z,) .
z. AltcrarguingthatOcrridahasmisundcrstoodKalka'sparablconthclaw,
Agambcn turns to Ocrrida's misundcrstandingola tcxt that is dccisivc lorAg-
ambcn'sownprojcct. cnj amin's "ForaCritiqucolViolcncc."1hcrcinhcnotcs
Ocrrida's"pcculiarmisundcrstanding"olwhatcnjamincalls "divncviolcncc,"
whichallows Ocrridato comparcitto thc Mazi) "FinalSolution" HS, ;, ).
IikcGculcn, bothMillsandMarchartalsosccOcrridaandAgambcnhrstpart
thcorcticalways atthispoint scc Mills zoo,,o-,;andMarchartzoo;, io). In
hcrcssayon undccidabilityin OcrridaandAgambcn, ElkcIachcrt,zoo;)docs
nottraccthis rclationlarthcrbackthanto HsmsSacsr.
,o. Amorcclcar-cutphilologicalrcproach is alsoloundin amuchlatcrtcxt,
"Fricndship," inwhichAgambcnrccountshavingdiscusscdwithOcrrida,whcn
thclattcrwaswritingthcbookthatbccamc IhsPs/incss/Fsnh,thcphrasc
Netcs (i
"ohlricnds,thcrcarcnolricnds"ehi/ei, eadsuhi/es) lromOiogcncsIacrtius
Liosse/thsPhi/esehsrs,whichwas to bccomcthcmottoolOcrrida's book.Ag-
ambcnrclatcshowhisintcrcstwaspiqucdbythcirdiscussionandhowhctookit
upon himscllto traccthisrcmarkcitcdby, amongmanyothcrs,Montaigncand
Mictzschc,backto itssourcc,withthccuriousrcsultthathcloundinOiogcncs
Iacrtiusthatthcrcmarkwasthcrcsultolancrrorandthatthcoriginalcontains
a dillcrcnt statcmcnt-onc lcttcr dicrcnt-a an ietaaltcr thc emsga| hi/ei,
eadsuhi/es"hcwho has many) lricnds,has nolricnd."1hatwhichMontaignc
andMictzschccitcisancrrorthathadalrcadybccncorrcctcdbyascvcntccnth-
ccntury Swiss philologist, Isaac asaubon, and that ncvcrthclcss continucd to
circultc scc F, ). "Sincc I had immcdiatcly inlormcd Ocrrida olthc rcsults
olmy rcscarch," Agambcn writcs, "Iwas astonishcd, whcn his bookwas pub-
lishcd. . . nottohndthcrcanytraccolthcproblcm. Ilthcmotto-apocryphal
according to modcrn philologists-appcarcd thcrc in its original lorm, itwas
ccrtainlynotoutollorgctlulncss" butwas "csscntial to thcbook's stratcgy" F,
).Agambcniswrongto bcastonishcd,howcvcr, asthcrcisindccdaclcartracc
olthisproblcminOcrrida'sbook. Ocrridaraiscsthcpossibilitythatthcvcrsion
hcuscsolthcrcmarkmayhavcrcsultcdlrom"thcbiasolacopyistorarcadcrin
ahurry" andthanksagroup ol"lricnds" amongwhom hgurcs "GiorgioAgam-
bcn" scc Ocrrida ipp, zo& z; and zz; z;i] sccalso SamuclVcbcr zoo;,
ioz) othVcbcrandVorthamlocusonqucstionsollricndship, philoso-
phy, andundcrstandingasthcyarcraiscdinAgambcn'scssay"Fricndship" and
inOcrridasPe/iticse/risnhsccVcbcrzoo;andVorthamzoo;).
i. Agambcnclaboratcs inthatcssay. "Asphonologyandstructuralismhavc
shown, mctaphysicscandowithoutthcsuprcmacyolthcvoicc. . . . Vhatiscs-
scntialtothcmctaphysicalprojcctisthatthcrcbca/eges,anintcrlacingol knowl-
cdgcandspccch butitisollittlcimportanccwhcthcrthis /egesislocatcdinthc
voicc,inwriting, orinanunconscious" IS, i6).
z. AsAttcllhaspointcdout,thiscriticismrcstsonthcdcbatablcassumption
thatOcrridas dcconstructionistobcundcrstoodasasurpassingolmctaphysics
altcrthclashionolHcidcggcrsccAttcllzoo6).
. Vhatisatissuchcrcisolcourscnothinglcss thanadchnitionolmcssian-
ism.Foratrcatmcntolthisqucstion,sccChaptcr1cn.
. Ocrrida's dcconstruction is also comparcd to Foucault's archcology as
wcll as to Mictzschc's gcncalogyandcnj amin's dialcctical imagc) in l Rsgnes
/C/eiasccRG,i6).
;. In arcccnt intcrvicwAgambcnspokc olwaysinwhich "pornographyhas
madcitimpossiblctodistinguishscxualityasapublicoraprivatcmattcr"FVF,
;). nthcrclatcdlcvclolthccroticwordas opposcd to thccroticimagc),Ag-
ambcnhasshownasingularintcrcstinthccroticpocticsolthctroubadors.1hc
study, morc broadly, olthc latcnt and manilcst croticism ollanguagc is omc
zo Netcs
thingthatAgambcnadmircdin thcworkolIacan. Agambcnrcpcatcdlysinglcs
outIacanlorhissharp-sightcdanalyscsolthccroticsollanguagc-scc,loronc
such instancc, IS, 6o). Inancssaylromip;pAgambcndcscribcshowthcMid-
dlcAgcsoltcn"assimilatcdscxualandgrammaticalrulcs,scxualpcrvcrsionsand
grammaticalviolations",thcmystcriouslytitlcdcssay"Corn"lrom IhsEnde/ths
Pesmtrcatsrclatcdmattcrs IS, "Laare/sti/sasrs,"i;6).
6. CcsarcCasarinohaswrittcnol"thcclcctivcalhnitybctwccnpornography
andcommunism"as a"political-philosophicalconundrumthat comcs to haunt
thcwritings olGiorgioAgambcn," and hc suggcsts, lor his own part, what hc
calls a"pornocairology"asan clcmcntinitssolutionsccCasarinozooz, izoll.).
;. Ocbord's stratcgic activitics wcrc not, olcoursc, limitcd to hiswritings,
andhcwcntthclurthcrstcpolgoingundcrgroundandcngaginginwhathcsaw
as gucrillarcvolutionaryactivityin ItalyandSpain.1ohonc hisstratcgic skills
Ocbord alsodcvotcda grcatdcal oltimc andcncrgyto thcdcvclopmcntolhis
GamcolVarsccVarkzoo&) .
&. 1hc translational dilhculty prcscntcd by thc Italian wordetsn, and
byOcbord's Frcnch tcrmausancs,which corrcspondsto it, is also sccn hcrc. In
English, thc translator can choosc cithcr thc blunt and lorccluleasror thc at
timcsabstractsoundingetsntia/i, but thcrc isno rcady tcrm at his orhcr dis-
posalthatconnotcsalusingolthctwothatiscxprcsscdbythcFrcnchausancs
and thc Italianetsnza which isat thchcart, lorAgambcn, olOcbord's stratc-
giccllort.
p. othmcnwcrc carlychampions olValscr'swork. Inatouchingturnol
phrasc,cnjaminonccwrotc olValscr'sscntcnccs, "SickommcnindcrMacht,
wo sic am schwrzcstcn ist, cincr vcnczianischcn, wcnn man will, von drlti-
gcn Iampions dcr Hollnungcrhclltcn, mit ctwas FcstglanzimAugc, abcr vcr-
strtund zumVcincntraurig"cnj aminGS, .z6).AgambcnrclcrstoValscr
notonlyin IhsCemingCemmanibutalsoin Pre/natienssccIR, i).Anton
Schtz zooo) asks, "Is Agambcns hemesacsrhis heme wasr" ii). Formorc
onAgambcn'srclationtoValscr'swriting,sccIlugzoo;. Foranastoundinglyapt
commcntaryonValscr'sart,sccMirrazoo&.
o. Agambcn also citcs this rcmark without quotation marks) in an cssay
lrom ip&o sccII, ;p).
LJV 6
. SpccdandlightncssplayaccntralrolcinthcHarvardlccturcsthatCalvino
livcdtowritcbutnottogivc sccCalvinoipp).
z. 1his cssay is cntitlcd "Comcdy." InitAgambcn traccs how Oantc aban-
doncdhis "tragic" projcct loracomic" oncwithhis DioinsCemsd. Hcargucs
that Oantc's choicc oltitlc and gcnrc, contraryto what occaccio was to lcad
Netcs (z
manygcncrationsolrcadcrstobclicvc,hadtodonotwiththc"vulgar"languagc
inwhich Oantc chosc to writc, but, as Oantc himscllindicatcs in thc lcttcr to
Cangrandc,withthcmovcmcntolthcpocm lrom "harsh" and"horriblc atits
outsctto "prospcrous, dcsirablc, andplcasant"atitscnd "Insolarasitisacom-
cdy,'writcsAgambcn,"thcpocmis. . . anitincrarylromguilttoinnoccnccand
notlrominnoccncctoguilt" LI,& iz] ) .
. Itbcarsrccalling,howcvcr, tatanimalswcrcnotinlrcqucntlybroughtto
ccclcsiastical) trial during thc MiddlcAgcs, whcncascs arc on rccord olrats,
lccchcscocks,horscs,sows,andothcranimalsbcingbroughttojusticc.SccRal
zoo6.
. ItbcarsnotingthatAgambcnoltcnrcturnstothctcrms crsatorsand nsa
crsamrsin subscqucntworks. 1hc "ncwcrcaturc" cvokcd at thc cnd olAgam-
bcn's cssay"artlcby, ornContingcncy" provcstobcacitationwithoutquo-
tationmarkslromIaul'sSccondLcttcrtothcCorinthiansandisalsocvokcdin
IhsmsIhatRsmains.Aswcwillsccinalatcrchaptcr,thctcrm crsamrsplays
accntralrolcin IhsOsn.
;. 1his Lnglish translation by Ccsarc Casarino hrstappcarcd inirno and
Hardt ipp6. CasarinoiscotranslatorolAgamcn'sMsanswitheatEnd, andhis
translationolthiscssay"Form-ol-Lilc") isrcproduccdthcrcin.
6. Ldmund|cphcott translatcs cnjamin's phrasc not as "barc lilc" but as
"mcrclilc"scccnjaminip;;b zp;). "1hcCritiqucoliolcncc"wascomposcd
alongsidc two othcrcssays thathavc bccn lost-onc tcllingly cntitlcd lorAg-
ambcn's intcrcstinHemeSacsr "Lilcandiolcncc Ls/snandCsaa/t| ,"which
cnjaminnotcd ina lcttcr olApril ipzo, was "writtcnlrommy hcart" thcscc-
ondcssay "1hc1rucIolitician DisaahrsPe/in/sr ,"containcdorwastocon-
tainchaptcrs alsosuggcstivcolAgambcn'slatcrintcrcsts)bcaringthctitlcs"1hc
OismantlingoliolcnccH//aadsrCsaa/t| "and"1clcologyithoutLnd -
e/egsehnsEndzasc/|" scccnjaminGS, z. p).AlthoughAgambcndocs not
rclcrtothcbackgroundolthissingulartcrm'shrstappcaranccandthclosttcxts
thatmarkit, thcrccanbcnodoubtthathcwasawarcolthcm.
;. Agambcn rcturns to "thc ambivalcncc olthctcrm sacsin I/sacramsnte
ds/ /ingaeSI,zo). jakangaszoo;a,io)wronglyclaimsthatgambcnsccs
noambivalcnccinthcoriginalmcaningolthcsacrcd."
&. Agambcnnotcdinip&;thatinthclaccolthcncwattcntionto,honorslor,
andstudyolArcndt'swork,hclclt"ascnscolirrcparablcdclay, olahistoricalop-
portunitythathadbccnmisscd"IGA,)Spcakingmorcgcncrally,Agambcn
hasrcmarkcdthat"thchistoryolItalianculturcisahistoryolmisscdopportu-
nitics"AA,xxxiv).
p. Foucault'sowndcvclopmcntolthosc idcascanbctraccdtohiscarlicrwrit-
ings on handsnrmsmsntand to his "gcncalogical" analyscs olhow, in thc
modcrn cra, statcshavc comc to concc thcmsclvcs cvcr morc intcnsivclywith
|zz Notcs
hithto ncglcctcd or ignorcdaspcctsolthclivcs olthcircitizcnupto andin
cludingthcirbiologicalcxistcncc.AsFoucaultshowcdinascricsolstudicslrom
IhsBirths/thsC/inicto Disc/insandPanish,modcrnstatcshavcincrcasingly
locusscd thcir cncrgics and attcntions on thc biological bcing, hcalth, and hy-
gicnc olthcir citizcns. Institutions such as thc prison and thc asylum ollcrcd
Foucaultprivilcgcdsitcs lromwhichto obscrvcthccmcrgcnccolthisbiopoliti-
calparadigmandthcwaysthatmodcrnindividualscamctosccthcmsclvcsas,in
morcways thanonc,subjcctsolthcstatc.
io. 1his cssaywas originallypublishcd in a collcctivcworkalongsidc cssays
byAlainadiouand can-IucMancy.Inthcbook'sprclacc,itscditorlaconically
summarizcs its rationalc. "1his bookwas born ola prolound dissatislaction
bordcringonragcwithcontcmporarypoliticaldiscoursc" anardiipp,;).
. InancssaylromzoozAgambcnrclcrstothcdistinctionbctwccnrightand
lcltasoncthathas"ccascdto havcanymcaning" MSIV, &) .
iz. ElscwhcrcAgambcntalks olFoucault'sdccisiontolcavclawto thcsidc in
lavorolwhatthclattcrconsidcrcdmorc "concrctc" mattcrs IOV).
i . 1hc lormcr tcrm archcology) is trcatcd at various points inAgambcn's
rcccntwritings, mostpromincntlyinthcthirdandhnalchaptcrolSignatarars
ram,cntitlcdIhilosophicalArchcology" SG, &z) .Asitstitlcindicatcs,`r-
chcolgiadiunarchcologia" trcats thctopicatlcngth scccspcciallyAA,xviiixx-
iv).Agambcns mostrcccntwork, I/sacramsntsds/ /inga_is, conccivcs olitscll
asaphilosophicalarchcoglogyolthcidcaolswcaringoaths" SI, ) .1hclattcr
tcrm gcncalogy),whichFoucaultlamouslyborrowcdlromMictzschc,alsohnds
avarictyoltrcatmcntsinAgambcnsworkandcvcnappcarsinthcsubtitlcolIart
z. zolHsmsSacsr aarda Ihss/sgca/Csnsa/sgs/EcsnsmandCsosrnmsnt.
Agambcnnotcsatthatbooksoutsct, "1his work. . . lollowsinthcwakcolMi-
chcl Foucault's rcscarch on thc gcncalogy olgovcrnmcnt andgovcrnanccwhilc
also sccking to undcrstandwhy itwas ncvcr complctcd" RG, p). n a critical
notc, Mcal zoo6) claims thatAgambcnrcads Foucaultstructurallyrathcrthan
gcncalogically" p). Rclatcdly, Ross zoo&) hnds thatAgambcn's "approach rc-
vcrscsFoucault'sasccndingmcthodologyandlcavcsustoaskwhatthcrcasoning
lromcxtrcmcinstanccstcllsusaboutthcholdolAgambcn'sanalysisonthcphc-
nomcnaitwishcstodccodc" 6).
i. Iatton argucs that Foucault's analyscs alrcady containcd thcsc clcmcnts,
albcitinsomcwhatindircctlorm sccIattonzoo;,zi).
i;. Sccalso

