Giving an Account of Oneself (Butler Judith)(Paperback)

What does it mean to lead a moral life?

In her first extended study of moral philosophy, Judith Butler offers a provocative outline for a new ethical practice--one responsive to the need for critical autonomy and grounded in a new sense of the human subject.

Butler takes as her starting point one's ability to answer the questions 'What have I done?' and 'What ought I to do?' She shows that these question can be answered only by asking a prior question, 'Who is this 'I' who is under an obligation to give an account of itself and to act in certain ways?' Because I find that I cannot give an account of myself without accounting for the social conditions under which I emerge, ethical reflection requires a turn to social theory.

In three powerfully crafted and lucidly written chapters, Butler demonstrates how difficult it is to give an account of oneself, and how this lack of