Necropolis of naked life

parallels between Agamben and Pahor

Abstract

This article builds bridges of reflection between the philosophy of Giorgio Agamben and the literature of Boris Pahor. The starting point is the change in the relationship between zoe and bios in modern times. The goal is to develop the metaphor of the city as a concentration camp and of life exposed to death. In this way, it will be possible to understand modern depoliticization and the loss of freedom. In the end, there are testimonies of hope against impotence and new forms of social control. As a methodological approach, a bibliographic review was chosen based on the classics of political philosophy. In this sense, the text has the following structure: in the first part, it exposes the perspective of the Greeks on the ontological categories of the public and the private. Then, in a second moment, it demonstrates the changes established in modernity between politics and nature. This line of argument brings together the reflections made by the Italian philosopher and the Slovenian writer, as both unveil the 20th century catastrophes in concentration camps. Boris Pahor is a survivor, but he is in agreement with the texts of Agamben, about difficulties to witness, to say or unspeakable. The extermination policy establishes the loss of human dignity, but also the weight of these memories.

Keywords: Politics. Modernity. Agamben. Pahor.