Erminio Maglione

The aim of this article is to trace, in general, the main stages of the reception of Nietzsche in Albert Camus’s philosophy. The analysis intends to highlight the originality of Camus’s existentialism and how this theory was influenced by the German thinker. However, it also contains several criticisms of Nietzsche. The French philosopher tries, in fact, to detach himself from the Nietzschean philosophy through the ideas of «pensée de Midi» and «affirmative negation» linked to his theorizing on «good nihilism». The latter draws its inspiration from the philosophy of the late Nietzsche (1886-1889) and, in particular, from reflections on active nihilism. This is where we find the most original Camus, the one who finally takes leave of the Nietzsche of The Birth of Tragedy to develop his own conception of «pensée de Midi». The «good nihilism» then assumes the form of a nihilism where the negation is not an exclusive negation, which removes the otherness of the opposite thesis, but an inclusive negation that contemplates the exercise of the negative in its tension with the opposite polarity. The revolt represents the apogee of this thought of contradiction. The «affirmative negation» describes a limit that cannot be crossed: the value of human life. The revolt is therefore the place where the distancing from Nietzsche and his conception of absolute nihilism takes place.

THE MECHANISTIC CONCEPT OF THE WORLD. HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL NOTES ABOUT A RECENT CONFERENCE This work provides some contributions about the mechanistic paradigm from historical and philosophical perspective, taking into consideration its evolution from the ancient age until the contemporary science. This analysis is inspired by the conference “Mechanism. Interdisciplinary considerations about a theorical paradigm” organized by the research centre CIRSI of University of Modena and Reggio Emilia held in 14 and 15 December 2017. The work is structured into three sections. The first explains the research goals of the conference; the second is focused on the seventeenth century, the period of the main development of mechanistic paradigm; the third part explores its evolution and its crisis during the contemporary age.