Overcoming the Reactive Body: Nietzsche and Asad on Agency and Tragedy.
This article examines alternative conceptions of agency and freedom through a comparative analysis of Friedrich Nietzsche and Talal Asad, focusing on their critiques of secular liberal subjectivity and the Enlightenment ideal of autonomous emancipation. Both thinkers challenge the notion of the unif...
| Publicado en: | Sophia Vol. 65; no. 1; pp. 117 - 140 |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
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Springer Nature
Mar2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=192844250&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 192844250 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00381527 3OR0 jtl: Sophia issn: 00381527 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Mar2026 vid: 65 iid: 1 pid: 237 pub: Springer Nature artinfo: ui: 192844250 10.1007/s11841-025-01063-z ppf: 117 ppct: 23 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 711KB tig: atl: Overcoming the Reactive Body: Nietzsche and Asad on Agency and Tragedy. aug: au: Low, Nicholas E. affil: https://ror.org/03vek6s52 Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA su: Agent (Philosophy) Tragedy (Drama) Philosophers German philosophy Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, 1844-1900 Liberty Autonomy (Philosophy) Liberalism sug: subj: Agent (Philosophy) Tragedy (Drama) Philosophers German philosophy Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, 1844-1900 Liberty Autonomy (Philosophy) Liberalism keyword: Agency Emancipation Friedrich Nietzsche Philosophy of Religion Secularism Talal Asad; the "turn to the body" ab: This article examines alternative conceptions of agency and freedom through a comparative analysis of Friedrich Nietzsche and Talal Asad, focusing on their critiques of secular liberal subjectivity and the Enlightenment ideal of autonomous emancipation. Both thinkers challenge the notion of the unified, volitional subject by emphasizing the body's multiplicity and its capacity to enact agency through pain, suffering, and even death, rather than viewing these as mere constraints. Drawing on Nietzsche’s concept of the "will to power" and Asad’s critique of secular liberalism, the article highlights how tragedy serves as a framework for reimagining embodied agency beyond rational autonomy and self-determination. This tragic perspective destabilizes the secular liberal ideal of freedom as liberation from suffering, proposing instead a form of agency that embraces bodily excess and vulnerability. The article situates this discussion within broader scholarly efforts to rethink freedom and agency beyond Enlightenment paradigms, including the work of theorists like Saba Mahmood and Amy Hollywood. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Sophia is a copyright of Springer, 2026. All Rights Reserved. item: Sophia holder: Springer Nature dt: @attributes: year: 2026 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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