This chapter reconstructs and examines Gilles Deleuze’s interpretation of Levi. Ghelli starts with a thematic and chronological mapping of the loci where Deleuze refers to Levi’s work, which highlights that the French philosopher was particularly interested in the notion of ‘the shame of the world’. Deleuze’s original reading of this concept, which integrates Levi’s work into a complex vitalist ontology, constitutes a sort of ‘Levi beyond Levi’ ante litteram. The second part of Ghelli’s essay shows how Levi’s materialist thought calls into question the appropriative reading operated by Deleuze. The point is not so much to ‘correct’ Deleuze’s forced interpretation but rather to show the limits of new materialism, a philosophical trend that has marked contemporary philosophy and that is characterised by a radical and consequential obliteration of the question of evil.
A Wicked God Called Life: Beyond the Deleuzian Century with Primo Levi
Simone Ghelli
Writing – Original Draft Preparation
2026
Abstract
This chapter reconstructs and examines Gilles Deleuze’s interpretation of Levi. Ghelli starts with a thematic and chronological mapping of the loci where Deleuze refers to Levi’s work, which highlights that the French philosopher was particularly interested in the notion of ‘the shame of the world’. Deleuze’s original reading of this concept, which integrates Levi’s work into a complex vitalist ontology, constitutes a sort of ‘Levi beyond Levi’ ante litteram. The second part of Ghelli’s essay shows how Levi’s materialist thought calls into question the appropriative reading operated by Deleuze. The point is not so much to ‘correct’ Deleuze’s forced interpretation but rather to show the limits of new materialism, a philosophical trend that has marked contemporary philosophy and that is characterised by a radical and consequential obliteration of the question of evil.I documenti in SFERA sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
