La precedenza del patologico. Elementi di una filosofia dei valori negativi in Georges Canguilhem

(The Precedence of the Pathological: Elements of a Philosophy of Negative Values in Georges Canguilhem)

Abstract

The present essay intends to offer an interpretation in terms of a philosophy of values of Georges Canguilhem’s normative philosophy of the living as it is presented in his 1943 Essai sur quelques problèmes concernant le normal et le pathologique. In particular, the essay intends to show that precisely the question of the relation between the pathological and the normal enables the surfacing of a specific thesis, namely, the priority of negative values. This sits at the center of Canguilhem’s philosophy of values and its consequences have a broader impact than on the reflection on medicine alone.