The Wreckage of Philosophy: Carlo Michelstaedter and the Limits of Bourgeois Thought

by Mimmo Cangiano

Overview

The work of Carlo Michelstaedter (1887–1910) was the first to analyze modernist philosophy in strict connection with social changes in mass society. Revealing how Michelstaedter was able to unveil the relations between pivotal early-modernist philosophies and social restructurings, The Wreckage of Philosophy examines the ongoing processes of "specialization," "rationalization," and "atomization." It points out how Michelstaedter connected the main theoretical expressions of modernism with the decisive social transformations of the early twentieth century, taking into consideration the key players of modernist philosophy, such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Henri Bergson, Ernst Mach, and William James.

By following Michelstaedter’s analysis and strategies, The Wreckage of Philosophy focuses on several intertwined issues: the distinct philosophical positions within the modernist area; the connections between philosophy and modernist literature; the relations between intellectual positions and social upheavals; and the early-twentieth-century links among traditional philosophy, critique of language, and epistemology of technique.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781487530624
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	12/21/2018
Series:	Toronto Italian Studies
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	200
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Mimmo Cangiano is an assistant professor in the Department of Romance and Latin American Studies at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1 The Crisis of Truth

I. Michelstaedter and the Two Sides of Modernist Thought
II. The Social Overcoming of the Aesthetic Perspective
III. The Social Overcoming of Ethical Life and Tragic Thought

2 The Individual Will/Need and the Social Second Nature

I. The Light of Will and the "Direct Mode," or Michelstaedter’s Version of Specialization
II. The Vortex of Correlativity, or Michelstaedter’s Version of Relativism
III. The Organization (Abstraction) of Relativity
IV. The "Connective Mode"

3 Rhetoric’s Paths

I. Rhetoric in Language: Michelstaedter’s Sprachkritik and Giuseppe Prezzolini
II. The Abstractions of the Social Machine and the Master–Slave Dialectic
III. The Wreckage of Greek Philosophy and the Road to Persuasion

4 The Persuasion–Rhetoric Dialectic: History and Social Being

I. Science, Technology, and the Historical Character of the Second Nature
II. Ethics, Practice, and Dialectics
III. Rhetoric’s Peak

Conclusion: The Limits of Bourgeois Thought: Persuasion and Rhetoric and History and Class Consciousness

Notes
Bibliography
Index

What People are Saying About This

Valerio Cappozzo

"The Wreckage of Philosophy constitutes a valuable tool for students and faculty specializing in history of philosophy, nineteenth-century German philosophy, for instance Nietzsche and Hegel, as well as modernist thought, and the historical context of Italy in the beginning of the twentieth century."

Giuseppe Gazzola

"Offering a brilliant and original reading of Michelstaedter's philosophy, Mimmo Cangiano has written the first book to do so in English since 1992. By providing a detailed interpretation of Michelstaedter's work in English, Cangiano makes this challenging philosopher accessible to an English-speaking audience, while also offering his own powerfully original reading and engagement with the philosopher. Rather than entering into Michelstaedter's corpus through his poetry or painting, as much recent scholarship has done, Cangiano undertakes the challenging task of reading the philosophy itself, putting Michelstaedter's thought back on the table."

Thomas Harrison

"Mimmo Cangiano is extremely well versed in the relevant critical material, especially in the theoretical and literary works of Michelstaedter's time, which he invokes and marshals to build this original interpretation."

Editorial Reviews

"Mimmo Cangiano is extremely well versed in the relevant critical material, especially in the theoretical and literary works of Michelstaedter’s time, which he invokes and marshals to build this original interpretation."

—Thomas Harrison, Professor, Department of Italian, University of California, Los Angeles

" The Wreckage of Philosophy constitutes a valuable tool for students and faculty specializing in history of philosophy, nineteenth-century German philosophy, for instance Nietzsche and Hegel, as well as modernist thought, and the historical context of Italy in the beginning of the twentieth century."

—Valerio Cappozzo, Assistant Professor, Department of Modern Languages, University of Mississippi

"Offering a brilliant and original reading of Michelstaedter’s philosophy, Mimmo Cangiano has written the first book to do so in English since 1992. By providing a detailed interpretation of Michelstaedter’s work in English, Cangiano makes this challenging philosopher accessible to an English-speaking audience, while also offering his own powerfully original reading and engagement with the philosopher. Rather than entering into Michelstaedter’s corpus through his poetry or painting, as much recent scholarship has done, Cangiano undertakes the challenging task of reading the philosophy itself, putting Michelstaedter’s thought back on the table."

—Giuseppe Gazzola, Department of European Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, Stony Brook University

From the Publisher