Un altro illuminismo: immaginazione e mito in Spinoza

In their Dialectic of Enlightenment, Adorno and Horkheimer observe that the Enlightenment constitutes itself by rejecting myth as subjective. Yet, once the Enlightenment has dominated the entire world with its abstract categories, it cannot but turn into pure subjectivity, and thus into myth. How can we escape such a negative dialectic? The aim of this investigation is to show that Spinoza’s theory of myth and imagination provides us with the tools for doing so. Despite being an Enlightenment thinker, Spinoza distances himself from all the presuppositions of the negative dialectic described by Adorno and Horkheimer. To show this, I will first say a few words on what it means to be ‘within’ the dialectic of Enlightenment, by focusing on the ontological and epistemological assumptions that led Kant, together with other theorists of the Enlightenment, to fully endorse it (§. 1). I will then explore Spinoza’s peculiar understanding of imagination, by first focusing on its ontological and epistemological aspects (§. 2), and, subsequently, on their ethical and political consequences (§. 3, 4). It is Spinoza’s peculiar ontology that enables him to recognize that myth and imagination are already a form of Enlightenment, because they play a crucial cognitive, ethical and political role. This will also shed some light on why Spinoza can be considered as the initiator of ‘another Enlightenment’ and thus fruitfully be used to rethink the role of critical theory today

Europa, identità e legittimità

The paper explores the interplay between identity and legitimacy in the context of the European Union, understood as a postmodern political space. First, the paper analyses the conception of those who argue that the EU can and should rest on a simple instrumental or out-put oriented legitimacy, leaving thus democracy to nation states. By criticizing this view, the paper contrasts it with the idea that the EU needs a more complex form of legitimacy, one of its necessary conditions being the construction of a common European identity. By distinguishing between those who look at the potentiality of the European cultural heritage and those who rather focus on the need for a political identity, the paper concludes that the EU should search for its legitimacy in its future political project rather than in its cultural past

Bodies in Plural: Towards an Anarcha-Feminist Manifesto

Se ha vuelto común decir que la dominación se articula a través de una multi­plicidad de ejes en donde el género, la clase, la raza y la sexualidad se intersectan. Sin embargo, la interseccionalidad rara vez se relaciona con la tradición anarquista que la precede. En el presente artículo, desarrollo lo anterior señalando la utilidad, así como los límites, de la noción de interseccionalidad para entender los mecanismos de dominación y luego argumento en favor de un proyecto anarca-feminista de investigación. En segundo lugar, trataré de presentar el marco filosófico para desarrollar dicho proyecto recurriendo a la ontología spinozista del transindividuo, mostrando que es ahí donde podemos encontrar los recursos conceptuales para pensar la naturaleza plural del cuerpo de las mujeres y, por lo mismo, de su opresión. Esto me permitirá articular la pregunta “¿que significa ser una mujer?” en términos pluralistas y, por lo tanto, defender con ello un anarquismo específicamente feminista. En conclusión, recurro a la tradición anarca-feminista y muestro por qué es la mejor aliada posible para el feminismo en su búsqueda por una teoría crítica de la sociedad.It has become a commonplace to state that domination takes place through a multiplicity of axes it, where gender, class, race, and sexuality intersect with one another. How­ever, intersectionality is very rarely linked to the anarchist tradition that preceded it. In this article, I articulate this point by showing the usefulness but also the limits of the notion of in­tersectionality to understand mechanisms of domination and then argue for the need of an anarcha-feminist research program. Secondly, I will try to provide the philosophical framework for such an enterprise by arguing that it is in a Spinozist ontology of the transindividual that we can best find the conceptual resources for thinking about the plural nature of women’s bodies and thus of their oppression. This will allow me to attempt to articulate the question of “what it means to be a woman” in pluralistic terms and thus also to defend a specifically feminist form of anarchism. In conclusion, I will go back to the anarcha-feminist tradition and will show why today it is the best possible ally of feminism in the pursuit of a critical theory of society

A philosophy of political myth

Defence date: 23 June 2004Examining Board: Prof. Peter Wagner, European University Institute (Supervisor); Prof. Furio Cerutti, University of Florence, (External Co-Supervisor); Prof. Alessandro Pizzorno, European University Institute; Prof. Bo Stråth, European University InstituteFirst made available online on 19 March 2018In this dissertation Chiara Bottici argues for a philosophical understanding of political myth. Bottici demonstrates that myth is a process, one of continuous work on a basic narrative pattern that responds to a need for significance. Human beings need meaning in order to master the world they live in, but they also need significance in order to live in a world that is less indifferent to them. This is particularly true in the realm of politics. Political myths are narratives through which we orient ourselves, and act and feel about our political world. Bottici shows that in order to come to terms with contemporary phenomena, such as the clash between civilizations, we need a Copernican revolution in political philosophy. If we want to save reason, we need to look at it from the standpoint of myth

Anarchafeminism

Published online: 26 November 2021“Feminism does not mean female corporate power or a woman president: it means no corporate power and no president.” – Peggy Kornegger In this first introductory text to anarchafeminism, Chiara Bottici argues that feminism needs anarchism and anarchism needs feminism. Radical political movements don’t exist in isolation from each other. The fight for freedom and equality needs to operate on more than one connected plane. Anarchafeminism attempts to incorporate the strategems from both feminist and anarchist theories, approaches and grassroots activism to formulate a specific anarchafeminist approach adapted to the challenges of our times. Bottici draws upon work and theories from across the world to make this a truly global and very contemporary exploration of what anarchafeminism means today. The book introduces the key thinkers and ideas, setting out a manifesto which proposes a practical way ahead for a new more anarchafeminist society.Part I. Bodies in plural and their oppression -- Intersectional struggles, interlocking oppressions -- Anarchism beyond Eurocentrism and beyond sexism -- Within and against feminism: queer encounters -- Intermezzo: Stabat mater -- Part II. The philosophy of transindividuality -- From individuality to transindividuality -- The philosophy of transindividuality as transindividual philosophy -- Women in process, women as processes -- Intermezzo: Intinerarium in semen -- Part III. The globe first -- The coloniality of gender: for a decolonial and deimperial feminism -- Somatic communism and the capitalist mode of (re)production -- The environment is us: ecofeminism as queer ecology