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Metaphysics of presence

The metaphysics of presence is a central concept in the philosophy of Jacques Derrida, referring to the longstanding Western tradition that privileges immediate, self-evident presence as the foundation for meaning, truth, and being, often at the expense of absence, difference, and mediation.^[1] This idea, rooted in logocentrism—the prioritization of the logos or rational speech—and phonocentrism—the elevation of voice over writing—posits that full presence, such as in consciousness or the spoken word, provides unmediated access to essence, as exemplified in Plato's forms or Husserl's pure intentionality.^[2] Derrida critiques this metaphysics as illusory, arguing that it suppresses the inherent deferral and relationality of signification through his concept of différance, which underscores how meaning arises from traces of difference rather than static presence.^[3] Derrida's analysis traces the metaphysics of presence back to pre-Socratic thinkers like Parmenides, who equated being with unchanging presence, and extends through key figures such as Aristotle, whose notion of ousia (substance) as actualized presence ties time to the "now" as non-time.^[1] In modern philosophy, it manifests in Descartes' cogito as self-presence and Hegel's dialectical progression toward absolute spirit, where presence serves as the transcendental signified guaranteeing coherence.^[2] Influenced by Heidegger's Destruktion of ontology, Derrida exposes how this tradition creates binary oppositions—presence/absence, speech/writing, full/empty—that hierarchically favor the former, yet reveal internal contradictions when deconstructed, as seen in his readings of Rousseau and Saussure. Ultimately, the metaphysics of presence underpins what Derrida terms the "history of metaphysics," a unified narrative that he dismantles to reveal the play of signs without origin or end, influencing fields from literary theory to postcolonial studies.^[1]

Conceptual Foundations

Definition and Core Idea

The metaphysics of presence, as formulated by Jacques Derrida, designates the Western philosophical tradition's determination of being as presence across its various senses, thereby privileging immediate intuition and self-presence of meaning over absence, deferral, or any form of mediation.^[4] This tradition posits presence as the foundational criterion for truth and essence, assuming an unmediated, full access to reality that effaces temporal or spatial gaps.^[4] Central to this metaphysics is the notion of presence as self-proximity, exemplified in René Descartes' cogito ergo sum, where thinking establishes an immediate self-presence immune to doubt, and in Edmund Husserl's phenomenology, which seeks pure phenomena through the "living present" of intuitive consciousness.^[4] These concepts embody the assumption of direct, unadulterated apprehension of the self, essence, or phenomena, without the interference of representation or exteriority.^[4] At its core, the metaphysics of presence structures a series of binary oppositions—such as speech versus writing or soul versus body—wherein the former term is elevated as more authentic and immediate, while the latter is demeaned as derivative or absent.^[4] This valorization reinforces a hierarchical ontology that marginalizes mediation in favor of perceived plenitude. The tradition traces its roots to Plato's theory of forms, which conceives ideal realities as eternally present and accessible through recollection, and Aristotle's notion of substance (ousia), understood as the underlying presence that constitutes the essence of things.^[2] Derrida formalized this critique in the 1960s, identifying it as a pervasive logocentric structure enabling such privilegings.^[4]

Relation to Logocentrism

Logocentrism, as articulated by Jacques Derrida, refers to the Western philosophical tradition's belief in a transcendent logos—understood as reason or the divine word—that guarantees the immediate presence of meaning and truth, thereby directly entailing the metaphysics of presence.^[4] This framework posits a self-present origin of meaning, such as the speaking subject or an ideal consciousness, where signs directly correspond to their referents without mediation or deferral.^[4] Derrida describes logocentrism as a system that privileges the phone (speech) over writing, assuming the voice's natural attachment to the signified and thereby repressing the inherent play of differences in signification.^[4] Logocentrism manifests prominently in phonocentrism, the hierarchical superiority accorded to speech as the embodiment of the speaker's living intention and immediate presence, in contrast to writing, which is viewed as a mere trace or absence of that vitality.^[4] In this view, speech allows for the direct, unmediated expression of thought, akin to an auto-affection where the speaker hears their own voice as fully present to consciousness, while writing introduces distance, iteration, and potential misunderstanding.^[4] Phonocentrism thus reinforces logocentrism by equating the voice with the essence of meaning, treating writing as a secondary, artificial supplement that disrupts the purity of presence.^[4] Derrida argues that logocentrism systematically represses the inherent instability of signs by assuming a self-present origin of meaning, such as the transcendental signified, which effaces the relational and differential structure of language.^[4] This repression maintains the illusion of full presence, excluding the trace of absence and the supplementary nature of signification that writing exemplifies.^[4] By prioritizing a stable, immediate logos, logocentrism undermines the recognition that meaning arises through deferral and difference rather than static self-evidence.^[4] A seminal example of this dynamic appears in Plato's Phaedrus, where writing is critiqued as lacking the living presence of speech and thus incapable of genuine dialogue or defense.^[5] In the dialogue, Socrates, through the myth of Theuth, portrays writing as a pharmakon—both remedy and poison—that promotes forgetfulness by substituting external reminders for internal recollection, in contrast to speech's immediate responsiveness and vitality.^[5] Derrida highlights this as an early instantiation of logocentrism, where Plato condemns writing's dead iterability while idealizing the spoken word as the true carrier of wisdom.^[4]

