Rethinking birth and maternity as philosophical categories: Hannah Arendt's notion of natality and contemporary feminist thought

This thesis demonstrates the limits of the revival of the question of death in twentieth century European philosophy by rethinking ÔÇòbirthÔÇû and ÔÇòmaternityÔÇû as philosophical categories. It does this by building upon Hannah Arendt's notion of ÔÇònatalityÔÇû with further resources from contemporary feminist theory to argue that Arendt's perspective should be complemented by reflection on maternal subjectivities and the relations that mark the beginning of each human being's life. This further highlights the intrinsic plurality of the human condition, as well as the limits of mortality in reframing human finitude.