Even
before Kant philosophers have argued about the meaning of the subject. Is the
subject autonomous? Does the subject have a stable essence? What conditions the
subject? Does it abide by any laws? Is the subject rational? And what are the
relations between the subject and society? Questions like these are all
symptomatic of the philosophy since the Enlightenment began.
"Subject"
is semantically related to "subjection", hinting that subject is
something which is subjected to something else. The subjection of the subject
was as source of interest for many critical thinkers who sought to explain how
social and cultural forces condition subjective consciousness. The most
fundamental example for this line of thought is that of Marx. These trends of
relating to the subject subvert the modern perception of the subject as
autonomous and independent.
According
to the Marxist tradition the subject is subjected to material historical
forces which determine his (false) consciousness. In psychoanalysis, the
subject is subjected to hidden mental content which is hidden in the
subconscious. In linguistics, de-Saussure points to the manner in which
language conditions the subject's perception of reality. Structural theory,
following de-Saussure, saw the subject is the product of social and cultural
structures. Critical thinkers such as Michel Foucault, Judith Butler and
Louis Althusser all see the subject as the product of cultural systems
which shape what is falsely perceived as sovereignty, free choice and
self-consciousness.
Here
we can see the process which has eventually led to the announcement about the
"Death of Subject", or the fragmentation of subject in FredrickJameson's phrasing. The subject moved from being a "master of its own
reality", as it were, for Kant to being site of social conditioning and
control for post-modern thinkers. Thus we can see how the term subject is a
contested one that was born as free, autonomous, intelligent and aware and that
has metaphorically died as subaltern, conditioned, controlled and unaware.
see also
Book you should check out:
see also
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