Is it Possible to Continue Approaching Violence without Clarifying the Place that Subjectivity Occupies in It?

Abstract

In this work I propose that, in order to understand violence, it is needed to comprehend the place of subjectivity in the making of violent subjects. This is based on the premise that subjectivity, and the emotions that it implies, create quite a relevant instrument for social analysis since it is not possible to explain any of the political, economical or social processes without them. The subject’s violent acts have been thoroughly analyzed from politics, morality and ethics. But there has been a lack of attention to the emotions, passions, sentiments and affection that also make up the subjectivity of the people. I suggest that violence is an act of individuals who possess emotional universes that have been assimilated by the subjects according to particular experiences in a specific society. This text has the intention of pointing out that we should favor the research of subjectivity, and therefore the research of the affective dimension, before trying to implement interventions that attempt to lead the behavior in order to decrease violence.