Approaching Vulnerability from Contemporary Philosophy
摘要
With an approach to vulnerability from contemporary philosophy, the third chapter of this Volume highlights the concept of vulnerability as a fundamental anthropological feature, and at the same time, a singular, biographic, situational experience. It then deepens and broadens four categories from which different philosophers’ approach and expand their understanding of human vulnerability: vulnerability as dependence, vulnerability as fragility, vulnerability as being exposed to the other, and vulnerability as lability. Based on what has been developed and synthesizing the nuances contributed by each discipline, it then distinguishes three dimensions of vulnerability: Radical vulnerability (also called ontological); vulnerability as lability; and vulnerability that has been vulnerated. It finally asserts four conclusive statements on vulnerability.