@article{Oliva_1, title={Benjamin e Wittgenstein sul concetto di affinità}, volume={8}, url={http://rifl.unical.it/index.php/rifl/article/view/231}, abstractNote={The paper’s main topic is the comparison between Benjamin and Wittgenstein on the concept of affinity. After a short reconstruction of the fregean influence on both philosophers, engaged in an attempt to solve the well-known Russell’s paradox, the attention is focused on the concept of <em>Verwandschaft</em>. Benjamin examines it in several essays and fragments, as <em>Analogy and relations</em>hip (1919), Goethe’s elective affinities (1922), <em>On Mimetic Capacity and Doctrine of</em> <em>Similitude</em> (1933). The idea of an affinity not based on a previous similarity distinguishes the <em>Verwandschaft </em>from the analogy and finds a relevant application in the comprehension of musical expressivity, based not on the interpretation of contents but on the production of comparisons. In a similar way, Wittgenstein finds in the concept of family resemblances the antidote against a quest of essences: in his <em>Philosophical Investigations</em> (1951) the Austrian philosopher tries to discourage the human tendency to look for a unifying quality that may compose differences in a strict definitional logic. Wittgenstein, too, finds in music a specific domain of application of <em>Verwandschaft</em&gt;, seen as a similarity that emerges just because of our practical capacity of producing comparisons.}, number={2}, journal={Rivista Italiana di Filosofia del Linguaggio}, author={Oliva, Stefano}, year={1}, month={1} }