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Papers by Marta Libertà De Bastiani

Astérion, 2020

Les tacitistes utilisent l’œuvre de l’historien pour en extraire des conseils aux gouvernants. Ho... more Les tacitistes utilisent l’œuvre de l’historien pour en extraire des conseils aux gouvernants. Hobbes et Spinoza se servent au contraire des recits de Tacite comme materiaux pour constituer leur theorie des affects et expliquer le role que jouent ceux-ci dans la politique. Dans leur structure theorique, ils donnent aux exemples une fonction confirmative et une fonction anthropologique ; Spinoza leur donne en outre une fonction anticipatrice. La fonction confirmative a egalement pour role d’empecher la theorie politique de se transformer en utopie.

This paper examines the multi-faceted nature of friendship, conceived by Spinoza as a linking con... more This paper examines the multi-faceted nature of friendship, conceived by Spinoza as a linking concept between reason and passions, as well as a linking concept between individual behavior and politics. If friendship indicates a certain form of agreement between human beings, its precise features and outcomes vary to a large extent. In fact, friendship may be a rational and natural agreement which takes place between people who live according to reason and which resembles Seneca's conception of true friendship, a solid and constant bond. Unlike Seneca, however, Spinoza believes that friendship also entails a passional and natural agreement, which arises when human beings imitate each others afects: this inconstant and unstable form of bonding is always on the edge of open conlict. I suggest that what radically distinguishes Se-neca's and Spinoza's conception of friendship is the role played by the political dimension. According to Spinoza, the transition between the irst and the second kind of friendship is made possible by political harmony – a constant and solid form of agreement – which helps people to deploy diferent forms of social relationships. By contrast, while according to Seneca politics plays no part in the gaining of knowledge and thus in the establishment of true friendships.

History of European Ideas, 2021

ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to investigate the intertextual relationship between Spinoza an... more ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to investigate the intertextual relationship between Spinoza and Tacitus in the Political Treatise, underlining how Spinoza uses Tacitus’ quotes against his main political enemy: Tacitism. I will show that Spinoza’s use of Tacitus is very selective and can be aptly characterized as a twofold political use: Tacitus’ quotes shape Spinoza’s political insights, but they are also used to confront Tacitism. To develop this twofold reading, after a brief introduction, I will consider Tacitus’ reception in Early Modern period, describing Tacitism and its political standpoints. Then, I will analyse Spinoza’s use of Tacitus, considering his approach to three core themes: the nature of peace and sedition, the nature of the masses and the use of secrets (arcana). Finally, I will draw a comparison between the use to which Tacitus’ quotes are put by Spinoza on the one hand and by the Tacitists on the other, stressing how this comparison contributes to our understanding of their opposed political positions: democracy for Spinoza and monarchy for the Tacitists.

Among all the ancient legislators, Spinoza and Rousseau particularly praise Moses, who created a ... more Among all the ancient legislators, Spinoza and Rousseau particularly praise Moses, who created a nation which looks set to last forever, even without being a state any longer. The two philosophers certainly conceive Moses as a securalised charachter, whose actions are better understood within the field of political immanence, than within the field of religious trascendence. Nevertheless, Spinoza and Rousseau do not underestimate Moses' extraordinary actions: besides unifying the Hebrews, who were nothing more than a crowd of fugitives and slaves before he set them free, Moses sensed one of the very principles of politics, namely that no human being wants to be governed by his peers. Knowing this, Moses imposed his authority as a divine legacy. Altough he has perfectly clear the public and political dimension of religion, Moses is not an impostor, according to Spinoza and Rousseau: the strenght and the endurance of the social bond that unites the nation of the Hebrews-it is to say the reason of its eternity-is due to his ability to persuade and drift his people without using force or constraint. On the contrary, Moses binds toghether the Hebrews and convince them to respect and love their laws by giving them identitary customs, by dictating cerimonies and religious rites which affect their imagination and their passions. As a result, obedience comes not from external constraint, thus is not experienced as slavery, but from the spontaneous assent of the mind and is experienced as freedom.

Asterion, 2020

Les tacitistes utilisent l’œuvre de l’historien pour en extraire des conseils aux gouvernants. Ho... more Les tacitistes utilisent l’œuvre de l’historien pour en extraire des conseils aux gouvernants. Hobbes et Spinoza se servent au contraire des récits de Tacite comme matériaux pour constituer leur théorie des affects et expliquer le rôle que jouent ceux-ci dans la politique. Dans leur structure théorique, ils donnent aux exemples une fonction confirmative et une fonction anthropologique ; Spinoza leur donne en outre une fonction anticipatrice. La fonction confirmative a également pour rôle d’empêcher la théorie politique de se transformer en utopie.