Historical Development

Influences from Pre-Derridean Thinkers

The metaphysics of presence traces its roots to ancient Greek philosophy, where Plato's theory of Forms posits eternal, unchanging entities as the true reality, existing independently of the sensible world and serving as paradigms of perfect presence. In the Republic (c. 380 BCE), Plato describes these Forms, such as Beauty Itself or Justice Itself, as self-predicating and simple in essence, accessible only through intellectual intuition rather than sensory perception, which deals with imperfect, transient particulars that merely partake in or imitate the Forms.^[6] This conception privileges an atemporal, fully realized presence over becoming or flux, establishing a foundational hierarchy in Western ontology where ultimate being is equated with eternal stability. Aristotle, in his Metaphysics (c. 350 BCE), further develops this tradition by identifying substance (ousia) as the primary category of being, realized through actuality (energeia) rather than mere potentiality (dunamis). Substances, such as a living organism or artifact, achieve their essence when form actualizes matter, rendering the composite present and complete in its telos; actuality is thus prior in definition, time, and substance, emphasizing a metaphysics where true being manifests as self-sufficient, present realization.^[7] In the early twentieth century, Edmund Husserl's phenomenology reinforced these themes through an emphasis on immediate intuition and the "living present" as the core of conscious experience. This framework assumes the self-presence of consciousness, where experiences are inherently self-manifesting through pre-reflective awareness, allowing for the fulfillment of meaning in bodily presence, such as perceiving an object in its full intuition. The concept of the living present as the temporal structure of consciousness, comprising a primal impression of the "now," retention of the immediate past, and protention toward the imminent future, all unified in direct, intuitive givenness without mediation, is developed in Husserl's Lectures on the Phenomenology of the Consciousness of Internal Time (1905, published 1928), building on the intentionality analyses in his earlier Logical Investigations (1900–1901).^[8] Husserl elaborates this in Ideas Pertaining to a Pure Phenomenology and to a Phenomenological Philosophy (1913), positing the transcendental ego as the pole of intentional acts that ensures the pure, immediate self-givenness of phenomena, grounding knowledge in the originary presence of essences accessed via eidetic reduction.^[8] Derrida later critiques this for presupposing an unproblematic auto-affection of consciousness, but Husserl's model upholds presence as the unshakeable foundation of phenomenological truth. Martin Heidegger's existential phenomenology in Being and Time (1927) both inherits and interrogates this tradition, interpreting traditional metaphysics as a "metaphysics of presence" that misconstrues Being (Sein) as constant presence-at-hand (Vorhandenheit). Heidegger argues that Western ontology since Plato has reduced Being to the intelligibility of entities as present objects, abstracted from their temporal disclosure through Dasein's everyday involvement; instead, he seeks to retrieve the question of Being by analyzing its temporal horizon, where authentic existence confronts the nothing beyond mere presence.^[9] In critiquing onto-theology—the metaphysical tendency to treat Being as the highest present being—Heidegger extends the tradition by historicizing it, showing how epochs of Being unfold as forgotten presences, a line of thought Derrida would further deconstruct.^[9] Ferdinand de Saussure's structural linguistics, outlined in Course in General Linguistics (1916), provides a modern semiotic precursor by conceptualizing the linguistic sign as a unity of the signified (concept or meaning) and the signifier (sound-image or form), arbitrarily linked yet conventionally stable within langue (the social system), emphasizing synchronic relations over diachronic evolution and treating meaning as derived from oppositions rather than inherent presence.^[10] This relational, differential framework, which subordinates the material signifier to the ideal signified in subsequent traditions, influences Derrida's later semiotic analyses in the 1960s by highlighting logocentrism's bias toward transparent, present meaning.^[10]

