Valéry e la filosofia della letteratura

Abstract

In the present article, I will address the question of whether Paul Valery’s thought can somehow contribute to the recent debate concerning the philosophy of literature. Firstly, I will focus on the idea according to which philosophy can be meant not only as a literary genre but also as an art of thinking. This allows Valery to state that the poet, too, has a philosophy insofar as he or she is able to think abstractly by practicing his or her own mind. Secondly, following some remarks of Derrida and Rorty, I will discuss Valery’s idea according to which the philosopher is a philosopher to the extent that he or she forgets that philosophy has to be written. This will lead me to distinguish the peculiar aesthetics of the philosopher as writer from that of the poet.