ick'srcmarkinanintcrvicwlromthclollowingycar. "ForAg-
ambcn thcrcisnoplacclorthcdcmocraticprojcctolrcncgotiatingthclimitthat
scparatcs lullcitizcns lrom homo saccr bygradually allowing thcirvoiccs to bc
hcard,rathcr,hispointisthat,intoday'spostpolitics,thcvcrydcmocraticpublic
spaccisamaskconccalingthclactthat,ultimatcly,wcarcallhsmssacsr"

ick
zoo,p).Inanintcrvicwconductcdaycarlatcr,

ickclaimcdthat"Agambcn's
Netes (z]
basicinsisthclollowing.it'snot` dcmocracywillbcabolishcdandwcwillrc-
turn to somc cmcrgcncy statc' it'sthatwchavctwo apparcntlyopposcdtcndcn
cicstoday. nthconc hand, wchavcso-callcdbiopolitics, that istosay, morc
andmorcourlivcsarccontrollcdthroughstatcmcchanismsnthcothcrhand,
wchavcwhatrightwingcrs usuallyrclcr to asalibcral, cxtrcmc narcissism, this
`culturc olcomplaint' or `culturc olvictimization' "

ick 2O, y~|) lsc-

whcrc

ickhaslormulatcdhisidcasonthcheminsssacridicrcntlywritingthat
"today, asatcrmdcnotingcxclusion, hemesacsr canbcsccntoapplynotonly
to tcrrorists, butalsotothoscwho arconthcrcccivingcndolhumanitarianaid
Rwandans, osnians,Alghans),aswcllastothcSansFapicrsinFranccandthc
inhabitantsolthclavclasinrazilorthcAlricanAmcricanghcttocsinthc S
Conccntration camps and humanitarian rclugcc camps arc, paradoxically, thc
twolaccs, ` inhuman'and human,'oloncsociologicalmatrix"

ickzooza, t).
nancssaylromthatsamcycar,Moys also rclatcshumanitarianintcrvcntionsto
Agambcn's idcaol "barclilc" sccMoyszooz, ;).
i6. nalootnotcto "GiorgioAgambcnandthcSpatialiticsolthc Camp A
ntroduction,'' Ekrcmarks, "n prcparationlor this articlc, rcrcad HemeSacsr
during a lamilyvacation visiting lamilyoricntcd, hcavily populatcd Swcdish]
sun rcsortsandthcmcparkssuchasnc ` buggyland'or`trollcyland' ).
hilcmychildrcnAmandaandAlcxandcr, happilyunawarcthatthcyarcalso
potcntialhsminsssacridrovcclcctrihcdtrollcyslorhours,myrcadingolAgam-
bcnbccamcmorcintcnscandmorcclariing" Ekzoo6,,,n. zz).
i;. ^lthough Agambcn nowhcrc rclcrs to this cssay, givcn that it was hrst
publishcdinaipzcommcmorativcvolumcdcdicatcdto thcmcmoryolcnja-
minmakcsitccrtainthatAgambcnwaslamiliarwithit.FormorconAgambcn's
rclationtoAdorno,sccChaptcrs Fourand1cn.
i&. ^lthoughhcollcrsnocxamplcs,IaCaprapcrhapshasinmindsuchstatc-
mcnts as Ocrrida's i/na d'hsrs-tsxts, arthcs's "thc dcath olthc author,''
Iacan's "thcrc arc no scxual rclations,'' or Moniquc ittig's "alcsbian is not a
woman." For adillcrcntvicwolthis qucstion, sccilliamFlcsch's rcmark that
"thc cascwithwhich translation canyicld mock-prolundityhas bccn a hazard
lor Englishrcadcrsollanchot,Icvinas,andAgambcnaspcrhapshasbccnth
nativccascwithwhichFrcnchandtalianspcakcrsmayrcadthcm).1hcstylistic
inlclicityolthcEnglishlanguagclor thcirkindolwritinghasnotinlrcqucntly
tcndcdtoyicldinthcirlollowcrsakindolcmptysloganccring, a claim tosomc
knowlcdgcdillcrcntlromthcgrcctccricclaritysocsscntialtowhatthcyarcsay-
ing" Flcschi, ixx).
i. 1his gcncalogicalpointisstrcsscdinthchrstpartolSiatorarsrumscc
cspccially~,|
zo. SccIOIKA,i6 SR, i&l
(z( etcs
zi . It bcars noting that Mcgri 's co-author lor both La/srsDisnsasipp)
and Emirszooo) Michacl Hardt, raiscs a dillcrcnt objcction to this point in
Agambcn'swork Myhcsitationwiththisvicwisthatbyposingthccxtrcmccasc
olthcconccntrationcampasthchcartolsovcrcigntyittcndstoobscurcthcdaily
violcnccolmodcrnsovcrcigntyinallitslorms. Itimplics, inothcrwords,thatil
wccoulddoawaywiththccampthcnallthcviolcnccolsovcrcigntywouldalso
disappcar" HardtandOummzooo,ii;).Hardtcontinucs. 1hcmostsignih-
cant dillcrcccbctwccnourproj ccts, though, isthatAgambcndwclls onmod-
crn sovcrcigntywhcrcaswc claim thatmodcrnsovcrcigntyhasnowcomc to an
cndandtranslormcdinto ancwkind olsovcrcignty, whatwc callimpcrialsov-
crcignty. Impcrial sovcrcignty has nothingto do with thc conccntration camp.
It no longcr takcs thc lorm oladialccticbctwccn Sclland thcrand docs not
lunction through anysuch absolutc cxclusion, butrulcs rathcrthrough mccha-
nismsoldillcrcntial inclusion, making hicrarchics olhybrididcntitics. 1his dc-
scription may not immcdiatcly givcyou thc samc scnsc olhorror thatyou gct
lromAuschwitzandthcMaziIagcr, but impcrial sovcrcigntyisccrtainlyjust as
brutalasmodcrnsovcrcigntywas, andithasitsownsubtlcandnotsosubtlchor-
rors" ,i;i6) .
zz AsconccrnsthcqucstionoldctcrminisminAgambcn'sthought,Iaclauis
rcspondingto an clcmcnt that has pcrplcxcdcvcn thcmostwcll-disposcdolhis
rcadcrs. Formorc on thisqucstion,scc Goisiszoo;|ohns zoo; Khuranazooz,
zoo; andMorriszoo;.
z Morris clcarly has in mind thc lollowing rcmark lrom Rsmnants s
aschaitz Simply to dcny thc Massmann'humanitywould bcto acccpt thc
vcrdictolthcSS andto rcpcatthcirgcsturc" RA,6 ;;] ).
z. Alongsidc Foucault's intcrcsting books, Agambcn clcarly has in mind,
amongothcrs, Marc loch's LssRsisthaamatargss ipz) and Ernst Kantorow-
icz's IhsKing IasBsdissip;;).
z;. Inarcccntcssay, Agambcn spcaks olthc cpistcmologcal civilwar" rag-
ingbctwccnlogicandanalogythathchndscxpcrtlytrcatcdinthcworkolEnzo
Mclandri,whoscworkhcrclatcsto Foucault sccAA).
z6. Althoughthis comparison mayhclpAgambcn'srcadcrbcttcrundcrstand
thc logical structurc olhis paradigms, it is lar lrom clcar that Kant's cxamplc
hclps his casc. Agambcn's account is pcrlcctly accuratc, and pcrccptivc, but it
also risks cquating assthsticcatcgorics with sistsms/sgca/oncs. For Agambcn
thcrcisnorulcthatgovcrnswhichthingsinagivcncnscmblccanbccomcpara-
digms, butcomparingthcirsclcctionto thcincllablcpcrccptionolartisticbcau-
tyisnotthcmostrcassuringparallcllorskcpticalrcadcrs.Anadditionalpointol
potcntialmisundcrstandingisthatalthoughAgambcnprcscntshisparadigmsas
amcans to thccndolundcrstandingagivcnhistoricalstructurcoraltcrnatcly,
ourprcscntsituation"works olart, lollowingKant,whcn thcyarcpcrccivcd
Netes (z;
asbcautilul, arcpcrccivcdassuchindcpcndcntlyolanyconsidcrationsoluscor
cnd.
z;. I discussthisidcaindcpthinChaptcrMinc dcvotcdtoAgambcn'sStats
e/cstien).
z&. runo Gul zoo;, zzt) calls this chaptcr "philosophicallyspcaking, thc
strongcst and most philosophically intcrcsting chaptcr olHemeSacsr, but hc
limits himscllto summarizing Aristotlc's conccption olpotcntiality. homas
Oochcrty's account zooz, z) gocs no larthcr, nor docs Carlo Sinis though
it docs add a Hcidcggcrian gloss to Aristotlc's idcas onpotcntialityas invokcd
byAgambcn scc Sini tpp6,pl). Colin cuillan zo;) admirablycngagcs
with thc rcsponscs olMcgri,

