Italy woke up this Wednesday as the orphan of one of its great philosophers. Gianni Vattimo (Turin 1936), the great theorist of ‘weak thought’ associated with hermeneutics and one of the lead authors Philosophy post modern, He died at the age of 87 He has been at a health center in Rivoli, in the province of Turin, where he has been admitted since mid-August.
Communist, polyglot and gay CatholicVattimo introduced the concept of ‘weak thought’ (‘Il pensiero debenle’, in Italian) in 1983, as opposed to the ‘strong thought’ of writers such as Aristotle or René Descartes. He asserted: against strict logic and it only means we must allow free interpretation. For him, it is a contemporary response to the rigidity and dogmatism of traditional metaphysics and enlightened modernity, which is so sure of itself and science.
Therefore his reading postmodernity interpreted as “a version” and the end of the supremacy of those who believe in everything, defend closed models and absolute truths. “In my opinion, these strong claims are socially dangerous, think about it. popper To Plato. Moreover, they do not fit into current thinking. HE ‘‘strong thought’ connected authoritarian positions” he explained, an idea also born in the heat of criticism of the nationalisms of the 20th century.
In this context, among his publications, ‘The Subject and the Mask’ or ‘The End of Modernity’ stand out with their literal interpretations. Heidegger And NietzscheVattimo said this introduces the phase we are currently in. tolerance and diversity. Some theories that aroused love and hatred in the intellectual circle throughout the Italian philosopher’s career, especially between the eighties and nineties of the last century.
Catholic and atheist
But that’s not the only thing where Vattimo stands out. Church Critic As an institution but also as a grateful debtor, in the midst of Marxist scholasticism and on the path of the hermeneutics of Gadamer and Heidegger, Vattimo also argued that the Christian tradition was located in the “community”; these thoughts represented an evolution. One of his early theories about ‘weak thinking’. “Me too I identify as a Christian “Because I believe Christianity is more ‘true’ than any other religion, because in a way it’s not a religion,” he said.
“I want to say that Jesus Christ saved me from beliefs in idols, gods, natural laws, etc. and therefore in this sense I define myself as an atheistbut naturally he added only in relation to the God of the philosophers, that is, the god of “pure action.” “God is not a true proposition, but rather a benevolent person embodied in Jesus,” added the author of books on this question, such as his autobiography ‘Not Being God’.
Argument about partner
Moreover, over the years, the Italian philosopher became a great defender people’s rights LGBTI+ in Italya community that he felt he was a part of. Although all this is not always uncontroversial.
In fact, it marked the last phase of his life. a big debate About Simone Caminada, his pair and has been an assistant for over a decade. Reason: Some people around him accused Caminada of manipulating the philosopher, taking advantage of his status and stealing his assets, and the case ended in court.
Finally, last February, Caminada equalized was convicted in the first instance sentenced to two years in prison for manipulation of incompetent personAlthough Vattimo himself has always denied that this is true. But in the final months of Vattimo’s life, the justice system even froze his assets and appointed a temporary guardian to decide his medical treatments.
Source: Informacion
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