SUNY in Contemporary Italian Philosophy

Translation of Carlo Sini's reading of Plato's Republic as the foundation of Western anthropology. On Political Virtue is Carlo Sini's masterful reading of Plato's Republic as the foundation of both Western politics and anthropology. In his long career, Sini has built up a complex philosophical system that includes phenomenology, pragmatism, philosophical semiotics, a rereading of the Italian tradition from Bruno to Vico, a theory of writing quite independent from anyone else, and a philosophy of "practices" that makes science and the humanities talk together-not despite their differences but because of them. First published in 2004, On Political Virtue is an inquiry into the desire for politics and what politics desires from us. By reading Plato's Republic as a theatrical piece, Sini shows how the philosophical foundation of politics is the result of a very careful mise-en-scène, a magisterial setup that Plato conjures up only to make it disappear, so that the reader is left with the supposedly "pure" power of philosophical speech deprived of context. In Sini's interpretation, Plato's aim is to create a "pure" political subject still dependent on the male gaze yet supposedly free from the chains of desire.

The first volume of essays in English on one of the most renowned contemporary Italian Philosophers. Remo Bodei (1938–2019) was one of Italy's most influential philosophers of the past half-century. His intellectual influence was wide-reaching as he guided the search for rational explanations of seemingly irrational phenomena and the philosophical underpinnings of poetry. Diverse both in their disciplinary approach and theoretical style, yet following a logical and coherent progression, the essays within Geometries of Experience begin with an exploration of Bodei's methodology followed by an analysis of his interest in the crisis of subjectivity in modern culture; his engagement with Spinoza, especially in his work Geometria delle passioni; his treatment of the body, framed as a "materialistic spirituality"; and his engagement with the relationship between philosophy and poetry. Overall, the book provides a rich and nuanced view of Bodei's intellectual legacy, demonstrating his distinctive approach to philosophy and literature.

Political Ontology, Community, and Institutions offers a broad view of the current philosophical dialogue in Italy, both in relation to Robert Esposito's own thought and with respect to major issues and authors of crucial philosophical relevance. From his earliest works, Esposito questions the crisis of politics and why thought is unable to convincingly respond to it. He does so by distancing himself not only from political theology but also from those paradigms-destituent and constituent-that have lost nowadays much of their analytical and propositional capacity. However, his proposal is not only critical. Esposito's thought relates to our present through the creation of new categories-among the most recent, those of "instituting thought" and "common immunity"-capable of opening a breach in an apparently increasingly closed horizon. Therefore, dealing with his thought means, first of all, dealing with our present. This is the main goal of this volume, which focuses on Esposito's dialogue with major contemporary thinkers. Also included is an unpublished interview with Esposito conducted by the editors.