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“Starting from Ourselves as Living Beings” by Luce Irigaray: Summary and Critique
“Starting from Ourselves as Living Beings” by Luce Irigaray, first appeared in 1991 in the journal Hypatia, exemplifies Irigaray’s pioneering feminist philosophy.
Introduction: “Starting from Ourselves as Living Beings” by Luce Irigaray
“Starting from Ourselves as Living Beings” by Luce Irigaray, first appeared in 1991 in the journal Hypatia, exemplifies Irigaray’s pioneering feminist philosophy, emphasizing the importance of bodily and subjective experiences in the construction of identity, particularly for women. Through this work, Irigaray challenges traditional Western metaphysical ideas that separate the body from the self, advocating instead for an embodied understanding of subjectivity. The article’s significance lies in its contribution to feminist theory, philosophy, and literary criticism, as it underscores the need for rethinking categories of gender, identity, and autonomy through the lens of the living body. Its influence extends beyond feminist discourse, engaging deeply with psychoanalytic theory, philosophy of difference, and ethics, positioning it as a critical text in the re-examination of Western intellectual traditions.
Summary of “Starting from Ourselves as Living Beings” by Luce Irigaray
Main Idea: Our current approach to ecology is flawed because it focuses on controlling nature rather than respecting it. A true ecological ethic requires us to first care for ourselves as living beings.
Key Points:
Current Ecological Efforts are Flawed: We try to “care for” nature by controlling it, not by respecting it as something we are a part of.
“Even if this gesture looks more ethical, it is nevertheless still inspired by a sense of absolute power toward life more than by a respect for life.”
“It is also expressed in terms that favour the ‘object’ and ‘the before oneself’, that is, what considers life as something outside ourselves, in comparison to the life that we are.”
Start with Ourselves: Before we can care for the environment, we need to understand what it means to be alive ourselves.
“Before willing once more to be the masters of the world, it would be advisable to wonder about what being alive signifies, and whether we are really living, or how we could be or become living.”
We are Cut Off from Our Natural Roots: Our culture separates us from our natural instincts and desires.
“Our cultural tradition wants any subject to be neuter and universal. However, such a subject amounts to a theoretical construction, not to the living being we are or ought to be.”
“This tradition has, in this way, rendered us extraneous to our environment, extraneous to one another as living beings, and even extraneous to ourselves.”
Respecting Natural Impulses: We should learn to trust and cultivate our natural impulses for connection and growth.
“We get in touch with the world, with the other, with ourselves according to learned codes, but not starting from original impulses, attractions or sympathies that have been educated toward the respect for our own life, that for our environment, and for other living beings.”
False Choices: We often prioritize manufactured goods and unnecessary travel over healthy food and a clean environment.
“Attending to the quality of air ought to be a priority for us, but we prefer many more secondary things to this concern: for example, providing ourselves with less essential manufactured products or travelling for pleasure, which leads to a more and more disquieting atmospheric pollution.”
“The choice of our food is also dictated by constraints that are different from those of life itself, and, moreover, of its respect and cultivation.”
Respectful Sensory Perception: Our senses are a way to connect with the world, not just dominate it.
“Our senses are one of the mediators through which we can pass from a mere natural belonging to a cultured humanity, because they represent a privileged access to our communication with the world and with the other(s).”
“There, sight, instead of being a mere means for appropriating a presumed object, is trained to convert such a manner of perceiving into a contemplative attitude, that fits much better a cultivation of energy itself and a respectful relation to what we are looking at.”
Sexuation is Crucial: Recognizing and respecting our sexuate identities is essential for an ecological ethic.
“Any living being is sexuate. If we consider ourselves as neuter individuals, we cannot behave in an ecological way.”
“The negation of life is then at the root of our manner of being and acting.”
Desire as a Source of Energy: Sexual desire is not just for procreation, it’s a source of energy for living a full life.
“If sexual desire brings an additional energy, it is not the same with technique.”
“Desire is probably the most specifically human property. It shows an almost natural and continuous longing for transcending oneself.”
Education for Desire: Our education system neglects the importance of cultivating healthy desires.
“Ought not all the moving discourses concerning the preservation of the vegetal or animal biodiversity first consider the ecological need for a cultivation of desire and love between us so that we get to cultivate our own life without imagining that this requires us to dominate nature, especially the nature of the other(s), because we lack an education of our instincts and a fulfilment of our desires?”
Beyond Needs: Moving beyond basic needs towards desire is what allows us to become truly human.
“The passage from need to desire, which probably represents the means to accede to humanity as such, has almost never been considered by our culture.”
“If transcendence is reduced to the existence of a higher being belonging to a world different from that in which we live, then we run the risk of not considering it to be an essential aspect of our way of humanly dwelling in the world.”
Respecting Transcendence: The difference between living beings is something to be respected, not dominated.
“Each living being presupposes a specific structuring of existence, especially through its sexuation. The lack of respect for such a property leads to ecological disturbances that, little by little, exhaust the resources of terrestrial life and our own human energy.”