ick, and utlcron qucstions aboutthcintcrscc

tion olcthics, political thcory, and an ontology olpotcntiality. lisc uidoni
tpp&)approachcsthcqucstionolotcntialitynotinthcclassicallyphilosophical
tcrmscmploycdbyAgambcnbutinstcadintcrmsolapsychoanalticallyincct
cd thcory ollanguagc. In arclatcdvcin, Kalliopi Mikolopoulou ,zoo) claims
that "Agambcnwishcs to tcrminatcthcdialccticolpotcntialityand actuality,
butocs notultimatclyclariwhatsort olwishthisis. ComparingAgambcnto
Frcud,Mikolopoulou ultimatclyjudgcsthat"dcspitcAgambcn'sprcrcncclora
nonpsychologicaldcscriptionolthcstrugglclhumanlilcagainstcxtcrnalpow
cr, HemeSacsrtoo is hauntcd by its own ocdipal conlrontations-in this casc,
withthccstcrnpoliticaltraditionitwishcstoovcrcomcinordcrto gcncratca
ncwpolitics" tz;,tt).
zp. Somcwhatmorc rarcly, criticshavctakcn up thc qucstion olAgambcn's
gcncalogyolthcidcaolsacra/i, ashas|can-Ihillipc Guinlc tpp;,vivii,who
claims that Agambcn docs not sulhcicntly cmphasizc thc propcrly Christian
sacralisation ollilc-particularly in thc cascs olthc hgurcs olAugustinc and
Iaul.
o. Virn's intcrcstinAristotlc's catcgorics olpotcntialityandactualityand
thcirrclationtopoliticalqucstionsissccnatanumbcrolpoints.Sccinarticu-
larVirnotppp.Agambcnbricydistinguishcshisvisionolthcpotcntialityolthc
pastlromVirnosinSR,to6.
t. Mcgris zooz rcpublication olI/etsrs cesntusntscontains rcsponscs to
both Agambcn's criticisms and thosc ol

ticnnc alibar. Mcgri brings togcth

crAgambcn's rcscrvationswith alibar's vcrydillcrcnt) objcctions, noting that
"constitucntpowcr. . . prcscntsitscllasapowcrlulsingularitythatcannotbcrc-
duccdto thcunrclcntingrcpctitionsolthccrgsoniancrcativcandconstitutivc
lunctionsasalibarwantsorattractcdtoitsdominccringoppositc,sovcrcignty,
asAgambcnwants pcrhaps in scarcholanontological altcrity, barclilc, which
soundslikcanutopiancscapc Mcgrizooz,tocitcdandtranslatcdbyMiclson
zo,6p) Miclsonobscrvcsthat"cvcninthcintroductiontothczoozrcissuc ol
I/etsrscesnmsnts, whcrc Mcgri conlronts thc criticisms olHemeSacsrdircct
|z Netcs
ly, thcrcisarcluctancc to cngagcpaticntlywithAgambcn'sargumcnt" Miclson
zoo, 6p). MiclsoncompcllinglyargucsthatAgambcnandMcgri, thcn, dcspitc
thcirinccssantcross-rclcrcncing,rcadpastcachothcr" ;i)
z. Asiscvidcnccdinavarictyolworks, ataillcisadccisivcthinkcrlorAg-
ambcn, but not in thosc rcalms and in associationwith thosc tcrms and topics
withwhichhcismostcommonlylinkcd.Itisthcidcaoldesaorsmsnt tatmost
intcrcstsAgambcn,whcrcas ataillc'smorclamousconccptionsolsrencumand
intsriersxsrisncs, aswcllashisidcaolthc sacrsd, arconcsthatAgambcndocs
nothndparticularlylruitlul and, inthccascolthclattcr, criticizcs Foratrcat-
mcnt olthc sacrsdas it ariscs inAgambcn's work and tha strcsscs its distancc
lromataillc'sprcoccupationwiththissamctcrm,sccGrottanclliipp6,&;po
ForAgambcn'svicwson ataillc'sidcaolseosrsi,sccIS
. Connolly'sownproposcdsolutioniswhathccalls rcncgotiatingthccthos
olsovcrcigntyto mcsh morc smoothlywith a culturc oldccp pluralism" Con-
nollyzoo;,z&) .
. AlistthatAgambcn'sincrprctcrsconsistcntlyupdatc, lrom

ick'szooz)
inclusion oltcrrorists and rccipicnts olhumanitarian aid to Claudio Minca's
zoo6,&;) discussionolthccascolthc razilianclcctriciankillcdbythc ritish
policc inthcIondonLndcrgroundonulyzz, zoo;.
; Foratrcatmcntolthcatoncc disturbing"andprovocativc"proximityol
Agambcn'sidcasolbarclilcandlorm-ol-lilc,aswcllashowthconcisacountcr-
hgurc"lorthcothcr, scc Khuranazoo;, zl
6. Scc alsoAgambcn's rcmarks onthcrcappcaranccolconccntrationcamps
inthc lormcrYugoslavia in thc cssay Vhat Is a Camp` "hrst publishcd aycar
bclorcHemeSacsrsccMVE,q oi] ) .
;. SccMichacl Oillon's claim that `gambcn takcs Foucault's account ol
biopolitics away lrom historandrclocatcsit inthcccntcrol. . . kcydctcrmi-
nantsolpoliticalphilosophy," aswcllas thatthckcypointoldisputcwithAg-
ambcnis thcn ontologisationvcrsushistoricisation" Oillonzoo;,&, z).
&. Agambcn givcs no cxamplcs hcrc, but onc might bc lound in thc gcnc-
alogy olsovcrcignty hc traccs in Heme Sacsr. Anothcr, morc subtlc historical
shadowmightbcloundinthclinkAgambcndrawsinalatcrinstallmcntolthc
HemeSacsrprojcctbctwccnFoucault's discussion olpunishmcntundcrthcHn
cisnrgmsandAquinas's trcatmcnt olthc qucstion olwhcthcr thc blcsscd scc
and cxpcricncc pitylor thc sullcringolthcdamncd RG, i&i&z)Agambcnrc-
lcrsto Foucault's imagcolthcshadowcastbythcprcscntontothcpastagainin
CCC, z&.
p Iatton'sdcscriptionolthcrclationshipbctwccnthctwothinkcrsinclincs
in this dircction. In thc cnd," hc writcs, thc dillcrcncc bctwccn Agambcn's]
approachandthatolFoucaultisnotsomuchamattcrolcorrcctionandcomplc-
tionasachoiccbctwccncpochalconccptsol biopoliticsandbarclilcandamorc
Netcs (z)
hncgraincd,contcxtual,andhistoricalanalysis"Fattonzoo;,zt&). Malcomull
claims that "although Agambcn] takcshiscxamplcsandtcrminologylromhis
rcconditcrcadinginlcgalhistory,hisconccptualisationolthcstatcolcxccption
owcs morc to twcnticthccnturyphilosophy-to cnamin, Ocrrida and adi-
ou-thantoRomanlaw"ull z,;).1hatcnaminisadccisicinucnccin
thismattcrissomcthingaboutwhichAgambcncouldhardlybcmorccxplicit
althoghitiscnjamin'sradicalrclormulationolSchmitt'sconccptionthatmost
intrigucsAgambcn,andcomparcdto it,thcrolcsplaycdbyOcrridaandadiou
arcminor.VhcthcrRomanlawandthcguidinghgurcolthchemesacsrarctruly
lcssimportantlorAgambcn'sspcculationsisanopcnqucstion andapointthat
ulldocsnotargucsomuchasstatc
CHAPTB ;
i. "Mobodybcarswitncss lorthcwitncss. "
z. SccAdorno'srcmarkthat"thcimplausibilityolthcMazis' ]actionsmadcit
casytodisbclicvc. . . whatnooncwantcdtobclicvc"Adornotp;to&t&] ). Mi-
chaclVoodlinksAdorno's rcmarks withLcvi's "waragainstmcmory," glossing
thcirsharcdimportas "1his couldn'tbchappcning, pcoplcthought. Lcn asit
washappcning,itcouldn'tbchappcning.Andwhcnithadhappcncd,itcouldn't
havchappcncd" Voodzoo;, ;z).
. Agambcnrccountshow, atthcItalianpublishinghouscLinaudiwhcrcAg-
ambcnalsoworkcd,Lcviwouldcxprcss uncascaboutbcingthcauthorolworks
havingnothingto dowithhiscxpcricnccinthccamps, butshowasortolgrim
satislactionconccrningthcworksthatdidtcstilyto thatcxpcricncc.AsLcihas
saidclscwhcrc,"IamatpcaccwithmyscllbccauscIborcwitncss"scck, t6t;
t;] ) .
. From Colcridgc's "1hc RimcolthcAncicntMarincr," lincs ;&z&;. Lci
cxplicitlylikcns himscllto thcancicnt marincr olColcridgc's rimcclscwhcrc in
hisworkscctpp;, i).
;. 1hcstoryolamcmbcroloncsuch Sendsr/emmanwho survicdanas-
tonishing hc such "sclcctions" inAuschwitzlromApril tpz toanuaryt;is
lound in Filip Mllcr's EsaitnsssHuschaitz Ihrss ars in ths CCham/srs
tpp) andrccordcdbyClaudc Lanzmanninthchlm Sheahtp&;).
6. InIn/nandHote,Agambcnstrcsscsthcdilhcultics olcxprcssingcx-
pcricnccsrss. In an cssaylrom tp6, hcrcturns to thc qucstion, but this timc
cmploys thc tcrminologyolainsssing, rclcrring to a "suspicion rcgardingour
ownwitncssing" andto thcscnscthatit sccmcdasil"nothingolwhatwchavc
licdthrough duringthcsc ycars authorizcsustospcak" ML,Z p; ).
;. Inadiscussionol Agambcn'srclationtolcgalthought,Schtz,zoo) sccsa
point olproximitywithFoucault, claimingthatFoucault's "anti-uridomsclcar-
lydctcrmincs his approach to history" tz;). Conccrning Faul, uyOacnport
z Notcs
ipp) claimsthatbclorcIaul'sconvcrsionwhcn hc wasaIharisccnamcdSaul)
"hcwas somcthinglikcanEichmannwhcnwchrstscchim. . . . Hcwasazcalot,
apcdantinthclaw" ;) . Iaulmayhavcbccndcvotcdto thclaw, butcomparing
him to Eichmann issurclymislcading, andAgambcn'svision olIaul'srclation
to thclawislar morcnuanccd. IikcMictzschcbclorc him, OavcnportsccsIaul
prcaching agospcl oldclcrral "Iaul rclocatcd this rcturn olChrist] inhistori-
caltimcandmadcChristianityaprcparationlorthclullcstlilc,rathcrthanthc
lullcstlilc itscll" ipp6, ;o] ) , whichisthcoppositcolthcmcssianicmcssagcthat
Agambcn hnds thcrcin.
&. Agambcnrclcrs toCclaninanumbcrolworks, lromIda e/Pressto Ihs
Ende thsPesmto this onc.Apparcntlyunwarcolthis lact,McsnardandKahan
zooi)hndthatAgambcnis"strangclysilcnt"conccrningCclanioz).
p. IntcrncdinOachauanduchcnwaldlromip&p,runocttclhcimwas
to baschisanalyscsolinlantilcautismonthcinduccdautismhcvicwcdinsuch
hgurcs, hc writcs that "adcscription olprisoncrbchavior in thc camps] would
amountto acatalogucolschizophrcnicrcactions" cttclchimip;,6) .
io. Agambcn appcars to miss that thisEichmann's ncologism kadaosr

