Violence, Mourning, and the Ethics of Vulnerability — Rethinking Grievability and State Power | Chapter 2 of Precarious Life by Judith Butler
Violence, Mourning, and the Ethics of Vulnerability — Rethinking Grievability and State Power | Chapter 2 of Precarious Life by Judith Butler How do we decide whose lives matter? In Chapter 2 of Precarious Life: The Powers of Mourning and Violence , Judith Butler addresses this urgent question by exploring how violence, mourning, and political vulnerability shape the very notion of humanity. In this chapter, titled "Violence, Mourning, Politics," Butler continues her critique of post-9/11 state narratives by focusing on the politics of grief—who is allowed to grieve, whose loss is acknowledged, and how public mourning is suppressed or manipulated to serve nationalistic ends. Watch the full chapter summary below from Last Minute Lecture to better understand how mourning can become an act of political resistance: Who Counts as Human? At the core of Butler’s argument lies the question: who is considered human, and who is denied that status? She asserts that politica...