The Threshold and the Topos of the Remnant: Giorgio Agamben

Abstract

In this article I will follow Agamben as he conceptualises the space of the threshold. The next section will be devoted to investigating Agamben's reading of Paul, with particular attention to hope and love. I will show how Paul's novel understanding of hope leads Agamben to propose an experience of life the productivity of which is not based on the possession and conceptualisation of work as norm. In the section following I will develop my study by relating Agamben's discussion of the threshold and the remnant with broader Western philosophical and literary concerns, including those marking the work of Bataille, Blanchot, Heidegger and Kojve. Particular attention will be devoted to distinguishing between Bataille's 'unemployed negativity' and Blanchot's 'neuter',and the possible influence they might have had on Agamben's interrogation of the threshold.