s
hsram "obcdicnt likc a corpc"was in all probability a slip ol his awkward
tonguc hc was a notoriouslylimitcd spcakcrto thc point that

rcndt spccu-
latcs thathc mighthavcsullcrcd lrom somc lorm ol"aphasia") adsr

sheram
isstandard militaryparlancc lorobcdicncc to asupcrior olhccr ,

sheramobc-
dicnt, to a adsr, somconc ola highcr rank) . In Eichmann's casc, thosc ordcrs
conccrncd thcamassingolcorpscs might casilyhavc bccomc conloundcdinhis
cloudcdmind.
II. FormorconthisqucstionsccScholiumI I to thischaptcr.
iz. Adorno makcs asimilarpoint ina scction olhisNs

atiosDm/scncscnti-
tlcd`ltcrAuschwitz,"whcrchcargucsthatthrough"thcmurdcrolmillionsby
administrativc mcans . . . thcrc isnolongcranypossibilitythatdcath mightin
somcwaybchttingto thccxpcricnccdlilcolthcindividual" Adorno GS, 6.;;,
scalso. 6l).
i . In this conncction scc also Ialladino's zoo) discussion ol`gambcn's
apocalypticvision andpassivc rcsponsc" o).
i. 1hcy also sccAgambcn's usc olthc Mass/mannas part olthc "common
usagcolthcrcprcscntativcvictim"cmploycdbyavastarrayolauthorsandorga-
nizationswith thcsidccllcctol "conccalinganclcmcnt olthc rcalvictimization
andcloudingan undcrstandingolwhattookplacc" Mcsnard and Kahan zooi,
o) AnoppositcvicwisvoiccdbyHumphrcyszoo6),whohndsthat"Agambcn's
rclusal to cxaminc thc minutiacollcgal andjurisprudcntial dcvclopmcnts may
instcadcnablchimto locussquarclyon thc substrataolj uridico-politicalcvolu-
tion" 6&;).
Netcs (zp
t;. HcrcthcLnglishtranslationrcndcrsoe/srsinthcscnscoldcsiring"want")
rathcrthaninthctcrmsthatMictzschccmploysandAambcnlollows "will").
t6. IaCaprawritcsthat"howcvcroncmayrcspondtothisundcrstandinol
shamcasAgambcncmploysitIthinkitdivcrtsattcntionlromsocialintcraction
andcthicopolitical issucs) , oncmay insist thatthcnonapplicabilityolvalucs or
norms with rcspcct to thc Mass/mannwould bc primarily thc rcsponsibilityol
thcpcrpctrators, anditisonlylroma qucstionablyskcwcdpcrspcctivc thatthc
Mass/manncouldbcinvokcdtoinvalidatcthcm"IaCaprazoo, t;p).
t;. at-Ami ar nzooz) chargcsAgambcnhcrcwithsimplyappropriating
rcndt'svicwsIaCapradisputcsthisclaimsccIaCaprazo,t&).
t&. Agambcn docs notdiscuss Frcud in this contcxt, butFrcuds intcrprcta
tionoloriginalsinaswcllashisconccptionolsubjcctivityasunavoidablybound
upwithguiltandshamcisclcarlyanimportantparallcl.
tp. Agambcn displays thiscontinucdintcrcstinthc idcaolshamsbynoting
inPre/nanens,"thatshamchasasccrctrclationtogloryisaproloundmcssianic
thcmc" IR;).
ZL. 1hc italics arc thosc olthc translator and do not appcar in thc Italian
original.
Z. Agambcn locuscs his discussion on onc ol Kcats's lcttcrs on poct-
ic crcationthc samc lcttcr in lact studicd by Mauricc lanchot in Sacse/
Lisraars
zz. Agambcn also cxamincs this phcnomcnon in IhsEnde/ths Pesm. Scc
also Hcllcr-Roazcn's rclating olAgambcn's ssmsntom /ingasto Faul's dc-
nunciationol "spcakingintongucs" Hcllcr-Roazcnzooz,pzll.).
z . Inascparatcarticlc,Mcsnardzo),writingalonc,invokcswhathccalls
Aambcn's"abstractacsthcticsoldisastcr" tp).
2 . M. crnstcin says olhisambivalcntrcsponsc toAgambcns bookthat
"whilc I still hndAgambcn's analysis tcasinglyproximatc to what nccds to bc
saidaboutAuschwitz,mycontinucdrcadinghastranslormcdmyoriginal sym-
pathcticagrccmcnthrstintorcpugnanccandthcnintolrustratcdangcranddis
appointmcnt"crnstcinzoo, ).1hcsourccolhisintcnscuncascisthcissucol
"acsthcticization"inthatcrnstcinhndsthat"witncssinginAgambcnbccomcs,
hnally, anacsthcticact" ). RoyaySchwartzman'sjudgmcntissimilarhcsccs
Agambcn's approach as ultimatcly "rhctorical". "although Agambcn poscs im-
portantqucstionsabouthowtosituatcthcHolocaustcthicallyandcpistcologi
cally, thc outlincs ola rhctorical approach to mcmoryrcquirclurthcrclarihca
tion"Schwartzmanzoot, ;&).
z;. In a Frcnch documcntary lrom tpp& cntitlcd MaaricsBnchetdircct-
cd by Hugo Santiago and produccd by IMA and Francc lor thc scrics Sich
d'crioains),Agambcnchoscprccisclythisrcmarktoapproachthclilcandwork
ollanchot. Agambcn's intcrcstinlanchotwascvidcnccdascarlyastp66whcn
,o Netcs
hc rclcrrcd to thc "cxtrcmclypurcposthumous spacc olMallarmcwhich isthc
thought olMauricc lanchot" I, ;). Inan cssaylrom zoo Mcgri comparcs
Agambcntolanchot,claimingthatduringthcpcriodlcadinguptoandinclud-
ingLangagsandDsath,Agambcn,likclanchotbclorchim, "travcrscdthclin-
guisticworld traosrsaoai/msnds/ingistics| intcrmsolcritical ontology" Mc-
grizoo, zi).
z6. In ancssay on notions olstsntia/iand csnnngsnwrittcn hvc ycars
carlicr, Agambcn claimcd that "our cthical tradition has oltcn sought to avoid
thcproblcmolpotcntialitybyrcducingittothctcrmsolwillandncccssity," and
itisthistcndcncythathcistryingto countcrhcrcI, z;).
z;. Agambcn also rclcrsto this incidcnt in Signamrarsram, L. Inancssay
lromip66Agambcnrclatcsasimilarcollapscintoaphasiathatolaudclaircin
achurch in Saint-Ioup inamur, clgium appropriatclycnough, audclairc's
aphasiawasnotcomplctcandhcwasablcto uttcrasinglcwordthcvulgarim-
prccationCrnsm) Agcncraltcndcncytowardthcsilcncingolspccch"thcslow
marcholmodcrn poctry. . . towards aphasia," asAgambcn calls itis thcsub-
jcctolthatscctionolthccssaysccI, 6;).
z&. Aswc saw car|icr, Agambcn notcs inancssaylrom ip;; that his workon
Varburgwasconccivcd"asthcrstolascrics olportraits dcdicatcdtocxcmpla-
rypcrsonalitics, cach olwhichwas to rcprcscnta human scicncc" I, ioi i| )
1hcportraitol Varburgwas thconlyoncAgambcncomplctcd. 1hconlyothcr
portraitonwhichhcbcganworkwasdcdicatcdto cnvcnistc. InStanzasAgam-
bcnsays olcnvcnistc that hc is "alinguistwho has, inouropinion, cllcctcda
ncw`situation'olthcscicnccollanguagc"andthatto him "wcowcthc mostlu-
cidpcrccptionolthc inadcquacyolthcscmioticpcrspcctivc undcrstoodinthc
narrowscnsc) loranundcrstandingolthclinguisticphcnomcnoninitstotality"
S, i&6 i;& ) .
zp. AgambcnrcturnstothispointinSignaararsram,6.
o. Ina chaptcr cntitlcd "1hc Author asGcsturc"lrom Prs/natisns,Agam-
bcn turns at grcatcr lcngth to thisscminal cssay again as acountcrpicccto an-
othcrworkby Foucaultin this casc, his cssay"VhatIsAnAuthor`") sccIR,
;i;) .
i As Hcllcr-Roazcn has admirably shown, onc olthc tasks thatAgambcn
inhcritcdlromcnj aminwasthcphilologicalprojcctol "rcadingthatwhichwas
ncvcr writtcn" scc Hcllcr-Roazcn ippp). In this samc passagc whcrc Agambcn
is cndcavoring to claboratc an idca olthc archivc, which hc lound important
cnoughnotonlytoputatthchcadolthisculminatingchaptcrbutalsotouscas
thcsubtitlcolthcwork,hcsaysthat"bctwccnthcobscssivcmcmoryoltradition,
which knows onlywhathasbccnsaid" and "thc cxaggcratcdthoughtlcssncssol
oblivion, which carcs only lorwhatwas ncvcrsaid, thc archivc is thc unsaidor
etes ( I
sayablc i/nen-dseei/dii/ih inscribcdincvcrything said byvirtucolbcing
cnunciatcd" ,k, ] ) .
z Gculcn's accountolthis crucialclcmcntinAgambcn's argumcntationi s
