Introduction

Summary

Giorgio Agamben's nine-volume Homo Sacer series is one of the most significant philosophical and political works in recent memory. Its ambition is one that crosses over from these particular disciplinary domains into those of economics, literature and poetry, legal studies, history, theology and even anthropology. All of this is done with such finesse that the mind pausing to consider the implications of his research is often left with significant gaps in their understanding. With so much happening within the series, and on so many levels, it is frequently difficult to determine what is at stake in it, let alone critically assess it. In many ways, the most fundamental philosophical questions of the twentieth century are realigned and re-presented under wholly new conditions.

When the Homo Sacer series is contemplated within the context of Agamben's previous writings, there is much to unpack, such as why his work had shifted so strongly toward seemingly obscure political subjects and even more obscure theological ones. The early focal points of Agamben's thought such as poetry, aesthetics and canonical philosophical questions seem at times to have been thrust aside in an effort to range widely over a vast terrain of historical inquiries. However, at the same time, and as I intend to illustrate, what appears in the Homo Sacer series to be (at first glance) tangential to Agamben's earlier thought actually becomes central, and what appears (again, at first glance) to be a digression into political or theological minutiae becomes demonstrative of the entire project. If there is a single lesson to be learned by looking at the scope of Agamben's oeuvre it is that there are certain themes and concepts he often displays in his writings throughout the decades that have remained consistent. This is something that allows his thought to expand into new areas that were wholly unexpected, perhaps even to the author himself, while it also helps to explain why some of his occasional essays outside of the series serve to further reinforce the main ideas within it. This is a point which explains why I will be utilising some of these shorter works in the present study as well.

One reason for this phenomenon lies in the wager that Agamben makes concerning the fundamental nature of human existence, or human being (ontology) vis-à-vis other disciplinary approaches.