Author: ZHANG Xu, Professor, School of Philosophy, Renmin University of China.
Abstract:
“Homo Sacer”is the core concept in the famous contemporary philosopher Giorgio Agamben`s work Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Naked Life. It is also undoubtedly the key to understanding Agamben`s philosophical thought, and has been translated into Chinese as “shen sheng ren 神圣人”(sacred person). However, our understanding of the word Homo Sacer is not accurate, and its translation is also inconsistent. After a close reading and analysis of the text, argument and context of the work Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Naked Life, this paper argues that the best definition of Homo Sacer is “a human being who can be killed and yet not sacrificed.” This means Homo Sacer is a person who is excluded through a double exclusion, namely, the naked life produced by the “sovereign exception” through “exclusive-inclusion”. The Chinese translation of Homo Sacer as “sacred person” thus makes a fatal mistake, because it does not transmit the actual meaning of homo sacer.
Keywords:
Homo Sacer; Sovereign Power; Naked Life; Biopolitics; Exclusive-Inclusion
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