Abstract

This dissertation argues that traditional philosophical analyses of violence, which take war as a paradigm case, are done from a perspective which distances the body. This leads to conceptualizations in which the body, being de-personalized, figures only as an object or piece of evidence rather than a locus for analysis, and which focus on aspects "outside" the body, such as the amount of force involved and the intentions of the perpetrator. Shifting the paradigm case to violence against women, particularly in heterosexual personal relationships, emphasizes aspects of violence not clearly visible under traditional analyses. This shift returns analytical focus to the body, re-centering persons in bodies and re-placing the experience of violence in embodied persons. Because violence is essentially a body phenomenon, emphasizing embodiment improves understanding of it, demonstrating how particular bodies are likely to experience violence in particular ways according to differences marked out by gender, race, class and other significant social norms . Emphasis on violence in relationships illuminates certain implications of the fact that violence is rational activity chosen for its unique capacity to control others. ;The introduction situates the author and discusses methodological issues. Chapter one expounds conceptualizations in the literature, especially Plato and St. Augustine. The second chapter looks at four contemporary theorists whose work includes elements the author draws on: Robert Holmes, Hannah Arendt, Frantz Fanon, and Elaine Scarry. Chapter three discusses the relational nature and the rationality of violence, and notes links between individual and institutional violence. In chapter four Judith Butler's theory of performativity is taken as a basis for arguing that violence can be understood as a regulatory norm in the same way that gender can. The final chapter discusses issues of reasonable criteria for defining violence, ways in which violence is named, issues regarding justification, the mind/body problem in relation to conceptualizations of violence, and how returning to the body might affect understanding the perpetrator of violence. The denoument suggests concrete applications of the present analysis and directions for further investigation