“We have to situate ourselves in a network of relations, in which we accomplish the relations which correspond to our own life without encroaching on or substituting for those that are in accordance with the life of the other(s).”
Building a Human World: We need to cultivate our relationships with each other and the world around us.
“We struggle for their survival through cultural substitutes because they have not created, amongst themselves, links that can provide them with an additional life rather than a death threat.”
“This building of space and places thanks to the relations of desire between us is still lacking.”
Language Needs to Change: Our language prioritizes domination over communication and respect.
“Our language aims at grasping rather than at meeting, at communicating about something rather than at communicating or sharing with someone, at integrating everything or everyone in a totality that would be ours rather than at composing a world with the others.”
“We lack words to express this universal sharing between us, a sharing that unites us on this side and beyond every definite culture, civilization, and even species, and the expression of which would be crucial to achieving an ecological ethics.”
Sexuate Language: Language should reflect the existence of two sexes and their interactions.
“A sexuate language, which would provide a cultural milieu supportive for the existence and the growth of living beings, and for a sharing between them.”
“To each sort of living being must correspond a suitable culture, and it is regrettable that the human species, especially in this aspect, has favoured a culture which refers to death, giving way to a mere biological survival, instead of being concerned with a cultivation of sexual relations that, for animals, often represent the most evolved part of their behaviours, the part that goes beyond those necessary to a mere survival.”
Intersubjective Language: We need language that facilitates communication and connection between subjects.
“To think about this question is to discover how much we lack the verbs for saying our desire or our love without reducing the other to an object of our feelings.”
“Our language does not favour the relationships between two subjects, in particular between two differently sexuate subjects.”
Love and Desire Need Words: We lack the words to express love and desire in a healthy way.
“The amorous union, which ought to represent the most accomplished gesture of the relationship between humans remains, in this way, deprived of words and is fulfilled with a blind instinctive immediacy that is satisfied as an uncultivated exploitation of our nature, whatever the supposedly moral redemption through reproduction it allows for.”
Reversing the Pyramid: We need to prioritize the connection between living beings over abstract ideas.
“Ought not an ecological ethics, not to say any ethics, to reverse the pyramid of values, according to which our culture is structured?”
Respecting the Transcendence Between Sexes: The difference between the sexes is a fundamental aspect of life to be respected.
“The transcendence existing between two differently sexuate subjects to be the first transcendence we must respect and cultivate, especially thanks to an appropriate intersubjective language, so that we ensure a passage from nature to a culture which remains faithful to life and its properties?”
Conclusion: A true ecological ethic requires us to reconnect with ourselves as living beings, cultivate our natural desires, and develop a language that respects the interconnectedness of all life.
Literary Terms/Concepts in “Starting from Ourselves as Living Beings” by Luce Irigaray
Literary Term/Concept
Explanation
Relevance in Irigaray’s Work
Ecological Ethics
A system of moral principles that guides human interaction with nature and the environment.
Irigaray critiques the Western tendency to dominate nature, advocating for a respectful coexistence of life forms.
Embodied Subjectivity
The idea that human identity and experience are deeply rooted in bodily existence.
Central to Irigaray’s feminist critique, highlighting the importance of recognizing ourselves as living beings rather than abstract subjects.
Sexuate Identity
The notion that one’s identity is inherently tied to their biological and gendered being.
Irigaray emphasizes the ecological importance of recognizing sexuate identity as a natural part of human individuation and relational existence.
Transcendence
The act of going beyond physical existence or earthly limitations.
Irigaray critiques traditional transcendence, suggesting that respect for the “other” begins with recognizing sexual and ecological differences.
Challenges traditional patriarchal notions of subjectivity, emphasizing the importance of feminine difference and experience. Argues for a rethinking of language and culture to account for female perspectives.
Connects feminism with ecological concerns, arguing that patriarchal domination of both women and nature is interconnected. Emphasizes the need for a more inclusive and sustainable relationship with the natural world.
Applies phenomenological methods to explore the lived experiences of women, focusing on their embodied subjectivity and relationship to the world. Critiques the masculine bias in traditional phenomenology.
Challenges the notion of a fixed, stable subject and explores the ways in which language and discourse construct reality. Emphasizes the importance of deconstructing patriarchal narratives and promoting alternative perspectives.
Psychoanalysis
Reinterprets Freudian psychoanalysis to focus on feminine sexuality and subjectivity. Critiques the phallocentric bias in traditional psychoanalysis and proposes a more inclusive understanding of the psyche.
Ethics
Develops an ecological ethics based on respect for life and the natural world. Argues for a shift from a culture of domination to one of coexistence and sharing.
Language Theory
Critiques the masculine bias in language and argues for the need to develop a more inclusive and feminine-friendly language. Emphasizes the importance of language in shaping our understanding of the world.