rcndcrcdincohcrcntbyhcromissionol oncol thcscthrcctcrms.Inhcrsummary,
"Latindisposcsoltwo words" lor aitnsssinthcscnscthat Italianandothcru-
ropcan languagcscmployit. "Alongsidcolthc tssnwho acts asa third partyin
atrial,thcrcisalso thcsasrstsswho him orhcrscllcxpcricnccdsomcthingand
bcars witncss to thatcxpcricncc. Itis this aspcctolwitncssingthatAgambcn is
hcrcintcrcstcdin" zoo; ii) Gculcn omits thc third Latintcrmlor aitn thc
oncthatguidcsthissctionolthcbookthconcthat, lorAgambcn,bridgcsthc
cxpcricccolthcaatherbcitpoct, chroniclcr,orothcr) andthc aitns aucter.
. Mills zoo;) hnds that "what is problcmatic hcrc is thatAgambcn's con
ccrn with thc cthical and ontological implications olthc living bcing cntcring
intothcvacantplaccolthcsubjcctincnunciationmcansthathclailstoconsidcr
thcspccihcallyscxcdcmbodimcntolthccxistcnt" zi6)
. ltimatcly, howcvcr, Gculcnavoidsanyhrmstatcmcntaboutthiswork.
1hcrcasonshcgivcsisthatshcdocsnotknowwhatAgambcnwillattcmptinthc
rcmainingvolumcsolthc HemeSasrprojcct, aswcllasthat"thcdiscussionrc-
gardingAschwitzistoocomplcxandovcrdctcrmincdsothatcvcnthcncccssary
minimummightbcsaidinsuchanintroductionasthisonc" zoo;&)
;. 1hroughoutthis scction olthc Lnglishtranslation, i/tottecvc whcn
includcdinthcdialccticalpairi/tattestmarts-isrcndcrcdnotas"thcwholc"
butasthcsomcwhatcosmicsounding"thcall."
6 Hcbcgins thclcttcrsaying, "ouwillno doubt hndmcmad taoasms
treaosrasansdeats" andjustihcshischangcollanguagcbyclaimingthatthc
dilhcultyhccxpcricnccdinhiscurrcntwritingwassuchthathccouldnotovcr-
comcitwithoutwhathc,cmployinganclcgantsolccism,callcd"csts /end/i/i
astearmei/sanais"-"taspcctolanalibi that islormcFrcnch" cn-
jaminip66;o;)
;. cnjamincommcntsonthis articlcinalcttcrtoGrctclAdorno datcd|uly
zo,ip& scccnjaminG, 6i&) 1hclanguagcolthcarticlcinqucstionlrom
Intsatiena/sn Litsrator- slightly mildcr than cnjamin portrays it, limit-
ing itscllto saying that a Frcnch cssaycnjamin wrotc on Gocthc "angoissc
mythiquc chcz Gocthc") rcprcscntcd "an attcmpt that would bc a tributc to
Hcidcggcr sin rsach, dsrHsid_srasEhrs machsn ards" scccnj amin
G,6 io)
& Rylc'sjudgmcntwas anoraloncdrawnlromaconvcrsation in ip6o For
thcvicissitudcsolitscitationsccM.A.crnstcinzoooiz
p. oth Hcidcggcr and Arcndt wcrc doubtlcss awarc olArchilochus' la-
mousrcmark, "1hclox knowsmanythings, butthchcdgchogknowsoncthing
dccply."
, z Netcs
o. Inaddition to thcsccoordinatcs, thcrc is likclyanadditionalrcasonthat
Arcndt sct hcr lablc whcrc shc did. Agambcn writcs inMsans witheatn "I
rcmcmbcr in ip66whilcparticipatingin thcscminarinLc1horonHcraclitus,
I askcdHcidcggcrwhcthcrhchadrcadKalka. Hcanswcrcdthatolthclittlchc
had rcad itwas abovc all thc shortstoryDsr, 1hc Ocn,' thathadmadc a
lasting imprcssion upon him" MVE, ip io&] ) . In Kaa's story, an animal
ncvcrprccisclyindicatcd) buildsanimprcgnablcburrowthatrcvcalsitscllasan
incscapablctrap.
. RcportcdinArndt ip&&, z;.1hcrcmarkisnotloundinthcmanuscript
lor thc lccturc coursc towhichArcndt is prcsumably rclcrringnacnaa-
gischsntsrstanensnzaHritets/ss, lromthcwintcrscmcstcripzizz publishcd
asvol. 6i ol Hcidcggcr's Cssamtaasga/s).ItbcarsnotingthatArcndtcitcsthc rc-
marknotasan instanccolHcidcggcr'sindillcrcncctowardbiographybutasan
instanccolathoughtand alilc inwhichthinkingwas so "passionatcly" bound
upwithlilcthatthctwobccamcindistinguishablclromoncanothcr.
z. Icttcrto thcauthor,Movcmbcrio, zoo.
. It is cmincntly possiblc that this rcmark is a paraphrasc olonc Hcgcl
madc. IncritiquingKanthcannounccs, "Mooncknows, orcvcnlccls,thatany
thingisalimitoradclcctuntilhcisatthcsamctimcabovc andbcyondit" Hc-
gclip;;b,pi).
. Scc Klossowski ip6p. 1hough hc docs notcvokc Klossowski in his mul-
tiplc rcadings olMictzschc's work, Agambcn rcpcatcdlyrclcrs to Klossowski in
ancssaylrom ip66, avolaclato,"which cndswithaquotationlromKlossows-
ki's novclLsBahemstscc FF, i& zi] ) . In his accountolthcrcdiscovcryollost
manuscripts olValtcr cnjamin, Agambcn notcs that itwas thanks to an in-
troductionlrom Klossowski toataillc'swidowthathcwasatlastablcin|unc
olip&i to cxaminc thcmanuscripts in qucstion scc IR, ). As docsAgambcn,
Klossowskisccsqucstions olcomplctionandpotcntialityat issucinMictzschc's
ctcrnal rccurrcncc. "Lcrcmdcdc arathoustra. rc-vouloirlc nen-oea/acntant
qu'ildcsirc assumcrlclaitaccomplidonlcrcndrc inaccem/i, cnlcrcvoulant
d' innem/ra//ss/is''ip6p, io;,italicsinoriginal) .
;. In this book, Agambcn's rcading is csscntially that olHcidcggcr's, in
which ctcrnalrccurrcnccandwill to powcrarcshownto bcintcgrallylinkcd,as
laccs olthc samc coin, cach prcscnting aworld inthc uncnding proccss olbc-
coming.AtthccndolthcchaptcrAgambcncxplicitlystrcsscshowlundamcntal
Hcidcggcr'srcadingolMictzschcwaslorhisown,sccMVC, iz;i] ) .
6. Agambcn also citcs this cxprcssion in yct anothcr discussion olMictz-
schc'sctcrnal rccurrcncc, hiscssay"Valtcrcnjaminandthc Ocmonic. Happi-
ncssandHistoricalRcdcmption" scc I, i;; zzp] ).
etes (
|, Vc mightnotcanambivalcnccon cnj amin's parthcrc givcn thathci s
also clcalyscnsitivctoanclcmcnt inMictzschc's ctcrnal rccurrcncc that might
constitutcacritiqucolprogrcss scccnjaminAI,ii, GS, , i,)
CHAPTB
. Scc cspcciallydcFontcnayIjjj
2. Altcr rchccting, duringdisscction,onthcinsidcs olanimalsandthcmul-
titudcsolstringlikcclcmcntsto bcpullcdthcrcin,Ocscartcslikcncdanimals to
"machincs"anditwaslromthiscxpcrimcntthathisthcoryolanimaamachinss
camc.InIartFivcolthcDocearssenMsthed,Ocscartcsnotcs thatwchavcsigns
thatmcanmorcthanthctonaliticsolourvoiccs,andthatthis"bcarswitncssto
thclactthatnotonlydo animalshavc lcssrcasonthadowc, thcyhavcnonc."
Ocspitcthisclassicatorydccision,Ocscartcswasnotwhathchasoltcnbccndc-
pictcdasinpopularrcprcscntationssomconccontcmptuoustowardanimals).In
lact,hcwassingularlylondol andattcntivcto"MonsicurGrat,"hi sdog,looking
carclullyaltcr thclattcr'shcalth,pridinghimscllon hispuppics, andspcnding
muchtimcplayingwithhim.
Iikccnjaminbclorchim,Agambcndisplays arcmarkablcintcrcstinla-
blcsandchildrcn'sstorics.Foran instanccrclatcdto thcthcmcsolIhsOsn,scc
thc chaptcrin In/nandHotethattrcatsstoricsinwhichspccchisgrantcd
to animals, suchasthchristianlcgcndaccordingtowhichanimals-lorabricl
momcnton hristmas night-arc grantcd thcpowcrolspccch scc IH, i,
i,ff. ).
| Inan carlylccturc coursc, Hcidcggcrsaidolthc cxpcricncc ol"wondcr"
thatitwas thcindcxollilc'shighcstpotcntiality" HcidcggcrGA, ,6,,.ii,).
, Inhis own considcration ol"thc opcn," adiou ,oo6) acknowlcdgcs thc
ccntrality olHcidcggcr's contribution to thc qucstion but suggcsts that it bc
closclycomparcdwithcrgson'suscolthctcrmscc,,,|).
6. 1hcsclccturcnotcswcrc publishcd asvolumc @ olHcidcggcr's complctc
works. 1hc Italian cdition ol Ihs Osnwrongly lists this volumc as thc th
"IIV") inthcscrics. 1hc English t

