At the Limits of Living: To Joseph Grigely

Abstract

This article draws attention to the singular exclusion suffered by people with disabilities. It argues not for the procedural integration of the disabled subject within Western society, but calls for a mutual interaction -a rebirth of our thinking -to take place between those with disabilities and the community to which they belong. Discussing her motivation to accept the role of Chair of the National Disability Council in France, as well as her conversation with American artist Joseph Grigely, Kristeva argues that the objectification of the disabled subject within consumerist contexts is best dismantled via a psychoanalytic ‘ear’. This attentiveness, attuned to the vulnerability shared by all speaking bodies, links shared experiences as well as recognizes - without trying to integrate - the irreparable in all subjects. The full political significance of psychoanalysis can thus be realized not by psychoanalysing all, but by working to create real, rather than well-meaning, interactions with others.