Massimo Cacciari | Paideia | festivalfilosofia 2025

Masterclasses Massimo Cacciari Paideia. But who is the pais? In memory of Michele Di Francesco Saturday, September 20, 2025 4:30 PM Modena Piazza Grande - World Heritage Site --- How does the figure of the child represent the beginning of the human being's formation? This lecture reflects on the pais as a symbol of openness to the world and the capacity for transformation, evoking references ranging from Heraclitus to Leopardi to question growth as the beginning of a journey toward the fullness of thought and action. -- Massimo Cacciari is Professor Emeritus of Aesthetics at the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in Milan and a member of the Accademia dei Lincei. He has focused on the crisis of German idealism and dialectical systems, highlighting Nietzsche's and Heidegger's critique of Western metaphysics and tracing the genealogy of nihilistic thought in the classics of late-ancient, medieval, and modern mysticism. His work has spanned theoretical philosophy, aesthetics, and political philosophy, with particular attention to the themes of the sacred, the city, authority, and law. He has reflected on humanism as a critical space between tradition and modernity, questioning the figure of the intellectual and the destiny of Europe. His engagement with art and literature—from Van Gogh to Shakespeare, from Hölderlin to Greek tragic thought—is a distinctive feature of his approach, aimed at uncovering the anthropological implications of aesthetic form. He has received numerous awards and has held lectures, courses, and conferences at numerous European universities and institutions. His books include: Dell’Inizio (Turin 1990, 2001, 4th ed.); Love Thy Neighbor (with Enzo Bianchi, Bologna 2011); The Power That Holds Back (Milan 2013); Philosophical Labyrinth (Milan 2014); Philology and Philosophy (Bologna 2015); King Lear. Fathers, Sons, Heirs (Caserta 2015); The West Without Utopias (with Paolo Prodi, Bologna 2016); Generating God (Bologna 2017); The Restless Mind. An Essay on Humanism (Turin 2019); In Praise of Law (with Natalino Irti and an essay by Werner Jaeger, Milan 2019); The Work of the Spirit (Milan 2020); The City. New Edition (Rimini 2021); Paradise and Shipwreck (Turin 2022); Concrete Metaphysics (Milan 2023); The Passion According to Mary (Bologna 2024); Van Gogh. For a Self-Portrait (Brescia 2025). He is a member of the Scientific Committee of the Consortium for the festivalfilosofia. http://www.festivalfilosofia.it © The video is property of the Consortium for the festivalfilosofia