Overview

The Fundamental Tendency of Our Times (Tendenza) is the Italian philosopher Emanuele Severino’s crucial reflection on modern technology and science, in which he articulates his major contribution to the analysis of Western modernity: the claim that, beginning with Greek civilization, a nihilistic spirit of domination informs our conceptual and social systems. In this book Severino applies his framework to the geopolitical situation before the fall of the Berlin Wall; yet his insights have continuing relevance in light of the current threat of ecological collapse accelerated by an orientation to the world as an object of exploitation. Significant for its parallels with, and differences from, Heidegger's discussion of technology, this book's explicit discussion of politics gives essential clarification to Severino's notoriously complex philosophical discourse. With a foreword contextualizing the historical moment of its publication, this first English translation will be invaluable for those interested in understanding the thought of one of the most remarkable Italian theorists of the 20th century. Published with the kind support of SEPS (Segretariato Europeo per le Pubblicazioni Scientifiche).

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9781350468368

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Reviews

Emanuele Severino was one of the most lucid and radical thinkers of the twentieth century. He advocated the eternity of every being, denouncing as ‘folly’ the belief that anything could originate from or return to nothingness. Yet he saw the entire history of the West as deeply immersed in this very folly. In The Fundamental Tendency of Our Time, Severino explores some of the most concrete manifestations of this belief, which he calls ‘nihilism’. He analyzes the nature of technology and the development of history, offering a new—and for many, shocking—vision of where we come from, where we are, and where we are headed. * Dr Andrea Sangiacomo, Associate Professor Faculty of Philosophy, University of Groningen *

Author Information

Emanuele Severino (1929 –2020) was an Italian philosopher. An original thinker and public intellectual, he is considered one of the most important Italian thinkers of the 20th century. Antimo Lucarelli is a translator at the School of Advanced Study, University of London, UK.

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