Derrida's Formulation in Key Works

Jacques Derrida first articulated his critique of the metaphysics of presence in his 1967 work Voice and Phenomenon, a detailed engagement with Edmund Husserl's phenomenology.^[11] In this text, Derrida targets Husserl's notion of "absolute knowledge" as an ideal form of presence, arguing that consciousness is never fully self-present but always marked by temporal deferral and indication.^[12] He demonstrates how Husserl's reduction to pure lived experience relies on an unacknowledged metaphysics that privileges immediate, originary presence over absence or mediation.^[13] This critique draws briefly on Husserl's own framework while extending influences from Martin Heidegger's questioning of onto-theology.^[14] Derrida expanded this formulation in Of Grammatology (1967), particularly in the chapter "Exergue: Writing Before the Letter," where he deconstructs the Western philosophical hierarchy privileging speech over writing.^[4] He posits that this binary opposition exemplifies the metaphysics of presence, as speech is valorized for its supposed proximity to immediate meaning and the living voice, while writing is relegated as a derivative, absent representation. Through analysis of thinkers like Rousseau and Saussure, Derrida shows how this hierarchy sustains logocentric assumptions of full presence in signification.^[15] The critique developed further in Writing and Difference (1967), a collection of essays that systematically dismantles Western metaphysics by examining its reliance on presence in various domains, including structure and interpretation.^[16] In Margins of Philosophy (1972), Derrida formalized key aspects of this thought through the 1968 lecture-essay "Différance," which elucidates how presence is undermined by inevitable deferral and difference within philosophical discourse.^[17] These works mark the consolidation of Derrida's deconstructive approach to presence as a foundational illusion in ontology and epistemology.^[18] Derrida's formulation of the metaphysics of presence reached its peak in the late 1960s, coinciding with the decline of structuralism, and was notably propelled by his presentation at the 1966 Johns Hopkins University conference on "The Languages of Criticism and the Sciences of Man."^[19] There, his paper "Structure, Sign, and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences" challenged structuralist centrism, introducing deconstruction as a response to presence-oriented thought.^[20]

Central Concepts

Presence versus Absence

The metaphysics of presence establishes a foundational binary opposition between presence and absence, wherein presence is valorized as the full, immediate apprehension of being, while absence is relegated to a secondary status as deferral, mediation, or inherent lack.^[21] For instance, presence is exemplified in direct sensory experiences such as seeing an object in the present moment, contrasted with absence in mediated recollections like remembering that same object, which introduces temporal distance and incompleteness.^[22] This hierarchy permeates Western philosophy, positioning presence as the ideal form of truth and reality, with absence dismissed as a mere shadow or deficiency.^[21] Philosophical traditions reinforce this binary through specific exemplars, such as in metaphysics where substance—understood as the enduring, self-present essence—is privileged over accident, the contingent and absent modification that depends on substance for its being.^[21] In epistemology, intuition represents the immediate, self-evident grasp of knowledge, superior to inference, which relies on absent premises and logical mediation, thus introducing uncertainty and indirection.^[22] These oppositions, enabled by logocentrism's emphasis on a centering logos, sustain the illusion of unmediated access to reality.^[21] Jacques Derrida's deconstruction exposes the instability of this hierarchy, demonstrating that presence is not self-sufficient but constitutively dependent on absence, rendering the binary undecidable and relational.^[22] For example, Derrida draws on Emmanuel Levinas's concept of the "other" to argue that ethical encounter with alterity—manifest as an irreducible absence—grounds and disrupts any claim to pure presence, as the other's face interrupts self-presence with infinite responsibility.^[21] This revelation undermines the opposition's purported stability, showing how absence actively constitutes presence rather than merely negating it.^[22] The consequences of this entrenched binary are profound, as it perpetuates illusions of an absolute origin and a closed system of meaning in philosophical thought, thereby suppressing the inherent relationality and openness of existence.^[21] By prioritizing presence, metaphysics forecloses the play of differences that defines being, leading to totalizing structures that marginalize interdependence and deferral.^[22] Derrida's critique thus invites a rethinking of these oppositions, highlighting their role in enforcing conceptual closures that obscure the dynamic interplay between presence and absence.^[21]

