• Book

    • The Theatre of Being
      • Overview
      • About the author
      • Press
    • Ermanno Bencivenga     

      The Theatre of Being

      • Overview
      • About the author
      • Press

      Overview

      A part of the Invasioni series, this essay examines how theatre can enlighten the main metaphysical theme of our tradition: the nature of the subject in contemporary society.

      After examining the philosophical notion of “I”, the author turns to the masters of drama – from Stanislavsky and Grotowsk to Brecht – to show how theatre actors promote and develop the richness of the subject through acting. Two ample chapters are dedicated to the role of spectators and moral judgement in theatre and the self.

      For years, Bencivenga has argued that subjectivity has a theatrical character and that the self is made up of multiple, mutually dialoguing voices. Clearly, this is a metaphorical dialogue: the voices do not always speak to each other; sometimes, they take over the body and move it as they will. This study of acting, then, is ideal for investigating the metaphysics of the subject.

      Plato had banished actors from his ideal republic to avoid the multiplicity they embodied and the distraction they caused, preventing citizens from concentrating solely on their social role. In a 180-degree turn, the author proposes a republic of actors, in which multiplicity is the rule and distraction is a valuable tool.

      About the author

      Ermanno Bencivenga is an internationally renowned philosopher and essayist as well as a Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Human Sciences at the University of California. He is the founder and editor of the international journal of philosophy "Topoi". He contributes to Italian daily "Il Sole 24 Ore". The author of numerous essays, he has also written Nel nome del padre e del figlio (2020) for Hoepli.

  • Book formats

    • Binding: Paperback
      Size: 13,5 x 21
      Print: Black and white
      Pages: VIII-136
      ISBN: 9788820396206
      Price: € 16,90

    Digital formats

    • epub
      ISBN: 9788836006649
      Price: € 13,99
    • Piattaforma: Amazon
      kindle
      ISBN: 9788836006649
    • Piattaforma in abbonamento: Perlego