Disenchanted Subjects? On the Experience of Subjectivity in Care Relations

Abstract

Although critique of the modern concept of the autonomous and self-sufficient subject is constitutive for the ethics of care, current care theories seem to draw little attention to the epistemological implications for the counter-concept of relational subjectivity. Starting from Theodor W. Adorno’s critical theory of the subject the article presents a late-modern concept of relational subjectivity. Introducing the Italian feminist thought of sexual difference I will show the practical potential of a critical epistemology. Finally, I will argue that Adorno’s philosophical critique, together with the ‘theoretical practice’ of Italian feminism, might be fruitfully employed in a critical theory of care that seeks to generate political and social transformation.