The Role of Différance and Trace

In Jacques Derrida's philosophy, différance serves as a pivotal neologism introduced in 1968 to encapsulate the dual operations of differing and deferring, thereby challenging the foundational assumptions of Western metaphysics. The term merges the French verb différer, which signifies both spatial distinction ("to differ") and temporal postponement ("to defer"), rendering meaning as an endless process of differentiation and delay rather than a fixed, self-contained presence.^[17] As Derrida explains, différance is "the playing movement that 'produces' (from the 'nonidentity' with itself of the pure trace) these differences, these effects of difference," emphasizing its role as a non-static, productive force that undermines any notion of immediate or originary plenitude.^[17] This concept disrupts the metaphysics of presence by revealing being not as a stable essence but as an ongoing temporal-spatial interplay, where full realization is perpetually deferred.^[17] Complementing différance, the notion of the trace represents the indelible mark of absence inscribed within every sign, constituting meaning through relational differences rather than inherent self-presence. In Of Grammatology, Derrida describes the trace as an "arche-trace," a primordial structure that is "the mark of the absence of a presence," enabling signification by effacing any pure origin while retaining its effects.^[4] Unlike a simple remnant, the trace operates as a simulacrum of presence that "dislocates, displaces, and refers beyond itself," highlighting how no sign achieves autonomy but instead bears the imprint of what it excludes—other absent signs.^[23] For instance, in semiotics, a word like "cat" derives its meaning not from an isolated self-reference but as a trace of differing relations to terms like "bat," "hat," or "dog," underscoring the sign's dependence on an absent network of differences.^[4] Together, différance and the trace form the mechanisms through which Derrida deconstructs the metaphysics of presence, exposing its reliance on suppressed absences. Différance portrays presence as an effect of deferral, a "trace of the trace" that never fully arrives, while the trace reveals the foundational illusion of self-sufficiency in signs and being.^[17] By prioritizing process over stasis and relation over isolation, these concepts target the presence/absence binary, demonstrating how presence is always already haunted by the very deferrals and differences it seeks to transcend.^[4] Thus, they affirm a philosophy of iteration and supplementarity, where meaning emerges from the undecidable interplay of what is and what is not.^[17]

Philosophical Implications

In Epistemology and Ontology

The metaphysics of presence profoundly influences epistemological theories by positing direct, unmediated access to truth as foundational, a view exemplified in René Descartes' foundationalism. In his Meditations on First Philosophy (1641), Descartes seeks certainty through the indubitable self-presence of the thinking subject ("cogito ergo sum"), assuming that clear and distinct ideas provide immediate apprehension of reality without external distortion. Jacques Derrida critiques this as an illusion perpetuated by the metaphysics of presence, arguing that such access ignores the necessary mediation of signs and temporal deferral, rendering foundational knowledge untenable.^[22] In ontology, the metaphysics of presence manifests in conceptions of being as a stable, present substance, as articulated in Aristotle's notion of ousia (substance) in Metaphysics. Aristotle defines ousia as the primary, self-subsistent essence that underlies change and is apprehended in its full presence, prioritizing eternal forms over becoming or flux. Derrida challenges this framework in "Ousia and Grammé: Note on a Note from Being and Time," contending that ontology is inherently contaminated by absence and temporal becoming, where presence is always haunted by what it excludes—traces of difference that undermine any pure, self-identical being.^[24] This deconstructive shift reveals ontology not as static presence but as a dynamic interplay of presences effaced by their own conditions. Deconstruction yields a transformed understanding: knowledge emerges as iterative and provisional, never originating in a pure, unmediated moment, while ontology is revealed as a dynamic interplay constituted by traces of absence rather than self-sufficiency. A key example is Derrida's analysis of Edmund Husserl's phenomenological reduction (epoché), intended to bracket the world for access to pure, living present intuition. In Speech and Phenomena (1967), Derrida demonstrates that this fails, as the "now" of consciousness is always divided by retention and protention—traces of past and future—preventing absolute presence and exposing phenomenology's reliance on the metaphysics it seeks to transcend. Différance, as the mechanism of deferral and difference, underpins this epistemological and ontological critique by revealing how presence is constituted through what it is not.

