生命与政治的悖论:阿甘本“赤裸生命”概念的三个源头

The Paradox of Life and Politics: Three Sources of “Bare Life” as a Concept in Giorgio Agamben's Works

意大利哲学家阿甘本对生命与政治关系的洞察来源于阿伦特、本雅明和福柯三位思想先驱。阿伦特通过对"政治生命"和"单纯生命"概念的区分,试图将政治共同体奠基于单纯的政治实践。这一思考产生了单纯生命的悖论:单纯生命既构成政治共同体的基础,又是消解政治共同体的根本因素。本雅明利用"牺牲"概念和犹太—基督教神学传统,消解了阿伦特的悖论,却将政治行动转化为维护律法的暴力行为,并在献祭—净化的循环中,将纯粹生命本身转化为律法实施的最高目标。阿伦特和本雅明的哲学和神学反思最终在福柯对现代政治技术的分析中,呈现为现代生命政治内在的实践逻辑,人的自然生命成为政治的目标,却在被政治技术的抽象化利用过程中,转化为"赤裸生命"。借助于三位思想家的论述,阿甘本重建了生命哲学和政治哲学的关系,他认为,赤裸生命就是人类生命的"门槛"(threshold):它处于生命的存在和消亡之间,将政治权力最为悖谬的两种功能,即捍卫生命和威胁生命同时表征出来。

Giorgio Agamben＇s insights on life and politics are creative synthesis of Hannah Arendt, Walter Benjamin and Michel Foucault＇s works. By differentiating bios politikon from zoe, Arendt intends to build the foundation of political community solely on political practices. Her standpoints inevitably lead to a paradox： mere life（zoe） becomes both the basis of the political community and the essential factor which would dissolve the political community. Walter Benjamin solves Arendt＇s paradox with the induc- tion of the concept ＂Opfer＂ and Judo - Christian tradition of atonement, with a transfiguration of political action to the violent action for the sovereign law. Life itself has been changed into the highest aim for the operation of sovereign law. The two thinkers＇ reflections are expressed in Michel Foucauh＇s analysis of modern political techniques. As a coherent inner logic of Bio - power＇s mechanism, life itself becomes the ultimate object of human-being, which is transformed as ＂bare life＂ by the abstractive exploits of modern political techniques. With the help of the discussion of these three thinkers, Agamben reconstructs the re- lationship between philosophies of life and politics. He thinks that bare life, as the threshold of human existence, is in between the existence and extinction of life. Bare life exhibits the double paradoxical functions of political power simultaneously, the protection of life and the threat to life.