Ontologies of Force: Violence, Non-Violence and Resistance (Studies of Indian and Australian historical contexts through philosophy, film, literature.)

July 2020July 2024

This project explores the relation between force, violence, non-violence, and resistance at two levels. From an ontological perspective, the task is to consider “the being of force” to ask how and whether violence (and non-violence) and resistance are located in the categories that determine politics and our world. This requires investigating the concepts of force and resistance in the history of thought and discovering the historical limits of their use vis-a-vis the political and institutional conditions. At the political and legal levels and the domains where ethical judgements are made, the task is to examine the relations and effects of different concepts of violence, non-violence and resistance proposed by key thinkers of politics and ethics. The clarification of ontological issues will deepen understanding of the politics of the acts and concepts named by these terms, which designate different configurations of forces in history.

Project members

Collaboration with Assistant Professor Divya Dwivedi 

Associate Professor Marguerite La Caze

Professor Marguerite La Caze

Professor in Philosophy, Director Indigenous Engagement