Albert Camus as Political Thinker

Transcription

1 Albert Camus as Political Thinker

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3 Albert Camus as Political Thinker Nihilisms and the Politics of Contempt Samantha Novello University of Torino, Italy

4 Samantha Novello 2010 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6 10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act First published 2010 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number , of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN ISBN (ebook) DOI / This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Novello, Samantha, 1974 Albert Camus as political thinker : nihilisms and the politics of contempt / Samantha Novello. p. cm. ISBN Camus, Albert, Political and social views. 2. Camus, Albert, Criticism and interpretation. 3. Nihilism (Philosophy) 4. Political science Philosophy. I. Title. B2430.C354A6N dc

5 In memory of Jacqueline Lévi-Valensi

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7 Contents Acknowledgements Note on the Texts and Abbreviations viii ix Introduction: An Untimely Political Thought for Serious Times 1 1. The Twentieth-Century Politics of Contempt Undisguised influences Tragic Beginnings 33 Mystic communion with nature An Artist s Point of View 58 Rethinking participation beyond political romanticism 63 A stranger to the world of ressentiment Commencement of Freedom 81 Sisyphus or happiness in Hell 86 Nothing is possible, everything is permitted The Absurd and Power 109 Combat with nihilism Between Sade and the Dandy. Conclusion 131 Notes 148 Bibliography 174 Index 186 vii

8 Acknowledgements After working on Camus s writings for some years, I have acquired many debts of gratitude. I am very grateful to Simona Forti for the invaluable support she offered during the writing of this book; she read several drafts of the manuscript and I have benefited from her intelligent comments, her competence and encouragement. This book draws on material I wrote for my two PhD theses at the European University Institute of Florence (2005) and at the University of Turin, which benefited from comments and suggestions made by Peter Wagner, Maurice Weyemberg and Pier Paolo Portinaro. I would like to thank Quentin Skinner for encouraging me to pursue my doctoral studies. I am very grateful to the European University Institute for offering me a research grant and, as an alumna, for putting the collections of the EUI library at my disposal. I am especially grateful to the POLIS Department of the Università del Piemonte Orientale and to the Political Studies Department of the Università degli Studi di Torino, Italy, which freed me from teaching for four years and supported this research project, allowing me to complete this book. Special thanks go to my mother, Sue, and to Margot Wylie, for their knowledge and patience in correcting the book, and to Sarah and Pierre Fredj for their hospitality and support during my innumerable trips to Paris. I would like to thank Mita Jonca, Emmanuel Vintiadis, Roberto Salerno and Fabio Macciò for their illuminating inspiration, true friendship and support. Participating in the new Pléaide edition of Camus s complete works has also been of great value for the writing of this book. My heartfelt thanks go to Catherine Camus and Raymond Gay-Crosier for their support, patient assistance and advice, which have proved invaluable. All my gratitude goes to my mentor, Jacqueline Lévi-Valensi, whose intellectual generosity, support and encouragement have been inestimable in my passionate undertaking of this research. To my greatest sorrow, she died before this work was achieved. The book is dedicated to her and to the Camusian friendship with which she honoured me. viii

9 Note on the Texts and Abbreviations References to quotes are given immediately in the text. I have translated the French quotes personally wherever the English translation did not exist and, without explicit indication, I have slightly modified existing translations for the sake of accuracy. All extracts from the four volumes of Albert Camus, Œuvres complètes Éditions Gallimard. Given the various editions available, references to Nietzsche s works are to sections, not to page numbers, unless a specific translation is quoted. Works frequently cited throughout the text and in notes are identified by the following abbreviations. Full references can be found in the Bibliography. I, II, III, IV Albert Camus, Œuvres Complètes, I ; II ; III ; IV CAC4 Albert Camus, Cahiers Albert Camus, 4. Caligula. Version de CAC8 Camus à Combat, Cahiers Albert Camus. 8, ed. J. Lévi-Valensi. EE Albert Camus, L Envers et l Endroit in I, pp E Albert Camus, L Étranger in I, pp MS Albert Camus, Le Mythe de Sisyphe, in I, pp DES Albert Camus, Métaphysique chrétienne et néoplatonisme in I, pp LAA Albert Camus, Lettres à un ami allemand, in II, pp N Albert Camus, Noces, in I, pp RR Albert Camus, Remarque sur la révolte, in III, pp HR Albert Camus, L Homme révolté, in III, pp EO Jean Grenier, Essai sur l esprit d orthodoxie. A Friedrich Nietzsche, Aurore. GM Friedrich Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morality. NP Friedrich Nietzsche, La Naissance de la philosophie a l époque de la tragédie grecque. ix

10 x Notes on the Texts and Abbreviations NT EH CI HTH VPI, II Friedrich Nietzsche, La Naissance de la tragédie. Friedrich Nietzsche, Ecce homo. Friedrich Nietzsche, Le Crépuscule des Idoles. Friedrich Nietzsche, Humain, trop humain. Friedrich Nietzsche, La Volonté de Puissance, vols I, II.