Liberare le “immense energie della storia” Valenze, genealogie e coordinate del mikrologisches Verfahren in Walter Benjamin

Abstract

The aim of this article is to examine Walter Benjamin’s micrological method as an historical-philosophical approach rooted in investigative posture. Drawing an analogy between the historian and the detective, the study highlights how Benjamin’s method is characterized by a meticulous attention to detail, fragments, and traces - those marginal or overlooked elements that disclose deep historical energies. The essay situates Benjamin’s micrology within a constellation of recurring figures in his thought: the historian, the narrator, the philologist, the kabbalist, the astrologer. Each of these figures exemplifies a form of interpretative and hermeneutic work, reflecting Benjamin's conviction that the past unfolds not through great narratives, but by turning attention to the apparently negligible marks.