Grasping negativity and destroying mythological machines: language, time, and politics in the exchange of letters between Agamben and Jesi

Abstract

Based on the exchange of letters between Giorgio Agamben and Furio Jesi during the 1970s, this essay seeks to delineate the relations and connections between the two authors, particularly regarding the themes of negativity and myth. Initially, it situates Agamben’s work promptly after his correspondence with Jesi, and then explores how their relationship solidifies through the exchange of texts and theoretical affinities. The essay proceeds to examine some key points in the thought of both authors: the issue of negativity and the ungraspable in Agamben's work, and, in Jesi’s case, the problem of the mythological machine and the emptiness. It then highlights the intrinsic connection between the two thinkers through their shared reading of Walter Benjamin. Finally, it shows how Agamben's philosophy after Jesi’s death bears indelible marks of his friend’s thought.