anslation rcproduccs this bibliographical

crror.
, Mcithcr HcidcggcrnorAgambcn sccm awarc that Rilkc appcars to havc
borrowcd his cnigmatictcrm lrom a spccicsourcc. thc Gcrman writcr Allrcd
Schulcr. Schulcrcnjoycdaccrtaincclcbrityatthcturnolthcninctccnthccntury
andbclongcdtothcso-callcdMunichesmi/sr.Inii,i,Rilkchcardalccturc
by Schulcr and mct himacrward. Hcwas so scnatcd bywhat Schulcrhad
to saythathcrcturncdwhcnthclccturcscrics,cntitlcd hcEtcrnality"was
rcpcatcd.1hccurious substantivc"thcopcn" iscmploycdrcpcatcdlybySchulcr,
|) | Netcs
alongsidc thc tcrm "opcn" inits linguisticvariants. Inthc lilc Schulcr calls lor
,encnLc/cn), "thcrc is no rcligion bccausc lilc as such is rcligious actuality"
"In thc opcnlilc thcrcisnoposscssion,no propcrty" Rilkcipp6,z. z6;). Itisin-
tcrcsting to notc that thc political tonc olSchulcr's conccptions ol"thc opcn"
arc, ilnot always closc to thosc that Rilkc dcvclopcd, closc to thosc dcvclopcd
byAgambcn.
&. 1hctitlcislcltinFrcnchinboththcItalianoriginalandthcEnglishtrans-
lationthoughinboththcoriginalandthctranslationitismisspcllcd.
p. 1hcrolcolanimalsandthc"bccoming-animal"olmanislundamcntallor
Oclcuzc's latcr philosophyand ison clcar displayin his works with Fclix Guat-
tari such asHnti- Ocdius Caita/ism andSchizehrcniaip;z), Kaa uarda
MinerLitcraturcip;;), andH IheusandP/atcaus Caita/ism andSchizehrcnm
ip&o) . Icss obviouslyccntralisthcqucstionolthc rclation olmanto animal in
thcphilosophy olOcrridaatlcast untilthc rcccntpublicationolLanima/quc
denccsuizoo6).
io. Scc Matthcw Calarco's work in this arcaparticularly thc qucstion hc
poscsinrclationto IhcOcn"Ooanimalshavcaplaccwithinapostcsscntialist
politics` "Calarcozoo;,i6) . nasimilarnotc,anincckclmann'scssaylrom
that samc ycar also approachcs this qucstion, payingparticularattcntion to thc
rchcctionsolctcr Singcr scc ckclmannzoo;, i6) .
. cavinganumbcrolcnjamin's cclcbratcdlormulations into his rcvicw
olthcbook, Lwcustuscnzcl zoo) writcs,"Awcakmcssianichopc thatthc
powcrlul machinc might still comc to a standstill is articulatcd in thc imagcs
andintcrprctationsolthcbook IndcnntcrrctatiencnundDcn//i/dcrnarn/u-
/icrtsichdaunddertcincschuachcmcssianichcHeung,dicmachtoedcMaschinc
mcgcdech nechzumSti//mnd/emmcn|";p) .
LPV p
. 1hroughout his workAgambcn translatcs Schmitt's lormula as "statc ol
cxccption statedicccczienc| ," although thclcsslitcral "statcolcmcrgcncy state
di cmcrgcnza| " might also havc applicd. 1hc onlycxccption to thispracticc is a
passagcnotcdlatcr
z. In anothcr cssay publishcd thc samc ycar as SmtcecctienAgambcn
cmploysthcsamcdistinction,comparingthcsctollaws thcso-callcdMorolaw)
institutcdby thcItaliangovcrnmcntlrom ip;& to ip&owiththc rerdnungzu
Schutzoen e// undStaatolip . Hciscarclulto strcss thatwhatisatissucis"a
simplc lormal analogy" ollcgal structurc-with, howcvcr, thc distinction that
althogh thc Gcrman laws suspcnding ccrtain civil libcrtics wcrc in cllcct lor
thirtccnycars, thcItalianoncshavcbccnincllcctstilllongcrOL,;p) .
Netcs ( ;
Mcuillanzoo;,z)argucsthatutlcrmisundcrstands Agambcn'sidcasol
humanity,politics,andbarclilcinthiswork.
Agambcn occasionally cmploys statc olcmcrgcncy" to translatc cna-
min's Hasnahmszasmnd. In his own translation olthc cighth thcsis, Agambcn
translatcs thc hrst occurrcncc as statc olcmcrgcncy" smtedismsrgsn| and
thcsccondoccurrcnccas statcolcxccption" statedisccsziens| SL, _ ,,|) . Al
though thcrc arc idiomatic grounds lor such a choicc, it unlortunatcly occults
cnjamin'sprovocativcrcpctitionolthctcrm.
; Inaddition tothcscitcms inAgambcn's cxotcric dossicris Schmitt's ac-
knowlcdgcmcntinalcttcrlromtp; thathisDsrLsoiathanindrSmatshhrsdss
IhemasHe//sstp&)was anattcmptto answcrcnjamin" sccSL, _ 6p| , and
Iindcrzoo&,66).
6 InarcccntinstallmcntolthcHemeSacsrprocct,I/Rsgnes/C/ria,Heme
Sacsr2.2), Agambcn lollows asimilarcxchangcpartcxotcricandpartcsotcr-
icbctwccnSchmittandGcrmanthcologianLrikIctcrson sccRG,t&l).
; oth in this work and in an carlicr cssaywhcrc hc discusscs cnjamin's
cighth thcsis,Agambcn undcrlincs that this rcal statc olcxccption isnot to bc
takcn lor a proccssolinhnitc dcconstructionwhichmaintainslawin a spcc-
trallorm ollilc" SL,6&z , translationmodihcd). SccalsoPetsn/inss,tol
z6;l] whcrcAgambcn,inhisintcrprctationolthc samcthcsis,opposcda mcs-
sianic and rcvolutionary intcrruption to what hc sccs as thc inhnitc proccss ol
dcconstruction.
&. Virno'scriticismolAgambcnlaysparticularstrcssonthcidcaolbiopoli-
ticsthatAgambcndcvclopcdlromFoucaultandonthccontcntionthatAgam-
bcn has ncglcctcdto takc into account thc cconomic undcrpinnings olsuch a
conccption.
p InarcvicwolthcLnglishtranslationolthatwork,MargarctKohnzoo6)
cchocs thisidcaandhnds thatAgambcnwritcs at timcs ina utopianmystical
modc." It bcars notingthatalthough Mcgri's rcsponsc to Statse/Excsnenwas
mixcd, itwas ultimatclypositivc. 1his isa bookvcxinginitsdcvclopmcntand
its dualisms," hcwrotc, butcxtraordinaryinits rcalization. Itclarihcs a point
aroundwhichpost-structuralistandpost-modcrnphilosophyhas up untilnow
turncd, making olthc biopolitical horizon a vcrihablc and practicablc cxpcri-
cnccaCopcrnicancxpcricncc. . . " Mcgrizoo, z). Formorconthcrclation-
shipbctwccnthctwothinkcrs, sccMiclsonzo.
to. ndcrstandingcnjamin's surprisingcxclamationisthctaskthatAgam-
bcnscthimscllinancssaylromtp&;cntitlcdataillccilparadossodcllasovran-
it," whichplaysan important rolc in thccvolution olthc idcas that structurc
IhsCemingCemmani.Agambcn'sconclusionthcrcinisthatuntilwchavcun-
dcrstoodthcqucstionsraiscdbycnjamin'srcmarkwhich,Agambcnspccihcs,
wcarc still lar lrombcingablcto do"-thcproblcmolahuman community
|, Netcs
lrcc olprcsuppositions and no longcrhavingsovcrcign subjccts cannotcvcn bc
poscd" IS, iip) .
II. For his part, Andrcw Morris zoo;) is in no such unccrtainty and hnds
in StatceExcctienwhathc loundinHemeSaccra "mctaphysical dcstiny, lor
whomno-onccan bc blamcdandwhichcannotbcdircctlyaddrcsscdorwardcd
oll" ;). 1his, hc strcsscs, is a position that prcscnts "disastrous implications"
Morris zoo;, ; n. ;z). Flcurohns zoo;) rcachcs a similar conclusion, sccing
that,asconccrnsthcL. S MilitaryrdcrolMovcmbcrzooi,Agambcn"charac-
tcrizcsthcspaccolthatdccision . . . soasto suggcstthatitsdynamicshavcbccn
prc-codihcdandrcndcrcd `pcrmancnt bythconwardmarcholhistoryandlan
guagc" 6z&).
iz. Inaparcnthcsis,AgambcnparaphrascthcSaussurianconccptionol/ngc
as"alinguistic`statcolcxccptionandthcrcbyindicatcsthcdcgrcctowhichthc
conccptisnotlimitcdtothcrulcormisrulcollawbutinstcadisapplicablctoall
lcvclsolphilosophicalandlinguisticspcculationHS, z; o] ) .
i . As wc sawcarlicr, Khurana zoo;) suggcstsi na latcrcssaythat thc "dis-
tubingproximity"oldisastcrandsalvation,olcatastrophcandrcdcmptionas
wcllas ahostolothcrhgurcsinAgambcnsworkshouldbcundcrstoodnotas
a"politicalprojcct" butasan "cthical turn," thatwhatAgambcnproposcsisnot
a politicalaltcrnativc"butan "cthical modihcation" ;). 1hiswouldsccm
toallcviatcmanydilhculticscncountcrcdinAgambcnspoliticalrchcctions,ncu-
tralizingqucstionsolimmcdiatcandconcrctcpoliticalactioninlavorolascarch
lorncwmodcsthroughwhichtoimposcandundcrstandvaluc.
i. ItispcrhapswithsuchidcasinmindthatadiourclcrstoAgambcnasa
"Franciscanolontology" sccadiou zoo6, ;&).
i;. IcttcrtothcauthorlromMayz;, zoo6.
i6. Itbcars noting that ataillcs lamous rcmarks on thc Holocaust arc also
notmcntioncdinthatwork. ataillcwrotcin"Lcmaldcanslcplatonismcatlc
sadismc"olhow"thcunlcashingolthcpassionsthatragcdin uchcnwaldorin
Auschwitzwasconductcdundcrthcgovcrnanccolrcason,"andhcsawthcHolo-
caustas,inpart,rationalityrunamokataillcC,;.;6).InancssayonSartrc,
ataillcalsoclaimcdthat"AuschwitzisthclactandsignolmanHuschuicst/c
it, /csigncdc / 'hemmc| ataillcC, ii. zz6). Scc Hcgartyzoo;, zzpolor a
discussionolthcscrcmarks.
