| ID | 113827 |
| Title Proper | Sacrificing justice |
| Other Title Information | suffering animals, the oresteia, and the masks of consent |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Dolgert, Stefan |
| Publication | 2012. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Democratic theorists have increasingly turned to Aeschylus' Oresteia as a resource for challenging the shortcomings of liberal theory, but I argue that this particular return to Greek tragedy should be treated with a healthy dose of skepticism. Defenders of Aeschylean justice have underplayed the sacrificial aspects of his solution to the problem of civil strife, mistaking the consent of the Furies for a resolution that escapes the cycle of violence. Drawing on elements of Greek ritual practice, I contend that Aeschylus folds the consent of the Furies into a sacrificial framework which denies the violence it enacts by directing this violence toward nonhumans. As a consequence Aeschylean justice is complicit in continuing the sacrificial economy it seems to subvert, and Aeschylean politics relies on the suffering of nonhumans (and humans) to secure its conception of order. |
| `In' analytical Note | Political Theory Vol. 40, No.3; Jun 2012: p.263-289 |
| Journal Source | Political Theory Vol. 40, No.3; Jun 2012: p.263-289 |
| Key Words | Greek Tragedy ; Critical Animal Studies ; Sacrifice ; Democracy ; Justice |