What can and should be the promise of politics today? How does politics begin anew? In his talk, political philosopher Facundo Vega examines the strengths and limitations of Hannah Arendt’s account of “beginnings.” Vega shows how Arendt’s reflections on “the beginning” attempt to avoid theories of pure spontaneity, great-event history, and historical contingency, arguing instead that, for Arendt, beginnings are ultimately dependent on what she calls “the principle of beginning.” The talk excavates this principle of beginning in Arendt’s work, showing its curious an-archic features and revealing how it can be a powerful tool for calling into question certain myths of contemporary politics, such as the charismatic populist leader.
Presented by the Politics Department at New School for Social Research.
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Facundo Vega is an assistant professor of philosophy at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Chile, and a research scientist at CONICET and the FU Berlin. He received his PhD from Cornell University. He is currently completing his first book, titled Ordinary Matters: The Political after Martin Heidegger. Vega's second book project is titled The Politics of Beginnings: Hannah Arendt Today. His scholarly articles have appeared in, among other venues, Philosophy Today, The European Legacy, Cahier de L’Herne, and diacritics.
