Giorgio Agamben
Giorgio Agamben | |
|---|---|
In 2009, during the presentation of Contributions à la guerre en cours | |
| Born | 22 April 1942 |
| Education | Sapienza University of Rome (Laurea, 1965) |
| Era | Contemporary philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| School | Continental philosophy Philosophy of life[1] |
Main interests | Aesthetics Political philosophy Social philosophy |
Notable ideas | Homo sacer State of exception Whatever singularity Bare life Auctoritas Form-of-life The zoe–bios distinction as the "fundamental categorial pair of Western politics"[2] The paradox of sovereignty[3] |
Giorgio Agamben (born 22 April 1942 in Rome) is a leading Italian philosopher and political thinker. He studies how language, power, law, and human life connect. His ideas on the state of emergency, bare life, and biopolitics have influenced philosophy and politics worldwide.
Early life and education
Agamben studied law and philosophy at the University of Rome La Sapienza. He earned his doctorate with a thesis on Simone Weil and took part in Heidegger's seminars on Hegel and Heraclitus. He also studied the Jewish Torah, Christian texts, and Greek and Roman law in their original languages.
Academic career
Agamben has taught philosophy at universities in Macerata, Verona, and at the Collège International de Philosophie in Paris. He also taught in Venice and was a visiting professor in the United States.
Main ideas
- Language and metaphysics: He believes language is the basis for talking about being. Every word has a deeper meaning.
- Biopolitics and bare life (Homo Sacer): He expanded on the idea of biopolitics, how modern states control human life. In his book Homo Sacer, he introduced "bare life"—life stripped of rights, controlled by the state, under sovereign power.
- State of exception: He wrote about the "state of exception", when governments remove laws in emergencies. He says modern states often use this power permanently, making people live in a legal border zone or "camp".
- New politics: Agamben suggests we need a new politics based on community, not on state or law. He believes in moving beyond traditional ideas like sovereignty, rights, and state control, and embracing openness and shared life.
Major works
- Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life (1995/1998)
- The Coming Community (1990/1993)
- Infancy and History, Means Without End, Bartleby, and more
Controversies and commentary
After 9/11, he refused to give biometric data (like fingerprints) for entry into the US, calling it biopolitical tattooing. He also criticized the use of emergency laws during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Influence and legacy
Agamben has influenced many fields: philosophy, political theory, legal studies, literature, and religious studies. His work is primarily shaped by Walter Benjamin, Heidegger, Hannah Arendt, and others.
References
- ↑ David Kishik, The Power of Life: Agamben and the Coming Politics, Stanford University Press, 2012, pp. 3 and 45.
- ↑ Homo Sacer, Stanford UP, 1998, p. 8.
- ↑ The paradox "consists in the fact the sovereign is, at the same time, outside and inside the juridical order." (Agamben, Homo Sacer, Stanford UP, 1998, p. 15)