Paradossi e tracce: Ernst Bloch sul lavoro detektivisch della filosofia

Abstract

The aim of my paper is to open up the lines of a philosophical clue-method by analysing Bloch’s interpretation of the Detektivroman. The core of my analysis is to investigate how Bloch develops the meanings and aspirations layered in the detective novel – and neglected by the so-called “high culture” – in order to redefine the task of theory itself. The detective’s meticulous attention to marginal details (Nebenbei) and the ability to overturn initial assumptions mirror a philosophical method that seeks to critically unmask ideological categories, dissolving their “false gold” to open up their concealed utopian impulses. By referring to G.K. Chesterton’s paradox-filled detective stories, specifically the Father Brown series, I show how they serve for Bloch as a practical exemplar of this method. Chesterton’s work, likened to Hegelian dialectics, demonstrates how a true paradox – unlike a barren one that ends debate – is fruitful, forcing a reconfiguration of perspective and revealing the inherent contradictions within reality itself.