A critique of Schmittian concept of neutrality via the mirror stage

Date

2023-9-18

Author

Bozoğlu, Harun

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This study argues that the Schmittian neutrality thesis is invalid in the face of the Lacanian mirror stage. The principle of not making a distinction between friend and enemy, which forms the basis of the neutrality thesis, assumes that it is a conscious act to make these distinctions or not. However, considering that the much more archaic form of these distinctions, first the emergence of me [proto-ego] and then you, emerged in the unconscious mirror stage, it can be seen that these distinctions constantly function in the depths of our psyche. Therefore, since the seemingly neutral domains, i.e., culture, economy, and education are based entirely on the distinction between friend and enemy rising above these unconscious archaic divisions, the neutrality thesis loses its validity, revealing the existence of a purely political field.

Subject Keywords

Neutrality, Schmitt, Mirror Stage, Lacan, The Political.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/105278

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis