Biopolítica Y Anthropomorphism
by Marco Piasentier
pp. 201-216 Issue 15 (8,1) – January-June 2021 ISSN (online): 2539/2239 ISSN (print): 2389-8232 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14718/SoftPower.2021.8.1.12
Abstract
Every inquiry into biopolitics inevitably raises questions about biological life and politics, nature and language. Michel Foucault deemed it essential to define these concepts and the relationships between them. Building upon Foucault’s exhortation to think philologically and biologically, this article addresses the divide between nature and language in the field of biopolitical studies. The inquiry encompasses diverse philosophical models, from the Heideggerian linguistic turn to post-Darwinian naturalism. In order to establish a dialogue between these traditions, the article puts into question two vestiges of a “human, all too human” worldview. The article attempts to show that the command of language and the ends of nature are two forms of anthropomorphism that preclude the possibility of thinking philologically and biologically about biopolitics.