History of European Ideas, 2021

between Spinoza and Tacitus in the Political Treatise, underlining how Spinoza uses Tacitus’ quot... more between Spinoza and Tacitus in the Political Treatise, underlining how Spinoza uses Tacitus’ quotes against his main political enemy: Tacitism. I will show that Spinoza’s use of Tacitus is very selective and can be aptly characterized as a twofold political use: Tacitus’ quotes shape Spinoza’s political insights, but they are also used to confront Tacitism. To develop this twofold reading, after a brief introduction, I will consider Tacitus’ reception in Early Modern period, describing Tacitism and its political standpoints. Then, I will analyse Spinoza’s use of Tacitus, considering his approach to three core themes: the nature of peace and sedition, the nature of the masses and the use of secrets (arcana). Finally, I will draw a comparison between the use to which Tacitus’ quotes are put by Spinoza on the one hand and by the Tacitists on the other, stressing how this comparison contributes to our understanding of their opposed political positions: democracy for Spinoza and monarchy for the Tacitists.

In Circolo, 2020

While in the TIE Spinoza begins to look for an eternal source of joy, writing the Ethics he reali... more While in the TIE Spinoza begins to look for an eternal source of joy, writing the Ethics he realizes that, besides being eternal, the object of our desire should also be common, namely it has to be something that everybody would desire and, at the same time, can possess. According to Spinoza, it is due the emotional variability among humans that the conflicts which tear societies apart are never-ending. In fact, what good and evil are is defined by our desire: what is useful to us, we call 'good'. But given that our desires differ, as do our natures, it is hard to find a common source of joy. Nonetheless, Spinoza thinks he finds it in the knowledge and love of God. Provided that we are reasonable (that is, we are not overwhelmed by our passions) we understand that our desire is only fulfilled by this knowledge and not by all those material goods that are "vana et futilia". However, as I will argue in this paper, when it comes to describing what common good means to a society, and what policies it should entail, Spinoza struggles to give a coherent answer. The reasons for this ambiguity, I shall argue, lay at the core of the theory of desire as the striving to persevere in our being.

In Circolo, 2019

Il museo si fa città", questo il motto del Macro Asilo, nuovo corso del Museo d'Arte Contemporane... more Il museo si fa città", questo il motto del Macro Asilo, nuovo corso del Museo d'Arte Contemporanea di Roma che, sotto la direzione di Giorgio De Finis, presenta un nuovo progetto artistico, a partire dal primo ottobre 2018. Il Macro Asilo, con sede in Via Nizza 138, incontra la città, proponendosi di essere uno spazio aperto a chi ne voglia usufruire, a chi lo voglia riempire di attività e contenuti, senza intermediazioni. Una piazza, insomma, dove si può arrivare da strade diverse con il proprio e personale bagaglio di saperi, esperienze e attitudini e condividerlo con la comunità.

Consecutio Rerum, 2019

In this paper I argue that, following Machiavellian tradition and theory of politics, the authors... more In this paper I argue that, following Machiavellian tradition and theory of politics, the authors who may be labelled as Tacitists understand politics as a téchne, a set of governmental practices and techniques oriented towards the maintaining of political order. These practices, which compose the virtue of prudence, are defined through the consideration of historical experience as a theater, a stage where every political problem and its proper solution has already been shown. In Tacitists' treatises , the historical facts, mainly excerpted from Tacitus and the history of the Roman Empire, are crystallized in largely stereotyped and constantly repeated quotes, references and examples. In Botero's Della Ragion di Stato, we find the same features and purpose: his aim is to rationalize political theory by giving advice to the ruler who intends to maintain its power; consequently, historical knowledge is crucial in order to provide the ruler with a set of techniques that help him face political instability. Since these writers lack of a consistent anthropology, thinking about politics as a "science" means nothing else for them than adopting a Baconian method: to face political reality successfully is crucial to collect and systematize historical data.

Editoriale Consecutio Rerum 3

L'amicizia come relazione afettiva e politica 1. Quello che la storia del pensiero ha riservato a... more L'amicizia come relazione afettiva e politica 1. Quello che la storia del pensiero ha riservato all'amicizia è un concetto composito e stratiicato, il quale, pur non comparendo nel novero delle sue categorie preminenti, non ha tuttavia cessato, nel corso del tempo, di suscitare l'interesse della rilessione ilosoica. "Categoria" dal proilo ancipite, situata al conine di ilosoia pratica e ilosoia teoretica, tra individuo e società, passioni e ragione, l'amicizia si contraddistingue per una estesa pluralità di signiicati e occorrenze, tanto da sfuggire, almeno sulle prime, a una deinizione univoca, che sappia stabilirne con certezza, una volta e per sempre, connotati e prerogative. L'intento del presente numero di «Consecutio rerum», il terzo di questo nuovo corso, è dunque quello di riportare alla luce alcuni tra i diversi signiicati che l'amicizia ha assunto nel corso della propria storia semantica. Sottolineando, da un lato, gli elementi di continuità, le analogie e le assonanze, cui essa, pur all'interno di prospettive e tradizioni concettuali in fondo divergenti, ha saputo dar luogo; ma mettendo anche in risalto, dall'altro, nell'arco di una traiettoria di senso dalle componenti e dai motivi comuni, ciò che, in ciascuna delle sue forme particolari, si è dato al contrario come speciico, peculiare e storicamente determinato.

