Abstract

After the death of God, the hermeneutical nihilist Gianni Vattimo thinks we are living in an age where it is no longer possible to believe in ‘violent’ metaphysical notions such as ‘objectivity’ and ‘universality.’ However, we still cannot shake off the traces of the past that have been passed down through linguistic traditions. Kantian ethics is a case in point, situated in the midst of what Vattimo, following Heidegger’s interpretation of Nietzsche, regards as the history of Being as a weakening without a termination point. Kant’s Categorical Imperative is a secularised form of Christian caritas mixed with its evangelical universalising mission. In turn, Kant’s emphasis on reason built on the key Christian insight of binding people together by turning inwards through faith. For Vattimo, if one turns inwards then one should listen to others like you, i.e., those who are fellow weak thinkers who want to engage in dialogue. By introducing this condition implicitly, Vattimo weakens the categorical imperative by revealing it in weakened form to be a hypothetical imperative at the cost not only of excluding ‘strong’ thinkers, but also revealing a stronger conception of the subject in his philosophy that borders on the metaphysical.