L’humain sous l’horizon de l’incapacité

Abstract

The ancient division of beings as capable or incapable which prevailed up through the 19th century has gradually been replaced by the perspective of an anthropological continuum according to which every being is at once thought of as capable and incapable, as fragile and vulnerable but also as resilient, as endowed with resources and unexploited potentials. This article seeks to grasp the consequences of this “anthropological shift”, in focusing its attention particularly on what happens at the extrema of this continuum. On the side of those who can't take it anymore, but on whom intolerable pressures are exerted to get a grip on themselves, to assume responsibility, there too we see a dualization of the care provided, opposing traditional social policies and the humanitarian reference frame. But on the other side of the continuum too, where “normality” may be beginning to be seen as deficiency, the possibility and expectation of an “augmentation in the human” is emerging on the horizon.

Keywords

• responsibilization
• capacity-incapacity
• care
• embettered human
• social policies