In Language and Semiotics

The metaphysics of presence manifests in linguistic theory through phonocentrism, the privileging of speech as the immediate and unmediated expression of thought over writing, which is relegated to a secondary, derivative status. Ferdinand de Saussure's Course in General Linguistics (1916) exemplifies this hierarchy by defining language primarily as spoken langue, a social system of signs where the spoken word directly conveys the speaker's intention, while writing serves merely as an imperfect transcription that introduces distance and potential distortion.^[25] Jacques Derrida critiques this as a form of logocentrism intertwined with the metaphysics of presence, arguing that Saussure's framework assumes an originary presence in speech that masks the inherent deferral in all signification.^[4] In Of Grammatology (1967), Derrida inverts the speech/writing binary, developing a grammatology that positions writing not as absent representation but as the exemplary model for understanding signification's structure, where no sign achieves full self-presence. This deconstruction reveals phonocentrism as a historical prejudice that sustains the illusion of transparent access to meaning in spoken language, thereby reinforcing the metaphysics of presence. Derrida demonstrates how Western philosophy, from Plato onward, has systematically marginalized writing to uphold speech's supposed proximity to truth and intention.^[4] Extending to semiotics, Derrida's post-Saussurean analysis posits that signs inherently lack self-presence, functioning instead through endless chains of deferral where meaning emerges from differences rather than fixed essences. In his essay "Différance" (1968), he explains that the sign's value derives from its relation to other absent signs, disrupting any claim to immediate presence and aligning semiotics with a critique of metaphysical hierarchies.^[17] The trace of otherness is thus inherent to every sign, ensuring that signification operates as a play of absences rather than recoveries of presence. These insights undermine the notion of fixed, stable meanings in literature and discourse, opening the way for post-structuralist readings that expose how texts subvert their own authoritative claims to presence. A key example is Derrida's deconstruction of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Essay on the Origin of Languages (1762), where Rousseau contrasts the "natural" immediacy of the human voice—tied to passion and presence—with the arbitrary, conventional nature of script, which he views as a corrupting absence. Derrida reveals the contradictions in Rousseau's position, showing how even speech relies on supplementary elements akin to writing, thus illustrating the inescapable grammatological structure in all language.^[4]

Criticisms and Responses

Major Critiques

One prominent critique of Derrida's metaphysics of presence comes from analytic philosopher John Searle, who argued in his 1983 response to Derrida's deconstructive reading of J.L. Austin's speech act theory that deconstruction undermines stable meaning and leads to relativism by denying the possibility of intentional presence in language.^[26] Searle contended that Derrida's insistence on the inseparability of presence and absence, encapsulated in phrases like "there is nothing outside the text" (il n'y a pas de hors-texte), dissolves referential stability and renders communication meaningless, as it equates all discourse to endless textual play without grounding in reality.^[26] Analytic philosophers have further charged Derrida's approach with obscurity and nihilism, viewing deconstruction as an assault on truth that offers no viable alternative framework.^[27] This perspective aligns with broader analytic opposition to postmodernism, portraying the critique of presence as leading to intellectual nihilism, where the deferral of meaning through différance eliminates objective standards for knowledge.^[28] From feminist perspectives, thinkers like Luce Irigaray have argued that Derrida's deconstruction of the metaphysics of presence inadequately addresses gendered dimensions, remaining trapped within a phallogocentric framework that privileges masculine subjectivity.^[29] Irigaray critiqued Derrida for formalizing the binary of presence/absence without sufficiently interrogating how it excludes or morphs female embodiment and sexual difference, thus failing to dismantle patriarchal hierarchies embedded in the tradition.^[29] Similar postcolonial responses highlight the concept's oversight of racialized presences, seeing it as Eurocentric in its universalizing critique of logocentrism without accounting for colonized absences.^[30] Jürgen Habermas, in his 1985 analysis, accused Derrida of historical inaccuracy in portraying the Western philosophical tradition as uniformly logocentric, thereby misrepresenting key figures like Husserl and oversimplifying the evolution of rationality.^[31] Habermas argued that Derrida's deconstructive assault on presence ignores the communicative potential of language and reconstructive aspects of modernity, reducing a diverse heritage to a monolithic metaphysics without acknowledging internal critiques already present.^[31] This, Habermas contended, leads to a performative contradiction in Derrida's own discourse, which relies on the very logocentric structures it seeks to undermine.^[31]

