2014 - Review of 'The Hermenutics of Gianni Vattimo (original) (raw)
Related papers
Political Theology Network, 2023
On September 19, 2023, the philosopher Gianni Vattimo died in Turin. A student and translator of Hans-Georg Gadamer whose own writings developed the thought of Nietzsche and Heidegger, Vattimo was a towering figure in European intellectual life. From nihilism to communism, Vattimo wrestled with the entanglement of religious and political ideas. Late in life he was elected to the European Parliament, and he was a steadfast advocate of gay rights and Palestinian liberation. We asked colleagues to reflect on Vattimo’s legacy for political theology.
‘Gianni Vattimo: Hermeneutics as a Practice of Freedom’
Gianni Vattimo's interpretation of Heidegger and Nietzsche leads him to propose an ontology that is less dogmatic than traditional metaphysics about the structures that shape our existence. These structures are, in his view, historically variable, but rather than obeying some deep seated law in their development, they are more open, more fractured and more responsive to the practice of interpretation. It is the relation between this practice and the structures on which it works that I want to look at in this paper.
Metropolis and Hermeneutics: an Interview with Gianni Vattimo by Georges Teyssot
AM Journal of Art and Media Studies, 2017
This interview was originally published in the catalogue of the XVII Milan Triennial as: “Metropoli ed ermeneutica: un’intervista,” in: Le cittá del mondo e il futuro delle metropolis. Oltre la cittá, la metropolis, cur. Georges Teyssot (Milano: Electa, 1988), 268–272. English translation is published here with the permission of Gianni Vattimo. Article received: December 12, 2016; Article accepted: January 10, 2017; Published online: April 20, 2017 Interview How to cite this article: "Metropolis and Hermeneutics: an Interview with Gianni Vattimo." AM Journal of Art and Media Studies12 (2017): 1-8. doi: 10.25038/am.v0i12.162
’Weak Thought’ and Its Discontents: Engaging the Philosophy of Gianni Vattimo
2008
According to Manfred Frank, Gianni Vattimo is the man whose name occurs immediately to one and all when someone calls for the leading Italian philosopher and intellectual. While much of Vattimos work has been translated into English (he is perhaps best-known for the book The End of Modernity), there has been little critical reaction to this work. Finally, a volume of critical essays has become available in English with the publication of Weakening Philosophy: Essays in Honour of Gianni Vattimo. The volume is edited by Vattimos disciple Santiago Zabala, who also provides an excellent introduction to Vattimo and his philosophy of weak thought (pen-
From veritas to caritas: a critical reading of Gianni Vattimo's nihilism
Despite this redirection, Vattimo's thinking path is, though not without its problems, quite coherent. He himself has proposed, as early as 1983, a label for his philosophy: weak thought or pensiero debole. Vattimo takes over Heidegger's idea that the ontological structures are 'weakening' . Also in Heideggerian vein, Vattimo urges us to 'collaborate' with this weakening, by thinking weakly, i.e. without renouncing to the epistemological violence of First Principles and Absolute Norms. Vattimo calls the adequate response to this appeal pietas. It isn't long before he recognizes the Christian provenance of pietas, what he calls caritas, a name for the nihilist destiny of thought motivated by incarnation and kenosis 2 . His most famous publication in this respect is without doubt Credere di credere from 1996. This book reads at the same time as a personal confession and as a philosophical essay. And also, remarkably enough, as a testament, since after that publication, Vattimo doesn't develop any new ideas; instead he constantly repeats himself, gathering ever new material that is supposed to serve as rhetorical argument in favor of his secularization thesis. Vattimo's secularization thesis is not a whole new avenue in his thought, but rather the 'finishing touch' or the piece that completes the puzzle. This puzzle can be said to be composed as follows. From the very start, Vattimo interprets Heidegger's Destruktion and Verwindung in a nihilist way, showing allover weakening of metaphysically sustained structures -in philosophy, politics, ethics ... This is, according to Vattimo, how we should understand and experience God's death as proclaimed by Nietzsche. Reading Nietzsche and Heidegger 'through each other' enables us to diagnose actuality as without any master words, absolute norms or stable concepts capable of determining and structuring thought and life. This weakening is not just a theoretical model or a metaphysical foundation that explains everything, but an ethical thinking that supplies a hermeneutic ground and requires commitment. The tautology that lurks here -weakening can only be detected by weak thought, but since weakening is what is actually happening, we have to go along with it and hence think weakly, thus accepting weakening as what is happening -doesn't bother Vattimo, since weakening diminishes violence and that is a good thing altogether. Pietas is the synopsis of the weak, i.e. non-metaphysical position within the history of thought. This history is destinal, since it can have no transcendent foundation -such foundation would only contradict weakening. There is no other reason for accepting weakening than destiny. Since this argument is in itself hardly convincing, Vattimo tries to find weak social, i.e. 'sociosophical' 3 arguments that are supposed to reveal the relevance and the delivering potential of weak thought. This attempt, however, isn't really successful and weak thought still finds itself rooted in an uncomfortable tautology. It is then that Vattimo discovers that this destiny isn't anonymous, as with Heidegger, but has a Christian name: incarnation, kenosis or nihilist caritas. Caritas, as the real nihilist meaning of the Christian message, has led up to weak thought that in its turn has discovered its Christian provenance. And, as Vattimo contends in Credere di credere, caritas doesn't need a foundation or explanation, it doesn't even need secularization. For who should want to question or diminish love? While some have written that Vattimo's criticism 4 of metaphysics has finally liberated Christian faith of all metaphysical impediments (e.g. Antiseri, 1996 -for bibliographical references, see ch. 6.), others have questioned Vattimo's naïve understanding of what can be meant by caritas (e.g. Guarino, 2009). These are, however, theological considerations. It is my aim to elaborate a philosophical investigation into Vattimo's thoughts. This should constitute no problem since Vattimo himself considers caritas, and therefore faith and theology, actually a matter of philosophy or better: of weak thought.
Gianni Vattimo -amid the crisis in philosophy
2010
This paper seeks to explore the relevance of Gianni Vattimo’s philosophy for the contemporary discussion concerning the nature and task of philosophy. First of all, an orientation to the question will be given through a review of the sense of crisis that has arisen in recent years concerning the task of philosophy with particular reference to the anti-metaphysical mood characteristic of postmodern philosophy. The paper will then give a presentation of Vattimo’s understanding of metaphysics, explain his reasons for rejecting metaphysics and sketch his proposed response of an ‘ontology of actuality’. The critical section of the paper will argue that the crisis in philosophy is that of the spirit of modernity with its dialectic of autonomous freedom and autonomous science. An account of the limits of philosophy will be offered in terms of the character of theoretical thought which will provide a platform to assess Vattimo’s proposal for a postmetaphysical philosophy. In conclusion some comments will be made regarding the conference theme of ‘order’.