Books by Marta Libertà De Bastiani

Mimesis, 2021

Se i primi scritti, l'Etica e i trattati hanno conosciuto le alterne fortune dell'interesse stori... more Se i primi scritti, l'Etica e i trattati hanno conosciuto le alterne fortune dell'interesse storiografico, l'Epistolario, invece, è stato spesso relegato ai margini dalla letteratura specialistica. Nondimeno, esso offre notevoli spunti di riflessione. Le lettere costituiscono, infatti, un importante strumento per l'analisi sincronica e diacronica del pensiero spinoziano. Sono, inoltre, essenziali per conoscere il milieu storico e culturale di appartenenza. Oltre a fornire elementi per la datazione delle opere, l'Epistolario consente di ripercorrere, tra presenze e assenze, allusioni e affermazioni, il percorso intellettuale di Spinoza. L'Epistolario costituisce un genere misto, al confine tra pubblico e privato, dove gli stili di argomentazione adottati cambiano sensibilmente a seconda della tematica e dell'interlocutore. Si tratta allora di un multi-verso linguistico, la cui forma espositiva è contrassegnata sia dalla precisione del metodo geometrico che dallo slancio emotivo delle passioni che ne attraversano le battaglie teorico-politiche.

Riccardo Bellofiore (Univ. Bergamo), Jose Manuel Bermudo (Univ. Barcelona), Jacques Bidet (Univ. ... more Riccardo Bellofiore (Univ. Bergamo), Jose Manuel Bermudo (Univ. Barcelona), Jacques Bidet (Univ. Paris X), Laurent Bove (Univ. Amiens), Giovanni Bonacina (Univ. Urbino), Giorgio Cesarale (Univ. Venezia), Francesco Fistetti (Univ. Bari), Lars Lambrecht (Univ. Hamburg), Christian Lazzeri (Univ. Paris X) Mario Manfredi (Univ. Bari), Pierre-François Moreau (ENS Lyon), Stefano Petrucciani (Univ. Roma-La Sapienza), Pier Paolo Poggio (Fondazione Micheletti-Brescia), Emmanuel Renault (ENS Lyon), Massimiliano Tomba (Univ. Padova), Sebastian Torres (Univ. Cordoba).

Conference Presentations by Marta Libertà De Bastiani

Le rôle fondamental des références antiques dans la pensée politique moderne, du XVI e au XVIII e... more Le rôle fondamental des références antiques dans la pensée politique moderne, du XVI e au XVIII e siècle, est largement reconnu. Ce colloque entend l'aborder non comme un acquis, mais comme une construction élaborée à travers de multiples filtres dont la place reste bien souvent à déterminer. L'usage politique de l'Antiquité connaît des variations considérables selon le type de sources envisagées (textuelles, visuelles, matérielles) et l'optique dans lesquelle elles sont abordées. Nous tenterons d'éclairer le rôle capital que jouent les différentes médiations possibles, techniques et culturelles, qu'il s'agisse des éditions, des traductions, des citations, des emprunts explicites ou non, par lesquelles la politique de l'âge classique prend connaissance de l'histoire et de la pensée antiques. ENS de Lyon 15, parvis René Descartes,

Translations by Marta Libertà De Bastiani

Consecutio Rerum, 4, 2018

In the first generation of the Frankfurt School, critical theory was promoting a strong interconn... more In the first generation of the Frankfurt School, critical theory was promoting a strong interconnection between social critique and knowledge of the social world. Just as Marx considered that a critique of capitalism was impossible without a systematic knowledge of its laws, transformations and contradictions, so too Horkheimer and Adorno were convinced that social critique should be grounded on social theory. It is simply a fact that in contemporary critical theory, such a conviction does not play a role anymore. Critical theory has not only subjected itself to the division of intellectual labor in separate disciplines, becoming more and more a philosophical sub-discipline distinct from the social sciences. It has also conceived itself more and more as belonging to the genre of ìnormative political philosophy', focusing its efforts more and more exclusively on the issue of normative foundation of social critique. and consequently, it has lost interest in epistemological discussions. The purpose of this article is to cast doubt on this broad consensus about the legitimacy of such a divorce between social critique and knowledge. In order to work toward this goal, I proceed in four steps. In a first step, I recall the ways in which the philosophical debate about social critique is currently articulated and how it disconnects social critique and knowledge. The three other steps consider the two main justifications for a disconnection between social critique and knowledge. In fact, critical theory focuses on the normative foundation of social critique by virtue of two main reasons. The first one relates to a vision of politics as consisting mainly in a conflict between normative principles, notably between conceptions of social justice. I criticize this vision of politics in the second step of this paper. The second reason relates to the criticism of the naturalist fallacy. The knowledge of the social world cannot play a decisive role in a discussion concerning the legitimacy of competing conceptions of social justice, so the argument runs, since the is should not be confused the ought. In the third step of the paper, I try to show that this argument run the risk of worsening epistemic injustices, and in the fourth step, I elaborate a conception of normativity that bridges the gap between the is and the ought. 1 Traduzione a cura di Miriam Aiello e Marta Libertà De Bastiani, da Renault, E. (forthcoming), Social Critique and Knowledge.

