Papers by Giulia Gandolfi
Springer, 2023
Thanks notably to the work of Georges Canguilhem, the approach to the history and philosophy of s... more Thanks notably to the work of Georges Canguilhem, the approach to the history and philosophy of science known as "historical epistemology" turned its attention away from its standard objects like physics and astronomy and reoriented toward the life sciences. But what exactly is a historical epistemology of the life sciences? In recent years, it seems to mean (with Rheinberger) a historicized reflection on concept construction in, e.g., molecular biology, with attention paid to instrumental contexts. But was this Canguilhem's approach? We suggest that Canguilhemian épistémologie (i.e., historical epistemology) is at bottom a philosophy of life, of the living. Canguilhem sometimes terms this "philosophie
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History, philosophy and theory of the life sciences, 2023
The focus on the concept of organism, considered as a totality, is a common feature both in the w... more The focus on the concept of organism, considered as a totality, is a common feature both in the work of Georges Canguilhem and Immanuel Kant. Given Canguilhem's strong Kantian training, in this text I try to locate the similarities and differences between the two authors. In the first part, I show the close connection between concept, life and knowledge in Canguilhem's philosophy. I then try to demonstrate that, for both authors, knowledge is formed from vital force, and consequently from the organism. In part two, I analyze Kant's idea of the organism from his pre-critical works up until the Opus Postumum. Here, Kant considers the fundamental connection between organism and conceptual knowledge. In the Opus Postumum, for the first time, the organism is presented as the condition of possibility of knowledge; as a material a priori. In the last section, once I have discussed the Kantian tradition Canguilhem was part of, I will explore his reception of the Kantian idea of the organism and the development that he proposes of the idea of organic totality after the discovery of DNA.
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Canguilhem and Continental Philosophy of Biology, 2023
The focus on the concept of organism, considered as a totality, is a common feature both in the w... more The focus on the concept of organism, considered as a totality, is a common feature both in the work of Georges Canguilhem and Immanuel Kant. Given Canguilhem's strong Kantian training, in this text I try to locate the similarities and differences between the two authors. In the first part, I show the close connection between concept, life and knowledge in Canguilhem's philosophy. I then try to demonstrate that, for both authors, knowledge is formed from vital force, and consequently from the organism. In part two, I analyze Kant's idea of the organism from his pre-critical works up until the Opus Postumum. Here, Kant considers the fundamental connection between organism and conceptual knowledge. In the Opus Postumum, for the first time, the organism is presented as the condition of possibility of knowledge; as a material a priori. In the last section, once I have discussed the Kantian tradition Canguilhem was part of, I will explore his reception of the Kantian idea of the organism and the development that he proposes of the idea of organic totality after the discovery of DNA.
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La philosophie et ses dehors, 2023
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Edizioni ETS, Oct 20, 2021
Today, claims about the contiguity of health management and societal organization bring biopoliti... more Today, claims about the contiguity of health management and societal organization bring biopolitical concerns to the forefront. This essay offers historical-political insights on the covid-19 pandemic, which are particularly urgent, as both the temporal and the cultural-political dimensions have been insufficiently considered in current debates. After introducing our specific political-epistemological approach, we delve into the entanglements of medical expertise, economic interests, surveillance politics, and diplomatic relations in the past in order to shed light on the present. Additionally, we address the limitations of Italian theory's biopolitica, namely its idle radicalization of critical views on medical politics inspired by French épistémologie historique. We conclude with a call to scientists' responsibility in consideration of the societal embedment of their activity. Yet, the task of an emancipated science is not only in their hands but depends on our collective capacity to organically connect their work to the renewal of the body politics at large.
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Today, claims about the contiguity of health management and societal organization bring biopoliti... more Today, claims about the contiguity of health management and societal organization bring biopolitical concerns to the forefront. This essay offers historical-political insights on the covid-19 pandemic, which are particularly urgent, as both the temporal and the cultural-political dimensions have been insufficiently considered in current debates. After introducing our specific political-epistemological approach, we delve into the entanglements of medical expertise, economic interests, surveillance politics, and diplomatic relations in the past in order to shed light on the present. Additionally, we address the limitations of Italian theory's biopolitica, namely its idle radicalization of critical views on medical politics inspired by French épistémologie historique. We conclude with a call to scientists' responsibility in consideration of the societal embedment of their activity. Yet, the task of an emancipated science is not only in their hands but depends on our collective capacity to organically connect their work to the renewal of the body politics at large.
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Canadian Bulletin of Medical History, 2021
https://utpjournals.press/doi/10.3138/cbmh.538-062021
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Drafts by Giulia Gandolfi
To be published in collective volume "Canguilhem facing biopolitics" (Gandolfi, Ienna, Wolfe eds.... more To be published in collective volume "Canguilhem facing biopolitics" (Gandolfi, Ienna, Wolfe eds.) Éditions Matériologiques, -fall 2023.
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Conference Presentations by Giulia Gandolfi
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Papers by Giulia Gandolfi
Drafts by Giulia Gandolfi
Conference Presentations by Giulia Gandolfi