Butler writes that "[t]he dyadic exchange refers to a set of norms that exceed the perspectives of those engaged in the struggle for recognition" (Giving an Account of Oneself, p. 29). I'll put question marks around the struggle business (which seems to come by way of Hegel) and set it aside for the moment. The basic claim being made here seems obvious enough. But I wonder about this notion of excess. Isn't the dyad itself excessive? Surely it exceeds the monad. In what way? By simple addition? Is the we simply an addition to the I, or simply the sum of an addition? Is we another singularity? Is it factorial? Have I already exceeded myself before I met you, or is it only through you that I exceed myself? Is excess of oneself the meaning of recognition, or is recognition more simply a reiteration? Is there any perspective that isn't exceeded by experience? Does it matter how we come to experience sociality? If it does, how then do we come to experience sociality? As excess? Am I taking excess too far, or do I merely repeat myself?
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