Columbia University Press Gianni Vattimo: Philosopher, Communist, Catholic, Nihilist

"Gianni Vattimo (1936-2023) was an Italian philosopher, social critic, and former member of the European Parliament. A controversial figure both at home and abroad, he has described himself paradoxically as "gay, communist, catholic." Nonetheless, Vattimo is indisputably among the most significant Italian philosophers of the last century. Former Emeritus Professor at the University of Turin, where he taught for over 40 years, he has received numerous awards, including the Max Planck Award for Humanities Sciences, The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, and the Hannah Arendt Prize for Political Thinking. Vattimo has delivered the prestigious Cardinal Mercier Chair Lectures at Leuven and the Gifford Lectures at the University of Glasgow. In 2016 an archive and center for Vattimo studies was established at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona. In this book Thomas Jared Farmer examines the unique contributions that Vattimo has made to postmodern thought, as well as to recent debates in political philosophy and religion. His signature concept, "weak thought" (pensiero debole), draws on Heidegger, Marx, and Nietzsche to construct a nonabsolutist approach to the persistent problems of ideology, violence, and social division that have faced our globalized world after the so-called "end of metaphysics." A frequent interlocutor of Derrida, Lyotard, Rorty, Girard, Nancy, John Caputo, and Charles Taylor, his many important and influential books were central to the "return to religion" in continental philosophy"-- Provided by publisher. Gianni Vattimo (1936–2023) was among the most significant Italian philosophers of the last fifty years. A controversial figure both at home and abroad, he sometimes described himself paradoxically as a “nihilist” and as a “communist Catholic.” Despite his provocations—and unusually for an academic philosopher—he served two terms in the European Parliament. For decades, Vattimo was at the forefront of developments in continental philosophy, spanning hermeneutics, postmodernity, and the “return to religion.” Drawing on the work of figures such as Heidegger, Marx, Nietzsche, Gadamer, Rorty, and Kuhn, Vattimo constructed his signature concept of “weak thought,” a way of approaching the persistent problems of ideology, violence, and social division after the so-called end of metaphysics.In this book, Thomas Jared Farmer provides a groundbreaking examination of Vattimo’s life and work. He considers the distinctive contributions that Vattimo made to postmodern thought as well as to recent debates in political philosophy and religion. This book provides an accessible introduction to Vattimo’s overall philosophical project while also contextualizing it through discussions of important intellectual figures, key events in Italian history, and details about his personal trajectory. Authoritative and comprehensive, it is an indispensable companion to the works of one of the most original thinkers to emerge in the second half of the twentieth century. Gianni Vattimo (1936–2023) was among the most significant Italian philosophers of the last fifty years. In this book, Thomas Jared Farmer provides a groundbreaking examination of Vattimo’s life and work. Autorid: Thomas Jared Farmer