Germaine de Staël’s Agency and the Feminist Understanding of Relational Autonomy

Abstract

The feminist understanding of relational autonomy criticises the abstract, self-centered and rigid rationalist autonomous individual understanding of political and moral theory, while trying to maintain the importance of political agency and moral autonomy. For this reason, as opposed to the feminist skepticism which is reluctant to the autonomy and rationalist political agency, an alternative autonomy understanding has been developed. The relational autonomy underlines the social, contextual and intersubjective character of autonomy and it becomes very stimulating in unearthing the agency of feminine subjects. This article reveals the importance of such an autonomy understanding by making visible the agency of a highly neglected author and thinker Germaine de Staël on the 200th anniversary of her death

Keywords

• Germaine de Staël, relational autonomy, salon, femininity, feminist theory.

GERMAINE DE STAËL’IN FAİLLİĞİ VE FEMİNİST İLİŞKİSEL ÖZERKLiK ANLAYIŞI

Öz

Feminist ilişkisel özerklik anlayışı siyaset ve ahlak kuramı içerisinde yer alan soyut, ben-merkezci ve katı akılcılığa dayalı özerk birey anlayışını eleştirirken, siyasi failliğin ve ahlaki özerkliğin önemini korumaya çalışır. Bu nedenle özerklik ve akılcı siyasi öznelik anlayışına tümüyle mesafeli duran feminist kuşkuculuğa karşı alternatif bir özerklik anlayışı geliştirilmiştir. Özerkliğin, toplumsal, bağlamsal ve öznelerarası yanını vurgulayan bu ilişkisel özerklik anlayışı kadın öznelerin failliklerinin ortaya çıkarılmasında oldukça ufuk açıcıdır. Bu makale tam da böylesi bir özerklik anlayışının ölümünün 200. yılında oldukça ihmal edilmiş bir yazar ve düşünür olan Germaine de Staël’ın failliğini görünür kılmak açısından önemini ortaya koymaktad

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Germaine de Staël, ilişkisel özerklik, salon, kadınlık, feminist kuram

Kaynakça

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