Examples of Critiques Through “Starting from Ourselves as Living Beings” by Luce Irigaray
Literary Work
Critique through Irigaray’s Lens
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Shelley’s Frankenstein can be critiqued for its portrayal of the unnatural creation of life, echoing Irigaray’s concern with Western culture’s tendency to dominate and fabricate nature. The creature’s alienation reflects the lack of connection to an embodied, natural existence, paralleling Irigaray’s critique of the Western subject as separated from life.
The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot
Eliot’s The Waste Land can be viewed as a reflection of a cultural disconnection from the living world, akin to Irigaray’s critique of how Western culture has lost its relationship with nature and bodily subjectivity. The fragmented human relationships and barren landscape in Eliot’s poem exemplify the ecological and existential crisis that Irigaray addresses.
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
In Heart of Darkness, the colonial exploitation of the African land and people mirrors Irigaray’s critique of the Western subject’s dominance over nature. The narrative reveals a failure to recognize the interconnectedness of life forms, reflecting Irigaray’s concern about the dehumanization and mechanization of life under Western imperialism.
The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir
While Beauvoir critiques the patriarchal reduction of women to their biology, Irigaray might argue that The Second Sex still operates within a framework that separates the body from subjectivity. Irigaray would suggest a deeper ecological and embodied understanding of subjectivity, emphasizing women’s bodily existence as integral to their identity, rather than something to transcend.
Criticism Against “Starting from Ourselves as Living Beings” by Luce Irigaray
Essentialism in Gender: Critics argue that Irigaray’s emphasis on sexuate identity risks reinforcing essentialist notions of gender, where differences between men and women are biologically determined rather than socially constructed.
Ambiguity in Ecological Ethics: Some scholars find her ecological ethics vague and difficult to apply practically. While she calls for a shift in how humans relate to the environment, the specific steps for achieving this are not always clear.
Overemphasis on Duality: Irigaray’s focus on the duality of sexes has been criticized for being reductive, potentially ignoring non-binary and queer identities that do not fit within the traditional male-female dichotomy.
Limited Engagement with Intersectionality: Critics note that Irigaray’s work, while important in feminist philosophy, tends to lack intersectional analysis, especially concerning race, class, and other social identities that intersect with gender and ecology.
Abstract Language and Accessibility: The abstract and philosophical nature of Irigaray’s language can be seen as inaccessible to a wider audience, making it challenging for practical engagement or broader academic discourse.
Representative Quotations from “Starting from Ourselves as Living Beings” by Luce Irigaray with Explanation
“Even if this gesture looks more ethical, it is nevertheless still inspired by a sense of absolute power toward life more than by a respect for life.”
This highlights the underlying power dynamic in many ecological efforts, even those that appear to be ethical.
“It is also expressed in terms that favour the ‘object’ and ‘the before oneself’, that is, what considers life as something outside ourselves, in comparison to the life that we are.”
This critique points out the objectification of nature in many ecological discourses, which fails to acknowledge the interconnectedness of all living beings.
“Before willing once more to be the masters of the world, it would be advisable to wonder about what being alive signifies, and whether we are really living, or how we could be or become living.”
This calls for a deeper introspection into what it means to be alive and the ways in which our culture may be hindering our ability to live fully.
“Our cultural tradition wants any subject to be neuter and universal.”
This critique challenges the traditional notion of a universal, neuter subject and argues for the importance of recognizing and respecting feminine difference.
“We get in touch with the world, with the other, with ourselves according to learned codes, but not starting from original impulses, attractions or sympathies that have been educated toward the respect for our own life, that for our environment, and for other living beings.”
This emphasizes the importance of cultivating our natural impulses and instincts, rather than relying solely on learned behaviors.
“Attending to the quality of air ought to be a priority for us, but we prefer many more secondary things to this concern: for example, providing ourselves with less essential manufactured products or travelling for pleasure, which leads to a more and more disquieting atmospheric pollution.”
This highlights the often-conflicting priorities in our society, which can lead to harmful environmental consequences.
“Our senses are one of the mediators through which we can pass from a mere natural belonging to a cultured humanity, because they represent a privileged access to our communication with the world and with the other(s).”
This emphasizes the importance of our senses in connecting with the world and other beings, and the need to cultivate them respectfully.
“Any living being is sexuate. If we consider ourselves as neuter individuals, we cannot behave in an ecological way.”
This underscores the significance of recognizing and respecting our sexuate identities as a foundation for an ecological ethic.
“Desire is probably the most specifically human property. It shows an almost natural and continuous longing for transcending oneself.”
This highlights the role of desire in human development and its potential for transcendence and connection.
“Ought not all the moving discourses concerning the preservation of the vegetal or animal biodiversity first consider the ecological need for a cultivation of desire and love between us so that we get to cultivate our own life without imagining that this requires us to dominate nature, especially the nature of the other(s), because we lack an education of our instincts and a fulfilment of our desires?”
This calls for a shift in focus in ecological discourse, emphasizing the need to cultivate our own human relationships and desires as a foundation for a sustainable and ethical relationship with the natural world.
Suggested Readings: “Starting from Ourselves as Living Beings” by Luce Irigaray
