BACKGROUND
The team has previously taken part in two research projects focused on the phenomenon of nihilism. These projects have served as a platform for our current inquiry:
1) Nihilism and Metaphysics
The first project, entitled Nihilism and Metaphysics (Ref. BFF2000-02423), was directed by Prof. Pedro Cerezo Galán and ran from December 2003 to December 2005. It contributed to our training in: (a) the fundamental theoretical sources for diagnosing nihilism (Nietzsche and Heidegger), its antecedents (such as Gorgias), and its expression in thinkers of the Frankfurt School (e.g., Adorno) and in French philosophy of difference (e.g., Foucault, Derrida, Deleuze, and J.-L. Nancy).
The project’s main outcome was twofold: (a) it enabled an analysis of the present as a time in which a crisis of foundations and values is disclosed, producing—on a global scale—a vacuum of meaning (negative or improper nihilism); and (b) it also fostered an understanding of the human being’s insertion into life or existence in a finite and embodied manner, opening up the possibility of self-realization (positive or proper nihilism).
The project culminated in the International Philosophy Meeting “Nihilism and the Contemporary World” (Almuñécar, Granada, 12–16 September 2005). In addition to articles in specialized journals, two books emerged from the research results:
Sáez Rueda, L.; de la Higuera, J.; Zúñiga, J. F. (eds.), Pensar la nada, Madrid, Biblioteca Nueva, 2007;
Sáez Rueda, L.; de la Higuera, J.; Zúñiga, J. F. (eds.), Nihilismo y mundo actual, Universidad de Granada, 2009.
2) The Task of Thinking in the Face of the Challenge of Nihilism
The second project continued the first: The Task of Thinking in the Face of the Challenge of Nihilism (Ref. HUM2005-03610), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, ran from January 2006 to December 2008, and was directed by Prof. Remedios Ávila Crespo.
The project’s results are primarily reflected in the study of the challenges philosophy faces in responding to the phenomenon of nihilism. In addition to several articles, it led to the International Philosophy Meeting “The Task of Thinking in the Face of the Challenge of Nihilism” (Granada, 19–22 November 2008) and to the following volume, with contributions by members of the current team:
Ávila Crespo, R.; Estrada, J. A.; Ruiz, E. (eds.), Itinerarios del nihilismo, Arena Libros, 2009.
