Giorgio Agamben Books

Through a unique approach, the book offers an autobiographical insight into the life of philosopher Giorgio Agamben, revealing his identity through the influences of notable figures like Martin Heidegger and Walter Benjamin. Instead of a traditional narrative, it intertwines images, photographs, and objects from his creative spaces, creating a self-portrait that reflects his encounters and passions. This blend of visual and textual elements forms a distinctive auto-heterography, showcasing how others have shaped his thought and writing.

Offers Agamben's genealogy of power in terms of political, philosophical and legal thought. This book investigates the genealogy of the strife between the Polis and its population with particular regard to the Greek concept of stasis and the strife with the commonwealth of Hobbes' Leviathan.

The final volume in Homo Sacer, Giorgio Agamben's wide-ranging investigation of the foundations of Western politics and culture.

A richly illustrated analysis from one of Europe's greatest living philosophers. In Pinocchio, Giorgio Agamben turns his keen philosopher's eye on the famous nineteenth-century novel by Carlo Collodi. To Agamben, Pinocchio's adventures are a kind of initiation into life itself. Like us, the mischievous puppet is caught between two worlds. He is faced with the alternatives of submitting to authority or of carrying on, stubbornly indulging his way of being. From Agamben's virtuoso interpretation of this classic story, we learn that we can harbor the mystery of existence only if we are not aware of it, only if we manage to cohabit with an area of non-knowledge, immemorial and very near. Richly illustrated with images from three early editions of Collodi's novel, this new volume will delight enthusiasts of both literature and philosophy.

At the heart of Pulcinella is Agamben's exploration of an album of 104 drawings, created by Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (1727-1804) near the end of his life, that cover the life, adventures, death, and resurrection of the title character.

Cy Twombly's photographs are a late blessing from the hand of one of the most innovative American artists. Along with peonies, tulips are his floral passion. This small book accompanies a show of his tulip photographs at Schirmer/Mosel Showroom, Munich, in June. They captivate the viewer by the subtle irresistibility of sepia-toned dryprints. The prints will be complemented by poetry selected by the artist.

The book features Giorgio Agamben's intense and personal reflections on the 2020 health emergency, examining its impact in Italy and globally. Through his philosophical lens, he critiques the societal and governmental responses to the crisis, offering profound insights into themes of freedom, authority, and human experience during unprecedented times.

Exploring the oath's pivotal role in political and religious history, this book delves into its strategic significance at the crossroads of law, religion, and politics. Agamben conducts an archaeological analysis of Greek and Roman texts, revealing the oath as a foundational event in human development. He argues that the oath serves as both a 'sacrament of power' and a 'sacrament of language,' highlighting how humanity's ability to speak intertwines with the commitments made through oaths, shaping individual and collective identity.

This book, by one of Italy's most important and original contemporary philosophers, represents a broad, general, and ambitious undertaking-nothing less than an attempt to rethink the nature of poetic language and to rearticulate relationships among theology, poetry, and philosophy in a tradition of literature initiated by Dante.