本論文旨在探討人如何能夠實踐自由倫理，以擺脫強加其上的枷鎖與束縛。在柯慈 (J.M. Coetzee) 的小說 《麥可‧K的生命與時代》 (Life and Times of Michael K) ，主角麥可‧K原本是個不起眼的主角，生下來就兔唇，被認定頭腦簡單，不受人重視，甚至連他的親生母親都無法忍受他的殘缺。然而麥可‧K並不怨天尤人，謹守本分，沒想到換來的竟是遭到這個殘酷世界的無情對待，使他居無定所、身無分文。被暴力對待的麥可‧K，拒絕用一樣暴力的方式來抵抗暴力，因此選擇了用一種非暴力的方式，來將權力的醜惡暴力地呈現出來。他看似消極無為的態度，事實上蘊含了極大的能量與反叛性，透過主角激進的消極方式，以不行動來做為他的行動，除了暴露出法律與政治的荒謬性，也進而呈現出生命的價值與可塑性。本文採用法國哲學家傅柯(Michel Foucault)的三個概念出發：1.生命政治(biopower) 2.說真話(parrhēsia) 3. 生存美學 (aesthetics of existence)，筆者將這三個概念彼此與其他概念相互連結，希冀藉由柯慈的小說與傅柯思想概念的對話，展開出一個異於後殖民論述的討論，以期能跳脫二元對立的框架，從一個看似受盡壓迫與極端消極的主體，抽離出其內蘊的潛能，進而開展出其獨特的生命價值，朝著傅柯式的生存美學不斷趨近。

This thesis probes the question of how an individual is capable of practicing the ethics of freedom in an attempt to ward off the political obligation imposed upon him/herself. In J.M. Coetzee’s novel Life and Times of Michael K, Michael K is by no means a stout and sturdy hero who stands out alone from or for other people. In attempts to restore his own freedom, he is compelled to transgress and transcend the existent laws and conventions. In Life & Times of Michael K, the protagonist escapes, intentionally or unintentionally, from the symbolic order and anthropocentric society he has long been embedded in so as to live an alternative form of life. Michael K’s refusal to conform to the sovereignty as well as his persistent yearning for freedom even under such a turbulent period of history during the civil war, so to speak, epitomizes what Foucault calls for, “the aesthetics of existence”. This thesis aims to exhibit how a seemingly impotent individual like Michael K is in a position to parry the national determination exerted upon his life, reaffirming the potential puissance of one’s life.

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