i; Agambcn pcrhaps has in mind thc mctahsica/watcrshcd that Adorno
madcolAuschwitz,whcrcthclattcrclaimsthat"thc capacitylormctaphysicshas
bccn paralyzcdbccauscwhathappcncd atAuschwitz] shattcrcdanyspcculativc
mctaphysical thoughtto bc rcconcilcdwith cxpcricncc" Adorno GS, 6.;). Hc
maycquallywcllhavc in mind Adornos dcclarationthat"Auschwitzirrclutably
dcmonstratcd culturc'slailurc,"orthat"allculturcaltcrAuschwitz, includingits
urgcntcritiquc, isgarbagc" Adorno GS, 6.;p).
Netes ( )
i. Scc also l cacm Criawhcrc Agambcn discusscsdillcrcnt conccp-
tionsolcan-particularlythcdillcrcntusagcsolthctcrmbySchmitt
andVcbcr,aswcllasthc"stratcgic" implicationsolthcidcaRG,:ll
i. jakangaschoscnotto lollowthisdistinctionbctwccncanand
re/nanen,writing thatinAgambcn's rcadingolIauland morc gcncrally, in
Agambcns thought"thcmcssianicrcvolutionisnothingbutthcoriginalimpc-
tusolsccularization-tothccxtcntthatsccularizationisundcrstoodasthcpro-
ccssinwhichthclawandpoliticsdcsccndlrom thcisolatcdsacrcdsphcrctothc
commonsphcrcolthcprolanc"jakangaszooa,z;).
2. Scc also Fitzpatrickand|oycczoo),who hnd that "Agambcn's cxccp-
tion has thc samccomponcnts as Schmitts but thccomposition olcach isdil-
lcrcnt" ,6,).
Z. 1his cxplorationishrst visiblc in"ataillcctilparadossodcllasovrani"
scccspcciallyii,-ii)andisanabidingprcscnccinthcaaSacsrscricsmost
notablyinaaSacsr,andinpartsz. iand z.zolthatprojcct, cacsnen
andI/cas/aC/ria.
zz. It bcars noting in this conncction that, gcncrally spcaking, intcrcst in
Schmitt'sworkislar grcatcr in Italy than itisinthcLnglishspcakingworld
orcvcninSchmitt'snativcGcrmany. AsarcccntbibliographyolSchmitt'swork
makcs amply clcar, nowhcrc morc than in Italy havc Schmitts writings bccn
translatcdandcommcntcdonsccdccnoistzoo).
LPVJ i o
i. Morgcnstcrnwas,byhisownaccount,lcssshakcnbythcHitlcrStalinpact
bccauschcwaslcsssurpriscdbyit. Inancarlicrlcttcrto Scholcm,hcclaimshc
hadindccdbclicvcdStalincapablcolthcpact,butnotHitlcrscccnjaminS,
]}o,o]i
z InMsanswitheatnAgambcn rclcrsinanasidc to "thc classlcsssocicty
orthcmcssianickingdom,"ccctivclycquatingthctwoidcasandthcrcbyrcitcr-
ating cnjamins asscrtionin thc thcsisAgambcnhimscllrcdiscovcrcd MVL,
z,z ).
. In thc hrst casc, Agambcn citcs an abbrcviatcdvcrsion olcnjamins rc-
mark,andinthcsccondcaschcrclcrstoitas cnjamin's " /eatads"aboutthcol-
ogy,withthcclaimthatitcouldcquallywcllapplyto Caproniandhiscsamosa
sccI, , andLI, z ) .
. 1hc tcrms thatAgambcn cmploys, Lschaisrand ntsnaisr, clcarly
dcnotcthcsamc shcct olblotting papcr. 1hctcrmthatcnj amincmploycdwas
Lsch//tt.
;. n thismattcrcnjaminwrotc to Scholcmsaying, "ou arcindccdright
to thinkthatI donotwanttolullydisplaccathcologicalintcrprctation olKal
|, Netcs
ka's work]-I practicc, inlact, alorm ol it myscll-I wantonlyto displaccthc
supcrhcial and insolcnt intcrprctations that arc coming out olIraguc" cnja-
minip66, z. 6i&).
6. In alcttcrlromipizcnjaminwrotc, "I ama|cwandsolongasIlivcasa
scll-awarcman Ilivcasascll-awarc|cw"caminGS, z. &;).1hispositiondid
notchangc lorhim inthccomingycars.Vhatcvcr thcvicissitudcs inhisscnsc
ol bclongingtoa|cwishcommunity-particularlyinthclatcipzoashcbccamc
cngagcdinmatcrialistand communistthought-cnjamin'sscnscolhimscllas
a|cwishthinkcrsccms to havcrcmaincdcsscntiallyunchangcd.
;. Eingcdcn/cnmcans "rcmcmbrancc" inGcrman, butisrarclyuscdand, in
cnjamin'shands,isgivcn adccidcdlythcologicalcast. Incnj amin'swakcitis
atcrmthatAdornooltcncmploys.AsconccrnsthcthcologicaltcnorolAdorno's
thought, itisintcrcstingtonotcthcchangcitundcrwcnt-inlargcpartthrough
his cncountcrs with cnjamin. In ipoAdorno spokc olthc prcscncc olthcolo-
gyin cnjamin's writing as thc Bcnducr/dcs Himmc/" Icttcr lromAdorno
toSicglricdKracaucrlrom|ulyz;, ipo,sccViggcrshausip&6, iop).Amcrclour
ycarslatcr,howcvcr,Adornohadchangcdhismindandwasdclcndingthcrolcol
thcologyin cnjamin's thoughtindcbatcswith Horkhcimcr, praising thc thco-
logicalclcmcntincnjamin's KalkacssayandhisHrcadcsPrecct, andannounc-
ing lor his ownwork "arcstitutionolthcology" aspartola"radicalizingolthc
dialccticsoasto includcitsglowingcorc C/ut/crn| Ittcrtocnj aminAugust
z,ip;,inAdornoandcnj aminipp,ip, i).
&. Inall probabilitythis undatcdlragmcntwaswrittcninthccarlyipzoand
is thuslromthcbcginningolcnj amin's carccr. 1hisdatchas bccn amattcrol
somcdisputc,howcvcr,amongboth cnjamin'slricndsandhiscditors. Scholcm
claims thatthcidcas cxprcsscd in this lragmcntarcclcarlyola picccwiththosc
with which cnjamin was occupicd in thc carly ipzos, and that thc lragmcnt
bcars thcunmistakablcstamp olthosc ycars. |acob1aubcs-aphilosophcrwho
wasintimatclylamiliarwithcnjamin'swork,whodidnotalwaysagrccwithSc
holcm, andwho isanimportantthinkcrlorAgambcn-hcartilyconcurs.Ador
no, howcvcr, givcs amuch latcr datc lorthclragmcnt. Hcclaims that cnjamin
rcad thc tcxt aloud to himscllandhiswilc inSanRcmo inip;orip&, calling
it "thc ncwcst olthc ncw" scc cnj amin S .o6, n. i). cnjamin's Gcrman
cditor, Roll1icdcmann, loundScholcm'stcstimonymorccompcllinganddatcs
thclragmcnttothccarlyipzos. 1hccditorsolthcrcccntEnglishcditionolcn
jamin's works, howcvcr, havclollowcdAdornoindatingittoip& scccnjamin
SV, .o6,n. i).
p. 1hctranslationol|ng/c/as "mislortunc" obscurcscnjamin's clcarop-
positionol|ng/c/unhappincss) and C/c/happincss) inthcpassagc.
i. Inasingularinsight,|acob1aubcssuggcstcdthatcnjamin'sconccptio
olthcrclationolhappincssto transicnccinthislragmcntwasarclormulationol
etes (p
Mictzschc's idcaolctcrnal rccurrcnccaconclusion thatnotonlyi sconccptu-
allycompcllingbutwouldalsohclpcxplaincnamin'sambivalcnccandunchar-
actcristic ncarsightcdncss conccrning Mictzschc's thought cxpcrimcnt Vhcrc
cnjamin's thoughtdivcrgcslromMictzschcsisinthcqucstionolactuarccur-
rcncc.Mictzschcprcscnts rccurrcnccasathoughtcxcrimcnt,notasacosmichy
othcsis ut ilonctakcsitas thclattcr, as didcnamin, it cancasilybcsccnas
whatcnjaminmadcolitapunishmcnt.ItisinthisscnscthatAgambcnoncc
wrotcthat"truclightncss. . . isnotthcctcrnalrcturn,butancvcrrcturnunnen
maiiternarc "CGK,z).VhcthcrMictzschcrcallyconccivcdolanythingoth-
crthana"ncvcrrcturn" inhisNicchcandPhi/eseh, Oclcuzc makcsacom-
pcllingcascthatMictzschcncvcrwastrulyconccrncdwithacmarccurrcnccas
had,inlardillcrcntlashion, Hcidcggcrbclorchim) , whatlinksthctwoconccp-
tionsctcrnalrcturnandncvcr-rcturn) iswhatMictzschccallcdaninvcrtcdFla-
tonism." Formorconthisqucstion,sccChaptcrScvcn,ScholiumIII.
. SccAgambcns rcmark that thc conccpt olmcssianic timc . . consti-
tutcs thc thcorctical nuclcus olcnjamin's 1hcscs' " F, :6o z;z] ) . Cnarclatcd
notc,Agambcn'sintcrcstinIauliscasicrto graswhcnwcnotcthatFaulspokc
ola "timc olthc now" that was rcmarkably similar to cnjamins nowtimc.
ForAgambcn, "cnjamin's mcssianism hnds its canon isuecanenc in Faul"
11R, ] t , translation modihcd). Vhat ismorc, hchndsthatFaul isthc
purcstrcprcscntativcolmcssianism"andsaysinaworkthatbringstogcthcrcn-
jamin's hnal writings and Faul's writings that "this scminarproposcsto rcstorc
Iauls Lcttcrstothcirstatusas lundamcntal mcssianictcxtsolthcVcst" LO
11R,p.
:z It is intcrcsting to notc thatan cquation olsccurwithre/ncis also
loundintranslationsol Agambcn'sownwriting.InthcprclacctoSm Agam-
bcncmploysacitationwithoutquotationmarkslromcnamin,cvokinganiu
miniencre]na,aprolancillumination," that thc translatorrcndcrsassccu-
larcnlightcnmcnt,"obscuringnotonlythcvcilcdrclcrcncctocn aminbutalso
thcscnscbchindit sccS, xvixii) .
:. Agambcn citcs this assagc i nCC, ; ; , although without noting its
provcnancc. Inancssaypublishcd twoycarslatcrhcrccats thispracticc sccF,
z;o] ).
t Fora discussion olthispassagc inthc contcxt olFaul's idcaoliecanen,
scc 11R, tpl z;ll. e
CONCLU81ON
t. rianOillon zooz)writcsolthisassagcthatitcxprcsscsatcmporalpar
dox"suchthat"thcwrittcnworkcanncvcrcoincidcwith itscllintimc" z)As
||c etc
Itryto showhcrc,thisdcconstructivccmphasisonatcmp

