What Counts as a Life?

In a conversation with Fina Birulés (2009) published under the title ‘Gender Is Extramoral’, Judith Butler asserts: ‘one could say that all my work revolves around this question: what is it that counts as a life?’. Such a statement must be startling. The notion of life did not appear so often in the preceding elaboration of the theory of performativity. Yet, the statement clearly refers to the whole of Butler's work. In addition, given that she refuses to define life, as it ‘tends to exceed the definitions we may offer […] so the approach to life cannot be altogether successful if we start with definitions’ (Schneider and Butler 2010), it seems that we are here faced with a certain conundrum. What is this ‘life’ that all of her work revolves around, and has it been with us all along?

Importantly, Butler's question is not about what a life is, but what counts as a life. The inconspicuous term ‘counting’, possibly one of the most Butlerian terms, should thus serve as a link. Not only does it connect the phases of Butler's work, but it also points in the direction we should think about life. What counts as a life; who counts as living; what living counts as possible; and who counts as a life for which living is in some sense foreclosed? Can we, in fact, ever really say that such life is counted? ‘To live in the shadowy regions of ontology’ is to live a life that does not count (Meijer and Prins 1998: 277). Talking with Birulés, Butler argues that gender is extramoral. Genders are, in themselves, neither good nor bad and, therefore, there are no genders that are ‘better’ than others. If there are, however, restrictions regulating what counts as the body supported in its desire to persist, we find ourselves in the midst of a different discussion, which is primarily political in kind. This discussion revolves around the life of the body, as well as conditions for life's flourishing, and, ultimately, around inequality. In other words, the main question of the discussion is: what makes for a liveable life?