LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS!
Upcoming in July, 2010
Twenty years ago, Alain Badiou’s first Manifesto for Philosophy rose up against the all-pervasive proclamation of the “end” of philosophy. In lieu of this problematic of the end, he put forward the watchword: “one more step”.
The situation has considerably changed since then. Philosophy was threatened with obliteration at the time, whereas today it finds itself under threat for the diametrically opposed reason: it is endowed with an excessive, artificial existence. “Philosophy” is everywhere. It serves as a trademark for various media pundits. It livens up cafés and health clubs. It has its magazines and its gurus. It is universally called upon, by everything from banks to major state commissions, to pronounce on ethics, law and duty. In essence, “philosophy” has now come to stand for nothing other than its most ancient enemy: conservative ethics.
Badiou’s second manifesto therefore seeks to demoralize philosophy and to separate it from all those “philosophies” that are as servile as they are ubiquitous. It demonstrates the power of certain eternal truths to illuminate action and, as such, to transport philosophy far beyond the figure of “the human” and its “rights”. There, well beyond all moralism, in the clear expanse of the idea, life becomes something radically other than survival.
Hardcover: 176 pages
Publisher: Polity (July 7 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0745648614
ISBN-13: 978-0745648613
04 March, 2010
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RARESTANCE 2009 TEMPORARY COLLECTIVE-English Version
The growing collective, formed last October 2009, aims at organizing a trans-institutional network of intellectuals, scholars, artists and other members of the interested public to develop a substantial, scientifically rigorous interdisciplinary debate as well as a body of research and knowledge surrounding contemporary Italian society, culture and politics.
The intention is to propose a constructive analysis of the Italian situation not just at a discussion level but also with the outcome of possible publication(s ) .
The topics we wish to investigate will grow and should change with everyone's input ( please email rarestance at gmail.com to find out about the specific topics we will be working on).
Here the assumptions is that in Italy itself a debate with the described characteristics is absent. Current debates are restricted to media promoted journalistic and current affairs exercises where the wide public is given very little room or chance to respond. Interestingly, academics outside Italy are often writing about Italian matters whilst few Italian scholars are.
Another interesting Italian phenomenon over the last 15 years, culturally, politically and socially, is the arguable influence that berlusconism, defined here not only as a cultural agent, but as an epistemology, has established in Italy over the last 15 years.
Unlike what has happened in US , or Australia for example, where various scholars and artists have voiced their views and expressed visions and interpretation of the impact of the Clinton or Bush political presidencies in US for example or of the Howard decade in Australia, in Italy there is a very small body of research concerning contemporary society.
The scarce existing literature concerns not just berlusconism but also various issues, widely considered by scholars and artists in their countries elsewhere, such as gender in contemporary Italian society, sexual identity, just to name a few.
We found it necessary that a socio-political critique of this kind was undertaken in Italy, possibly free from the constraints of institutional pressures or confinements.
Please check this blog for events dates or projects outlines.
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