raldisjunctionisbut
oncolscvcralaspcctsolwhatAgambcnistryingtocxprcss.
z. Agambcncitcsthisrcmarki n"artlcby,ornContingcncy"andrclcrsto
itinpassingin SigaturarcrumI,z6;, SR, io6) . Hcdocsnotindicatcitsprov-
cnancc, clcarlyassumingthat his rcadcrs will rccognizcitas lromthcscctionol
thcHrcadcsPrcctthatattcmptstolormulatcathcoryolhistoricalknowlcdgc.
. Ircsumably translating lroman carlicrdralt olthis thcn unpublishcd cs-
say, HcllcrRoazcn rcndcrs this passagc as "thchardcst and bittcrcst cxpcricncc
possiblc" scc I, i;&).
. In thisconncctionwc might rccall Adorno's cpochal claim that thc only
works that mattcr today "arc thc oncs that arc no longcr works" Adorno GS,
iz.;).
;. 1his pointisalso amplyrchcctcdinAgambcn'stcaching. Forapromincnt
instancc, sccAgambcn'sscminargivcnat thc LnivcrsityolVcnicc in zoo; that
borc thc titlc "1hc clorc and thcAltcr olthcVork" and spccihcd its aim as
lollows "1his coursc proposcsto considcrartisticactivitystartingnotlromthc
workitscllbutlromthatwhichprcccdcsandlollowsit."
6. InthcLnglishtranslationthccssayislalsclydatcdaslromipp;.
; 1hcadditionisnowhcrcnotcdinthcncwcdition.
Bi//igah
Aorno, Jhcodor Vcscngrund. Cesamme/te Scbrien. zo vols. Hcrausgcgcbcn
von RolIJicdcmann untcr Mitwirkung von Grctcl Adorno, Susan uck-
Morss, and Klaus Schultz. Irankrt. Suhrkamp, t;j-t&6. Citcdin ttas
Adorno GS. )
.MinimaMera/mcnensemDamagedLq.Jrans. L. N. |cphcott.
Iondon. NI, t;(./MinimaMeramRienenadm /escbdien Le/-
en.ranrt. Suhrkamp, t&;.
. NeganoeDia/ecncs. Jrans. L. . ^shton. Ncw York. Continuum Ircss,
ip;
^dorno, 1hcodor Vcscngrund, and cnjain, Waltcr. Briecbse/ Ld. Hcnri
onitz. IrankIurt.Suhrkamp,t
^dorno,JhcodorVcscngrund,andloch,Lrnst. LtwasIchlt.bcrdicVdcr-
sprchcdcrutopischcnSchnsucht. In Lrnst loch, Indenz Latenz |teie
r/aga/eErgnzun/andj;o6&). IrankIurt. Suhrkamp, t&;.
bcn,Giorgio,andLclcuzc,Gillcs.Bart/La u/d//cnene.Mac-
crata. uodlibct, tj.
Allcn,|cnniIcr. LcssIsMorc. Hrrum.CnlincdiarycntrAprilt(, zoo;. Avail-
ablcathttp. // .artIorum. com/diary/archivczoo;o(
Arcndt, Hannah. Beeen Pat andFumn EigbtEeres in Pe/inca/ beugbt.
NcwYork.kingIrcss, t6t.
. Den/ge/ucb.Lds.LrsulaLudzandngcborgNordmann. Munichand
Zurich. IipcrVcrlag, zooz.
. Eicbmann in}erusa/mH Rqerten tbeBana/ip e/Eoi/ R. and Ln-
largcdLd.NcwYork. Icnguinooks,t6j.
. Introduction.Waltcrcnjamin, t&z-t(o. InWaltcrcnjamin, du-
minanenst-;&. ) . NcwYork. Schockcn,t6&.
. Martin Hcidcggcristachtzig|ahrc alt. HntuertMarnneideerim
Cercb.Lds.GnthcrNcskcandLmilKcttcringzjz-(6) .Imllingcn.Vcrlag
GnthcrNcskc, t&&. IirstpublishcdinMer/ut6,&j-oz)
.Men inDar/mes.Ncwork.Harcourtracc,t;;.
z Bi//ieah
. On e/cncc.Mcwork. Iarcourtracc|ovanovich, tp;o.
Arcnt,Iannah,and|aspcrs,Karl. HannahZrcndt/ r/ }acrsBcchsc/Jy20
Jy0y. Lds. LottcKhlcrandIansSancr. Munich. Iipcr,tp&;.
Aristotlc. IhcCem/tcwr/seZristec IhcRoucdOrdans/nen.Ld.|on-
athanarncs. Irinccton, M|.IrincctonLnivcrsityIrcss, tp&(.
Artaud,Antonin. Lcthtrcctsendeu//.Iaris. Gallimard, tp6(.
Assmann,|an. Lcrillczum|ctzt. Litcramn,|uly/Augustzoo6, ;(-;;.
Attcll, Kcvin. `LsotcricLossicr.Agambcnand Lcrrida. LnpublishcdconIcr
cncc papcr prcscntcd at thcnual ConIcrcncc oIthc IntcrnationalAssocia-
tionoIIhilosophyandLitcraturc, Irciburg, Gcrmany,|unc6, zoo6.
adiou,ain. LegqucsdsmendsLct/ncmcnt2. Iaris. Scuil, zoo6.
ar Cn, atAmi. IhcSu/cctee/nccZrcndtcan Ecrcucs in |ndrstanding
IcministConstructions) . Lanham,ML. Rowman Littlchcld, zooz.
ataillc, Gcorgcs. Ocuorcs cem/tcs. tzvols.Iaris. Gallimard, tp;o-&&. Citcdin
tcxtas ataillcCC. )
cncdctti, Carla. Pase/inicentra Ca/oine.1urin. ollatioringhicri, tpp&.
cnjain, Andrcw, and Csbornc, Ictcr, cds. w/tcr BcnaminsPhi/seh Dc-
strucoenandcricncc. London. Routlcdgc, tpp(.
cnjain,altcr. Kires Schrcn zurPhi/esehic. Sclcctcdandwith acrword
bal| Koncrsmann. Iranrt. Suhrkamp, zoo;.
. Bric. Icrausgcgcbcn und mitAnmcrkungcn vcrschcn von Gcrsholm
5cholcmund1hcodorVAdorno. Iranrt. Suhrkamp,tp66.
. Ccsammc/tcSchricn;vols.Lds.RolIJicdcmannandIcrmanSchwcp-
pcnhuscr. Iranrt. 5uhrkamp crlag, p;(&p. Citcd in tcxt as cnjamin
5. )
. Ccsammc/tc Bri. 6 vols. Lds. Christoph Gddc and Icnri Lonitz.
Irankrt.Suhrkamp,tpp;zooo. Citcdintcxtd cnjaminG. )
. Sc/cctcdiong. Lds.Marcus ullock,IowardLiland,MicahclV|cn-
nings, and Gary Smith. vols. Cambridgc, M. Iarvard Lnivcrsity Ircss,
tpp6zoo . Citcdintcxtas cnjaminSV)
. IhcHrcadcsPecct (vols. Ld. RoldJicdcmann.1rans. IowardLiland
andKcvinMcLaughlin. Camridgc, M.IarvardLnivcrsityIrcss, tppp
. Ihc Orign e Ccrman Iagc Drama. 1rans. |ohn Csbornc. London.
ML, tp;;a.
-.RccnensEssas,Hherisms,Zute/iegahica/vrinng.Ld.IctcrLcmctz.
Mcwork. Schockcn,tp;;b.
cntham,|crcmy. Ianopticon,or,thcInspcctionIousc. Iostscript. Iart I." Ihc
wr/se }crcmBcntham,ol (London. Simpkin, Marshall, t&(j.
cnvcnistc, milc. Pe//mcs dc /ingunqucgnra. z vols. Iaris. Gallimard,
tp66-;(
Bi//iegah ((
crgson, Hcnr. cc h meuiant.Iars. ILI, :&.
crnstcn,|. M. arc LIc, carngVtncss.AuschwandthcIornographyoI
Horror. " Para, zoo(,:o :) , z-:6.
crnstcn, MchaclAdrc. FiicPeroaio:MedipandthcImananenin Ian
ncthCcnm Ccrman wrnng. Lvanston, IL. Northwcstcrn Lnvcrs Ircss,
zooo.
cttclhcm, runo. IhcEmpFerocss In/nnhHunmandthcBithe/thcSc
NcwYork. Ircc Ircss, :6;.
dussa, Lavd. Lo statuto dclla tcstmonanza. " I/Manqste Kmc), Cctobcr
z;,tpp&, z:-zz.
nswangcr, Lancl. Ircdgcr dcs IroIancn. "Dic/echcZurch) ,Augustj,
zoo;, ;-6.
lanchot,Maurcc. Lacemmunautinaieua/h.Iars. Mnut, :&j.
oas, Iranz. Hand/ee/ e/Hmcican Indn Lanagcs. ashngton, LC. L. S.
GovcrnmcntIrntngCcc, :::.
ckclmann,|annc. LcrcgrdcsLcbcnsunddcIcrspcktvcdcsLthschcn. "
DicgeaoccmcntahMachinc Zure/ichcn Phi/esehic CieqeHgam/c
ds.|anncckclmannandIrankMccr:j:-(&) . Mnstcr. Lnrast, zoo;.
udd,Chrstophcr. "HemeSaccr "Phi/esehcMagnc, :,;, ;-;6.
ull, Malcom. Statcs Lon't Rally MndJhcrCtzcnsLyngIrovdcdJhcy
Lon'tl Lo It at Cncc) . Jhcy|ust Lon't LkcAnyonc Llsc to KllJhcm. "
Lennoicae/Bee/s,zoo(,z6z() , ;-&.
utlcr,|udth. ccareusLq: IhcPeacrse/Meuingandehncc. London and
NcwYork.Vcrso, zoo(.
Calarco, Matthcw. |ammng thc Anthropologcal Machnc. " CieqeHgam/cn:
Seicrcip andLq. Lds. Matthcw Caarco and Stcvcn LcCarol :6j-;) .
StanIord,C. StanIordLnvcrstyIrcss, zoo;.
Calarco, Matthcw, andLcCarol, Stcvcn, Lds. CiereHgam/cnSeicrcipand
Lq.StanIord, C. StanIordLnvcrstyIrcss,zoo;.
Calvno,talo.LczieniamcrcancScireesccri/ressimemi/hnnie.Mlan. Cs-
carMondador, :j.
Carson,nc. DccrcanenPecsas, Ocra. NcwYork. Knop zoo;.
Casarno, Ccsarc. Iornocarology. Cr, thc Communst Clnamcn oIIornogra-
phy. " ParagahH/eua/e/Me Crnca/Ihce zooz, z; z) , ::6-z6.
Cclan, Iaul. Cecdsc. Jrans. Rosmarc aldrop. Manchcstcr. Carcanct,
:&6.
. Ccsammc/tc r/c. Ld. cdaAllcmann andStcLn Rchard wth KlI
chcr.Irankmrt.Suhrkamp,:&j.
Char, nc. Fcuicodnes.Iars. Galmard, :(6.
Clppngcr. Lavd. GorgoAgambcn. "Enc/ecdia e/Pesedum Ld. Yc-
iieah
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ndLq Eds. Matthcw Calarco and Stcvcn OcCaroli zz) . Stan-

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|
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IorParrcsia, zoo6, iz6z.
OcCai Stcvcn. "oundary Stoncs. Giorgio Agambcn and thc Ficld olSovcr-
cig CiergeHgam/cnSeocrciandLq.Eds. MatthcwCalarcoandStc-
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ip
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Medrn Crnca/Ihcezooz,z;z) , ;z-6;.
Ldkins, |cnny. hatcvcr Ioitics. " CieqeHgam/cn:SeicrcipandLq. Lds.
MatthCalarcoandStcvcnLcCaroi ;o-t) . StIord, C. Stanord\n-
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Icrrari ravo, Luciano GiorgioAgambcn. HemeSaccr. " Famreantcrerc, t6,
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Gaitz, Robcrt, andRcimcrs,rita.Vorwort. " EsmnchcNmhc. . . oaa
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Calarco and Stcvcn OcCaroli zipo) . Stanlord, C. Stalord Lnivcrsi
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. hsMsssmnicIdsain/aum.Jrans.MichaclMcycr.NcwYork.Schock-
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Schtz,^nton. "1hinkingthcIawwithand^gainstIuhmann,Icgcndrc,^gam-
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. StanlordLnivcrsityIrcss,zoo.
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