This chapter investigates the phenomenalization of power through a phenomenological framework, analyzing its dynamic interplay between visibility and invisibility. Building on critiques of the Western “metaphysics of presence,” I argue that power operates not only through material representation but also through the legitimizing concealment of its foundations. The visible—marked by immediacy, verifiability, and perceptibility—is co-constituted by absence, which actively shapes power’s efficacy. I introduce the concept of “coordinates of phenomenalization” to trace the relational dynamics through which power becomes effective, articulated across three interrelated dialectics: (i) representation, in which authority relies on figures that mediate abstract power; (ii) legitimacy/authenticity, where power’s validity rests on perceived origins and social recognition; and (iii) visibility/concealment, where dominance depends on a calibrated interplay of exposure and obscurity. The analysis culminates in a critique of hierarchies that privilege presence, offering tools to dismantle structures of domination by centering absence as constitutive. This approach not only reframes the ontology of power but also opens pathways for transformative resistance.

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The Phenomenalization of Power: Between Presence and Concealment

  • Ricardo Mendoza-Canales

摘要

This chapter investigates the phenomenalization of power through a phenomenological framework, analyzing its dynamic interplay between visibility and invisibility. Building on critiques of the Western “metaphysics of presence,” I argue that power operates not only through material representation but also through the legitimizing concealment of its foundations. The visible—marked by immediacy, verifiability, and perceptibility—is co-constituted by absence, which actively shapes power’s efficacy. I introduce the concept of “coordinates of phenomenalization” to trace the relational dynamics through which power becomes effective, articulated across three interrelated dialectics: (i) representation, in which authority relies on figures that mediate abstract power; (ii) legitimacy/authenticity, where power’s validity rests on perceived origins and social recognition; and (iii) visibility/concealment, where dominance depends on a calibrated interplay of exposure and obscurity. The analysis culminates in a critique of hierarchies that privilege presence, offering tools to dismantle structures of domination by centering absence as constitutive. This approach not only reframes the ontology of power but also opens pathways for transformative resistance.