Astérion, 2020

History of European Ideas, 2021

Asterion, 2020

Les tacitistes utilisent l’œuvre de l’historien pour en extraire des conseils aux gouvernants. Ho... more Les tacitistes utilisent l’œuvre de l’historien pour en extraire des conseils aux gouvernants. Hobbes et Spinoza se servent au contraire des récits de Tacite comme matériaux pour constituer leur théorie des affects et expliquer le rôle que jouent ceux-ci dans la politique. Dans leur structure théorique, ils donnent aux exemples une fonction confirmative et une fonction anthropologique ; Spinoza leur donne en outre une fonction anticipatrice. La fonction confirmative a également pour rôle d’empêcher la théorie politique de se transformer en utopie.

History of European Ideas, 2021

In Circolo, 2020

In Circolo, 2019

Consecutio Rerum, 2019

Editoriale Consecutio Rerum 3

Mimesis, 2021

Consecutio Rerum, 4, 2018

Morfologie del rapporto parti-tutto. Totalità e complessità nelle filosofie dell’età moderna, Mimesis, 2019

L'argomento che intendo trattare in questa sede è lo statuto del concetto di mostruosità nel pens... more L'argomento che intendo trattare in questa sede è lo statuto del concetto di mostruosità nel pensiero storico e politico di Albert Camus. La mostruosità camusiana, in stretta correlazione con i concetti di dismisura e barbarie, ha un carattere ambivalente. Da un lato, infatti, troviamo la dismisura barbarica della mostruosità politica della Storia europea, che Camus analizza e che condanna severamente ne L'Homme révolté. Dall'altro, all'interno dell'opera, è possibile rintracciare una dimensione del tutto positiva della dismisura, che Camus rivendica fermamente: il barbarico e il mostruoso che caratterizzano il reale stesso. Si tratta in questo caso della mostruosità della sovrabbondanza della vita che si situa al principio della creazione, della rivolta e della possibilità di trasigurare il mondo e la sua storia; temi che si ritrovano ne L'Homme révolté ma che erano già presenti nei primi scritti.

Se si potesse associare un'immagine alla struttura ed ai contenuti del libro di Francesco Toto, L... more Se si potesse associare un'immagine alla struttura ed ai contenuti del libro di Francesco Toto, L'individualità dei corpi. Percorsi nell'Etica di Spinoza (Milano, Mimesis, 2014, pp. 462) sarebbe quella di un sezione di roccia stratiicata ove nel mezzo scorra una vena d'oro di diverse forme e dimensioni, ma comunque continua: si tratta infatti di un testo complesso e composito, ma non per questo meno coerente. Le tre sezioni -Individuum, Motus spontaneus corporis e Fabrica e constitutio -che compongono questo libro afrontano i testi spinoziani a partire da prospettive diferenziate, ma che l'autore dichiara intimamente connesse: la prima sezione, composta dai tre capitoli che descrivono il principium individuationis spinoziano e la sua costituzione all'interno del problema tutto-parti, mira a fondare un principio materialistico dell'individualità corporea. La seconda, prendendo avvio da una disamina del concetto di spontaneità, muove dal piano della materialità strettamente intesa per includere nell'argomentazione il processo immaginativo e della rappresentazione. In questo senso, Toto dimostra come, per comprendere appieno il discorso spinoziano sul corpo, non si possa prescindere dall'immaginazione, intesa come suo immediato risultato e principio esplicativo di elementi fondanti. La terza parte, afrontando il tema della natura umana, ripropone, sebbene con argomentazioni decisamente originali, la vexata quaestio sull'esistenza o meno di un'antropologia spinoziana. La conclusione, inine, sintetizza i passaggi in qui compiuti nell'ottica ampliata dell'amor dei intellectualis, identiicato come un rapporto di reciproco riconoscimento del sé e dell'altro.