Form of Life: Agamben and the Destitution of Rules

A rigorous reading of Agamben’s concept of form-of-life

• Discusses Agamben’s political thought and the question of anarchy
• Re-evaluates Agamben’s thought in light of his later works and the recent completion of the Homo Sacer series
• Considers Agamben’s related works on use, praxis, inoperativity, and destitutio
• Outlines a theoretical framework through which to think of a non-state and non-legal politics
• Explores underappreciated influences of Agamben’s philosophy

The concept of a form-of-life is the centre of gravity around which Agamben has advanced his attempts to think of an alternative politics. It refers to a living dimension that has overthrown the structures of power in which humans are supposedly destined to live, disclosing the possibility of a new understanding of political and legal life. By placing ‘form-of-life’ in the context of contemporary philosophy, this book re-imagines anew some of the basic categories of human socialities – such as work, rights, obligation, property, and use. It explores the ways in which Agamben’s philosophy might be a strategic resource for developing political and legal strategies that leave behind a situation dominated by pervasive sovereign violence.

At a moment of history in which the fundamental promises of Western modernity are undergoing a decisive crisis, to look beyond the basic categories of human social institutions becomes an urgency. Through a close engagement with Agamben’s concept of form-of-life, this book seeks to challenge the current crisis of juridical, political and economic reality.