Recovery and Loss of Time: A Reading from Bodei and Carse

Abstract

This essay addresses the problem of time from various angles ―Simmel, Lukács, Proust, Proust, Bergson, Plato, Hegel, Epicurus, Aristotle and Descartes― relating it to two fundamental elements: animality and death. The first sections draw on the perspective of Italian philosopher Remo Bodei, while the last sections rely on James P. Carse, a North American historian of literature and religions, to propose a slightly different reflection on the topic, which has been treated for a long time but never loses its relevance. The essential idea is to show that philosophy and literature have been parallel strategies designed to diminish the anguish associated with the inexorable passage of time and to establish a bond with death that is marked less by resignation than by gratitude. As a backdrop, the sorrowful yet joyful vision of the Spanish poet Luis Cernuda and the Peruvian poet César Vallejo is invoked to conclude that experiencing the flow of time in a vital and not merely reactive manner constitutes the only truly healthy gesture.