Primo Levi’s “useless violence”: extension of the notion Cover Image

Primo Leviego „przemoc zbędna”: rozwinięcie pojęcia
Primo Levi’s “useless violence”: extension of the notion

Author(s): Marcin Jaranowski
Subject(s): Philosophy, Ethics / Practical Philosophy, Social Philosophy
Published by: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Szczecińskiego
Keywords: violence; uselessness; humiliation; Nazism; ethics

Summary/Abstract: The article presents, analyzes, and interprets the concept of useless violence, which appears in the fifth part of Primo Levi’s book The Drowned and the Saved. Levi tries to capture the specificity of the violence used by the German Nazis with this concept. The author’s approach to the phenomenon of useless violence is extended to include additional accounts by witnesses and the findings of researchers who deal with the functioning of concentration camps and the phenomenon of Nazi terror. In this way, the description of a certain form of violence developed by the author who is also a victim of it obtains support and broad commentary.

  • Issue Year: 2022
  • Issue No: 57
  • Page Range: 115-135
  • Page Count: 21
  • Language: Polish