The psychological life of authority: Theories in submission

Author's name: Judith Butler Publication: Nineveh for Studies, Publishing, and Distribution Year of publication: 2021 Literary classification: Philosophy and Thought Brief about the book: This book begins with the issue of power, then moves to the issue of the self subjected to a certain authority, attempting to reveal the inherent contradiction in the self that is subordinate to this authority on one hand, and involved in the process of subjugation on the other. Judith Butler addresses the modern understanding of power that invalidates the selfhood and its psychological effects, and deals with power as fixed, external to, and separate from the self. Butler reconnects the self to power, explaining the formation of the self through the contradictory process of subjugation from which the self cannot escape, remaining torn between its two sides, and which remains the fundamental condition for the formation and existence of the self. Relying on the works of Hegel and Nietzsche, Butler explains how morality and self-awareness are formed, and the relationship of this formation to guilt. Through referencing the works of Foucault and Althusser, she explores the complex relationship between power and the perception of identity, and the connection between the psychological inner space and the external space, where the boundaries between them dissolve, and the voice of external power interacts with the voice of the internal self. Then Butler expands on the psychological dimensions of power, and through commentary on Freud's texts, she demonstrates the role of loss and melancholy in the establishment of the selves.