Defenses and Contemporary Developments

In response to critiques portraying deconstruction as a destructive relativism, Jacques Derrida clarified in Limited Inc. (1988) that it functions as an ethical practice of openness, reversing hierarchical oppositions to expose the limits of presence without annihilating meaning or intention. Rather than demolishing the metaphysics of presence, deconstruction reveals its inherent instability through iterability—the repeatable yet alterable nature of signs—fostering responsibility toward alterity and undecidability in interpretation. This approach intervenes in non-discursive forces, promoting plural readings and new ethical possibilities by questioning exclusionary norms, thus positioning deconstruction as a transformative tool for justice rather than mere negation.^[32] Richard Rorty, in the 1980s, integrated Derrida's critique of presence into his pragmatist philosophy, viewing deconstruction as a means to challenge representationalism and emphasize the contingency of language. In works like Consequences of Pragmatism (1982), Rorty aligned Derrida's emphasis on linguistic instability with pragmatist ideas of redescriptive vocabularies, arguing that philosophical progress arises from innovative conversational shifts rather than fixed truths. This synthesis domesticated deconstruction within Anglo-American pragmatism, applying it to social and political reform by prioritizing practical utility over metaphysical foundations.^[33] Judith Butler extended Derrida's deconstruction beyond linguistic structures to the realm of gender and identity in Gender Trouble (1990), reframing performativity as a regulatory fiction that produces the illusion of stable presence through iterative acts. Drawing on Derrida's différance and iterability, Butler argued that gender emerges not from an essential core but from repeated bodily stylizations enforced by cultural norms and power relations, such as compulsory heterosexuality. This application reveals identity as a contingent construct open to subversion—via parody or drag—thus broadening deconstruction's ethical scope to challenge oppressive binaries and foster transformative agency.^[34] In digital media theory during the 2000s, the metaphysics of presence informed analyses of virtual environments, where electronic technologies evoke simulated presences that blur physical absence. Jeffrey Sconce's Haunted Media (2000) traces this from telegraphy to cyberspace, portraying virtual reality as a "consensual hallucination" that constructs disembodied subjectivities while critiquing utopian fantasies of total immediacy. These discussions highlight how digital interfaces generate spectral presences, challenging traditional ontologies and influencing debates on identity in networked spaces.^[35] Post-2010 environmental philosophy has adapted the concept to non-human traces, emphasizing ecological awareness beyond human-centered presence. In analyses of the Anthropocene, such as Timothy Morton's "The Oedipal Logic of Ecological Awareness" (2012), non-localizable markers like carbon layers and radioactive deposits defy the metaphysics of presence by revealing distributed, non-human agencies that disrupt anthropocentric reifications. This shift promotes a deconstructive ethic attuned to flawed interconnections, where traces of absence (e.g., miasmic influences) underscore planetary vulnerabilities.^[36] Post-Derridean developments, notably Giorgio Agamben's Homo Sacer (1995), adapt the metaphysics of presence to biopolitics, conceptualizing "bare life" as a spectral form excluded yet foundational to sovereign power. Building on Derrida's trace and hauntology, Agamben describes homo sacer as a liminal figure—killable without sacrifice—embodying ghostly presences in modern governance, from camps to biopolitical control. This framework extends deconstruction to political ethics, illuminating how life is reduced to indeterminate traces under exception.^[37]

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[PDF] GENDER TROUBLE: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity
Butler, Judith P. Gender trouble : feminism and the subversion of identity ... problematic metaphysics of presence. And yet, her literary works. Gender ...
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[PDF] Haunted Media: Electronic Presence From Telegraphy to Television
ity of individual articulations of media presence from telegraphy to virtual reality. In exploring the development of such media metaphysics, I wish to.
[36]
The Oedipal Logic of Ecological Awareness - Duke University Press
May 1, 2012 · It defies the metaphysics of presence, but not in a way that encourages us to think that reality is simply a (human) construct. We can be ...
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Homo Sacer | Stanford University Press
In Homo Sacer, Agamben aims to connect the problem of pure possibility, potentiality, and power with the problem of political and social ethics.