Music and politics: reflections in the light of Giorgio Agamben’s thought

Abstract

This article aims to present and analyze the relationship between music and politics in the philosophy of Giorgio Agamben (1942-). Stricto sensu, the theme appears in two works in the Agambenian corpus: in Infancy and History (1978) and in What is Philosophy? (2016). Understanding the theses and arguments of the Italian philosopher presupposes the use of two other works: Language and Death (1982) and Idea of Prose (1985). In the latter, Agamben faces the problem of the decline of human experience in contemporary times – Benjaminian heritage – and the relationship between poetic experience and philosophical language – Heideggerian heritage. Agamben's analysis of the relationship between music and politics is based on an Aristotelian premise – the original cohesion between politics and poetry – and a Platonic premise – the identity between music (word of the muses) and philosophy (supreme music). We will verify, as a conclusion, that the reform of contemporary politics implies a reformulation of the “affective tone” (Stimmung), or the musical state, of Western society.

Key words: Agamben; politics; music; philosophy.