Community and Nihilism

Developing the arguments put forward in books such as <em>Communitas</em>, in this article the political  philosopher Roberto Esposito tries to overcome the customary opposition between the notions of community and nihilism. His aim is to rethink what community might mean...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Roberto Esposito
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cosmos and History Publishing Co-op. 2009-05-01
Series:Cosmos and History : the Journal of Natural and Social Philosophy
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.cosmosandhistory.org/index.php/journal/article/view/124
Description
Summary:Developing the arguments put forward in books such as <em>Communitas</em>, in this article the political  philosopher Roberto Esposito tries to overcome the customary opposition between the notions of community and nihilism. His aim is to rethink what community might mean in an age of ‘completed nihilism’. In a subtle genealogical and etymological analysis of the concept of community, he demonstrates how, rather than establishing a substantial and positive bond, community is constituted by nothingness, by a shared lack—which communal, communitarian and totalitarian politics seek to deny. The excavation of the meaning of <em>communitas </em>allows Esposito to critically examine the manner in which the thinking of community has been expunged by modern political philosophy.
ISSN:1832-9101